ddrg/super_eurlex huggingface dataset:
B4-0192 and 0230/97

Resolution on illegal migrants

The European Parliament,

- having regard to its previous resolutions on the welfare of migrants,

- having regard in particular to its resolution of 19 September 1996 on expulsions of illegal immigrants ((OJ C 320, 28.10.1996, p. 198.)),

A. noting with concern the drowning of more than 200 migrants in Mediterranean waters coming from Alexandria on Christmas Day 1996, where reports appear to indicate that the ship in which they were carried was deliberately rammed and sunk,

B. concerned there has been no coordinated investigation by Greek, Italian, Maltese or Egyptian authorities,

C. aware that this is but one incident of many where migrants have died or been seriously injured as a result of being transported to Europe in dangerous and inhuman conditions by unscrupulous persons for profit,

D. concerned that those who organize and perpetuate the illegal transport of migrants and who are responsible for countless deaths remain at liberty and free from the threat of prosecution,

E. deploring the grave infringements of the human rights of clandestine migrants who, being promised legitimate work, are entrapped in unpaid and exploitative work as prostitutes, domestic workers, and labourers in the agricultural, catering and construction sectors,

F. noting with concern the particular situation of women and children migrants who are more at risk by reason of their age and gender,

G. noting that 1997 has been designated the European Year Against Racism,

1. Urges the Commission to investigate the abuse of clandestine workers and those who have become clandestine workers;

2. Asks Member States to expedite their efforts to bring to justice those involved in trafficking people and urges improved police cooperation in these matters;

3. Asks that special measures be taken against those third countries that facilitate trafficking in people;

4. Urges Member States to adopt appropriate measures to ensure that the immigration status of migrants does not prevent them from initiating and following through legal action, whether civil or criminal, against persons who have abused them or infringed their human rights;

5. Asks the Council and the Commission to provide all appropriate assistance to those Member States facing the ever-increasing problem of illegal immigration;

6. Requests the Commission to support those organizations which are involved in investigating the abuse of migrants and in campaigning to uphold their human rights;

7. Insists on being informed and consulted on the activities of the Centre for Information, Discussion and Exchange on the Crossing of Frontiers and Immigration (CIREFI) on the basis of Article K.6 of the Treaty on European Union;

8. Further demands that CIREFI accepts two parliamentary representatives as observers;

9. Calls for the forthcoming Euro-Mediterranean Conference to include this item in its agenda;

10. Instructs its President to forward this resolution to the Council, the Commission and the governments and parliaments of the Member States.
B4-0504 and 0536/97

Resolution on the situation in Congo-Brazzaville

The European Parliament,

A. having regard to the fighting in Brazzaville between the regular army, loyal to President Pascal Lissouba, and the militia of the former Head of State Denis Sossou-Nguesso, which has already resulted in several casualties,

B. whereas several countries have already begun to evacuate their citizens and France has sent 800 soldiers to reinforce its troops in Brazzaville to protect French citizens on Congolese territory, and to help with their evacuation,

C. whereas in 1995 a similar outbreak of violence caused some 2000 deaths,

D. disturbed by the threat of further destabilization in the region, already shaken by the conflict in the former Zaire,

The European Parliament,

1. Urges all the parties involved in the conflict to impose and respect a ceasefire as a matter of urgency;

2. Notes the attempted mediation by the President of Gabon, to which the parties to the conflict have responded favourably;

3. Calls on the OAU also to offer international mediation and calls on the Council actively to support such an initiative;

4. Believes that only the holding of free, democratic elections can guarantee the requisite legitimacy of the next Head of State and restore stability to the country;

5. Calls on the Council to push for measures at United Nations level to place the forthcoming elections under international control;

6. Calls on the Member States of the European Union to abstain from military intervention in the Congo until such time as they have obtained a UN mandate to intervene, except with the aim of protecting the safety of their citizens;

7. Instructs its President to forward this resolution to the Council and Commission, the United Nations, the OAU, the co-Presidents of the ACP/EU Joint Assembly and the President and Government of Congo-Brazzaville.
B4-0777, 0780 and 0802/97

Resolution on human rights abuses in Bahrain

The European Parliament,

A. noting with profound alarm the report published in June 1997 by Human Rights Watch/Middle East entitled 'Routine Abuse, Routine Denial: Civil Rights and the Political Crisis in Bahrain', which documents the continuing political crisis in Bahrain, with associated widespread political repression, torture and abuse of detainees, denial of legal representation and reliance for convictions on uncorroborated confessions, and the Amnesty International report of 16 July 1996, which expresses grave concern at continuing human rights abuses in Bahrain and the absence of the protection of due process, and the report by the UK Parliamentary Rights Group,

B. recalling that the Bahraini parliament with its exclusively male representation - women having neither the right to vote nor to stand for election - was dissolved in 1975 and that the ruling Al-Khalifa family has since resisted all calls for the restoration of democratic and constitutional rule,

C. recalling that the current political crisis started in the second half of 1994 with widespread demonstrations and petitions calling for the return of constitutional rule, the release of political prisoners and permission to return for hundreds of Bahrainis forcibly exiled or prevented from returning because of their political activities,

D. observing with deep regret that these moderate demands have been met with arrests, the torture of detainees and wider use of the state security court, the procedures of which fall far short of accepted international standards for a fair trial and against which there is no right of appeal, despite the imposition of death sentences,

E. noting that helicopters and gas supplied from abroad have reportedly been used against civilians,

The European Parliament,

1. Calls upon the Government of Bahrain to release political prisoners, to facilitate the return of exiles and institute due process of law, according to accepted international standards, and to open negotiations with the opposition forces immediately, with a view to holding democratic elections, open to both sexes, at the earliest opportunity;

2. Calls upon European Union Member States to refrain from supplying arms or security support to the Government of Bahrain and requests the Council to take initiatives in order to obtain similar restraint at international level until democratic conditions have been restored;

3. Unequivocally condemns all use of unlawful violence, torture and terrorism whether committed by the security forces or any other agents;

4. Calls upon the Bahraini authorities to admit internationally respected human rights organizations, such as Human Rights Watch and Amnesty International, to the country and allow organizations with similar peaceful democratic concerns to operate there;

5. Instructs its President to forward this resolution to the Council and the Commission, the governments of the Member States, the Secretary-General of the United Nations and the Bahraini Government.
B4-0821/98

Resolution on the possible extension of the death penalty in El Salvador

The European Parliament,

A. whereas on 27 July 1998 President Armando Calderón called on the Legislative Assembly to ratify a motion approved by the previous Assembly in October 1996, which would lead to a change in Article 27 of the 1983 Constitution and would extend the scope of the death penalty to crimes such as rape and violent killings,

B. whereas the argument used to justify the move is the increasing crime rate in the country,

C. whereas the death penalty has not been an effective mechanism in reducing crime levels in those countries where it still exists,

D. whereas, if this proposal goes ahead, El Salvador will be in breach of the American Convention on Human Rights, which it ratified on 23 June 1978,

The European Parliament,

1. Calls on the El Salvador authorities not to extend the scope of the death penalty by preventing ratification of the motion;

2. Reiterates its position that capital punishment, irrespective of the nature of the crime committed, is in itself contrary to human dignity and constitutes a violation of human rights;

3. Instructs its President to forward this resolution to the Commission, the Council, the Government of El Salvador and the San José Group.

10
B4-1078, 1109, 1137, 1141 and 1155/98

Resolution on child soldiers

The European Parliament,

- having regard to the 1989 UN Convention on the Rights of the Child,

- having regard to the 1996 UN report of Mrs Graça Machel (A/51/306) and the appointment of Mr Olara Otunnu as UN Special Representative on the impact of armed conflict on children,

A. whereas more than 300 000 children under the age of 18 are currently taking part in hostilities around the world and many more have been recruited,

B. whereas children suffer disproportionately from the general rigours of military life, both physically and emotionally,

C. whereas since 1993 a UN working group has been considering an optional protocol to the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child, establishing 18 as the minimum age for recruitment in armed forces,

D. welcoming the creation of an 'international coalition' to put an end to the use of child soldiers in the world,

E. whereas four EU Member States to date have a minimum age for recruitment set at 18: Belgium, Denmark, Spain and Sweden,

F. whereas the July 1998 Rome Statute of an International Criminal Court for the first time established that the recruitment and use of child soldiers under the age of 15 constitute a war crime,

G. welcoming the new UN policy regarding minimum ages for participation in UN operations by UN peacekeepers, military observers and civilian police,

1. Rejects the use in hostilities of child soldiers, be it by regular government forces or by armed opposition groups;

2. Believes that an additional protocol to the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child should urgently be adopted which bans the recruitment of children under 18 and their participation in armed conflicts, and calls on the European Union to support international initiatives to this end and to adopt the same laws in their own countries;

3. Calls on the UN working group to urgently complete its task of drafting an optional protocol to the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child and calls on the Council to agree a Joint Action in order to promote the adoption of this optional protocol and make the fight against the use of child soldiers part of the Union's policy;

4. Calls on the Commission to direct resources for the demobilization and reintegration into society of children who have participated in armed conflicts;

5. Instructs its President to forward this resolution to the Council, the Commission, the governments of the Member States, the UN Special Representative on the impact of armed conflict on children and the UN Human Rights Commission.
B4-0945/98

Resolution on the release of Leyla Zana

The European Parliament,

- having regard to its previous resolutions on human rights violations in Turkey and on the Kurdish question,

A. whereas Leyla Zana, a recipient of the European Parliament's Sakharov Prize, has still not been released,

B. whereas the State Security Court in Ankara has sentenced her to a further two years in prison for an article on the traditional Kurdish New Year which was published in the HADEP (People's Democracy Party) newsletter,

C. whereas during the same trial six other Kurdish accused persons, including Güven Özata, vice-chairman of HADEP, were sentenced to prison terms of between one and two years,

D. whereas another Kurdish former deputy, Hatip Dicle, has been sentenced to a prison term of 23 months and a fine for an article published in the daily newspaper 'Üjkede Gündem',

E. whereas five leading members of HADEP, including its chairman, Murat Bozlak, who were in pre-trial detention for seven months, have been released, but will have to appear in court and are liable to prison sentences of 22 years,

F. whereas the Commission, in its report on the implementation of the customs union between the European Union and Turkey, acknowledged that no significant progress had been achieved in Turkey in the field of human rights and democratic reform,

G. whereas Turkey is still failing to abide by the criteria laid down in Copenhagen, especially with regard to democracy and human rights,

1. Condemns the repeated human rights violations in Turkey, which chiefly target representatives of the Kurdish people;

2. Is particularly shocked by the sentencing of Leyla Zana to a further two years in prison and urgently reiterates its call for her release and for the release of all political prisoners;

3. Expresses its deep concern about the deteriorating political and institutional situation in Turkey, and notes the lack of any improvement with regard to the protection of human rights and the promotion of the rule of law;

4. Reaffirms its conviction that there can be no military solution to the Kurdish question and therefore calls on the Turkish authorities to engage in direct talks with the Kurdish people's representative organisations, with the aim of finding a peaceful political solution enabling their economic, social, political and cultural rights to be recognised;

5. Instructs its President to forward this resolution to the Council, the Commission, the governments and parliaments of the Member States and to the Turkish Government and Grand National Assembly.

15
B4-0911, 0917, 0925 and 0940/98

Resolution on the death penalty passed on Rocco Derek Barnabei in the United States

The European Parliament,

- having regard to its previous resolutions on the death penalty,

A. whereas in its resolution adopted on 3 April 1998, the 54th UN Commission on Human Rights considered the abolition of the death penalty to be a reinforcement of human dignity and to represent progress in the system of human rights, and called on the UN member states to establish a moratorium on executions with a view to the total abolition of the death penalty,

B. whereas the decision of the General Affairs Council of 29 June 1998 aimed at strengthening the international activities of the European Union in opposition to the death penalty 'as an integral part of its human rights policy' with the universal abolition of capital punishment as its goal,

C. whereas, in the State of Virginia, the date of 28 October 1998 has been set for the execution of Rocco Derek Barnabei, who is accused of murdering a young woman in 1993,

D. stressing that possible fresh evidence - which came to light after the time limit permitted under the law of the State of Virginia for a normal retrial - could enable Barnabei to prove his innocence,

E. whereas Barnabei is having difficulties in raising the money for an adequate defence and is distressed by his conditions of detention,

1. Calls on the Governor of the State of Virginia to commute the sentence passed on Rocco Derek Barnabei and in any event to oppose his execution;

2. Underlines the supreme value of human life and its total opposition to the application of the death penalty, a denial of the most basic principles of civil society and human rights enshrined in international conventions,

3. Calls, in the presence of fresh and relevant evidence which could alter the verdict, for Rocco Derek Barnabei to be guaranteed the right to prove his innocence of the crime for which he has been sentenced to death;

4. Calls on the Council to launch a firm initiative against the death sentence passed on Barnabei, thereby acting on the joint declaration of 8 June 1998 in which the foreign ministers of the European Union stated their support for the adoption of a position on the death sentence in particularly serious or unjust situations;

5. Repeats its conviction that the UN General Assembly should immediately decree a moratorium on capital punishment and calls on the Council and the Member States to promote this;

6. Instructs its President to forward this resolution to the Council, the Commission, the Federal Government of the United States of America and the Governor of the State of Virginia.

15
B4-0169, 0175, 0179 and 0199/99

Resolution on the case of Leonard Peltier

The European Parliament,

- having regard to its resolution of 15 December 1994 on clemency for Leonard Peltier ((OJ C 18, 23.1.1995, p. 183.)),

A. having regard to the role played by Leonard Peltier in the defence of the rights of indigenous peoples,

B. whereas he received two life sentences in 1997, although no proof of his guilt was ever furnished, after he had been extradited from Canada,

C. whereas Amnesty International has repeatedly expressed its concern about the fairness of the trial which led to Mr Peltier's conviction,

D. whereas the United States Administration now admits that the affidavits which were utilised to arrest and extradite Mr Peltier from Canada were false, and whereas US prosecutor Lynn Crooks has stated that the US Administration had no proof of who killed the agents,

E. whereas, after 23 years in federal penitentiaries, Mr Peltier's health has severely deteriorated, and whereas, according to specialists, if Mr Peltier does not receive proper medical treatment, his life could be in danger,

F. whereas the prison authorities continue to deny Mr Peltier appropriate medical treatment, in violation of international humanitarian law and of Mr Peltier's constitutional rights,

G. noting that Mr Peltier has exhausted all his appeals under United States law,

1. Insists once again that Leonard Peltier be granted presidential executive clemency;

2. Insists that Leonard Peltier be transferred to a hospital where he may receive appropriate medical treatment;

3. Reiterates its call for an investigation into the judicial improprieties involved in Mr Peltier's conviction;

4. Instructs its Delegation for relations with the United States to raise the case of Leonard Peltier at its next meeting with its American counterparts;

5. Instructs its President to forward this resolution to the Council, the Commission, the US Congress and the President of the United States.

10
Tuesday 13 April 199930.7.1999 EN C 219/73 Official Journal of the European Communities
Legislative resolution embodying Parliament’s opinion on the draft Joint Action, adopted by the
Council on the basis of Article K.3 of the Treaty on European Union, to combat child pornography
on the Internet (10850/5/98 − C4-0674/98 − 98/0917(CNS))
(Consultation procedure)
The European Parliament ,
− having regard to the Council draft (10850/5/98 − 98/0917(CNS)),− having been consulted by the Council pursuant to Article K.6(2) of the Treaty on European Union
(C4-0674/98),
− having regard to the motions for resolutions by:
(a) Mrs Muscardini and Mr Pasty, on behalf of the UPE Group, on combating paedophilia
(B4-0881/98),
(b) Mrs Muscardini and Mr Pasty, on behalf of the UPE Group, on the use of the Internet for criminal
purposes (B4-0882/98),
− having regard to Rule 58 of its Rules of Procedure,− having regard to the report of the Committee on Civil Liberties and Internal Affairs and the opinions
of the Committee on Culture, Youth, Education and the Media and the Committee on Legal Affairsand Citizens’ Rights (A4-0141/96),
1. Approves the Council draft subject to Parliament’s amendments;
2. Calls on the Council to notify Parliament should it intend to depart from the text approved by
Parliament;
3. Instructs its President to forward this opinion to the Council and Commission.
21. Migration and asylum policy − Eurodac * − Integration, reception and
voluntary repatriation of refugees * − Illegal immigration and facilitatornetworks *
(a) A4-0143/99
Resolution on the Strategy paper on the European Union’s migration and asylum policy (9809/2/98
− C4-0051/99 − 99/0905(CNS))
The European Parliament ,
− having regard to the Council’s strategy paper, 9809/2/98 − C4-0051/99 − 99/0905(CNS),− having regard to the Treaty on European Union, and in particular Articles K.1(1), (2) and (3), K.2, K.3
and K.6 thereof,
− having regard to the new Title IIIa of the Treaty establishing the European Community inserted by the
Treaty of Amsterdam, the Protocol on the position of the United Kingdom and Ireland, and theProtocol on the position of Denmark,
− having regard to the European Convention for the Protection of Human Rights and Fundamental
Freedoms of 4 November 1950,
− having regard to the Geneva Convention relating to the status of refugees of 28 July 1951, as amended
by the New York Protocol of 31 January 1967,
− having regard to the Universal Declaration of Human Rights of 10 December 1948,
− having regard to the Dublin Convention of 15 June 1990 determining the State responsible for
examining applications for asylum lodged in one of the Member States of the European Communities,
− having regard to the Communication from the Commission to the Council and the European
Parliament of 23 February 1994 on immigration and asylum policies (COM(94)0023),