Clare Daly (The Left). – Mr President, I abstained on this report because while there was much good in it, the Magnitsky Act and other measures, I do not agree with. If we want to defend human rights defenders, we have to be honest. And I want to give an example to back up my position.
Last night in here, we had a discussion on the reports of hundreds of girls suffering respiratory problems and temporary paralysis in schools across Iran, which of course is deeply concerning. Targeting children for any reason is unimaginable and inexcusable. I am very glad that the Government of Iran has initiated an investigation. I expect that to be transparent.
But every time we take up these issues, we should be mindful of the impact on human rights defenders and the people we claim that we are defending, because by constantly seizing on every development in Iran to press for a regime change, we are hurting the people we say we stand by. We are trying to intervene in a negative way in that sense. I find it a bit of a cheek for people in here to feign concern about women and girls in Iran when they are dying as a result of the sanctions that we are imposing on them.
Ivan Vilibor Sinčić (NI). – Poštovani predsjedavajući, danas smo govorili o standardima za zaštitu ljudskih prava.
Zašto i dan danas, u 2023. godini imamo tolike probleme s ljudskim pravima? To je zbog dvostrukih standarda. Pravila koja se primjenjuju na neke, ne primjenjuju se na neke druge. Može se čuti na pozive za promjenu režima, vidjeli smo slučajeve potkopavanja pojedinih vlada, subverzija, čak i invazije na te zemlje. I takve stvari, naravno, moraju biti kažnjene. Međutim, onda mora pravilo vrijediti za sve, onda svi moraju biti kažnjeni. Jako mnogo se govori u mom domu o Ukrajini, a evo ovih dana upravo obilježavamo 20 godina invazije na Irak. To je jedan primjer dvostrukih standarda i dok god postoje takvi standardi ne možemo se nadati da će se stanje ljudskih prava promijeniti.
Također, želim da se jednog dana govori o ljudskim pravima koja su ugrožena ne zato da bi se potkopao tamo neki režim u toj zemlji, nego zato što nam stvarno treba biti stalo da tih ljudi i do njihovih prava.
Der Präsident. – Es wurde mir nun gesagt, dass der Kollege Wallace technische Schwierigkeiten hatte, sich für die Erklärungen zur Abstimmung anzumelden, was ich kaum glauben kann. Aber weil die Kommissarin so einen schönen St. Patrick‘s Day gewünscht hat, will ich dem irischen Kollegen gerne auch das Wort erteilen.
Mick Wallace (The Left). – Mr President, first of all, thank you very much for your kindness and generosity for the time of the year that’s in it. Let me actually confirm that technologically, I am absolutely a disaster. I can barely turn the computer on.
But anyway, I voted for this human rights issue because I think it is really important. But I also think it is really important that we have a balanced approach to it. During the debate yesterday, as my colleague said, there was an awful lot of focus on Iran. Listen, if I was in Iran today, I too would be on the streets protesting, looking for separation of church and State. But I would also be on the streets of Iran protesting about foreign interference.
I mean, the Iranians, there is a huge issue over this poisoning thing. And this is a very serious issue. But I mean, from what we can see, the authorities are dealing with it in a professional manner and they are concerned about the human rights of their own citizens, too. And definitely, if we were more concerned about the human rights of the Iranians, we would stop sanctioning them because we are killing women and children with our sanctions in Iran. And the human rights of the Iranians should count for more to us.
Der Präsident. – Vielen Dank, Herr Kollege Wallace. Ich glaube, selbst der Heilige Patrick würde jetzt sagen, dass Sie ihr Goodwill-Konto jetzt ziemlich strapaziert haben. Es war ein Statement und keine Stimmerklärung. Auch das wollen wir Ihnen heute nachsehen.
Die Erklärungen zur Abstimmung sind damit geschlossen.