§ Mr. McCabeTo ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, pursuant to his answer of 20 January 2000,Official Report, column 580W, what sources of information, other than Iranian press reports, concerning the affiliations and roles of Globad Mansour-Beigi, Reza Molai and Ali-Hosseini, he has evaluated. [107954]
§ Mr. HainThe Iranian media reports referred to in my previous answer described the three people killed in the Mujaheddin-e-Khalq Organisation's attack on the town of Ilam as civilians. Whatever their affiliation, this was an act of terrorism, which I strongly condemn.
738W
§ Dr. TongeTo ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what discussions he has had with the Iranian Government on the position of women in Iran in relation to the report by the UN Rapporteur on Human Rights. [108148]
§ Mr. HainWe and our EU partners regularly raise with the Iranian authorities our concerns over a number of their human rights policies, including the situation of women in Iran. The EU sponsored UN General Assembly Resolution on human rights in Iran, adopted on 17 December, called for further action by the Iranian Government to ensure the full and equal enjoyment by women of their human rights.
The Special Rapporteur's report of September 1999 expressed concern over certain women's rights issues and also highlighted a number of improvements. He particularly welcomed the efforts of the Iranian President and other senior figures in the executive to press for a change in attitude towards women and women's issues. He also welcomed the greater participation of Iranian women in politics and higher education.