Local view for "http://purl.org/linkedpolitics/eu/plenary/2008-06-19-Speech-4-194"
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"en.20080619.22.4-194"2
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"Mr President, my colleague Benita Ferrero-Waldner is unfortunately not here today, so on her behalf I thank you for the opportunity to address the issue of juvenile executions in Iran.
The Commission shares your deep concern about this harrowing question. While, as you know, the Commission lacks a representation in Tehran, it follows the human rights situation very closely and acts in close concertation with the EU Member States’ embassies represented there. It is important to note that the European Parliament, the Council of the European Union and the Commission have taken a coherent and consistent line. The seriousness of our concerns has been clearly stated through the three statements published by the EU Presidency over the past two weeks: on 4 and 10 June, over the cases of Mr Fadaei, Mr Shojaee and Mr Jazee, all facing imminent executions for crimes committed when they were minors; and on 13 June, on the execution of Mohammad Hassanzadeh.
The Commission fully supports the principle and the content of these statements: there can be no justification for the use of the death penalty by the Iranian authorities in the case of juvenile offenders. This explicitly runs counter to the legally binding provisions of international law, which Iran has ratified, notably the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights and the Convention on the Rights of the Child.
The fact that we have had to issue so many statements at such a rapid pace obviously reflects the growing number of executions in Iran, including of minors. The moratorium decreed by Iran’s Chief Judiciary, Ayatollah Shahroudi, on youth executions is blatantly violated by his own judges.
But, unfortunately, the tone and the frequency of our statements on Iran also reflect the fact that our dialogue and démarches on human rights in general and on the issue of juvenile executions in particular have not been effective. The Iranian authorities increasingly turn a deaf ear to our calls for compliance with international human rights law and we have therefore no choice but to resort to the so-called ‘megaphone diplomacy’ via public statements that Tehran claims to abhor and reject.
Iran must face up to its own responsibilities. For its part, following the execution of Mr Hassanzadeh, the Commission has explicitly told the Iranian authorities that such an act could only cast a shadow over’s Iran’s international reputation and our relationship. Without a concrete improvement of the human rights situation, our common objective of developing substantively the relationship between the European Union and the Islamic Republic of Iran is hindered.
I trust that the European Parliament and all EU partners will agree to this line and act accordingly. Therefore, I solemnly reiterate our call to the authorities of the Islamic Republic of Iran to abide by the international conventions to which it is party and spare the life of all minors still on death row."@en1
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