European Parliament resolution on the EU positions in the Special Session on Children of the UN General Assembly
Date: 2001-07-05
Institutions: European Parliament
Subjects: UN General Assembly, UN convention, child protection, children's rights

C 65 E/366

Official Journal of the European Communities

EN

14.3.2002

Thursday 5 July 2001

A. whereas freedom of opinion and freedom to hold demonstrations in favour of democracy have been

repressed for decades and are still being repressed, despite international protests,

B. having regard to the repression of religious, ethnic and other minorities, in particular Tibetans, Uig-

hurs and Mongolians and the Falun Gong movement,

C. having regard to the frequent imposition of capital punishment, leading to over a thousand reported
executions in China every year, as well as the widespread use of torture by the Chinese police and
military forces,

D.

recalling that the PRC has still not ratified the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights,

E. whereas the Chinese authorities have taken no significant initiatives on respect for human rights,

despite the ongoing political dialogue between the EU and the PRC,

F.

concerned with regard to environmental and animal welfare issues in the PRC,

G.

stressing that the plans relating to Beijing(cid:146)s bid to host the 2008 Olympic Games would involve the
destruction of a large part of the old city and the obligatory transfer of the inhabitants to the sur-
rounding areas,

H.

recalling that the International Olympic Committee is due to designate, on 13 July 2001 in Moscow,
the city that will host the 2008 Olympic Games,

Invites the International Olympic Committee to establish guidelines to include respect for human

1.
rights and democratic principles to be applied as a general rule to host countries of Olympic Games,

2.
Regrets that the PRC clearly fails to uphold universal human, civil and political rights, including
freedom of religion; believes therefore that this negative record and the repression in Tibet, in Uighuristan
and South Mongolia, make it inappropriate to award the 2008 Olympic Games to Beijing;

3.
Urges the International Olympic Committee in any case to make a thorough environmental impact
assessment with regard in particular to the recurrent water shortages, the impact of mass tourism and the
social repercussions in the region surrounding Beijing;

4.
Invites the International Olympic Committee to reconsider Beijing(cid:146)s candidacy when the authorities
of the PRC have made a fundamental change in their policy on human rights, and the promotion of
democracy and the rule of law;

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

5.
parliaments of the Member States, and to the International Olympic Committee.

17. Human rights: UNGA special session on the rights of the child

B5-0483, 0490, 0495, 0496, 0506 and 0513/2001

European Parliament resolution on the EU positions in the Special Session on Children of the UN
General Assembly

The European Parliament,

(cid:129) recalling its previous resolutions on children(cid:146)s rights,

in particular the resolution of 17 December
1998 on child soldiers (1), the resolution of 28 January 1999 on the protection of families and
children (2) and the resolution of 17 May 2001 on forced labour by African children (3),

(1) OJ C 98, 9.4.1999, p. 297.
(2) OJ C 128, 7.5.1999, p. 79.
(3)
(cid:145)Texts Adopted(cid:146), Item 16.

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(cid:129) having regard to the 1989 United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child, which was ratified

by 191 countries,

(cid:129) having regard to the EU-sponsored resolution on the rights of the child, which was adopted by the UN

Commission on the Rights of the Child on 25 April 2001 (UNCHR resolution 2001/75),

(cid:129) having regard to the UN General Assembly(cid:146)s Special Session on the rights of the child to be held in

New York in September 2001,

(cid:129) having regard to the EU Charter of Fundamental Rights, which was proclaimed at the European
Council at Nice on 7 December 2000, in particular Article 24 thereof, the Charter being a break-
through for children(cid:146)s rights in the EU,

A. whereas at the World Summit for Children in 1990 world leaders adopted a plan of action on behalf
of the children of the world which contained far-reaching goals aimed at improving the health and
development of children, including reducing mortality rates and malnutrition, and improving access to
safe drinking water and sanitation,

B. whereas new international standards and instruments enhancing child protection have been adopted,
such as the Mine Ban Treaty of Ottawa, the Rome Statute for the International Criminal Court, the
Optional Protocols to the Convention on the Rights of the Child on

(1)

the involvement of children in armed conflict and

(2)

the sale of children, child prostitution and child pornography, and ILO Convention 182 on the
Prohibition and Immediate Action for the Elimination of the Worst Forms of Child Labour,

C. whereas, although the Convention on the Rights of the Child is almost universally ratified, its imple-

mentation leaves a great deal to be desired,

D. whereas demographic, sociological, technological and scientific changes are creating problems which
affect social and human development, such as poverty, social exclusion and the breakdown of family
life, of which children are always the main victims,

E. whereas, in spite of the International Convention, the situation of children continues to deteriorate in

many countries, including certain countries in the EU,

F. whereas 10 million children under five years of age die every year of preventable diseases and malnu-
trition, and whereas sexually transmitted infections, including HIV, affect millions of children, espe-
cially adolescent girls,

G. whereas over 110 million children of primary school age, the majority of them girls, are not enrolled
in school, millions are taught by untrained and underpaid teachers in overcrowded, unhealthy and
poorly equipped schools, and one third of all children fail to complete five years of schooling,

H. whereas millions of girls are victims of female genital mutilation,

I. whereas Unicef estimates that two hundred thousand children are sold yearly in Western and Central
Africa, to be employed as unpaid labourers in households, on cocoa and cotton estates or in the sex
industry,

J.

deeply concerned at the growth of sexual exploitation of children, prostitution and child pornography,

K. whereas on 25 May 2000 the UN General Assembly adopted an Optional Protocol to the Convention

on the Rights of the Child on the involvement of children in armed conflict,

L. whereas the new Protocol establishes 18 as the minimum age for participation in armed conflict, for

compulsory recruitment and for any recruitment or use in armed conflict by armed groups,

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M. whereas, while to date 79 countries have signed the Optional Protocol, including all 15 Member
States, it has only been ratified by 4 countries (cid:129) Andorra, Bangladesh, Canada and Sri Lanka (cid:129) and
whereas the Protocol cannot come into force until it has been ratified by 10 countries,

N.

recalling the number of cases of missing children in the world and the anguish of their parents who
do not know what has happened to them, including the case of Sim(cid:243)n Riquelo, who was captured
together with his mohter Sara Mendez in June 1976 in Uruguay,

O. whereas millions of children have been killed in wars over the last ten years and tens of thousands of

children continue to be involved in armed conflict,

P. whereas the Special Session of the UN General Assembly on Children, which will take place in New
York in September 2001, provides a good opportunity to find ways and mechanisms for the imple-
mentation of the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child,

Q. whereas a wide range of children(cid:146)s rights (cid:129) including civil rights and freedoms and the right to
protection from abuse, economic and sexual exploitation and violence (cid:129) have become widely recog-
nised and should be reflected in the Action Plan of the Special Session,

Calls on the EU and its Member States to work actively together to ensure that the outcome of the

1.
Special Session:

(cid:129) reinforces the Convention on the Rights of the Child and hastens the full implementation of the
Convention, by placing children and families at the centre of the decision-making process, particularly
as regards policies on education, health, social questions and matters of justice;

(cid:129) supports universal ratification and implementation of the key new treaties developed during the past

decade which strengthen the protection of children(cid:146)s rights;

(cid:129) reflects in its goals the importance of the critical rights of children to protection from violence,

exploitation and abuse, as well as to health, education and nutrition;

(cid:129) supports the view that the (cid:145)family is the fundamental unit of society and holds the primary responsi-
bility for the protection, upbringing and development of children(cid:146), as stated in Unicef(cid:146)s draft outcome
document under preparation for the Special Session;

(cid:129) ensures that strong mechanisms are put in place to monitor government obligations and commit-
ments, including meaningful participation by non-governmental organisations and civil society;

2.
Suggests, therefore, that a (cid:145)world fit for children(cid:146) (cid:129) the title of the Special Session (cid:129) has to be at the
same time a world fit for the family, in line with subsidiarity; considers, therefore, that government policies
have to be devised accordingly in order to achieve the best human and social environment for children and
to provide those that are deprived of natural family protection and support with the best possible family-
like social responses;

Expresses its support for the proposal to adopt a Common Strategy on the Rights of the Child and

3.
calls on the Council to work on this common strategy as a priority;

Calls on the EU and its Member States to insist that the outcome document proposes measures to
4.
protect developing countries from the negative impact of globalisation,
including the development of
global trade rules that work for the benefit of all children and encouragement of greater corporate social
responsibility for children by multinational companies;

5.
Calls on the Member States to make the implementation of the Convention on the Rights of the
Child, the ratification and implementation of key new treaties developed during the past decade which
strengthen the protection of children(cid:146)s rights and the implementation of the commitments agreed during
the 2001 Special Session a national and European priority, in the light of Article 24 of the Charter of
Fundamental Rights;

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Urges the Council and Member States to ensure that strong and meaningful mechanisms are put in

6.
place to monitor government obligations and commitments made at the Special Session;

7.
Calls on the Council to nominate an EU Special Envoy charged with coordinating EU activities in the
area of children(cid:146)s rights and ensuring full respect for and implementation of a future EU common strategy
on children(cid:146)s rights;

8.
Calls on the Member States to establish an independent body to monitor the implementation of the
outcome document of the Special Session and to adopt a comprehensive national action plan, with spe-
cific, time-bound and measurable objectives;

9.
Calls on the Council to make the ratification of the new treaties by third countries a priority in its
political dialogue with these countries, and to make the ratification and implementation of theses treaties
an important element in talks with candidate countries;

10.
Calls on the Commission to ensure that EU policies and programmes contain a children(cid:146)s rights and
protection perspective and are subjected to child-impact analyses in order to assess their potential impli-
cations for children;

11.
Calls on the Member States at the next Intergovernmental Conference to include a legal base in the
Treaties for the promotion of a child perspective and compliance with the UN Convention on the Rights
of the Child;

12.
Asks the Council and Commission to ensure that the rights of the child are part of the negotiating
process on human rights in accordance with the Copenhagen criteria for accession and calls on the Com-
mission to make an assessment of all the candidate countries from the point of view of children(cid:146)s rights in
the annual progress reports;

Calls on the Presidency to report to Parliament on EU efforts and priorities for the 2001 Special

13.
Session as expressed during the Ungass Prepcom;

Calls on the bodies and governments concerned to do everything in their power to solve the cases

14.
of missing children;

Calls on the Member States and other countries to do everything possible to speed up the universal
15.
ratification of the Optional Protocol on the involvement of children in armed conflict, so that substantial
progress regarding the early entry into force of the Optional Protocol, which lays the basis for a global ban
on the use of child soldiers, can be announced at the UN Special Session on Children;

Instructs its President to forward this resolution to the Council, the Commission, the Co-Presidents
16.
of the ACP-EU Joint Parliamentary Assembly, the national parliaments of the EU Member States, the
UNGASS secretariat, UNICEF and the national delegations at the UN General Assembly(cid:146)s Special Session
on Children.

18. Human rights: Religious freedom in Vietnam

B5-0482, 0488, 0499, 0507, 0514 and 0521/2001

European Parliament resolution on religious freedom in Vietnam

The European Parliament,

(cid:129) having regard to its previous resolutions on the situation in Vietnam of 19 January 1995, 15 May

1997, 16 March 1998 and 16 November 2000,

A. whereas Vietnam as a state party to the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR)

must uphold freedom of religious belief and worship as enshrined in its Article 18,