For the World Community and EU, Human Rights in Iran is a Victim of Diplomacy and Trade

Speech by Maryam Rajavi, President-elect of the National Council of Resistance of Iran, at the European Parliament

For the World Community and EU, Human Rights in Iran is a Victim of Diplomacy and Trade In three days, we will be marking the anniversary of the adoption of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. For my country, Iran, the Human Rights Day is a reminder of the deep scar on my nation's body and soul, with 120,000 executed dissidents and hundreds of thousands of tortured political prisoners. With at least 5,000 prisoners who are presently on the death row and human rights activists and followers of different faiths in prison. Under the mullahs there is no respect for human rights. For the world community and the European Union, unfortunately human rights in Iran is a victim of diplomacy and trade. Under the rule of the Iranian regime every single article of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights has been violated. The right to life, the right to freedom, the right to security, the right to protection from torture and arbitrary arrests, the right to freedom of religion and faith… The most horrific page in the record of this regime is the massacre of 30,000 political prisoners in only a few months in 1988. This genocide was carried out upon a written edict by Khomeini. The main perpetrators of this massacre are now among the regime's leaders and senior officials. In recent months, a growing movement has begun in Iran, demanding accountability and bringing those responsible for the massacre to justice. Last month, the Iranian Resistance made public the names of 110 individuals in charge of making decisions on the executions in Tehran and other provinces. We also revealed information about 213 officials involved in the massacre in 35 cities, as well as the addresses of a number of secret mass graves in 12 provinces. The European Union is now engaged in further expanding its diplomatic and business engagements with the Iranian regime. The right approach, however, is to first assess the outcome of their present policy so far. Let us review the outcome of the EU policy of recent years, from this standpoint: Firstly, the European Union has stood aside and only watched the ongoing repression in Iran since Hassan Rouhani took office, justifying this approach as giving support to the moderates in Iran. But did such silence lead to the progress of moderation in Iran? NO! The outcome has been more executions under Rouhani and more aggressive policy in the region. Secondly, the policy of ignoring the destructive role of the Iranian regime in Syria let alone cooperating with it has proved to be a total failure in the fight against ISIS. Thirdly, the mullahs were forced to take a step back in the nuclear negotiations under the pressure of social discontent in Iran and international sanctions and because of their extreme weakness. The P5+1 countries, however, gave so many illegitimate concessions to the mullahs. They allowed the mullahs to maintain the structure of their bomb making system. In addition, in return for the JCPOA, Western governments accepted some unwritten agreements with the mullahs, such as: Freedom of sending IRGC troops to Syria, overlooking the regime's ballistic missile tests despite UNSC resolution 2231, overlooking the Quds Force's destructive role in Iraq, and remaining silent on the violations of human rights in Iran. In their talks with the EU, senior officials of the Iranian regime declare that "retribution" and the death penalty are "red lines" for Tehran and could not be set aside in any form. Is it not shameful to remain silent on such aggressive attitude of a criminal regime? Governments’ excuse for their silence is to avoid meddling in Iran’s internal affairs. If they oppose meddling in Iran, then they should not intervene in the interest of the Iranian regime, either. Let me also add that such relations with this regime are counter to global peace and security and even the long-term interests of the West. This regime is surrounded by explosive social discontent in the country. It lacks funds and is paralyzed. The country's banking system is bankrupt. The economy is engulfed in fraud and money laundering and is not able to pull out of recession for a long time. In addition, it is engulfed in expensive wars in the region with massive casualties. Those who advocate such policy are not mindful of the extent to which the mullahs are vulnerable, and how much they need these deals with the West. Therefore, no matter how much the mullahs are pressured to account for violations of human rights, they will not abandon Europe because of their