PP calls on the government to promote diplomatic pressure against Iran for repression and gender-based violence

Eduardo González The People's Party (PP) has called on the government to promote, in international forums, "sanctions and diplomatic pressure measures against those responsible for repression and gender-based violence in Iran." In a non-legislative motion presented on March 28 for debate in the Foreign Affairs Committee of Congress, the People's Parliamentary Group denounces "the systematic repression of dissent, the violation of fundamental rights, and structural discrimination against women" in Iran, in "a context of constant violations of the essential principles of international law." The PP commemorates the case of Mahsa Amini, who died in September 2022 after being detained by the morality police and whose death "sparked an unprecedented wave of protests, largely led by women demanding respect for their fundamental freedoms." “Fundamental rights violations in Iran have intensified since then, marking a turning point in the regime's treatment of women,” the PP continues. “Human rights organizations have documented extrajudicial executions, arbitrary arrests, torture, and the disproportionate use of force,” and the opposition National Council of Resistance of Iran (NCRI) reported in 2024 that “one thousand people were hanged in Iran, an unprecedented number in the past 30 years, representing a considerable increase compared to the 853 cases reported in 2023,” the text continues. The PP also recalls a March 2024 report by the UN-commissioned Independent International Fact-Finding Mission on Iran, which denounced “serious human rights violations” that “constitute crimes against humanity, specifically murder, imprisonment, torture, rape, and other forms of sexual violence.” The motion also denounces the government's measures against women, such as state-imposed dress codes, exclusion from certain public offices, restrictions on child custody, and discrimination in inheritance and marriage, which "perpetuate gender inequality" and contravene "the principles of the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women (CEDAW), to which Iran is not a party, but whose values must be promoted and defended by the international community." "Democratic states must intensify their political and diplomatic pressure on the Iranian regime, demanding an end to repression and supporting democratic movements fighting for freedom and equality," the People's Party warns. "Decisive and urgent action is needed to raise awareness of the struggle of women and the Iranian people for justice, freedom, and equality," it adds. For all these reasons, the motion urges the Government to "firmly and expressly condemn the human rights violations committed by the Iranian regime," to "promote sanctions and diplomatic pressure measures in international forums against those responsible for repression and gender-based violence in Iran," to "promote mechanisms to protect and support Iranian women, activists, and human rights organizations," and to "support resolutions by the United Nations and other bodies demanding structural reforms in Iran to guarantee respect for fundamental rights."

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