Jordon Steele-John (WA, Australian Greens) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

by leave—I take note of item 67 on page 10, the FADT committee's report of the human rights implications of recent violence in Iran. I'm speaking to the report—from the Foreign Affairs, Defence and Trade Committee about the human rights implication to end the violence occurring in Iran—with a heavy heart in the full knowledge that this violence continues and also filled with pride, having heard so convincingly and in such great numbers from the many community members of the Iranian diaspora and many other communities who gave evidence to the committee.

The Greens support all recommendations of the report; however, we do think that the report did not speak loudly enough about the incredibly slow response of the Australian government, particularly in regard to sanctions. I am here this evening as the proud political sponsor of one Majid Kasimi. Majid will continue his call for freedom and justice for all of the peoples of Iran, and he does so alongside many other members of the community who are, right now, imprisoned by the regime—because they dared to speak out.

Every day, we wake up to more news that Iranian freedom protesters have been sentenced to death or wrongly jailed after unfair trials. I want to make it really clear to the Senate this evening: Majid and so many other of his fellow protesters are facing death at the hands of a regime that is imprisoning its community members on mass because they are daring to speak out and to push back. This must end. The international community must keep building the pressure on Iranian authorities to free those innocent civilians who are subject to fatal penalties because they are crying out for freedom in their country. The Greens, along with the community, have been campaigning for Magnitsky-style sanctions to be used against Iran for a very long time. It was a welcome piece of news to hear the foreign minister expand these sanctions last week. Targeted sanctions are exactly what the Magnitsky act was put in place to do.

In giving this statement on the report, I must acknowledge the role of women in boldly and courageously raising their voices against the regime that is so desperate to silence them in Iran, and in taking the lead in giving evidence to the Senate committee. They have been the drivers of activism, lobbying and protests, despite the Iranian regime acting egregiously to minimise their impact. The system of law and order which the Iranian regime implements is one of authoritarianism, violence, terror, fear and the silencing of the community.

This is intensely felt by women and by minority groups, particularly those who can identify themselves as members of the Kurdish Iranian community, such as Jina Amini. The Greens have been advocating for direct actions against the regime since the week of Jina Amini's death. We have done this because the community has been active in providing us with the key demands and requests that they have of their Australian government. We know that their understanding of the Iranian regime, its tactics and its practices is strong. They need the Australian government to listen to them and they need swift and appropriate response.

Jina Amini died on 16 September 2022. To place the Australian response into context, Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau announced Canada's intention to sanction Iranian officials just 10 days later. In comparison, Australia waited more than three months to apply narrow sanctions—narrow sanctions, it must be clearly understood by the Senate, because they were limited in scope and in no way went as far as was needed in an attempt to defer and deter the regime. The delayed nature of this response was and remains an unacceptable failure on the part of the Australian government and of the Department of Foreign Affairs. Further, the European parliament has called on its council to list the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corp as a terrorist organisation. The United States and Canada have made this designation. Yet, we are yet to see this from the Australian government.

Yesterday speculation began that Ayatollah Khamenei would give pardons to thousands of political prisoners involved in protests. This must happen and must include all those who have already been given death sentences and are awaiting execution. The Greens will continue to work with the Iranian diaspora community to call on the Australian government to extend its targeted sanctions list and to put heavier financial sanctions and travel restrictions upon the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corp.

In concluding my contribution, I want to offer my profound thanks and acknowledgement on behalf of the Australian Greens to the Iranian diaspora communities and to all individuals who took the time and demonstrated the courage to give evidence to the committee and its inquiry. I acknowledge that to do so for many was to risk harm to themselves and their family members, to say nothing of the emotional burden they felt themselves. I appreciate, as a committee member—and our movement appreciates collectively—the effort that they demonstrated and commit ourselves to solidarity with them in their struggle for women, for life and for freedom.

Claire Chandler (Tasmania, Liberal Party, Shadow Assistant Minister for Foreign Affairs) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I also rise to speak on item 67 on page 10. As Chair of the Senate Foreign Affairs, Defence and Trade References Committee, I welcome the opportunity to speak on that committee's report, Human rights implications of recent violence in Iran. I'd like to start with some words from an Iranian Australian that I have been asked to read out to the Senate, explaining why it is so important to that community to have the support of our parliament and our government: 'For over 44 years,' this person says, 'Iranians have suffered this criminality through systematic oppression and a continuing degradation of their human rights. Soon after the 1979 revolution, I had my first taste of it as I witnessed the execution of four of my classmates by the IRGC for aligning with the wrong party in the revolution. Today's uprising is not the first attempt of Iranians to free themselves from the oppressive regime of the Islamic republic. Just as today, nations around the world watched on quietly as the paramilitary IRGC successfully defended the dictatorship against unarmed citizens, killing children and adults, men and women. We cannot allow today to become like the previous times.'

The horror of the IRI's actions detailed in these words and experienced by so many is why it is so important to our diaspora community that Australia's government takes decisive action. I'd like to thank all of the witnesses who gave evidence to the committee and the more than 1,000 people and organisations who provided submissions to the inquiry. We have all read the reports and seen the vision of the brutal and violent way the Islamic republic regime responds to critics within its own borders. But what became apparent during the course of the inquiry was that the IRI regime also goes to significant lengths to ensure that its critics around the world are intimidated, threatened and, in some cases, subjected to violence. Just as it is incredibly brave of the people of Iran to be protesting against the regime, knowing that they face violence, arrest and torture, so too is it incredibly courageous of Iranian Australians to turn up to give evidence to a Senate committee when they know that the IRI regime is watching, monitoring and targeting those who do.

While Iran is a long way from Australia, human rights abuses, the oppression of women and girls, state sponsored terrorism and cybercrime are matters that Australia can and should take a strong stance on. If nations like Australia don't use the tools at our disposal to take a stand when another country is responsible for such behaviour, then the message is sent to that regime that they can get away with it. Other authoritarian regimes will also be watching and realising that they too can commit major human rights violations without facing consequences from the international community. The committee's inquiry revealed that a strong response to hold the IRI accountable is not only a question of sending the right message and acting in accordance with our principles but that the Iranian regime has been identified consistently as being a state sponsor of terrorism. Overseas intelligence services have confirmed the Iranian regime's attempts to kill or kidnap residents of those countries. We know from recent questions I asked of the Australian Signals Directorate that operatives affiliated with the IRI are responsible for malicious cyber and ransomware attacks against Australia.

Two key themes constantly emerged during this inquiry. The first was that there is significant fear of the regime here in Australia. Iranian Australians do not feel safe and protected from the IRI and the IRGC, even in this country, and that is a huge concern. The second was that there is an overwhelming feeling of frustration at Australia lagging behind other Western nations in taking action. Many of us in the Senate were raising this concern from the community back in September and October last year. It is very disappointing, having had four months to take action, that the community still feels so let down. It was evident in the final 24 hours before the release of the report that the government recognised it is lagging behind where it should be in terms of taking action. We had the announcement of some additional Iranians sanctioned by the government made overnight on the eve of the report tabling, in what was widely seen by the community and media as an attempt to head off criticism about how far Australia was behind other nations, like the United States, Canada and the United Kingdom, in applying sanctions. I note that, despite the addition of this second round of sanctions, we are still a long way behind our allies. Most of these nations were applying their second round of sanctions in October last year. Our government just announced its second round of sanctions a handful of hours before our committee report was tabled on 31 January—last week.

Even stranger was the sudden arrival of a late submission from the Attorney-General's Department in relation to listing the IRGC as a terrorist organisation on the afternoon of 31 January, again just hours before the committee's report was due to be tabled. This inquiry has been running since 27 October last year. The listing of the IRGC as a terrorist organisation has been the subject of major global discussion throughout that entire period. At the public hearing on 21 December last year committee members asked government agencies a number of times whether a terrorist listing was being considered, but the government refused to engage on this question. In a written answer to a question on notice received in mid-January we were told that the government does not and will not comment on those considerations. But then, 12 hours before the report was due to be tabled, the government suddenly had the advice that it can't be done, which begs the question—one which conveniently Labor's submission didn't answer—of how long the government have had this advice and what have they done to prepare legislative options to correct the situation since becoming aware of it.

On the issue of listing the IRGC as a terrorist organisation and many other issues the community wanted and expected more answers from the government than they were willing or able to provide, and that's why the committee has made a number of recommendations calling for greater transparency from the government and for responsible ministers to provide updates on its assessment of the intimidation and foreign interference tactics of the IRI in Australia. The community members who are most concerned and at risk of intimidation tactics by the IRI are feeling left out of the loop when it comes to being informed by the government about its assessment of the threat and what the government is doing to counter it.

I want to acknowledge and thank all senators who supported this inquiry, particularly all members of the committee for their work on the committee inquiry. We saw how important it was to the many community groups who gave evidence to have the opportunity to present to the committee and have their voices heard. I really appreciate the willingness of all committee members to be available to hold those public hearings and to make sure all of our witnesses had that opportunity.

I'd like to acknowledge as well that we received well over 1,000 submissions. We could have filled the programs for our public hearings many times over, but I know that the community understands the importance of the committee acting with urgency to hear the evidence and produce the report and recommendations, because it is an emergency situation and a humanitarian crisis that is occurring.

In that light I conclude by urging the government to act on the recommendations as swiftly as possible. By doing so, Australia can take a leadership role on this important global issue and ensure that Australians are protected from the dangerous regime. I commend the report to the Senate.

Raff Ciccone (Victoria, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I also rise today in the Senate to speak on the report of the Senate Foreign Affairs, Defence and Trade References Committee entitled Human rights implications of recent violence in Iran. I was pleased to participate in this inquiry as the deputy chair.

I certainly echo the report's and indeed the government's condemnation of the violent measures that are being employed by the Iranian government against those who have been protesting its oppression of its own citizens, particularly against women and children. The Iranian security forces have been brutal in their attempted suppression of these protests. Hundreds upon hundreds have lost their lives and some have been executed without any access to a fair trial.

I acknowledge the extraordinary courage of those in Iran and abroad who continue to express their fierce opposition to the oppressive practices of the Iranian government, often at great risk not just to themselves but to their families, whether they are over in Iran or elsewhere around the world. I particularly thank those who made submissions and gave evidence to the inquiry. Many chose to do so on a confidential basis. Indeed, it's a credit to the Senate's committee processes that these witnesses felt comfortable enough to contribute to this inquiry, safe in the knowledge that their identities would not be made public. Of course, most of all, credit is owed to these witnesses, whose deep knowledge, lived experience and courage to speak out contributed so much to the inquiry's work.

Since the death of Mahsa Amini—whose Kurdish name was Jina—in September of last year, the Australian government, along with many other like-minded states, has led international efforts to hold the Iranian government to account for its use of violence to deny basic human rights to its very own citizens—things that we take for granted every single day, like being able to protest and being able to speak your mind freely without the actions of a government. Australia co-sponsored and advocated the United Nations Human Rights Council resolution to establish an independent fact-finding mission to investigate human rights violations in Iran. Australian officials also engaged in the campaign to remove Iran as a member of the United Nations Commission on the Status of Women. I do note with regret that this appointment was made at all. It occurred back in April 2021, with the endorsement of the Asia-Pacific grouping that Australia was part of.

The Australian government has imposed Magnitsky-style sanctions on individuals and entities in Iran that are connected to the violence perpetrated by the Iranian government against its citizens, and also on individuals and entities involved in the production and supply of drones to the Russian Federation. Of course, the Australian government has also put its condemnation of the actions of the Iranian government directly to Iran's diplomatic representatives, both to the Iranian embassy here in Canberra and through Australia's ambassador in Iran.

With all these actions in mind, the political narrative that is at times pervasive throughout the committee's report is somewhat disappointing. All members of the committee—and indeed, I would think, all members of this chamber—are of the same view in their condemnation of the Iranian government and its recent behaviour. The past practice of the foreign affairs, defence and trade committee has been to ensure that, as much as possible, reports on such matters have been agreeable to members of both the government and the opposition. This is because Australians expect that, wherever possible, foreign policy is developed and executed in a bipartisan manner. As members of the Senate can see, government senators provided additional comments, and it is with regret that the practice that has been followed in the past was not followed in this case with respect to this report. The hope is that, in the future, the business of the committee when dealing with such matters will be conducted in a similar fashion as in previous committees.

With that in mind, I'll turn back to the matter that has—and rightly so—been the focus of this place, as was the case earlier today in question time: the concerning conduct of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, the IRGC. I want to make a few comments with specific regard to the recommendation from the report to list the IRGC as a terrorist organisation. The actions of the IRGC are unacceptable. They must be held to account, and so I understand why people, rightly, are seeking every possible option to take action against the IRGC. But, within the context of Australian law, the purpose of listings under the Criminal Code is to make it easier to prosecute individuals in Australia for supporting terrorist organisations. Australian law does not regard listing as a foreign policy tool to increase pressure on foreign governments.

That being said, the Australian government is very much focused on taking meaningful steps to increase pressure on the IRGC and to hold them to account. That is why the government has sanctioned 29 Iranians and eight entities under the Magnitsky-style and autonomous sanction regimes. These include designations on nine IRGC officials and five IRGC linked entities.

Federal Labor's concern about the conduct of the IRGC predates the ongoing protests, which is why the former Labor government sanctioned the IRGC as a whole in 2012. So let me be very clear: the only party in government that has so far put sanctions on the IRGC has been federal Labor. But unlike the previous government, who spent a whole decade talking about action, federal Labor is the one who has actually taken the decisive action whilst only having been in government in the last six months. Those opposite sat on their hands for a decade, and, unfortunately, it was this government that had to come in to clean up that mess and to correct the wrong. But we are very keen to see further meaningful action in the future against these types of organisations.

Again, I want to share and echo the remarks by the chair in her statement earlier about thanking those individuals and organisations who made a contribution to the inquiry. It is something that can be quite confronting. It does take a lot of courage, especially when you travel to Canberra and make very emotional public statements on the record. We did see quite a number of witnesses who found the whole process somewhat overwhelming, but it was really good to see their contribution. If they do watch over, or even read, our remarks tonight, I want to say thank you to each and every one of them for making the time to come to Canberra to make a contribution, because every part of their story has actually made a difference. It's made a difference in terms of how we've presented our report and how we've drafted the report but also the attention that this issue deservedly warrants across not just the Australian media but the international media cycle. The more focus and the more pressure we place on the Iranian government, the more there will be outcomes that are much more satisfactory for both individuals and their families.

I want to place my solidarity with the Iranian people on the record here in the Senate. Your cause is just, and your persistence is certainly something that we are all very much supportive of. This violent oppression is a disgrace, but remain focused on the course, because together we will be able to deliver good outcomes.

I seek leave to continue my remarks later.

Leave granted; debate adjourned.