European Parliament resolution on Bangladesh
Date: 2001-01-18
Institutions: European Parliament
Subjects: Bangladesh, cooperation agreement (EU), democratisation, human rights, observer, political violence, politics, sustainable development

C 262/228

Official Journal of the European Communities

EN

18.9.2001

Thursday 18 January 2001

European Parliament legislative resolution on the proposal for a European Parliament and Council
regulation amending Council Regulation (EEC) No 3922/91 on the harmonisation of technical re-
quirements and administrative procedures in the field of civil aviation (COM(2000) 121 $
C5-0170/2000 $ 2000/0069(COD))

(Codecision procedure: first reading)

The European Parliament,

(cid:19) having regard to the Commission proposal

to the European Parliament and the Council

(COM(2000) 121) (1),

(cid:19) having regard to Article 251(2) and Article 80(2) of the EC Treaty, pursuant to which the Commission

submitted the proposal to Parliament (C5-0170/2000),

(cid:19) having regard to Rule 67 of its Rules of Procedure,

(cid:19) having regard to the report of the Committee on Regional Policy, Transport and Tourism and the

opinion of the Committee on Legal Affairs and the Internal Market (A5-0393/2000),

1.

Approves the Commission proposal as amended;

2.
Calls on the Commission, should the representatives of the airlines and the employees reach an
agreement on flight and duty time limitations and rest requirements for flight crew and cabin crew by
1 May 2001, to make a proposal on the basis of that agreement to modify this Regulation;

3.
Calls on the Commission, should the representatives of the airlines and the employees be unable to
reach an agreement on flight and duty time limitations and rest requirements by 1 May 2001, to come
forward with a proposal setting out the flight and duty time limitations and rest requirements for flight
crew and cabin crew, by 1 July 2001;

Asks to be consulted again should the Commission intend to amend its proposal substantially or

4.
replace it with another text;

5.

Instructs its President to forward its position to the Council and Commission.

(1) OJ C 311 E, 31.10.2000, p. 13.

2. Bangladesh

B5-0048/2001/rev.1

The European Parliament,

European Parliament resolution on Bangladesh

(cid:19) having regard to the new EC-Bangladesh Cooperation Agreement,

(cid:19) having regard to its position of 17 January 2001 on the proposal for a Council decision concerning
the conclusion of the Cooperation Agreement between the European Community and the People’s
Republic of Bangladesh (1),

(cid:19) having regard to its resolution of 20 November 1997 on the situation in the Chittagong Hill Tracts (2),

(cid:19) having regard to the oral question to the Commission tabled on 20 October 2000 by the Committee

on Development and Cooperation (B5-0004/2001),

(1)
‘Texts Adopted’, Item 6.
(2) OJ C 371, 8.12.1997, p. 213.

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A. whereas respect for human rights is an absolute condition for any cooperation between the EU and
Bangladesh; whereas the government in Bangladesh must therefore do its utmost to ensure the imple-
mentation of measures to safeguard human rights, including action against discrimination on grounds
of gender, ethnic origin, religion, etc.; whereas the Commission must ensure that the human rights
situation in Bangladesh is monitored and that the European Parliament is kept informed of it,

B. whereas the new agreement is an affirmation of the good relations between the European Union and

Bangladesh and provides a framework for further expansion,

C. noting that while Bangladesh remains a least developed country (LDC) there has been encouraging
economic growth, a decline in the birth rate, an increase in the level of literacy, a growing number
of women participating in elections and a move from autocratic rule to democratic government in the
past decade,

D.

considering the various catastrophes which have frequently ravaged the country,

E.

F.

concerned at the recent increase in political violence in Bangladesh and deterioration of the situation
as regards law and order, with widespread reports of police brutality,

concerned at the lack of dialogue between the government and the main opposition party, which has
led to a boycott by the latter of parliamentary sessions and has deprived the country of an effective
and responsible parliamentary opposition,

G.

aware that a general election will take place before November 2001,

H.

recalling that the previous general election in June 1996 was monitored by the EU which noted cer-
tain abuses but concluded that it was ‘conducted substantially in accordance with the rules, and the
people of Bangladesh were able to exercise their democratic choice’,

I.

J.

noting the invitations from both the government and opposition to the EU to send election monitors
to the next general election,

recalling its efforts over a number of years to ensure protection for the tribal peoples in the Chitta-
gong Hill Tracts,

1.
Calls on the main political parties in Bangladesh to overcome their longstanding differences and
cooperate to make the parliamentary system work, providing the country with the basis for the protection
of human rights, the rule of law, good governance and democratic freedoms;

2.
Calls on the government of Bangladesh to ensure that preparations for the forthcoming election, in
particular the appointment of election commissioners and of the returning officers, and the compilation of
the electoral register, are carried out in an objective fashion, if possible in collaboration with the opposi-
tion;

Calls on the opposition to resume attendance at parliamentary sessions and to refrain from poten-

3.
tially violent extra-parliamentary activities such as the instigation of hartals or general strikes;

4.
Calls on the government to encourage the opposition’s resumption of responsible full parliamentary
activity by refraining from any provocative actions aimed at persecuting or intimidating their politicians
and activists from non-governmental parties;

5.
Expects the caretaker government, which will be formed upon the resignation of the present govern-
ment and will remain in office for a period of three months leading up to the general elections, to carry
out election preparations in a neutral and effective manner;

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Thursday 18 January 2001

6.
Calls on all political parties to use the period before the forthcoming general election to engage in
responsible political debate, explaining their policies for the advancement of Bangladesh and refraining
from any potentially violent or disruptive activity;

7.
Considers that it would be appropriate in the light of the potentially unstable political situation and
of its deepening relationship with Bangladesh, shown by the new Cooperation Agreement, for the EU to
send a mission to monitor the forthcoming general election, and calls on the Council and the Commission
to decide on this in the near future;

8.
Believes for the same reason, and recalling that MEPs were present in Bangladesh as observers in
elections in both 1991 and 1996, that the European Parliament should send a delegation as observers to
the next election;

9.
Expresses concern about the existence of various pressures aimed at undermining the country’s long-
standing secular traditions, and calls on the Bangladesh government to ensure that organisations and indi-
viduals undertaking efforts to protect the country’s secular culture can work without fear of repression;

Supports, in line with its resolution of 21 April 1994 (1), the efforts being made by the Bangladesh
10.
government to bring before an international court Golam Asam and other leading politicians responsible
for war crimes committed during the country’s independence war in 1971;

11. Welcomes the fact that the new Cooperation Agreement will provide for a deepened political dia-
logue, taking full account of the clause on human rights and democratic freedoms, as well as encouraging
expansion of trade and investment, the continuation of humanitarian aid and the intensification of devel-
opment activities;

Calls in particular for projects to be developed which involve women both in respect of education

12.
and other relevant projects which may help involve women in communal life and in local government;

Notes that Bangladesh’s poverty is accompanied by problems arising from flooding and erosion
13.
resulting in homelessness and loss of life, an educational system which does not yet ensure full literacy
or enable the country’s youth to realise their full potential;

Expresses its strong concern over the arsenic poisoning of Bangladesh’s drinking water provided
14.
through tube wells which might affect up to 80 million people, over half of the country’s population,
and which has been classified by the WHO as ‘the largest mass poisoning of a population in history’;
calls on the government of Bangladesh to do everything within its power to speed up the provision of
arsenic-free water supply to the affected communities and to declare an immediate moratorium on the
drilling of new tube wells;

15.
Calls on the government of Bangladesh to take decisive steps for the improvement of the situation
of the landless population, and in particular to put the provisions of the ‘land manual’ of 1987 into prac-
tice which foresees the handing out of one acre of land to landless men and one acre of land to landless
women thus respecting the right of women to have access to land;

Recalls in this context the delicate geological and environmental equilibrium of the Bramaputra
16.
delta which has already led Bangladeshi governments in the past to become cautious towards high techno-
logy solutions proposed by international donors, e.g. the World Bank or the European Union, in order to
solve problems like malnutrition or floods, such as the now abandoned Flood Action Plan;

Is therefore worried at information that the government of Bangladesh will reportedly sign an

17.
agreement for construction of a first nuclear reactor in the country;

(1) OJ C 128, 9.5.1994, p. 310.

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18. Welcomes the great improvements Bangladesh has made over recent years towards reducing the
devastating effects of the regularly occurring floods, in particular the loss of lives, in stressing disaster
preparedness and the capacity to live with the floods;

19.
In the interest of countries like Bangladesh, calls on the European Union to take a firm stand and
the lead in the negotiations to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and to halt climate change at the Sixth
Conference of the Parties to the Kyoto Protocol and to strengthen assistance to the developing countries;

20.
Draws attention to the fact that international companies have started to exploit Bangladesh’s natural
gas reserves and calls on the European Union to support the Bangladesh government in its attempt to
exploit these resources in the best interests of its population, giving priority to the country’s domestic
needs before embarking on exports;

21.
Regrets that the International Jute Organisation which was established in 1984 under the auspices
of the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (Unctad) ceased operating in April 2000 due
to a lack of political support and funding; urgently appeals to the Commission and the EU Member States
to do everything in their power to revive the organisation in view of the fact that an estimated 30 million
people in Bangladesh, which is the main jute producer, are directly or indirectly dependent on the product
and considering that diversified jute could make an important future environmentally-friendly fibre;

22. Welcomes the Commission’s proposal of 20 September 2000 to allow duty-free access for all pro-
ducts from least-developed countries except arms to the European market which will hopefully have a
positive effect on Bangladesh’s imports into the European Union;

Calls on the government of Bangladesh to do everything within its power to further improve the
23.
precarious and unhealthy working conditions of the labour force, in particular in the garment sector,
which represents two thirds of the country’s exports and where 85 % of the workforce are women, a sector
where the violation of trade union freedom through harassment and dismissal of workers found to be
union members remains a tradition;

24. Welcomes the efforts in Bangladesh in recent years to combat child labour; insists however that
much progress still lies ahead;

25. Welcomes the references made in the Cooperation Agreement to the principles of the UN Charter
and different Declarations on human rights; supports in this context the possibility of Bangladesh taking
measures to bar the imports of genetically engineered seeds and food items, in accordance with the Bio-
safety Protocol;

26.
Supports the right of Bangladesh to adopt a sui generis system for intellectual property rights, such
as the draft sui generis law proposed by the OAU-Committee, that limits the scope for biopiracy (with
reference to Art. 27, 3 of the WTO TRIPS Agreement);

Calls on the government of Bangladesh to facilitate the activity of the smaller NGOs by using less

27.
restrictive registration, regulation and security clearance procedures;

Stresses the need to promote a balanced and democratic NGO sector, by direct support for small

28.
initiatives at grass roots level;

29.
Considers that while micro-credit remains an important means of empowerment the time has come
to supply the process and the system with micro-financing in order to create the foundation for agri-based
micro-industry at the grass roots level;

Calls on the government of Bangladesh and the Commission,

30.
donors, to develop and fund projects for the sustainable development of the country, inter alia:

in close cooperation with other

(cid:19) to reinforce the capacity of state institutions to enable the government to perform its functions more

effectively;

(cid:19) to develop training (cid:19) to include human rights (cid:19) for law enforcement personnel;

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(cid:19) to assist with the problems of silting of rivers, flooding and erosion;

(cid:19) to further support the expansion of micro-credit facilities;

(cid:19) to rehabilitate the homeless;

(cid:19) to tackle environmental pollution;

(cid:19) to promote the expansion and improvement of education facilities;

(cid:19) to improve the lot of women, promoting their education and increasing awareness of their rights;

(cid:19) to improve the health services;

(cid:19) to promote research into the problem of arsenic poisoning, and develop and introduce measures to

prevent it;

(cid:19) to improve the country’s infrastructure, upon which will depend its ability to develop its own eco-

nomic activity and attract foreign investment;

(cid:19) to develop human resources and other capacity in the field of information technology and commu-

nications;

Notes that there are often serious delays in the disbursement of funds supposedly available for
31.
development projects in Bangladesh and that in some cases earmarked funds are not disbursed at all;
believes that factors contributing to this problem include lack of sufficient human resources on the spot,
especially as regards development experts, lengthy procedures, complexity of the decision-making process
in the Commission services responsible, and an excess of caution in actually making money available;

Believes that the lack of human resources also creates difficulties for the supervision and monitoring

32.
of projects;

Considers that the current reform of the Commission must ensure that these problems are removed,

33.
improving both staffing levels and procedures;

34.
Calls on the government of Bangladesh to establish the previously planned Bangladesh National
Human Rights Commission, endowed with adequate powers and sufficient staff to perform its functions
effectively and properly, before the end of its present term;

35.
Draws attention to the persisting lack of any overall settlement of the problem of refugees, in par-
ticular the remaining Rohingya from Burma (Myanmar), and the Biharis which has continued unresolved
for over 30 years;

36.
Notes that whilst there have been some positive developments since the signing of a Peace Agree-
ment in December 1997 between the government of Bangladesh and the Mukhti Bahini of the Chittagong
Hill Tracts, there remains much to be done and the process of implementation should be greatly acceler-
ated;

37.
Calls for an immediate effective start to the work of the Land Commission which will decide on
land rights disputes between the tribals and the Bengali settlers, and for it to be endowed with adequate
resources to pursue this extremely difficult task rapidly;

38.
Calls for major reinforcement of the powers of the appointed interim Regional Council, and for
arrangements for the election of a Regional Council to be made before the present government’s term of
office expires; considers it important that the withdrawal of security forces provided for in the Peace
Agreement should be completed before then;

39.
Calls for projects to be devised in collaboration with the parliamentary opposition to provide for
the full resettlement of tribal refugees and displaced persons and their rehabilitation within the Chittagong
Hill Tracts, for the possible resettlement of the 400 000 Bengali settlers outside the Chittagong Hill Tracts,
pursuant to the outcome of the deliberations of the Land Commission, and for the sustainable develop-
ment of the area in a way which preserves the culture of the tribal peoples; considers that EU funding for
such projects should be conditional upon substantial progress being made in the implementation of the
peace agreement;

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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-

41.
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,

(cid:19) having regard to the EU Treaty and its provisions on human rights,

(cid:19) 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,

(cid:19) 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,

(cid:19) 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.