10 Human rights in Iran
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(35962)
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(b)
(35963)
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Council Decision amending Decision 2011/235/CFSP concerning restrictive measures directed against certain persons and entities in view of the situation in Iran
Council Implementing Regulation implementing Article 12(1) of Regulation (EU) No. 359/2011 concerning restrictive measures directed against certain persons, entities and bodies in view of the situation in Iran
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| Legal base | (a) Article 29 TEU; unanimity;
(b) Article 215(2) TFEU; QMV
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| Department | Foreign and Commonwealth Office
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| Basis of consideration | EM and Minister's letter of 17 April 2014
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| Previous Committee Report | None; but see (34733) —: and (34780) —: HC 86-xxxvii (2012-13), chapter 8 (26 March 2013); (33753) — and (33754) —: HC 428-lv (2010-12), chapter 7 (21 March 2012); (33191) — and (33192) — HC 428-xxxvii (2010-12), chapter 24 (12 October 2011); (32666-67) —: HC 428-xxiv (2010-12), chapter 13 (27 April 2011); (31937) —: HC 428-iii (2010-11), chapter 15 (13 October 2010); (31905) 13082/10: HC 428-ii (2010-11), chapter 24 (15 September 2010); and (31779) —: HC428-i (2010-11), chapter 61 (8 September 2010)
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| Discussion in Council | 9 April 2014
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| Committee's assessment | Politically important
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| Committee's decision | Not cleared; further information requested
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Background
10.1 As our previous Reports recall, the EU has been engaged since
December 2006 in a "dual track" strategy — engagement
and restrictive measures — regarding Iran's nuclear activities,
not simply implementing in the EU, but also strengthening in that
context, successive UN Security Council Resolution (UNSCRs).
Council Decision 2011/235/CFSP
10.2 More recently, the EU has also sought to improve the human
rights situation in Iran through the imposition of additional
restrictive measures.
10.3 On the 21 March 2011 Foreign Affairs Council adopted the
following Conclusions:
"1. The European Union is deeply concerned that the human
rights situation in Iran continues to deteriorate. The EU is
alarmed by the dramatic increase in executions in recent months
and the systematic repression of Iranian citizens, including human
rights defenders, lawyers, journalists, women's activists, bloggers,
persons belonging to ethnic and religious minorities and members
of the opposition, who face harassment and arrests for exercising
their legitimate rights to freedom of expression and peaceful
assembly. The EU reiterates its strong condemnation of the use
of torture and other cruel, inhuman and degrading treatment.
"2. The EU calls on the Iranian authorities to live up
to the international human rights obligations that Iran has entered
into, so as to protect and promote all human rights and fundamental
freedoms to which the Iranian people are entitled. In particular
it calls on Iran to release immediately all political prisoners
and to halt executions.
"3. The European Union attaches great importance to the
improvement of the human rights situation in Iran and will increase
its efforts to that end. The European Union will also continue
to speak out in support of individuals and civil society organizations
which stand up for the human rights which all Iranians should
enjoy.
"4. The EU is ready to discuss human rights issues with
the Iranian authorities and to keep channels of communication
open to that end.
"5. The European Union will continue to address human
rights abuses in Iran, including by swiftly introducing restrictive
measures targeted against those responsible for grave human rights
violations."[45]
10.4 Council Decision 2011/235/CFSP accordingly provides the basis
for restrictive measures targeted against
"persons complicit in or responsible for directing or
implementing grave human rights violations in the repression of
peaceful demonstrators, journalists, human rights defenders, students
or other persons who speak up in defence of their legitimate rights,
including freedom of expression, as well as persons complicit
in or responsible for directing or implementing grave violations
of the right to due process, torture, cruel, inhuman and degrading
treatment, or the indiscriminate, excessive and increasing application
of the death penalty, including public executions, stoning, hangings
or executions of juvenile offenders in contravention of Iran's
international human rights obligations."
10.5 In his Explanatory Memorandum of 8 April 2011, the Minister
for Europe (Mr David Lidington), said that the human rights situation
in Iran "was deteriorating from an already awful situation",
and commented further as follows:
"Iran has executed over 160 people this year, keeps more
journalists in prison than any other country, has brutally suppressed
recent protests arresting hundreds, and continues to keep key
opposition leaders under house arrest and incommunicado. We feel
it important that the international community and EU exert pressure
on Iran to improve the human rights situation and to ensure that
the perpetrators of violations do not continue to act with impunity.
"While tough UN, EU and US measures are now in place
in response to the nuclear issue, there has been a limited international
response to human rights violations and there are regular calls
from a variety of directions including human rights defenders
and NGOs to impose sanctions. UK and international activity on
human rights in recent years has been limited to public statements
to highlight the worst abuses and Iran's overall record. These
measures would represent concrete action by the EU to improve
human rights in Iran for the first time in a number of years.
"We believe that further sanctions on Iran linked to
human rights violations would strengthen our overall policy on
Iran by: supporting our objective of behavioural change in Iran
by actively targeting those most guilty of violating human rights;
increasing pressure on the Iranian regime by taking very visible
steps to respond to violations; and providing moral support to
human rights defenders both inside and outside Iran, by demonstrating
concrete action, not just words."
Council Regulation 359/2011
10.6 This Council Regulation provides for the adoption of restrictive
measures against persons responsible for serious human rights
violations in Iran listed in the annex to the Council Decision
and consists of a freezing of the funds and economic resources
of those persons.
10.7 The Minister noted that, with regard to the Fundamental Rights
aspects:
· the
procedures for designating individuals as subject to asset freezes
complied with fundamental rights: provision is made for competent
authorities of Member States to authorise the release of frozen
funds where necessary in certain circumstances, for example, to
satisfy the basic needs of listed persons or their dependents
and where necessary for extraordinary expenses; decisions by competent
authorities of Member States in this regard would be subject to
challenge in Member States' courts; prohibitions on transfer of
funds and financial services are exempted where necessary for
humanitarian purposes, or where necessary for supply of foodstuffs,
medical equipment or provision of health care;
· the
Regulation respected the fundamental rights and observed the principles
recognised in particular by the Charter of Fundamental Rights
of the European Union and notably the right to an effective remedy
and to a fair trial and the right to the protection of personal
data;
· the
Regulation required the Council to provide designated persons
and entities an opportunity to present observations on the reasons
for their listing; where observations were submitted, the Council
was to review its decision in the light of those observations
and inform the person or entity concerned accordingly.
10.8 The Council Decision and Council Regulation
were adopted at the 12 April 2011 Foreign Affairs Council and
came into force, following publication in the Official Journal
of the European Union, the following day.
10.9 We cleared the documents, reporting them to
the House because of the level of interest in the situation in
Iran.[46]
10.10 In 2011, the Minister noted that there had
by then been over 500 executions, and around 48 journalists and
bloggers were in prison. Similar measures were adopted at the
10 October 2011 Foreign Affairs Council and came in force, following
its publication in the Official Journal of the European Union,
on the following day. We again cleared the documents with a Report
to the House.[47]
10.11 In 2012, the Committee cleared two further
Council Decisions. The first introduced prohibitions on: the
sale, supply, transfer or export of equipment or software intended
primarily for use in the monitoring or interception by the Iranian
regime, or on its behalf, of the Internet and of telephone communications
on mobile or fixed networks in Iran and the provision of assistance
to install, operate or update such equipment or software; and
on the provision of goods or technical assistance for use in internal
repression. It also added further persons involved in the repression
of human rights; and introduced a general clause preventing the
circumvention of sanctions.
10.12 The second Council Decision amended Council
Decision 2010/413/CFSP so as to transfer the prohibition on the
export of internal repression goods from the sanctions targeted
at Iran's nuclear programme to the Iran "Human Rights"
regime.[48]
10.13 A year ago, the Minister reported on 18 March
2013 that, following an automatic annual review, the Council decided
to prolong the EU restrictive measures by 12 months in response
to continuing serious human rights violations; add nine persons
responsible for serious human rights violations to the list of
those subject to a travel ban and an asset freeze, which brought
the number of persons targeted to 87; and subject one entity responsible
for human rights violations to an asset freeze: and had duly adopted
Council Decision 2013/124/CFSP and Council Implementing Regulation
(EU) 206/2013 on 11 March 2013. The nine individuals and one
entity added included judges, prosecutors, authority figures in
state media, and the Cyber Police.
10.14 We continued to report these changes to the
House for the same reasons as before.[49]
The Council Decision and the Council Implementing
Regulation
10.15 The Council Decision and Council Regulation
authorise the renewal of Iran human rights sanctions until April
2015.
The Government's view
10.16 The Minister for Europe (Mr David Lidington)
comments thus:
"The human rights situation in Iran continues
to be cause for great concern. There have been some minor improvements
under President Rouhani, such as the release of a number of political
prisoners in September 2013. However, we are yet to see any real
substantive improvement in human rights in Iran. In particular,
there has been a worrying spike in the number of executions in
the beginning of 2014. We hope that President Rouhani will act
on the pledges to improve the rights of all citizens in Iran.
In the mean time we will continue to call on Iran to improve its
terrible human rights record.
"There are over 80 Iranian individuals and
entities designated by the EU for human rights abuses. 36 of these
were originally proposed by the UK and agreed by the EU Council
between March 2011 and October 2013. These 36 individuals and
entities have all been involved either in the suppression of protests
following the 2009 elections, or in Iran's systemic suppression
of human rights.
"As well as designating human rights abuses
under EU Sanctions, the UK has also helped establish a UN Special
Rapporteur on Human Right2s in Iran and lobbied at the UN for
the adoption of human rights resolutions on Iran.
10.17 The Minister concludes by noting that the Council
Decision and Council Implementing Regulation were adopted by written
procedure on 9 April 2014.
The Minister's letter of 17 April 2014
10.18 The Minister comments on this override of scrutiny
as follows:
"The measures would have lapsed had they
not been renewed in advance of their renewal date. Unfortunately
the draft Council Decision and Council Implementing Regulation
were written so close to the renewal date that they needed to
be agreed very quickly. Therefore I regret that I find myself
in the position of having to agree to the adoption of these Council
Decisions and Implementing Regulations before your Committee has
had an opportunity to scrutinise the documents.
"Your Committee has previously expressed
concern that renewals of this type are not considered earlier
in the EU, reducing the possibility of the documents being scrutinised.
This is something I am very aware of and I have instructed my
officials to continue to raise these concerns with colleagues
in the EU.
"As you know, the responsibility to keep
your Committee informed on issues concerning Iran sanctions is
something I take seriously and the need for the override of scrutiny
on this occasion is regrettably unavoidable."
Conclusion
10.19 We are again reporting this otherwise straightforward
"rollover" to the House because of the continuing interest
in developments in Iran and the EU's role in seeking to change
things for the better.
10.20 In 2013, the Minister submitted his Explanatory
Memorandum a month earlier, together with a similar letter concerning
the scrutiny override that had occurred then. In that letter,
he explained that the newly-agreed designations were not made
public until after they were adopted, in order to mitigate a significant
risk of asset flight; the override of scrutiny that followed from
his having to agree to their adoption before the Committee had
the opportunity to scrutinise them was also "regrettably
unavoidable". On that occasion and in the circumstances,
the Committee did not take issue with the Minister's action.
10.21 On this occasion, this override, if (as
always) regrettable, seems altogether avoidable — unless,
that is, there was a good reason why "the draft Council Decision
and Council Implementing Regulation were written so close to the
renewal date that they needed to be agreed very quickly".
10.22 We ask the Minister to clarify the reasons
why this renewal was put forward so late in the day; and to outline
in detail what steps were taken in Brussels, at what level, to
"chase up" those concerned in advance of a renewal date
that was known a year ago.
10.23 In the meantime, we retain the documents
under scrutiny.
45 These Conclusions are available at http://www.consilium.europa.eu/uedocs/cms_data/docs/pressdata/EN/foraff/120084.pdf. Back
46
See headnote: (32666-67) -: HC 428-xxiv (2010-12), chapter 13
(27 April 2011). Back
47
See: (33191) - and (33192) -: HC 428-xxxvii (2010-12), chapter
24 (12 October 2011). Back
48
See: (33753) - and (33754) -: HC 428-lv (2010-12), chapter 7
(21 March 2012). Back
49
See headnote: (34733) - and (34780) -: HC 86-xxvii (2012-13),
chapter 8 (26 March 2013). Back
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