High ranking EU and UN officials are remaining silent on the issue of human rights in Iran, whilst in the same breath they are making cooperation and trade deals with the regime’s Foreign Minister. Throughout May and June 2016 the Iranian Foreign minister Mr. Javad Zarif has been greeted by high ranking government officials in Poland, Sweden, Latvia and Finland, Germany, France and Norway.
These EU countries have all but failed to condition the trade talks as leverage to demand improved human rights’ and a halt to the countries increasing barbaric executions. Governments had hoped that the lifting of trade sanctions on Iran might lead to a new shared ‘openness’, but this shows no signs of coming.
In May alone 64 people were executed, many of these deaths happening whilst Ms. Federica Mogherini, High Representative of the European Union for Foreign Affairs, was in arms reach of the Iranian Foreign Minister Mr. Javad Zarif. Yet even in proximity failed to question the Iranian FM on the regime’s ongoing and increasing barbaric human rights’ violations.
The Iranian FM was also invited to talk on the subject of peacemaking at the annual Oslo Forum, jointly organized by the Centre for Humanitarian Dialogue (HD); another opportunity that Ms. Federica Mogherini, High Representative of the European Union for Foreign Affairs, failed to speak out on the issue of human rights. In reaction to this silence, a former Parliamentary Assembly member of the Council of Europe, Mr. Lars Rise had this to say:
‘I’m really sorry that the sanctions have been lifted. We need strong pre-conditions in order to have anything to do with Iran, because, I mean, Iran is not even close to fulfilling anything when it comes to pre-conditions on human rights.’
So now is the time to call on Ms. Federica Mogherini, High Representative of the European Union for Foreign Affairs, to lead the Demand for a Halt to Executions in Iran and that any further cooperation and trade deals with the EU be conditioned on that simple mandate of the basic right to life.
