ddrg/super_eurlex huggingface dataset:
(e)

to underline the need for coordinated humanitarian action in Yemen under UN leadership; to urge all parties to allow the entry and delivery of urgently needed food, medicine, fuel and other necessary assistance through UN and international humanitarian channels in order to address the urgent needs of civilians affected by the crisis, in accordance with the principles of impartiality, neutrality and independence; to call for a humanitarian pause to allow life-saving assistance to reach the Yemeni people as a matter of urgency; to call for an impartial and independent investigation into all alleged violations of international human rights law and international humanitarian law, including the latest attacks targeting humanitarian infrastructure and personnel; to call on all parties to respect the human rights and freedoms of all Yemeni citizens, and to stress the importance of improving the security of all those working on peace and humanitarian missions in the country, including aid workers, doctors and journalists; to encourage a policy of rapprochement between Saudi Arabia and Iran in order to defuse regional tensions and as a path towards conflict resolution in Yemen and elsewhere;
16.

Recalls that there cannot be security without development, or development without security; calls for more coherence between security and development actions, for the strengthening of programmes both to promote economic and social development and to fight underdevelopment and the causes and basis of terrorism; recalls the need to provide basic services and support to released people, in particular to ensure the sustainable reintegration of returning refugees into the country; stresses the need to accelerate the consolidation of the administrative structure of the Somali state and of the institutions providing such services;
11.

Supports the Commission and the Member States in the celebration of the 20th anniversary of the EVS; insists that the EVS programme benefits the individuals and organisations involved, as well as society as a whole, and that the EVS should enhance the civic engagement dimension of the Erasmus+ programme; stresses the importance of promoting the EVS to all young people, especially those who are not yet interested in volunteering and mobility, thus creating motivation and changes in attitude, without excluding older generations, since they have an important contribution to make, for example as mentors;
C.

whereas, according to the European Federation of Journalists and the Turkish Journalists’ Association, following the coup attempt of 15 July 2016 the Turkish police have arrested at least 99 journalists and writers, most of whom have had no charges brought against them to date, bringing the number of media workers detained on charges believed to be related to their exercise of the right to freedom of expression to at least 130, as of 20 October 2016; whereas 64 of those journalists arrested after 15 July 2016 have been released; whereas the detained journalists have been denied the right of access to a lawyer and are being kept in inhumane conditions in which they are being threatened and mistreated; whereas there are claims that the co-editors-in-chief of the closed daily newspaper Özgür Gündem, Bilir Kaya and Inan Kizilkaya, have been tortured in prison;
30.

Calls on the Commission to ensure better coordination and a more coherent approach between the REACH and FCM legislation, in particular as regards substances classified as CMRs (categories 1A, 1B and 2) or SVHCs under REACH, and to ensure that harmful substances phased out under REACH are also phased out in FCMs; stresses that, in order to ensure that any danger to public health can be ruled out, the Commission must periodically inform and update Parliament and the Council if certain substances of concern (such as SVHCs, CMRs, bio-accumulative chemicals or certain categories of endocrine disrupting chemicals) that are banned or phased out under REACH or any other legislation are still used in FCMs; calls on the Commission to consider identifying Bisphenol A (BPA) as one of the substances classified as an SVHC;
P.

whereas 5 December 2015 marked the 20th anniversary of the signing of the Budapest Memorandum; whereas Ukraine has respected all of its provisions and has taken proactive positions on the issues of nuclear disarmament and non-proliferation, unlike the Russian Federation, which has violated its commitments by occupying part of Ukraine’s territory (Crimea) and by launching armed aggression in the east of Ukraine; whereas this has created a dangerous precedent, since a state which had guaranteed Ukraine’s security as a response to that country’s decision to join the NPT as a non-nuclear-weapon state violated Ukraine’s sovereignty and territorial integrity and undermined the credibility of, and heavily damaged in general, the instrument of negative security assurances provided by the nuclear weapon state, as well as damaging the NPT and the idea of advancing global nuclear disarmament and non-proliferation on the basis of international law and multilateral treaties; deeply concerned by the statements made in a threatening manner by high-ranking Russian officials that Russia has the right to deploy and host nuclear weapons in Crimea, which would have global consequences; concerned by the new Russian military doctrine of December 2014 which permits the use of nuclear weapons against a state that does not have such weapons;
7.

Stresses the key relevance of European statistical data for formulating plans and policies for the waterborne transport sector, particularly as regards the number of cross-border maritime and inland waterway services provided by both ferries and cruise ships, given that there are areas where transport between different localities can only be undertaken on the water; asks Eurostat to include in their statistical data on maritime cruise passengers ‘port-of-call passenger visits’, namely the number of passengers embarking and disembarking at each transit port, and not only the cruise passengers embarking on holiday each year (turnover); including these numbers would give a more realistic picture of the added value of the cruise sector and of WPT in general;
34.

Firmly believes that the private sector is an important partner in achieving the SDGs and mobilising further resources for development; stresses that, given their increasing role in development cooperation, private-sector actors must align with development effectiveness principles and abide by the principles of corporate accountability throughout the whole lifecycle of projects; acknowledges the efforts of some private- sector actors to take on board human rights commitments, social inclusion and sustainability as core to their business models, and calls for the generalisation of this approach; points out the need for the private sector to respect the principles of international law and social and environmental standards, as well as the UN Global Compact on Human Rights, UN Guiding Principles on Business and Human Rights, ILO core labour standards and the UN Convention Against Corruption; calls on the Commission to ensure that companies operating from tax havens do not participate in ODA-financed projects; underlines in parallel the need for partner countries to foster an enabling environment for businesses, including transparent legal and regulatory systems;
27.

Condemns the use of sexual violence against women and girls as weapons of war, including mass rape, sexual slavery, prostitution and gender-based forms of persecution, including trafficking, as well as sex tourism; stresses the need to combat forced marriages, as defined by the United Nations (UN), including child/early marriage, and calls on the eastern neighbours to consistently oppose any form of exploitation and abuse of women through surrogacy; calls on the EaP states to take steps as a matter of urgency to prevent and prosecute serious crimes of this kind committed within their jurisdiction, and even outside their own territory; stresses the need for sufficient funding for initiatives against violence against women and girls which guarantees longer-term access to effective services for victims and survivors, and should therefore be adequately staffed and resourced; requests that positive measures such as vocational training programmes be taken as a matter of urgency for victims of violence, particularly if they have children in their charge, in order to integrate them into the labour market;
55.

Notes that CITES, the EU Timber Regulation and the EU IUU regulatory framework are important tools for regulating international wildlife trade; is concerned, however, about the lack of proper implementation and enforcement and calls on Member States to step up their joint and coordinated efforts to ensure effective implementation; is concerned, furthermore, about gaps in the current regulatory framework with regard to species and actors; calls, therefore, for the EU to review the existing legislative framework with a view to supplementing it with a prohibition on the making available and placing on the market, transport, acquisition and possession of wildlife that has been illegally harvested or traded in third countries; considers that such legislation could harmonise the existing EU framework and that the transnational impact of such legislation could play a key role in reducing global wildlife trafficking; in this respect, highlights that such legislation must provide full transparency regarding any trade prohibitions of species based on their illegal status in a third country in order to ensure legal certainty for those involved in legal trade;
5.

Reminds the Commission of its commitment to creating a genuine Digital Single Market, of which the facilitation of trade from e-commerce should be a key component; stresses that every economic operator should respect standards on customs processes in order to avoid loopholes in customs procedures, and acknowledges that existing simplified customs procedures should not be taken away from economic operators if they are compatible with safety, security and intellectual property rules, for example in the case of the express delivery operators of low-value shipments, who with the UCC provisions will be subject to standard customs processes that could constitute red tape and hamper growth in e-commerce;
37.

Considers the long-standing brand names (Comenius, Erasmus, Erasmus Mundus, Leonardo da Vinci, Grundtvig and Youth in Action) and their logos to be important tools in promoting the variety of the programme; notes as well that the name of ‘Erasmus+’ is becoming the best known, especially for newcomers; emphasises that the programme should defend its new name ‘Erasmus+’ and should further use different methods to promote awareness; suggests that the Commission should further highlight the relationship of the Erasmus+ programme with the brand names and its wide variety of sub-programmes; calls for the name ‘Erasmus+’ to be added to the individual programmes (so they will be ‘Erasmus+ Comenius’, ‘Erasmus+ Mundus’, ‘Erasmus+ Leonardo da Vinci’, ‘Erasmus+ Grundtvig’ and ‘Erasmus+ Youth In Action’); calls on all stakeholders to continue to use them, especially in publications and brochures, in order to maintain and strengthen the identity of the sectoral programmes, to ensure better recognition and to overcome any confusion among beneficiaries; calls on the Commission to structure the Erasmus+ guide with the aid of the long-standing brand names and to use those labels rigorously in the guide.
15.

Requests that the Commission and the Education, Audiovisual and Culture Executive Agency (EACEA) regularly assess the impact that a number of budgetary arrangements have had on applicants and potential eligible applicants; requests in particular an assessment of whether the reduced rate of pre-financing (from 50 % to 40 % for projects and from 80 % to 50 % for operating grants and national contact points (NCPs)) applied in 2015, owing to an acute shortage of payment appropriations, the need for co-financing and the application of the same parameters irrespective of the actual cost of living and geographical remoteness, may have put — and may continue to put — some types of organisations and specific Member States at a disadvantage; requests, moreover, that they develop further strategies to bring European institutions closer to citizens and to better inform citizens on various EU policies;
35.

Expresses its deep concern over the persisting deterioration of the human rights situation in the DPRK; calls on the Government of the DPRK to fulfil its obligations under the human rights instruments to which it is a party, and to ensure that humanitarian organisations, independent human rights monitors and the UN Special Rapporteur on the situation of human rights in the DPRK have access to the country and are provided with the necessary cooperation; calls on the DPRK to allow freedom of expression and press freedom for national and international media, and to allow its citizens uncensored access to the internet; strongly condemns the systematic use of the death penalty in the DPRK on a large scale; calls on the Government of the DPRK to declare a moratorium on all executions, with a view to abolishing the death penalty in the near future; demands that those responsible for the crimes against humanity committed in the DPRK be held accountable, brought before the ICC and subjected to targeted sanctions; strongly condemns the nuclear tests as an unnecessary and dangerous provocation as well as a violation of the UN Security Council resolutions and a serious threat to the peace and stability in the Korean peninsula and the north-east Asian region; requests the renewal of the mandate of the Special Rapporteur; requests the presentation of the report of the group of experts to the UN General Assembly and Security Council; recommends incorporating in the resolution the key recommendations on accountability from the experts’ report, including strengthening the capacity of the Seoul Office with investigative and prosecutorial expertise, as well as appointing a criminal justice expert to advance the steps towards accountability;
27.

Recalls its resolution of 26 May 2016 stating that the Ombudsperson mechanism set up by the US Department of State is not sufficiently independent and is not vested with sufficient effective powers to carry out its duties and provide effective redress to EU individuals; points out that to date the incoming US administration has not appointed a new Ombudsperson following the end of term of the Under Secretary for Economic Growth, Energy, and the Environment appointed to this role in July 2016; considers that in the absence of an appointed independent and sufficiently empowered Ombudsperson, the US assurances with regard to the provision of effective redress to EU individuals would be null and void; is generally concerned that an individual affected by a breach of the rules can apply only for information and for the data to be deleted and/or for a stop to further processing, but has no right to compensation;
H.

whereas only asylum seekers belonging to a nationality for which the average recognition rate is 75 % or higher, according to the latest available quarterly Eurostat data, are eligible for relocation; whereas Iraqis are no longer eligible for relocation, as their average recognition rate has dropped below 75 %; whereas the European Parliament, in its position of 15 September 2016 on a proposal by the Commission for amending Council Decision (EU) 2015/1601, demanded that Afghans should also be available for relocation; whereas Afghans were the second largest group of asylum seekers which the Union had to deal with in 2016; whereas 56,7 % of them were granted asylum; whereas by far the greatest number of Afghans arrive in Greece; whereas many of them are unaccompanied minors;
8.

Welcomes and acknowledges the efforts made by many heads of EU delegations and their staff and Member States’ ambassadors and their staff to support LGBTI human rights defenders and advocate non-discrimination and equal rights; invites heads of EU delegations and other European External Action Service (EEAS) staff to consult with Parliament and the relevant MEPs whenever they have queries or want to provide Parliament with information, including during the annual Ambassadors’ Conference in September; underlines the importance of knowledge and implementation of the LGBTI Guidelines on the part of EU delegations and Member States’ representations; calls, in this connection, on the EEAS and the Commission to push for a more strategic and systematic implementation of the Guidelines, including through awareness raising and training of EU staff in third countries, in order to effectively raise the issue of LGBTI rights in political and human rights dialogues with third countries and in multilateral fora, and to support efforts by civil society;
9.

Calls for the immediate and unconditional release from jail of all political prisoners, including journalists, human rights defenders and other civil society activists, namely Afgan Mukhtarli, Ilkin Rustamzadeh, Rashad Ramazanov, Seymur Hazi, Giyas Ibrahimov, Mehman Huseynov, Bayram Mammadov, Ilgar Mammadov, Araz Guliyev, Tofig Hasanli, Ilgiz Qahramanov, Afgan Sadygov and others, including, but not limited to, those covered by the relevant judgments of the European Court of Human Rights (ECHR), and calls for all charges against them to be dropped, and for the full restoration of their political and civil rights, also extended to previously imprisoned and since released political prisoners such as Intigam Aliyev, Khadija Ismayilova and others;
21.

Reiterates the need to improve the digital skills of administrative staff, as well as of all citizens and businesses, by developing and supporting training activities at national, regional and local level in order to minimise the risk of digital exclusion, and to introduce specialised training courses on eGovernment services for civil servants and decision-makers; stresses that digital skills are an absolute prerequisite for participating in eGovernment; encourages the development of eLearning curricula that are recognised in the European Credit Transfer and Accumulation System (ECTS) system; considers that a key element of the development of eGovernment is continual growth in the development of digital skills; stresses the need to tackle and prevent digital divides between geographical areas, between people from different socioeconomic levels, and between generations; calls on the Member States to take up the suggestions in the eGovernment Action Plan for enabling young people, in particular, to deal with administrative bodies in ways that reflect their communication habits in other areas of their lives, and further underlines that teaching digital skills is of particular importance in the case of elderly people, who often lack skills or confidence when using e-services; considers that the Member States should promote life-long learning and facilitate communication and educational campaigns, including the creation of networks for media literacy teaching, so that EU citizens may make full use of the capacities offered by the new eGovernment portals and services;
10.

Recalls that the EU’s partnership with Eritrea is governed by the Cotonou Agreement, and that all parties are bound to respect and implement the terms of that agreement, in particular respect for human rights, democracy and the rule of law; calls, therefore, on the EU to ascertain conditionality of its aid, including that the Government of Eritrea should adhere to international obligations on human rights and that the political prisoners should be released before any further EU aid is given to Eritrea; calls, furthermore, on the EU to make use of all available instruments and tools to ensure that the Eritrean Government respects its obligations to protect and guarantee fundamental freedoms, including by considering the launch of consultations under Article 96 of the Cotonou Agreement; requests a detailed and comprehensive assessment of the funds allocated to Eritrea which are financed by the EU and its Member States;
7.

Calls on the Pakistani Government to take urgent action to protect the lives and rights of journalists and bloggers; expresses its concern at the request made by the Pakistani authorities to Twitter and Facebook to disclose information about their users in order to identify individuals suspected of ‘blasphemy’; calls on the Government and Parliament of Pakistan to amend the Prevention of Electronic Crimes Act 2016 and to remove the overly wide-ranging provisions for monitoring and retaining data and shutting down websites on the basis of vague criteria; calls also for all death sentences handed down on charges of ‘blasphemy’ or political dissent to be commuted, including the sentence against Taimoor Raza; calls in this context on the President of Pakistan to make use of his power of clemency;
50.

Underlines the importance of the ratification of ILO Conventions No 182 on the worst forms of child labour and No 138 on the minimum age for admission to employment and work by those countries which have not done so; recalls that the EU is committed to eradicating the worst forms of child labour at a global level, in line with its values, which include the prohibition of child labour in EU external action as enshrined in Article 21 of the TEU; reiterates its call for the harmonisation and strengthening of import and supply chain controls so as to ensure that only forced labour-free, child labour-free and modern slavery-free products enter the EU market; stresses its support for existing initiatives supporting SMEs and small farmers’ organisations with a view to them gaining a larger share of value in GVCs, such as in the case of fair trade; underlines the importance of including the fight against forced labour and child labour in all EU FTAs, through sustainable development chapters, so as to ensure that this objective is shared by trade partners; calls on the Commission and the Member States to vigorously defend this proposal in all international forums including the ILO, the OECD, the UN and the WTO, in order to make progress in the fight against forced labour and child labour; emphasises against this background that the goal of child labour-free products can only be achieved if it goes hand in hand with minimum living wages for the child’s family members;
5.

Recalls the importance of the EU raising the issue of human rights violations in China during every political and human rights dialogue with the Chinese authorities, in line with the EU’s commitment to project a strong, clear and unified voice in its approach to the country, including at the regular and more result-oriented Human Rights Dialogues; recalls, further, that, in the context of its ongoing reform process and increasing global engagement, China has opted into the international human rights framework by signing up to a wide range of international human rights treaties; calls, therefore, for the dialogue with China to be pursued in order to live up to these commitments;