ddrg/super_eurlex huggingface dataset:
B4-0841/98

Resolution on capital punishment in the Philippines

The European Parliament,

A. whereas the Council of Foreign Ministers in June 1998 decided to step up EU action against the death penalty, partly through EU demarches in cases where an official or de facto moratorium on the death penalty is to be ended,

B. whereas the last execution in the Philippines took place in 1976, with over 600 prisoners now under sentence of death,

C. whereas the newly elected President, according to a Reuters report, has said on radio that he would not grant clemency to Leo Echegaray, one of those under sentence of death,

The European Parliament,

1. Confirms its opposition to capital punishment as such;

2. Calls on the President of the Philippines to use his powers under the constitution with a view to upholding the de facto moratorium on the death penalty;

3. Calls on the Council to remind the Government of the Philippines of the importance the EU attaches to the abolition of capital punishment;

4. Instructs its President to forward this resolution to the President and Government of the Philippines, the Council and the Commission.

10
B4-1094/98, 0077 and 0081/99

Resolution on the relocation by the Xerox Corporation

The European Parliament,

- having regard to Directive 75/129/EEC, as amended by Directive 92/56/EEC, on the approximation of the laws of the Member States relating to collective redundancies,

- having regard to Directive 94/45/EC on the establishment of a European Works Council or a procedure in Community-scale undertakings and Community-scale groups of undertaking for the purposes of informing and consulting employees,

- having regard to its resolution of 13 November 1996 on industrial restructuring and relocation in the European Union ((OJ C 362, 2.12.1996, p. 147.)),

A. whereas the Xerox Corporation has announced a reorganisation of economic activity and jobs in Mitcheldean in England and Venray in the Netherlands,

B. noting that the Mitcheldean and Venray plants are Xerox's most efficient manufacturing operation in the world and have enjoyed excellent industrial relations,

C. whereas Xerox is a major employer in the Venray area and the main employer in Mitcheldean; whereas no compulsory redundancies have yet been announced,

D. welcoming, on the other hand, the Xerox Corporation's announcement of an increase of up to 1000 jobs in its total European manufacturing workforce as a consequence of its new plant in Dundalk,

E. disappointed and concerned at the limited consultation with employees' representatives or local government in Mitcheldean,

F. worried that EU financial support can on occasion enable Member States to attract companies from other parts of the Union with subsidies and extremely low taxes,

1. Calls on the Commission to end situations by which the Union and Member States directly and indirectly subsidise relocation within the Union;

2. Points out that the creation of employment in the Dundalk region is an important support for peace and reconciliation in the border area and welcomes in principle the initiative to create jobs in the region;

3. Calls on the Commission to report to Parliament on whether the conditions offered to Xerox Corporation by the authorities in Ireland are in accordance with EU laws and regulations;

4. Calls on the Commission to report to Parliament on whether Xerox Corporation has fulfilled all requirements for worker information and consultation under EU law;

5. Calls on the Commission to indicate to what extent the proposals with regard to harmful tax competition may offer a solution in similar cases in the future;

6. Welcomes the fact that Xerox is considering individual requests from personnel with appropriate skills in Mitcheldean and Venray to move to the Dundalk facility;

7. Instructs its President to forward this resolution to the Council, the Commission and the UK, Dutch and Irish governments.
B4-0900, 0919, 0930 and 0941/98

Resolution on capital punishment in Iran

The European Parliament,

- having regard to its previous resolutions on human rights in Iran,

A. whereas in July 1998 Ruhu¨llah Rawhani was hanged in Iran, charged with converting a Muslim to the Baha'i religion, the first such execution since 1992, but the latest of more than 200 executions of Baha'i since the Islamic revolution of 1979,

B. whereas Mary Robinson, the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, protested against the execution and urged Iran not to execute three other Baha'is imprisoned in the town of Mashad,

C. whereas it is reported that on 29 September 1998 confirmation was received of death sentences on two Baha'is in Mashad prison while a third is reported to have been sentenced to a ten-year prison term,

1. Calls upon the authorities in Iran not to carry out any death sentences, notably those recently passed on Sirus Zabih-Moghaddam and Hedayat-Kashefi Najafabadi;

2. Deplores the fact that, after a six-year break, death sentences against Baha'is in Iran are once again being carried out;

3. Expresses its concern about the rising number of executions in Iran and the continuing cruel, inhumane and degrading punishments and deaths under torture as in the case of Ali Akbar Akbari;

4. Is concerned that the Iranian Government has not allowed the UN special representative to visit the country;

5. Calls upon the Council and the Commission to put pressure on the Iranian Government with a view to preventing any further executions;

6. Instructs its President to forward this resolution to the Council, the Commission and the Government of Iran.

15
Thursday 6 May 19991.10.1999 EN C 279/421 Official Journal of the European Communities
26. Human rights
(a) B4-0461, 0473, 0475, 0480, 0496 and 0502/99
Resolution on the issue of the death penalty and a universal moratorium on capital punishment
The European Parliament ,
− having regard to its previous resolutions on the death penalty,
A. recalling the 1994 UN General Assembly resolution on establishing a universal moratorium on the
death penalty, which was rejected by only eight votes,
B. recalling the 1997 UN Commission on Human Rights resolution (E/CN.4/1997/L.20) which said that
the abolition of the death penalty helps reinforce human dignity and extend basic rights,
C. recalling the 3 April 1998 UN Commission on Human Rights resolution (E/CN.4/1998/L.20), calling
for the establishment of a universal moratorium on the death penalty,
D. welcoming the fact that the resolution on the issue of the death penalty submitted this year to the UN
Commission on Human Rights was the fruit of an initiative taken by the Union as such, sponsored by72 countries, and was adopted on 28 April 1999 by 30 votes to 11 with 12 abstentions,
E. whereas the text of the resolution adopted regrettably failed to make explicit reference to tabling a
resolution calling for the establishment of a universal moratorium on capital punishment at theforthcoming UN General Assembly,
1. Welcomes the adoption, on the Union’s initiative, of the resolution on the abolition of the death
penalty by the UN Commission on Human Rights;
2. Supports present-day thinking on human rights amongst the peoples of the European Union, which
insists on the dignity of each human person, in that the dignity of the offended person and that of theoffender must be equal, and insists that the desire for and performance of justice must be dispassionate;
3. Stresses that the UN Commission on Human Rights’ adoption, for the third year in succession, of a
resolution calling for the abolition of the death penalty, and the fact that a growing number of countries issponsoring these resolutions, constitute the requisite premises for a principle of international law, whichshould now be affirmed by the UN General Assembly;
4. Reiterates, therefore, its request to the Council, and to the German Presidency-in-Office in particular,
to take whatever steps may be necessary to ensure that the Cologne European Council decides to call, onbehalf of the European Union, for the issue of the moratorium to be entered on the agenda for the next UNGeneral Assembly;
5. Calls on the Council to instruct the coming Finnish Presidency-in-Office to table, on behalf of the
Union, and before 20 August 1999, a formal request that the issue of the universal moratorium on capitalpunishment be entered on the agenda for the next UN General Assembly, and to take all requisite steps toachieve this;
6. Instructs its President to forward this resolution to the Council and Commission and to the
parliaments of the Member States.
B4-0382, 0394, 0409 and 0420/99

Resolution on Niger

The European Parliament,

A. whereas the President of Niger, General Ibrahim Baré Maïnassara, was assassinated on 9 April 1999 by members of the presidential guard which had brought him to power in the military coup of 27 January 1996 which deposed the elected president, Mahamane Ousmane,

B. whereas the parliament was immediately dissolved, and its president was not allowed to take over in an interim capacity in line with the Constitution's provisions in case of a power vacuum,

C. whereas the head of the presidential guard, Commander Wanké, set up a National Reconciliation Council consisting exclusively of military personnel, which immediately named him as head of state,

D. whereas the National Reconciliation Council has usurped the legislative and executive powers,

E. whereas the climate of tension has now been further aggravated by the recent annulment by the Constitutional Court of the results of the local and regional elections of February 1999, which were to have completed the process of restoration of democracy, and which had been won by the opposition,

The European Parliament,

1. Condemns unequivocally the assassination of President Baré Maïnassara and reaffirms that governments must be changed by democratic and legal means;

2. Calls for the immediate restoration of the constitutional order and for the transfer of power to an interim civilian government;

3. Calls for the full respect of fundamental human rights and freedoms in Niger, and believes that only a full democratic process through internationally supervised elections and an independent judicial system will give stability to Niger;

4. Calls on the Commission to suspend development cooperation under the Lomé Convention, but asks for continued humanitarian aid and for assistance, directly provided by NGOs, for the most vulnerable sectors of the population;

5. Instructs its President to forward this resolution to the Council, the ACP-EU Council of Ministers, the Commission, the OAU Secretary-General and the UN Secretary-General.

7
20. Human rights: Tunisia
B5-0905, 0918, 0933, 0936 and 0937/2000
European Parliament resolution on Tunisia
The European Parliament,
Ldash havingregardtoitspreviousresolutions,andinparticular thatof15June2000(1),onthesituationin
Tunisia,
A. whereas the EU-Tunisia Association Agreement lays down the promotion of human rights as a key
element and, in that spirit, introduces a political dialogue; regrets the fact that this frank and open
dialogue has not sufficed to encourage the Tunisian authorities to advance along the path of democ-racy and human rights, to which they have formally committed themselves,
B. whereas the recent speech by President Ben Ali, which he gave in connection with the celebration of
the 13th anniversary of the change of 7 November 1987, took the line of outlining the path to befollowed and the steps to be taken to ensure the progress of the democratic and pluralist process in
Tunisia, which has not progressed at the same speed as economic reforms,
C. having regard tothe recent measures resulting in restrictions onthe operation of the Tunisian League
for Human Rights (LTDH), which has long been established in the country, the proceedings instigatedagainst Mr MoncefMarzouki, the restrictions placed onthe activities ofthe NationalCouncilforFree-doms in Tunisia (CNLT) and the very worrying situation of the prisoners of conscience who are onhunger strike,
D. concerned about the human rights situation, in particular with regard to freedom of expression and
freedom of association for members of human rights organisations or of the democratic political
opposition,
E. drawing the attention of the Tunisian authorities to the harmful consequences of the continued exis-
tenceofsuchsituations,which restrict thefreedomofactionoforganisationscampaigning forrespectfor human rights and for democratic progress in Tunisia,
1. Calls on the Tunisian authorities immediately to cease all forms of harassment and repression of
associations campaigning for the rule of law in Tunisia, and in particular the LTDH, the CNLT and their
representatives;
2. Expresses its concern about the state of health of many prisoners in Tunisia who have embarked on
a hunger strike;
3. Callsonthe CouncilandtheCommission,whohave frequentlyadvocatedconstructive dialoguewith
Tunisia, touseallthemeansprovidedforbytheAssociationAgreement betweentheEuropean UnionandTunisia to secure respect for democratic freedoms and human rights;
4. Calls for the next meeting of the EU-Tunisia Association Council, which is scheduled for February
2001, to examine, in particular, the human rights situation in Tunisia and the restrictions placed on the
activities of independent associations, in the context of the MEDA-Democracy programme;
5. Instructs its President to forward this resolution to the Council, the Commission, and the Govern-
ment and Parliament of Tunisia.
(1) ‘Texts Adopted’, Item 10.C 232/356 EN17.8.2001 Official Journal of the European Communities
Thursday 14 December 2000
24. British submarine in Gibraltar
B5-0894/2000
European Parliament resolution on the British nuclear submarine in Gibraltar
The European Parliament,
A. whereas the British nuclear submarine ‘Tireless’ entered the port of Gibraltar in May this year, for
repair, after suffering what has been described as a ‘small crack in a cooling pipe near its nuclearreactor’,
B. whereas there are Community rules on the protection of the general public from ionising radiation,
C. whereas the Commission has written to the United Kingdom Government requesting appropriate
information on the conditions under which the submarine is being repaired,
D. whereas the Spanish and British authorities are in close contact to ensure a permanent follow-up of
the situation and of the repairs being carried out,
1. Appreciates the concerns of the surrounding population at the situation and points out that the
incident also touches the crew-members and their families;
2. Considers that keeping the population informed is of the utmost importance, not only in objective
termsandforobjectivereasons,butalsobecauseofpublicsensitivityinnuclearmatters,howeversmalltheamount of nuclear material involved;
3. Calls upon the Commission to inform the European Parliament of the answers given by the United
Kingdom Government to its request for information and to state its view on the applicability to this caseof Directives 96/29/Euratom (Article 50) and 89/618/Euratom (Article 5), together with 92/3/Euratom inthe event of shipment of radioactively-contaminated water;
4. Requests the Commissionto play its part, in conjunction with the Governments of the United King-
dom and Spain in the search for the safest solution for the repair of this submarine, while keeping thegeneral public informed and reassured;
5. Calls upon the Commission to keep the European Parliament fully informed of the steps taken to
ensure that Community obligations in this case are respected;
6. Instructs its President to forward this resolution to the Commission, the Council and the govern-
ments and parliaments of the Member States and the candidate states.17.8.2001 EN C 232/365 Official Journal of the European Communities
Thursday 14 December 2000
7. Côte d’Ivoire
B5-0049, 0063, 0077 and 0087/2000
European Parliament resolution on the situation in Côte d’Ivoire
The European Parliament,
Udash having regard to its previous resolutions on Côte d’Ivoire,
Udash having regard to the Declaration by the Council Presidency of 30 December 1999 on the situation in
Côte d’Ivoire,
A. mindful of the military coup d’état led by General Robert Guei, which deposed President Henri Kon
Bedié on 24 December 1999,
B. whereas a caretaker government was formed in the wake of the coup d’état; whereas the country’s new
leaders have announced that new free and fair elections are to be organised,
C. whereas the restoration of a democratic and legitimate system is crucial to further cooperation
between the EU and Côte d’Ivoire; noting that on 7 January 2000 the Commission proposed to theCouncil that consultations commence with the ACP countries with a view to the possible suspensionof cooperation with Côte d’Ivoire, pursuant to Article 366a of the Lomé Convention,
D. whereas corruption is one of the most destabilising factors in African countries,
E. whereas human rights abuses and military-led attempts to overthrow democratic institutions represent
an ever-increasing danger in many West African countries;
F. mindful of the fact that in July 1999 the summit of the Organisation for African Unity strongly con-
demned military coups and advocated isolating régimes which had taken power by force,
1. Condemns the military coup d’état staged in Côte d’Ivoire on 24 December 1999;
2. Asks the caretaker government to heed the call by Ecowas and organise free and open elections
in June 2000, with international observers present and reliable voter lists, with a view to restoring demo-cratic legitimacy to the institutions in Côte d’Ivoire;
3. Notes the willingness on the part of the new authorities to guarantee the safety of property and
individuals, to restore state authority, to strengthen democracy and to defuse the ethnic tensions whichhave contributed to aggravating the situation in the country; urges the authorities in Côte d’Ivoire to hon-
our these undertakings;
4. Calls in particular for freedom of expression and respect for human rights in Côte d’Ivoire to be
guaranteed;
5. Stresses that the fight against corruption should be a priority in Côte d’Ivoire and a major objective
of the EU-ACP partnership, with specific ACP-EU cooperation programmes being adopted to tackle theissue;
6. Notes the Commission’s proposal to the Council pursuant to Article 366a of the Lomé Convention
and calls for consultations to commence between the EU and the ACP countries with a view to the poss-ible suspension of cooperation between the EU and Côte d’Ivoire;
7. Instructs its President to forward this resolution to the Council, the Commission, the Government of
Côte d’Ivoire, the ACP Council, the Secretary General of the OAU and the Co-Presidents of the ACP-EUJoint Assembly.24.10.2000 EN C 304/207 Official Journal of the European Communities
Thursday 20 January 2000
15.

Is of the opinion that an effective urban mobility policy should take into account the transport of persons as well as of freight and must therefore be based on as fully integrated an approach as possible, bringing together the solutions best suited to each individual problem; firmly believes that urban areas have economically sound potential to offer for further modal shift policies in favour of public transport, walking, and cycling and for a new approach to urban logistics; considers it essential in this connection to focus on technological innovation (wider use of ITSs), better exploitation of existing infrastructure, especially by means of demand management measures (congestion charges and road pricing), and innovative solutions for the optimum integration of urban freight flows; and, lastly, new ways to optimise the use of private cars such as car-sharing, carpooling and arrangements for working at home;
5.

Calls on the EU institutions and Member States to take action to prevent similar situations in the future, through cooperation and the application of EU guidelines to find solutions in similar cases; asks the Commission to monitor and assess the application of EU asylum law in the Member States, and in particular in cases involving sexual orientation, and to report to the European Parliament; underlines the fact that the Commission has announced, for 2008, amendments to the Dublin Regulation and the Qualifications Directive which will address the issues raised in this resolution;
A.

whereas an EU-Egypt Action Plan was signed in March 2007 within the Association Council set up by the Euro-Mediterranean Agreement establishing an association between the European Communities and their Member States, of the one part, and the Arab Republic of Egypt, of the other part; whereas that Action Plan sets out priorities among which particular attention should be given to enhancing the effectiveness of institutions entrusted with strengthening democracy, the rule of law and the promotion of human rights in all their aspects,
B.

whereas microcredit has permitted the extremely successful development of self-help employment projects, while also enabling the improvement of living conditions, and is also an important vehicle for the empowerment of women,
B.

whereas, ever since its use by the allied forces in the first war against Iraq, there have been serious concerns about the radiological and chemical toxicity of the fine uranium particles produced when such weapons impact on hard targets; whereas concerns have also been expressed about the contamination of soil and groundwater by expended rounds that have missed their targets and their implications for civilian populations,
15.

Calls emphatically on the Commission to be more ambitious in combating sulphur and nitrogen oxide emissions, as well as solid waste from ships; in this connection, reiterates the need for closer cooperation with the International Maritime Organization (IMO) and, in particular, its calls for: — the introduction of nitrogen oxide emission standards for ships using EU ports; — the designation of the Mediterranean Sea, the Black Sea and the North-East Atlantic as Sulphur Emission Control Areas (SECAs) under the International Convention for the Prevention of Pollution from Ships (Marpol Convention); — the reduction of the maximum permitted sulphur content in marine fuels used in SECAs by passenger vessels from 1,5 % to 0,5 %; — the introduction of fiscal measures, such as taxes or charges on sulphur dioxide and nitrogen oxide emissions from ships and the identification of ways of imposing such measures and charges on all ships, regardless of flag, putting into Community ports or sailing within the waters of EU Member States; — promotion of the introduction of differentiated harbour and waterway charges to favour ships with low sulphur dioxide and nitrogen oxide emissions; — the gradual introduction of a requirement for ships at ports to use land-based electricity — a proposal for an EU directive on the quality of marine fuels;
34.

Expresses concern at the economic situation in Kosovo and the adverse influence which the slow pace of reforms, widespread corruption and organised crime are having on the economy and on the credibility of Kosovo's institutions; emphasises the need for the Kosovo Government to make genuine efforts to secure further transparency and accountability and to strengthen links between the political level and civil society; calls on the Kosovo Government to use both public and international donors' money in a transparent and accountable manner, and urges the Commission to help Kosovo move closer to European standards in the fields of public-sector accountability and economic transparency; regards this as essential for creating an attractive environment for investment and business development;
5.

Underlines the need to address the culture of impunity in Kenya in order to bring those responsible for the post-election violence a year ago to justice; calls for the setting-up of an independent commission, consisting of local and international legal experts, to carry out investigations and prosecutions; notes that President Kibaki and Prime Minister Odinga have agreed in theory to create such a commission, but that it has yet to be formed;