The European Parliament has adopted a resolution denouncing the attempt to silence women and girls in Iran in the strongest possible terms.

The resolution, which was adopted on Thursday, March 16, 2023, also expressed deep solidarity with the students who were poisoned and their families. The resolution was passed with 516 votes in favor, five against, and 14 abstentions. It reaffirmed the European Parliament’s absolute support for Iranian women and girls’ demand to abolish all systemic discrimination and urged the UN Human Rights Council to task the Independent International Fact-Finding Mission (IIFFM) with an independent investigation into the schoolgirl poisonings.

The resolution further condemned the regime’s months-long failure to act on, and deliberate suppression of, credible reports of systematic toxic attacks against schoolgirls. It denounced any politically motivated legal proceedings against those reporting on the poisonings, particularly Ali Pourtabatabaei.

The resolution also called for those responsible to be held to account and for the Iranian authorities to grant full access to the UN IIFFM and the UN Special Rapporteur on the situation of human rights in the Islamic Republic of Iran.

The European Parliament reiterated its call on the Council to designate the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps as a terrorist organization and to expand the EU sanctions list, including under the EU Global Human Rights sanctions mechanisms, to all those responsible for human rights violations in Iran, including Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei, President Ebrahim Raisi, and Prosecutor-General Mohammad Jafar Montazeri.

The European Parliament also called on the Commission and the Member States to increase technical and capacity support to Iranian civil society. It urged the Member States to facilitate the issuance of visas and asylum and emergency grants to those who need to leave Iran, particularly women, and girls.

In conclusion, the European Parliament instructed its President to forward this resolution to the Council, the Commission, the VP/HR, the Islamic Consultative Assembly, and the Office of the Supreme Leader of the Islamic Republic of Iran.

The resolution sends a strong message to the Iranian authorities that the EU is closely monitoring the situation and is committed to supporting Iranian women and girls’ fundamental right to education and a life free from discrimination and violence.

MEK Iran (follow us on Twitter and Facebook), Maryam Rajavi’s on her site, Twitter & Facebook, NCRI  (Twitter & Facebook), and People’s Mojahedin Organization of Iran – MEK IRAN – YouTub