European Parliament resolution on the EU human rights priorities and recommendations for the upcoming session of the UN Human Rights Commission in Geneva
Date: 2001-01-18
Institutions: European Parliament
Subjects: UN Commission, government violence, human rights, international law, political violence

18.9.2001

EN

Official Journal of the European Communities

C 262/233

Thursday 18 January 2001

Encourages the government of Bangladesh to further intensify endeavours for a closer regional eco-

40.
nomic and trade cooperation within the framework of SAARC;

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

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ment of Bangladesh.

3. Council priorities for the meeting of the United Nations Human Rights Com-

mission in Geneva

B5-0040, 0041, 0042, 0044 and 0046/2001

European Parliament resolution on the EU human rights priorities and recommendations for the
upcoming session of the UN Human Rights Commission in Geneva

The European Parliament,

& having regard to the EU Treaty and its provisions on human rights,

& having regard to Regulations (EC) Nos 975/1999 and 976/1999 of 29 April 1999 on the develop-
ment and consolidation of democracy and the rule of law and respect for human rights and funda-
mental freedoms under Articles 179 and 308 of the EC Treaty, which provide a legal basis for all
human rights and democratisation activities of the EU under Chapter B7-70 of the Budget,

& having regard to the 57th session of the UN Commission on Human Rights, which will take place in

Geneva from 19 March to 27 April 2001,

& having regard to its earlier resolutions on the UN Commission on Human Rights adopted on 27 March
1996 (1), 20 February 1997 (2), 23 October 1997 (3), 19 February 1998 (4), 11 March 1999 (5) and
16 March 2000 (6),

A. whereas the promotion and the defence of human rights is a high priority for EU Common Foreign

and Security Policy and one of the fundamental principles of the Union;

B. whereas the EU, in its Declaration on the occasion of the 50th anniversary of the Universal Declara-
tion of Human Rights, stated that its policies in the field of human rights must be ‘continued and,
when necessary, strengthened and improved’,

C. whereas all 15 EU Member States subscribed to the obligation to ‘respect and ensure respect for’
international humanitarian law when they ratified the four Geneva conventions, as complemented by
the additional protocols of 1977,

D. whereas the European Parliament has the ambition to strongly influence the human rights strategy and
the human rights priorities of the EU, with regard to thematic issues as well as concerning specific
regions or countries,

E. whereas the Office of the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights has shown an impartial and
consistent commitment to safeguarding and promoting respect for human rights of all individuals
and groups worldwide,

(1) OJ C 117, 22.4.1996, p. 13.
(2) OJ C 85, 17.3.1997, p. 143.
(3) OJ C 339, 10.11.1997, p. 154.
(4) OJ C 80, 16.3.1998, p. 237.
(5) OJ C 175, 21.6.1999, p. 254.
(6) OJ C 377, 29.12.2000, p. 335.

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Thursday 18 January 2001

F. whereas the UN Commission on Human Rights is the main forum of debate on human rights within
the UN system, and whereas human rights violations in specific countries are a legitimate matter of
concern for it,

G. whereas a negative human rights situation is often caused and/or exacerbated by the absence of

democracy and inefficient and corrupt government structures,

H. whereas & for a considerable number of States & the gap is widening between human rights instru-

ments they signed and ratified and the treatment they inflict upon their citizens,

I. welcoming the growing number of people’s demands for freedom and democracy throughout the

world, but deploring the persistence of flagrant violations of human rights in many countries,

J. whereas a permanent and constructive dialogue with the representatives of civil society, NGOs, grass-
roots organisations, in particular human rights organisations, is fundamental for effective action in
favour of the promotion and defence of human rights around the world,

Reaffirms that respecting, promoting and safeguarding human rights is the ‘acquis éthique’ of the EU

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and one of the cornerstones of European cooperation;

2. Welcomes the fact that more and more countries sign and ratify human rights conventions, but
regrets the growing gap between the legal situation and daily practice in some countries; stresses the
need for full implementation of such conventions as well as effective inspection and control mechanisms;

3.
Calls on the Council and the Member States to work for the universal ratification of the main human
rights instruments available to countries, in particular the International Convention on Civil and Political
Rights, the International Convention on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights, the Convention on the
Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women, the Convention on the Rights of the Child,
the Convention on the Elimination of Racial Discrimination and the Convention against Torture, and calls
on all governments, as a matter of urgency, to ratify those conventions without reservation and to imple-
ment them;

Calls on the Member States to appeal to all UN members to sign and ratify the treaty setting up the

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International Criminal Court;

Calls on the Council and the Member States to reaffirm their commitment to the abolition of the
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death penalty and welcomes the diplomatic efforts undertaken by the EU and its Member States in favour
of a universal moratorium on capital punishment and its definitive abolition; calls on the EU, to this end,
to renew its pressure on the UN to obtain a declaration by the General Assembly in favour of a universal
moratorium and the abolition of the death penalty;

Calls for immediate measures to be taken to protect homosexual persons from the degrading and

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inhuman treatment to which they are still subjected in certain parts of the world;

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Calls on the EU to continue firm action against all forms of trafficking of human beings, especially
trafficking of women and abuse of children and minors; requests the UN High Commissioner on Human
Rights (UNHCHR) to organise a special workshop to examine violence against children;

8.
Calls upon the Council and the UN Commission on Human Rights to fully support the adoption of a
resolution endorsing the Protocol on the Involvement of Children in Armed Conflict, urging all states
concerned to put an end to recruitment and/or deployment of any person under the age of 18 years for
the purpose of taking part in armed conflict;

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Thursday 18 January 2001

9. Welcomes the entry into force of the 182nd ILO Convention on child labour and asks the Council to
urge all states to ratify this Convention as soon as possible;

Requests the EU to fully support prompt action on complex issues such as protection of refugees

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and asylum seekers in accordance with the 4th Geneva Convention;

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Calls on the EU to support the UN High Commissioner on Human Rights (UNHCHR) and the other
international organisations and NGOs in the fight against repression of the independent media, journalists
and writers, to urge all states to end censorship, to protect the right of access to official information, and
to stop the restriction on access to modern information technology;

Proposes that its President make the necessary arrangements to send an EP Delegation to participate

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in the 57th session of the UN Human Rights Commission;

Calls upon the Council and the UN Commission on Human Rights to give its full support to the

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drafting of the International Convention on the Protection of All Persons from Enforced Disappearance;

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Condemns the continued and severe violation of human rights in Tibet and the ongoing discrimina-
tion practised against Tibetan people by the authorities of the People’s Republic of China on the basis of
race or ethnic origin, or religious, cultural or political beliefs;

15.
Calls on the Council to discourage countries represented in the UN Commission on Human Rights
from voting in favour of a no-action motion on China and to express its concern at the widespread human
rights violations in China;

Urges the Council and the UN Commission on Human Rights to condemn the systematic discrimi-

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nation and constant repression, particularly against women, by the Taliban regime in Afghanistan;

Calls upon the Council and the UN Commission on Human Rights to support the adoption of a

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resolution expressing concern about gross and systematic human rights violations in Saudi Arabia;

Urges the Council and the UN Commission on Human Rights to support the adoption of a resolu-
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tion condemning the torture and ill-treatment of political prisoners and ethnic minorities in Burma (Myan-
mar), calling on the Rangoon government to unconditionally release all political prisoners and to allow
freedom of movement for Ms Aung San Suu Kyi;

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Calls on the Council and the UN Commission on Human Rights to support the adoption of a
resolution on Indonesia, urging the Indonesian authorities to promote a durable peace in Timor, Aceh,
the Moluccas Islands and Irian Jaya-Papua, to restore human rights in these regions and to ensure that all
parties guilty of human rights violations will be punished;

20.
Calls on Council and the UN Commission on Human Rights to support the full investigation of
systematic and gross human rights abuses in Sudan, the Democratic Republic of Congo and Sierra Leone,
especially as regards war crimes and crimes against humanity;

Calls on the Council and the UN Commission on Human Rights to support the adoption of a

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resolution on the deepening human rights violations and humanitarian crisis in Colombia;

22.
Calls on the Council and the UN Commission on Human Rights to support the adoption of a
resolution expressing its concern at the violation of the principles of humanitarian law by Russia in con-
nection with its military campaign in Chechnya;

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Instructs its President to forward this resolution to the Council, the Commission, the governments
and parliaments of the Member States and of the applicant countries, the UNCHR, and the governments of
other countries named in this resolution.