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Iran: Speech by High Representative/Vice-President Josep Borrell on the ongoing repression against women

27.11.2024
Strasbourg
EEAS Press Team

 Subtitle: Speech delivered by Commissioner for Equality, Helena Dalli, on behalf of High Representative/Vice-President Josep Borrell

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Gracias Presidente, Honourable Members

The European Union has a clear, strong position on the human rights situation in Iran, and in particular on the situation of women and girls. This House plays a crucial role as your debates and resolutions highlight the need to keep holding the Iranian authorities accountable for human rights violations, particularly regarding Iranian women and girls.

The European Parliament 2023 Sakharov Prize for Freedom of Thought was rightly awarded to Mahsa Amini and the Woman, Life, Freedom movement in Iran, as a clear recognition of the protest movement. We stand by them and support their aspiration for a future where their universal human rights and fundamental freedoms are respected, protected and fulfilled.

The “Mahsa Amini” protests have exposed the systematic discrimination against women and girls by Iranian authorities. Since then, women and girls have been one of the main forces trying to push for real change in Iran’s policies.

In this context, we will continue to monitor the situation of student Ahou Daryaei also now that she returned to her family after being detained by the Iranian authorities.

Both publicly and privately, we continue to call on Iran to eliminate, in law and in practice, all forms of systemic discrimination against women and girls in public and private life and to prevent and ensure protection for women and girls against sexual and gender-based violence in all its forms. 

Since 2011, we have sanctions in place to target those responsible for human rights violations under the Iran human rights sanctions regime: in response to the 2022 protests alone, we adopted 10 sanctions packages.

Our commitment to the situation of women and girls in Iran extends to UN fora as well, where the European Union is a strong advocate of accountability mechanisms.

The European Union will continue to monitor very closely the situation of women and girls and stands ready to react to all issues of concern, including through sanctions. At the same time, we continue to use every opportunity in our direct bilateral contacts with the Iranian authorities to convey the European Union position and solicit a change in state policies. There will continue to be zero tolerance for human rights violations. 

Thank you.