P6_TA(2006)0467

Uzbekistan

European Parliament resolution on Uzbekistan

The European Parliament,

- having regard to its previous resolutions on the Central Asian Republics and Uzbekistan, and in particular to its resolutions of 9 June 2005 [1] and 27 October 2005 [2],

- having regard to the Commission's Strategy Paper for Central Asia 2002-2006

- having regard to the Partnership and Cooperation Agreement between the European Communities and their Member States, of the one part, and the Republic of Uzbekistan, of the other part, which entered into force on 1 July 1999,

- having regard to the conclusions of the meetings of the General Affairs and External Relations Council of 18 July and 3 October 2005,

- having regard to the Council Presidency statements on the human rights situation in Uzbekistan in 2005 and 2006,

- having regard to the report of the UN Working Group on Enforced or Involuntary Disappearances published on 27 December 2005,

- having regard to the trial monitoring report published by the Office for Democratic Institutions and Human Rights of the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE/ODIHR) on 3 March 2006,

- having regard to the report by UN Special Rapporteur on Torture, Manfred Nowak, on civil and political rights, including the question of torture and detention, published on 21 March 2006,

- having regard to the letter on the situation of human rights in Uzbekistan sent by the Permanent Representative of the Republic of Uzbekistan to the UN to the UN Secretary-General on 26 June 2006,

- having regard to Rule 115(5) of its Rules of Procedure,

A. whereas the next meeting of the Cooperation Council between the European Union and the Republic of Uzbekistan is scheduled for 8 November 2006,

B. whereas the General Affairs and External Relations Council is expected to consider on 13 November 2006 whether it will extend the sanctions adopted last year following the events of May 2005 in Andijan,

C. whereas the government of Uzbekistan has not addressed the conditions which the Council set out when sanctions were applied,

D. whereas the government of Uzbekistan has not yet allowed any independent inquiry into the events in Andijan on 13 May 2005, despite the constant and repeated demands made during the past year by various international bodies,

E. whereas following the Andijan massacre in 2005 the Uzbek authorities launched a crackdown on human rights defenders, independent journalists and civil society institutions, putting on trial hundreds of people suspected of involvement in the uprising,

F. whereas according to international human rights organisations there has been no news over the past year of the thousands of people arrested in an attempt to hide the truth; whereas those in detention are at serious risk of being subjected to torture and other ill-treatment; and whereas no observers have been allowed to follow the trials of many of those charged with capital offences,

G. whereas, according to the report by the UN Special Rapporteur on Torture published in March 2006, there has been no fundamental change in the widespread use of torture or in policies and practices that could effectively combat it; whereas no meaningful steps have been taken by the Uzbek government to end the culture of impunity,

H. whereas the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) in Tashkent was closed on 17 March 2006,

I. whereas after the events in Andijan hundreds of Uzbek citizens were obliged to flee to the Kyrgyz Republic and other neighbouring countries; and whereas Uzbek refugees have been extradited to Uzbekistan in flagrant violation of the 1951 UN Convention relating to the Status of Refugees,

J. whereas Uzbek society is largely secular and the limited religious extremism which exists is essentially fuelled by social injustice; and whereas the fight against religious extremism can only be conducted through legal means and not through oppression,

K. whereas civil society in Central Asia, including Uzbekistan, is increasingly calling for a more open society in which individual freedoms and human rights are fully respected, as well as for democratic change,

1. Reiterates the importance of EU-Uzbekistan relations and acknowledges Uzbekistan's crucial role in the Central Asia region, but stresses that those relations must be based on mutual respect for the principles of democracy, rule of law and human rights, as is clearly laid down in the EU-Uzbekistan Partnership and Cooperation Agreement;

2. Calls on the Council to make a considered decision with a view to improved future relations, on 13 November 2006, on the possible extension of sanctions, based on commitments by the Uzbekistan side during the EU-Uzbekistan Cooperation Council on 8 November 2006 and on information obtained by European diplomats based in the area;

3. Points out that the policy of targeted sanctions has not produced positive results so far, and therefore calls on the Commission and Council to review the situation carefully in order to find ways and means of achieving the political objectives set;

4. Insists that the embargo on arms sales and military transfers be continued;

5. Calls on Uzbekistan to cooperate fully with the OSCE and with the UN, especially with regard to the call for a credible and transparent independent enquiry, to comply with international law and to be receptive to any of the UN special procedures for which invitations have been requested and open to OSCE monitors and independent observers;

6. Calls on the Council to take all necessary measures within the UN Human Rights Council to ensure the confidential "1503" procedure does not continue to apply to Uzbekistan and to subject this country to a public mechanism of scrutiny as recommended by Louise Arbour, the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, in her July 2005 report on the Andijan massacre;

7. Urges the Government of Uzbekistan to release all human rights defenders, journalists and political opposition members who are still in detention and to allow them to work freely and without fear of persecution, and to put an end to the harassment of NGOs;

8. Urges the Uzbekistan authorities to permit the reopening of the UNHCR Office in Tashkent;

9. Calls on the Kyrgyz Republic and the other neighbouring countries to fully respect the 1951 UN Convention relating to the Status of Refugees, under which no refugees should be forcibly returned to their country of origin, and thus not to extradite Uzbek refugees to Uzbekistan; urges, in this regard, the Council and the Commission to closely follow the situation of all Uzbek refugees who have already been extradited to Uzbekistan;

10. Instructs its President to forward this resolution to the Council, the Commission, the EU Special Representative for Central Asia, the Presidents, Governments and Parliaments of Uzbekistan and Kyrgyzstan, the Secretary-General of the United Nations and the Secretary General of the OSCE.

[1] OJ C 124 E, 25.5.2006, p. 560.

[2] Texts Adopted, P6_TA(2005)0415.

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