frsrdg · GW04OSSE1 · 2009-05-28 00:00:00 — Recognizing that water is of vital importance to human life and that it is an element of the human right to life and dignity, Noting the severity of water management issues and the scarcity of water resources faced by many states in the region, affected in particular by unregulated social and economic activities, including urban development, industry, and agriculture, Concerned by the impact of poor water management systems on human health, the environment, the sustainability of biodiversity and aquatic and land-based eco-systems, affecting political and socio-economic development, Concerned by the more than 100 million people in the pan-European region who continue to lack access to safe drinking water and adequate sanitation, Concerned by those areas and people in the North American region of the space without access to safe drinking water and sanitation, Concerned by the potential for water management issues to escalate if options to address and reverse the problem are not duly considered and implemented, Recognizing the importance of good environmental governance and responsible water management for the governments of participating States, Applauding the work of the Preparatory Seminar for the which took place in 2001 in and which focused on water resource management and the promotion of regional environmental co-operation in South-Eastern Europe, Applauding the work of the 15th Economic and and its preparatory meetings, challenges to ensure environmental security and sustainable development in the area: , held in , , Applauding the OSCEs and Security adopted at the 2007 which draws attention to water management as an environmental risk which may have a substantial impact on security in the region and which might be more effectively addressed within the framework of multilateral co-operation, Expressing support for the efforts made to date by several participating States of the to deal with the problem, including the workshop on water management organized by the in in 2007 for experts from Central and the Caucasus, The Parliamentary Assembly: Calls on the participating States to undertake sound water management to support sustainable environmental policies; Recommends that the participating States pursue and apply the measures necessary to implement the 2007 and Security; Recommends that such water management and oversight activities include national, regional and local co-operative initiatives that share best practices and provide support and assistance amongst each other; Recommends that the participating States adopt the multiple barrier approach to drinking water protection, with particular attention to water tables, in their national, regional and local regulations to ensure that people living throughout the space have access to safe drinking water; Recommends that the participating States consider developing more effective national, sub-national and local results-based, action-oriented and differentiated approaches to sound water management policies; Encourages the participating States to continue their work with other regional and international institutions and organizations with respect to water management solutions, providing for the of supranational arbitral commissions with decision-making powers delegated by the States. RESOLUTION ON ENCOURAGING TRANSPARENCY IN THE EXTRACTIVE INDUSTRIES 1.Recognizing that a lack of transparency in the oil, gas, and mining industries, especially in countries that depend heavily on income from these sectors, often goes hand-in-hand with government corruption, 2.Recognizing that two thirds of the world's poorest people live in resource rich countries, 3.Recognizing that corruption often siphons off funds into the hands of the few, leaving the many mired in poverty, 4.Recognizing that revenue transparency is key to ensuring accountability. If citizens and civil society know what their governments receive for the right to extract natural resources, they have the means to hold public officials accountable, 5.Praising the progress made toward greater transparency in the extractive industries (oil, gas and mining) through the Transparency Initiative, The Parliamentary Assembly: 6.Encourages governments and companies involved in the extractive industries to proactively report in all areas relevant to revenue transparency on a country-by-country basis; 7.Encourages governments and appropriate regulatory agencies to introduce mandatory revenue transparency reporting for the operations of companies at home and abroad; 8.Encourages governments from oil and gas producing countries to introduce regulations that require all companies operating in their territories to make public information relevant to revenue transparency. RESOLUTION ON ILLICIT AIR TRANSPORT OF SMALL ARMS AND LIGHT WEAPONS AND THEIR AMMUNITION Recalling the PA 2005 resolution on Small Arms and Light Weapons and its 2006 and 2007 resolutions on the illicit air transportation of Small Arms and Light Weapons (SALW), Recalling the conclusions of the 21 2007 meeting of the Forum for Security Co-operation on Illicit Trafficking by Air of Small Arms and Light Weapons, Welcoming the progress reached within the for Security Co-operation (FSC), in particular the growing and possibly imminent consensus on the text of a Best Practice Guide on the illicit air transportation of SALW as well as a Questionnaire on national practices in this field, Welcoming the participation in and contribution to the third United Nations Biannual Meeting of States on the UN Programme of Action on SALW (BMS III) in in 2008, Welcoming the proposals and the initiatives to be discussed in the Forum for Security Co-operation on further norm-setting on SALW in general and the implementation of the Principles on the Control of Brokering in particular, Regretting that since our last resolution we have had to witness yet again the devastating effects on human security of the uncontrolled and illegal spread of SALW and their ammunition in many parts of the world, Underscoring that very often the SALW and the ammunition used in armed conflicts outside the area originate from within the area, Underscoring yet again our joint responsibility in tackling illicit trafficking in small arms and light weapons, The Parliamentary Assembly: 9.Calls upon the participating States voluntarily to report to the FSC on implementation of the conclusions of the 21 2007 meeting and, in particular to: criminalize the violation of arms embargoes; engage in a dialogue with the air cargo transportation sector with a view to closing the loopholes on illegal transportation of small arms and light weapons; promote the wider introduction and use of air traffic control systems; promote the use of air traffic control data for purposes of post-fact analysis and of prevention or control of flights suspected of engaging in trafficking small arms and light weapons; Calls upon the participating States to ensure proper management of SALW stocks and ammunition as well as the destruction of surpluses and encourages participating States and for Co-operation to provide assistance for this purpose; Calls upon participating States to support and implement national, regional and international efforts and regulations on arms trade, export licensing and brokering; Calls upon all participating States and all for Co-operation to spare no efforts in ensuring a successful outcome of the 2008 UN BMS III, aiming at a better and broader implementation of the UN Programme of Action on SALW; Calls upon the participating States to reach consensus on and implement on the illicit air transportation of SALW and their ammunition and to provide answers to the questionnaire by the set date of 2009; Calls upon the participating States and the for Co-operation to discuss the issue of illicit trafficking of small arms and light weapons, in the appropriate regional fora in and of which they are also members; Encourages participating States to promote and engage in international co-operation, particularly in and with , to create better conditions to combat illicit trafficking of small arms and light weapons. Referring to the Ministerial Declaration on the 20th Anniversary of the Disaster at the Chernobyl Nuclear Plant (MC.DOC/3/05Corr.1 as of ), as well as the and Security (MC.DOC/4/07 as of ), Conscious of the long-term nature of the consequences of the disaster at the Chernobyl Nuclear Plant, which was a major technological catastrophe in terms of its scope and complexity and created humanitarian, environmental, social, economic and health consequences and problems of common concern, requiring for their solution wide and co-operation and co-ordination of efforts in this field at the international and national levels, Expressing profound concern at the ongoing effects of the consequences of the accident on the lives and health of people, in particular children, in the affected areas of , , as well as in other affected countries, Acknowledging the importance of the national efforts being undertaken by the Governments of , to mitigate and minimize the consequences of the Chernobyl disaster, Stressing the exceptional Chernobyl-related needs, in particular in the areas of health, environment and research, in the context of the transition from the emergency to the recovery phase of mitigation of the consequences of the Chernobyl disaster, Noting that the Chernobyl Nuclear Plant continues to pose a potential threat in the centre of Europe, Commending the international community for the efforts to raise funds and attract scientific and technical potential to increase safety of the Shelter, Noting the need to continue the efforts of the participating States to mobilize resources for providing assistance to activities aimed at rehabilitation of the Chernobyl-affected areas, community-based development projects, promotion of investment, creation of new jobs and small and medium businesses, and information activities, Acknowledging that the in the framework of its mandate can constructively contribute to the international co-operation to alleviate the consequences of the Chernobyl accident, including through participation in, and support of, relevant projects, and to provide appropriate assistance and expertise in consultation with the States concerned, The Parliamentary Assembly: Welcomes the contribution made by States and by multilateral intergovernmental and non-governmental organizations to the development of co-operation to mitigate and minimize the consequences of the Chernobyl disaster, as well as bilateral activities in working out concrete projects and mobilizing resources, and underlining the need to continue activities in this direction; Highly appreciates the efforts of the in co-operation with relevant international organizations to support regional and transboundary co-operation on rehabilitation of the land contaminated as a result of the Chernobyl disaster, both to prevent the radionuclide migration and to promote the natural recovery process; Acknowledges the difficulties faced by the most affected countries in minimizing the consequences of the Chernobyl disaster; Takes note with satisfaction of the progress made by the governments of the affected countries in implementing national strategies to mitigate the consequences of the Chernobyl disaster, and calls upon the participating States, multilateral and bilateral donors to continue to align their assistance with the priorities of the national strategies of the affected States, and stresses the importance of working together on their implementation; Welcomes the initiative of the United Nations General to proclaim the third decade after the Chernobyl disaster (2006-2016) as the Decade of Recovery and Sustainable Development of the Affected Regions, to be focused on achieving the goal of a return to normal life for the affected communities as far as is possible within this time-frame; Requests the Secretary General to continue co-ordination, within the existing resources, of the efforts of the in implementing concrete Chernobyl- and Decade-related programmes and projects; Requests the Co-ordinator of the Economic and Environmental Activities, in co-operation with the governments of the affected countries, to continue the activities on minimization of health, environmental, social and economic consequences of the Chernobyl catastrophe and improvement of awareness-raising among the population; Recommends that the President of the Assembly nominates a Special Representative on Chernobyl to assist politically the promotion of issues specified in the present Resolution. RESOLUTION ON URGING ADOPTION OF THE CLUB COMMITMENT REGARDING VULTURE FUNDS Recognizing again that as increasing numbers of specialized asset management companies, commonly known as vulture funds, buy the distressed commercial debt of heavily indebted poor countries (HIPC) and then engage in abusive litigation against those countries, efforts to alleviate poverty through multilateral debt relief are threatened and undermined, Reaffirming the sentiments expressed in the Kyiv participating States provide greater legal and technical assistance to HIPCs facing possible litigation, and develop a code of conduct on responsible lending for commercial creditors that discourages or prohibits vulture fund profiteering and provides greater legal protection to debtor countries, Reiterating its firm support for ensuring that debt cancellation continues to provide impoverished countries with the opportunity to start afresh and to devote resources saved as a result of debt relief to essential health, education, and other spending that promotes development and alleviates poverty, Recognizing that attempts to curtail this practice will require concerted action from individual countries, regional government entities like the EU, and institutions such as the and the to ensure that the benefits of debt cancellation go to the people who need them, Applauding and expressing support for the 2007 statement by the Club committing not to sell their claims on HIPC countries to creditors who do not intend to provide debt relief under the HIPC initiative, Acknowledging that the stance by the Club creditors is a model that should be adopted by other countries to prevent developing countries that receive debt relief from being subjected to litigation, The Parliamentary Assembly: Welcomes the statement by the Club countries and their commitment to intensify work to identify concrete measures to tackle this problem; Encourages all participating States, especially those that are not Club members, to formally adopt and implement policies equivalent to the Club commitment, and formally commit not to sell on their claims on HIPC creditors to creditors who do not intend to provide debt relief, further protecting impoverished countries from vulture funds; Encourages all participating States to consider and take other options, including legislation, to reduce the impact of on bilateral and multilateral debt relief initiatives to developing countries; Commits itself to actively engage and co-operate with the IMF, Club in order to develop and strengthen the necessary Codes of Conduct that could prevent from buying debt from indebted countries; Continues to recognize the need to provide financial and technical assistance to HIPCs in defending themselves should they become the target of such lawsuits. RESOLUTION ON COMBATING THE SEXUAL EXPLOITATION OF CHILDREN Acknowledging that according to some estimates as many as 1.2 million children are trafficked each year, Recognizing that cyber space is home to more than one million images of tens of thousands of children being subjected to sexual abuse and exploitation, that the victims portrayed in images of child pornography are getting younger and younger and the images are becoming more graphic and more violent, and that an estimated 200 new images of child pornography are posted daily, Deeply concerned by the impact of all forms of child sexual exploitation on the wellbeing of children, Recalling the 2006 Resolution of the on Combating Trafficking and and Decision No. 9/07 of on the Internet, Deploring child sexual exploitation and abuse in any form, Deeply concerned over the cases that have been brought to light of sexual abuse and/or maltreatment of children by members of peacekeeping forces, private security forces and humanitarian organizations in a number of conflict areas, and stressing the urgent need for the international community to adopt measures of zero tolerance against this crime, Noting that research and law enforcement experience have documented a correlation between possession of child pornography and committing sexual abuse upon a child, and that every image of child pornography that is acquired encourages the further growth of this illicit industry, Commending POLIS for creating an expert forum to facilitate access by participating States law enforcement agencies to best practices and available investigative techniques or software, access to legislative drafting assistance and/or legislative models, and provide awareness-raising information and web links for the public, Noting with deepest regret that no country is immune from child sexual exploitation and that the lives of children are forever altered as a result of exploitation and abuse, The Parliamentary Assembly: Condemns child sexual exploitation in all its forms; Reiterates the call for participating States to ensure that the production, distribution, dissemination, importation, exportation, offering, selling, or possessing of child pornography (regardless of intent to distribute), or any attempt to commit any of these acts, or any complicity or participation in any of these acts, are fully covered under national criminal or penal law, whether such offences are committed domestically or transnationally or on an individual or organized basis, and are punishable by appropriate penalties that take into account their grave nature; Calls on participating States to ratify on the Protection of Children against Sexual Exploitation and Sexual Abuse; Encourages participating States to establish national operational centres, or other structures as appropriate, to increase co-ordination and to involve to the fullest extent possible public-private partnerships to address issues related to child sexual exploitation more effectively; Calls on participating States to collect and store information, in accordance with national provisions on the protection of personal data, on persons convicted of child sexual exploitation or abuse in order to facilitate the apprehension of perpetrators and monitoring of their probation, and to develop, where appropriate, instruments to enable the international exchange of information pertaining to sex offenders convictions and disqualifications among law enforcement agencies; Urges participating States also to provide notice to appropriate officials of another country or countries when a known sex offender intends to to that country or countries and, for that purpose, to ensure that their domestic legislation requires that registered child sex offenders notify the appropriate officials before departure to a foreign country and penalizes those failing to comply; Requests the Secretariat to set up within the POLIS website of its Strategic Matters Unit a multilingual section devoted to combating child sexual exploitation on the Internet; Urges the Secretariat to continue organizing online workshops through the POLIS website on child sexual exploitation on the Internet; Encourages participating States, in accordance with national legislation concerning the protection of personal data, to work not only on a national basis but also on an international basis with Internet service providers, credit card companies, banks, and other relevant corporations to prevent the use of the Internet for commercial child sexual exploitation and to impede payment methods to make the crime less profitable and to address demand for child pornography on the Internet. RESOLUTION ON VIOLENCE AGAINST WOMEN Recognizing that equal opportunities for women and men and the protection of their human rights are essential to peace, sustainable democracy, economic development and therefore to security and stability in the region, Noting that, in its Declaration on the Elimination of Violence against Women (1993), the United Nations General stated that it was convinced of the need for a commitment by States in respect of their responsibilities and a commitment of the international community at large to the elimination of violence against women, Recalling the 2004 Action Plan for Gender Issues and the 2005 Decision 15/05 on Preventing and Combating Violence Against Women which called on participating States to fight violence against women and increase protection of victims, Further recalling the Platform for Action and the resolution (2000), which calls for full and equal participation of women in decision making with regard to conflict prevention as well as in post-conflict reconstruction, and stressing the importance of womens full and equal participation and involvement in all efforts for the maintenance and promotion of peace and security, Alarmed by the increase in the number of women subjected to violence in participating States and the fact that globally, one woman in five is a victim of violence, and raising concern that the issue of domestic violence remains largely invisible in spite of this, The Parliamentary Assembly: Condemns violence against women as a general violation of womens rights as human beings the right to life, dignity, safety, and physical and psychological well-being; Realizes that all kinds of violence, including domestic violence against women are linked with the overall disrespect for womens role in society, and regrets that gender issues are still not visible on the political agenda of the ; Urges the Secretary General, of Institutions and Heads of Missions as day-to-day managers within the Organization to increase efforts in promoting a more gender equal working environment within the in order to set an example for all levels of society in participating States; Repeats its call for participating States to second more women to management level positions and to nominate more female candidates to leadership positions within the , and strongly urges national Parliaments to ensure gender-balance in the composition of the Delegations to the PA; Encourages participating States to recruit more female officers, to set up centres for victims of gender violence, trafficking in human beings and victims of rape, and to ensure flexibility as regards access to and calls on the to provide support and assistance to States in this regard; Urges national Parliaments to ensure adequate legislation to protect women who are victims of domestic violence, including through emancipating victims from vulnerable situations, instituting appropriate restraints on movements by perpetrators, enforcing penalties and sentences, and providing legal assistance, loans and access to property to victims of domestic violence; Calls on the national parliaments in the region to ensure that legislation outlaws all forms of violence against women, including rape, prostitution and trafficking, and institutes appropriate penalties and sentences; Urges increased international co-operation between state institutions and NGOs in order to improve protection for the female victims of violence or trafficking, including awareness-raising and training for those in primary contact with potential victims;