B4-0490, 0494, 0517 and 0558/94

Resolution on the detention of health professionals in Iraq refusing to carry out amputations and branding

The European Parliament,

A.having regard to Decree No 59 of the Revolutionary Command Council of Iraq, adopted on 4 July 1994, prescribing the amputation of the right hand and wrist of offenders who have been convicted of theft, and amputation of the left foot on conviction for a second theft,

B.having regard to Decree No 109 of the Revolutionary Command Council of Iraq, issued on 18 August 1994, declaring that anyone who has their hand amputated for theft should also have an X-shaped mark branded on their forehead,

C.having regard to Decree No 115 of the Revolutionary Command Council of Iraq, adopted on 25 August 1994, stipulating the amputation of ears for any army deserters, draft evaders and for anyone who shelters an evader or a deserter,

D.having regard to Decree No 117 of the Revolutionary Command Council of Iraq, passed on 25 August 1994, stating that anyone who assists in the removal of the mark made by branding or who performs plastic surgery on the amputated hand or ear will be subjected to the same punishment,

E.having regard to the international codes of medical ethics set out in the Tokyo Declaration of the World Medical Association 1975, the principles of medical ethics of the United Nations 1982, and the International Nurses' statement on nurses and torture 1989, which prohibit the participation of doctors in inflicting cruel, inhuman and degrading punishment,

F.appalled that Iraqi health professionals are being forced to carry out these procedures under threats of imprisonment, and concerned by the Amnesty International report that nine doctors who refused to perform such operations have been arrested,

1.Demands that the Iraqi authorities rescind the abovementioned decrees that institute amputation and branding as judicial punishments and which contravene the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, ratified by Iraq on 25 January 1971;

2.Condemns these barbarous practices and calls on the Iraqi Government to put an immediate end to them;

3.Calls on the Iraqi Government to release immediately all the doctors who have been imprisoned for refusing to carry out punitive branding and/or amputations;

4.Demands that the Iraqi authorities respect the internationally recognized ethical obligations of health professionals;

5.Calls on the Council and the Commission to exert pressure on Iraq to ensure that such atrocities are stopped and eliminated from Iraqi law;

6.Instructs its President to forward this resolution to the Commission, the Council, the Secretary-General of the UN, the Secretary-General of the Arab League and the Government of Iran.