Local view for "http://purl.org/linkedpolitics/eu/plenary/2009-01-15-Speech-4-203"
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"en.20090115.17.4-203"2
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"Mr President, ladies and gentlemen, the European Commission is closely monitoring developments in the situation faced by Mrs Shirin Ebadi and it regards as unacceptable the threats made to her and her colleagues following the search carried out at their office in Tehran on 29 December. The search of the office is the latest in a series of acts of intimidation aimed at Mrs Ebadi which have included, for example, the closure in December of the Centre for the Defence of Human Rights, an organisation which she led.
The European Commission therefore fully supports the French Presidency of the Council of the Union in presenting two declarations regarding Mrs Ebadi’s case on 31 and 22 December last year. The Commission especially emphasises the fact that the Iranian authorities must comply with their international obligations in the human rights area and in particular the right of peaceful assembly set out in the International Pact on Civil and Political Rights. Iran has signed and ratified this Pact and hence it must allow the offices of the Centre for the Defence of Human Rights to be reopened and it must provide them with the legal status they have been requesting for many years.
In 2009, just as in the past, the Commission will not forego any opportunity to apply pressure on the Iranian authorities to provide protection for Mrs Ebadi and other human rights defenders (individuals or organisations) and to allow them to continue operating in the country without interfering in their legitimate activities.
As you all know, the issues of nuclear power and human rights greatly limit the scope of our activities in Iran. Despite this, the Commission will continue in 2009 with cooperation in areas of common interest, especially in the fight against the drugs trade. We have also managed to maintain some programmes supporting human rights and the proper administration of public affairs, for example a project to support children’s rights in cooperation with UNICEF and projects in support of judicial reform.
We are also pursuing initiatives aimed at strengthening cooperation and exchanges in the area of education and culture – exchanges within the framework of the Erasmus Mundus programme, the recent visit of several Iranian journalists to Brussels, or the broadcasting of television programmes in Persian which the Commission wants to launch before the end of this year. Despite this, it is clear that our relations will not be able to develop in a normal way unless the human rights situation in Iran improves dramatically."@en1
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