European Parliament resolution on the 50th anniversary of the UNHCR
Date: 2000-12-14
Institutions: European Parliament
Subjects: UNHCR, commemoration, humanitarian aid, public safety, right of asylum

17.8.2001

EN

Official Journal of the European Communities

C 232/351

Thursday 14 December 2000

16. 50th anniversary of the UNHCR

B5-0901, 0908, 0913, 0921, 0922 and 0928/2000

European Parliament resolution on the 50th anniversary of the UNHCR

The European Parliament,

(cid:1) having regard to its previous resolutions on asylum policy in Europe, Europe’s contribution to refugee
protection and assistance in the world at large and the work of the Office of the United Nations High
Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR),

A.

recalling that the UNHCR has a unique mandate, as adopted by the United Nations General Assembly,
in responding to the protection and assistance needs of refugees and in promoting durable solutions
to their plight,

B. noting that since the founding of the UNHCR in December 1950, it has become one of the world’s
principal humanitarian agencies, there being nearly 22 million people who are its concern in more
than 140 countries,

C. noting the significant role of the UNHCR as the guardian of international protection principles in the

construction of a common European asylum system,

D.

recalling that the UNHCR has twice been awarded the Nobel Peace Prize for its services to humanity,

E.

F.

deeply disturbed by increasingly violent attacks on humanitarian aid workers, most recently culminat-
ing in the brutal killing of UNHCR staff in West Timor (Indonesia) and Guinea,

recalling that 14 December 2000 marks the 50th anniversary of the UNHCR and a half century of
humanitarian work carried out since its establishment,

Recognises, on the occasion of its 50th anniversary, the unique mandate of the UNHCR and the
1.
importance of its efforts to protect and promote durable solutions for refugees and other uprooted people
who are its concern, and expresses its continuing support for the UNHCR’s work;

2.
Reminds the European governments of their solemn declarations made at the Tampere European
Council referring to absolute respect of the right to seek asylum and the Union’s commitment to the
development of a common European asylum system based on the full and inclusive application of the
1951 Convention as the cornerstone of that system, and encourages the Commission and Member States
to prepare and adopt future EU asylum instruments based on high protection standards;

3.
Expects from the Member States that all people making an application for asylum at the borders of
or within the EU are guaranteed safety and a fair procedure in accordance with international Conventions
and accepted principles of international refugee law;

4.
Calls on the Commission and the Member States to establish a true partnership with the UNHCR by
offering both political and financial support, and calls for EU funding to ensure predictability, flexibility
and geographical balance, including for non-emergency situations, as well as a smooth transition from
emergency relief to reconstruction and development;

5.
Calls on the Commission and the Member States to support the UNHCR in ensuring a coherent co-
ordination framework for the provision of refugee assistance and protection, and calls on the Commission
to give due recognition to the UNHCR’s co-ordinating role in its contractual arrangements with its part-
ners; therefore asks the Commission to make available additional financial means to the UNHCR;

C 232/352

Official Journal of the European Communities

EN

17.8.2001

Thursday 14 December 2000

6.
Calls upon States and all concerned parties to urgently take all possible measures to safeguard the
physical security and property of UNHCR staff and all other humanitarian aid workers, to investigate fully
any crime committed against them, and to bring to justice those responsible;

Instructs its President to forward this resolution to the Commission, the Council, the governments of

7.
the Member States and the UN High Commissioner for Refugees.

17. Political prisoners in the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia and instability on

the borders of Kosovo

B5-0902, 0909, 0914, 0923 and 0929/2000

European Parliament resolution on political prisoners in the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia and
instability on the borders of Kosovo

The European Parliament,

(cid:1) having regard to its resolution of 15 June 2000 (1) on fundamental rights in Serbia and Kosovo,

(cid:1) having regard to its resolutions on the situation of Albanian Kosovar prisoners, in particular its reso-
lution of 17 February 2000 (2), and its resolution of 30 November 2000 on ‘Progress in the imple-
mentation of the CFSP’ (3),

(cid:1) having regard to UN Security Council Resolution 1244 of 10 June 1999,

(cid:1) having regard to a recent meeting of the European Parliament delegation for relations with South-

Eastern Europe with Mrs Flora Brovina in Brussels on 21 November 2000,

(cid:1) having regard to the Zagreb Summit Final Declaration of 24 November 2000,

A. welcoming the release of the Albanian doctor and human rights campaigner Flora Brovina on the
orders of the newly elected President Kostunica on 1 November 2000 as well as of the Serbian jour-
nalist Miroslav Filipovic on 10 October 2000,

B.

regretting, however, that the fate of all political prisoners in Kosovo who were deprived of their free-
dom by the Milosevic regime solely because of their ethnicity or political convictions has not yet been
resolved by the new democratic forces in Yugoslavia and that since the readmission of the Federal
Republic of Yugoslavia to the UN, the OSCE and Europe, the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia has not
set a date for the release of the prisoners or provided details of an amnesty law,

C. underlining that the presidential elections in the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia have paved the way
for the rule of law in the country and that President Kostunica has promised that he will apply the
Constitution and the law without delay,

D.

E.

recalling that the political changes underway in Belgrade cannot exonerate the former Yugoslav lea-
ders, in particular Mr Slobodan Milosevic, from their charges before the International Criminal Tribu-
nal for crimes committed in the former Yugoslavia,

expressing its concern about the latest armed attacks by ethnic Albanians and other extremists in the
Presevo area of South-Eastern Serbia along the border between Kosovo and Serbia which could have
the effect of destabilising the situation just at a time when there are good chances of resolving pro-
blems in the region through peaceful talks,

‘Texts Adopted’, Item 7.

(1)
(2) OJ C 339, 29.11.2000, p. 273.
(3)

‘Texts Adopted’, Item 9.