Resolution on religious freedom
Date: 1999-02-11
Institutions: European Parliament
Subjects: India, homicide, insecticide, religious group

28.5.1999

EN

Official Journal of the European Communities

C 150/385

Thursday 11 February 1999

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

Insists that Leonard Peltier be transferred to a hospital where he may receive appropriate medical

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treatment;

Reiterates  its  call  for  an  investigation  into  the  judicial  improprieties  involved  in  Mr  Peltier’s

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conviction;

Instructs its Delegation for relations with the United States to raise the case of Leonard Peltier at its

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next meeting with its American counterparts;

Instructs its President to forward this resolution to the Council, the Commission, the US Congress

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and the President of the United States.

(c)  B4-0131, 0132 and 0189/99

The European Parliament,

Resolution on religious freedom

−  having regard to its previous resolutions on cases of religious persecution in various countries,

−  having regard to Article 2 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights of the United Nations of
10 December 1948, as well as Article 2(2) of the International Agreement on economic, social and
cultural rights and Article 27 of the International Agreement on civil and political rights,

A.  deeply  anxious  about  increasing  persecution  of  religious  minorities  and  limitations  on  freedom  of

opinion in various countries,

B.  disturbed by evidence of xenophobia and racism linked to religious persecution,

C.  noting  that  Article  25  of  the  Constitution  of  India  guarantees  freedom  of  religion,  and  noting  the
existence of implementing legislation for human rights, and applauding the Prime Minister’s speech
to the nation of 30 January 1999, supporting this and opposing sectarian violence,

D.  deeply shocked in particular by news of the persecution of Christians in India by extremist groups,
especially  in  Gujerat,  and  the  murder  of  the  Australian  missionary  Graham  Staines  and  his  two
children,  the  latest  of  many  acts  of  violence  against  Christians,  Moslems  and  other  religious
minorities, and concerned that these attacks are incited by the anti-Christian, anti-Moslem as well as
anti-Sikh and anti-Jain rhetoric of extremist groups such as the Vishwa Hindu Parishad (VHP), which
has publicly stated its intention to bring all forms of religious conversion to an end in India by the
year 2000,

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Calls on the governments of those countries where persecution of religious minorities is taking place
to respect the international agreements and their basic principles of which they are signatories, as well as
respecting the relevant human rights clauses in the various treaties that they have signed with the European
Union, and calls on these governments to put in place the necessary measures for the effective protection
of religious minorities living in their territories;

Calls on the Indian authorities to make every effort to ensure that the murderers of the missionary,

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Graham Staines, are identified and brought to justice;

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Calls  on  the  Commission  and  Council  to  ensure  that  the  relevant  human  rights  clauses  in  treaty
agreements  are  rigorously  implemented,  and  calls  on  the  governments  of  the  Member  States  to  take
account of this in their bilateral relations;

Instructs its President to forward this resolution to the Commission and Council, the Government

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and Parliament of India and the Secretary General of the United Nations Organisation.