WRITTEN QUESTION E-1957/00 by Mario Mauro (PPE-DE), Johan Van Hecke (PPE-DE) and Antonio Tajani (PPE-DE) to the Council. Human rights violations in northern Uganda.
Date: 2000-06-19
Institutions: European Parliament, Provisional data
Subjects: European Union, Sudan, Uganda, child, establishment of peace, human rights, illegal restraint, military training

C 113 E/54

Official Journal of the European Communities

EN

18.4.2001

Answer given by Mrs Diamantopoulou on behalf of the Commission

(12 July 2000)

In respect of the use of collective agreements as a means of implementation the Honourable Member is
referred to Article 137(4) (ex Article 118) of the EC Treaty:

A Member State may entrust management and labour, at their joint request, with the implementation
of directives pursuant to paragraphs 2 and 3. In this case, it shall ensure that, no later than the date
on which a directive must be transposed in accordance with Article 249, management and labour
have introduced the necessary measures by agreement, the Member State concerned being required to
take any necessary measure enabling it at any time to be in a position to guarantee the results
imposed by that directive.

Secondly, the Court of Justice has stated that:

Although Member States may leave the implementation of the (principle of equal pay) in the first
instance to representatives of management and labour, that possibility does not discharge them from
the obligation of ensuring, by appropriate legislative and administrative provisions, that all workers in
the Community are afforded the full protection provided for in Directive (1). That State guarantee must
cover all cases where effective protection is not ensured by other means, for whatever reason, and in
particular cases where the workers in question are not union members, where the sector in question is
not covered by a collective agreement or where such an agreement does not
fully guarantee
(the principle of equal pay) (2).

the Commission is examining the implementation of Council Directive 93/104/EC of
At present,
23 November 1993 concerning certain aspects of the organisation of working time (3) with a view to
presenting a comprehensive implementation report concerning all Member States. As regards the Danish
implementation of the Directive, the Commission has been in contact with the Danish authorities with a
view to clarifying whether certain provisions of the Directive are implemented in a way which ensures that
all workers are granted the full extent of their rights.

(1) Council Directive 75/117/EEC of 10 February 1975 on the approximation of the laws of the Member States relating

to the application of the principle of equal pay for men and women (OJ L 45, 19.2.1975).

(2) Case 143/83 Commission v. Kingdom of Denmark [1985] ECR 427. See also e.g. Case 235/84 Commission v.

Italian Republic [1986] ECR 2291.

(3) OJ L 307, 13.12.1993.

(2001/C 113 E/050)

WRITTEN QUESTION E-1957/00

by Mario Mauro (PPE-DE), Johan Van Hecke (PPE-DE)
and Antonio Tajani (PPE-DE) to the Council

(19 June 2000)

Subject: Human rights violations in northern Uganda

Is the Council aware of what is happening in northern Uganda, where more than ten thousand
1.
children have been abducted in recent years and more children are still being abducted on an almost daily
basis, by rebels of the Lord(cid:146)s Resistance Army?

Is the Council informed about the role of the Sudanese armed forces in training, arming and using

2.
these children for military operations against the Ugandan army and the SPLA in South Sudan?

3.
Is the Council informed that many of these children are dying of cholera in the camps in South
Sudan, of mistreatment or of life-threatening conditions on the battlefield both in Uganda and South
Sudan?

18.4.2001

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Official Journal of the European Communities

C 113 E/55

If so, what measures will the Council take on the basis of this information? If not, what will the

4.
Council do to investigate these events?

5. What is the Council doing to facilitate, press for and speed up the implementation of the Nairobi
Peace Accord, signed in December between Uganda and Sudan, and of the Amnesty Bill, passed by the
Ugandan Parliament in December but suffering from serious delays?

6.
Is the Council aware of the presence in some Member States of (cid:145)representatives(cid:146) of the LRA, guilty of
the most serious abuses against children anywhere in the world, who seem to be travelling unhindered
within and outside the European Union? If so, what concrete actions is the Council going to take to stop
these people from operating and mobilising support in these Member States?

Reply

(20 November 2000)

The Council is aware of the serious human rights violations being perpetrated in Northern Uganda and
Southern Sudan and remains particularly attentive to the fate of the children kidnapped by the Lord(cid:146)s
Resistance Army (LRA).

The Council holds that the only solution to this human tragedy is to be found in a long-term improvement
in relations between the States of the region and a lasting solution to the conflict in the North of Uganda.
The European Union accordingly issued a statement on 31 January 2000 in which it urged the Sudanese
and Ugandan authorities to abide by the provisions of the agreement signed on 8 December 1999. It called
on both parties to renounce any military action, to cease military or logistical support to any rebel groups
in each other(cid:146)s territories and to end the climate of hostility that has caused immense suffering to the
civilian population.

In addition, the Union has reopened political dialogue with Sudan, in which framework it continues to
urge the Sudanese authorities to work towards the normalisation of relations with Sudan(cid:146)s neighbours and
to respect international human rights law. Initial results in this area have been positive.

As regards the possibility that (cid:145)representatives(cid:146) of the LRA may be present in certain Member States, the
Council regrets that it is unable to confirm or deny the Honourable Members(cid:146) assertion.

(2001/C 113 E/051)

WRITTEN QUESTION E-1995/00

by Cecilia Malmstr(cid:246)m (ELDR) to the Council

(21 June 2000)

Subject: Coptic minority in Egypt

Egypt(cid:146)s Christian minority continues to suffer from societal discrimination as well as occasional outbreaks
of violent persecution. Some forms of discrimination are enshrined in unjust legal provisions, such as the
outmoded Hamayouni Decree which still requires Christian congregations to submit petitions for the
building of new churches to the President. Others are merely the result of government practice, for
example the omission of the Coptic era of Egyptian history from the school curriculum and the inadequate
representation of Copts at senior levels of government.

Is the Council aware of the suffering of Egypt(cid:146)s Coptic minority and of the denial of genuine religious
freedom in that country? What representations does it intend to make to the Egyptian authorities on this
subject as part of the Euro-Mediterranean process?