European Parliament resolution on the United Nations World Day to Overcome Extreme Poverty
Date: 2001-10-04
Institutions: European Parliament
Subjects: marginalisation, poverty, public awareness campaign

11.4.2002

EN

Official Journal of the European Communities

C 87 E/253

Thursday 4 October 2001

4.
Is convinced that the long-term stability of FYROM will still require a substantial contribution by the
international community, and in particular the European Union, to achieve necessary reforms, by provid-
ing know-how as well as financial assistance in the framework of the Stability Pact for reconstruction,
return of refugees, legal reform and institution-building in the country;

5.
Takes note of the Commission proposal to extend the mandate of the European Agency for Recon-
struction to include the implementation of Community assistance in FYROM as the best and most practical
way to ensure quick delivery of that assistance to the country;

6.
Suggests, however, that this mandate should be limited to the specific EU assistance for reconstruc-
tion after the conflict of this year and that this should be accompanied by devolution to the EU delegation
of the management of the remaining normal EU assistance, in particular that relating to the implemen-
tation of the Stabilisation and Association Agreement; considers, therefore, that at the same time the
delegation staff must be increased;

7.
Notes that the Framework Agreement provides for a second stage at which military personnel will
depart while NATO maintains a presence to protect the international observers, particularly those from the
EU and OSCE; welcomes the decision to increase the number of EU observers and considers their role
essential for the correct implementation of the Agreement;

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

8.
ernment and national parliament of FYROM and the Secretaries-General of NATO and the OSCE.

15. Human rights: United Nations World Day to overcome extreme poverty

B5-0616, 0619, 0627, 0635, 0644 and 0654/2001

European Parliament resolution on the United Nations World Day to Overcome Extreme Poverty

The European Parliament,

1 having regard to United Nations General Assembly Resolution 47/197 of 22 December 1992 declar-

ing 17 October as World Day for Overcoming Extreme Poverty,

1 having regard to the targets for tackling poverty and disease set at the United Nations Millennium

celebration in September 2000 in New York,

1 having regard to Articles 1, 14, 15, 34 and 35 of the Charter of Fundamental Rights of the European

Union,

1 having regard to the conclusions of the European Council meetings in Lisbon, Nice and Göteborg in

respect of social exclusion,

1 having regard to its resolution of 23 October 1996 on the International Day for the Eradication of

Poverty (1),

A. having regard to the fact

that

the World Day to Overcome Extreme Poverty was created on

17 October 1987 by Father Joseph Wresinksi, founder of the ATD Fourth World Movement,

B. whereas extreme poverty constitutes a violation of human rights and an unacceptable assault on

human dignity,

C. whereas combating extreme poverty is a vital factor in world peace and sustainable development and

it must be given its full place in Community policy,

D. whereas extreme poverty affects hundreds of thousands of men, women and children throughout the

world, and over a billion people live on less than a dollar a day,

(1) OJ C 347, 18.11.1996, p. 87.

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Official Journal of the European Communities

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11.4.2002

Thursday 4 October 2001

E. whereas in the European Union 65 million people live on less than 60 % of the median national

income, with substantial variations between the Member States,

F. whereas there is a need for better understanding of the interdependence between economic, social,

environmental, cultural and educational policies,

G. whereas extreme poverty has to be tackled by promoting solidarity between all citizens and in the

North-South dialogue,

H. having regard to the recent agreement by the Council and European Parliament on the Community
action programme to encourage cooperation between Member States to combat social exclusion,
which aims at improving understanding and organising mutual learning within the context of Member
States’ national action plans to combat poverty and social exclusion,

I. whereas the European Council committed itself at the Göteborg European Council to achieving con-
crete progress towards reaching the UN target for official development assistance of 0,7 % of GNP
before the World Summit on Sustainable Development in 2002,

Calls on the whole European Union to formally recognise 17 October as European Day to Overcome

1.
Extreme Poverty;

Calls on the European institutions to speak out clearly in favour of a partnership with associations

2.
that tackle extreme poverty, and to give social policies equal priority with economic policies;

3.
Requests the Council and Commission to present concrete proposals, before the UN World Confer-
ence on Financing for Development in March 2002, on how the European Union intends to reach the
target of 0,7 % of GNP for development assistance;

4.
Calls on the Commission, the Council, the Economic and Social Committee, and its Committee on
Employment and Social Affairs to make a public assessment, every 17 October, of Community policies on
combating extreme poverty and social exclusion, carried out in cooperation with social players, especially
those who speak on behalf of the very poor;

Calls on the Member States and candidate countries to join such an initiative at local, regional and

5.
national levels;

6. Welcomes the Belgian Presidency’s initiative of organising a joint meeting at the European Parliament
on 17 October 2001, between the Council, the European Parliament and the Commission, in the form of
an extraordinary meeting of the Committee on Employment and Social Affairs, to present and discuss the
Commission’s report on social inclusion, in the presence of NGOs, the Committee on Social Protection and
representatives of the Member States;

7.
Calls on the Member States to develop workable strategies, including exchange of best practice, to
ensure equal access to all fundamental rights such as education, housing and health care and to culture and
sustainable employment, as part of their national plan for social inclusion, and to give priority to the most
vulnerable;

8.
Calls on the Commission to draw up a report on the economic, social and human costs of poverty
and social exclusion in cooperation with the Member States, trade unions, and associations that work
against poverty;

Believes that the new information and communication technologies can contribute to reducing social

9.
exclusion; therefore considers it essential to encourage access to the information society for all;

10. Mindful that the European Council in Nice approved the objectives of combating poverty and social
exclusion adopted by the Council and that the Member States presented their national action plans cover-
ing a two-year period in June 2001; calls on the Council 1 in accordance with the mandate given by the
European Council in Stockholm 1 to improve monitoring of action in this field by agreeing on indicators
for combating social exclusion by the end of the year;

11.4.2002

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Official Journal of the European Communities

C 87 E/255

Thursday 4 October 2001

11.
Calls for a stone to commemorate the victims of extreme poverty to be placed in the area in front
of the European Parliament in Brussels, similar to the stones at the Trocadero in Paris, the Council of
Europe in Strasbourg, the Reichstag in Berlin, the basilica of St John Lateran in Rome, and the United
Nations in New York;

Calls on the European institutions to clearly show their support for a close partnership with the

12.
associations working to combat poverty and social exclusion;

Instructs its President to forward this resolution to the Council, the Commission, the national par-
13.
liaments of the Member States, the Secretary-General of the United Nations, the Platform of European
Social NGOs, the European Anti-Poverty Network, and the secretariats of the ILO, the UNLDC, the ACP,
Unicef, Unctad and the WFP.

16. Human rights: Violations of human rights in the Socialist Republic of

Vietnam

B5-0620, 0628, 0636, 0646 and 0658/2001

European Parliament resolution on freedom in Vietnam

The European Parliament,

1 having regard to its previous resolutions on the situation in Vietnam of 19 January 1995 (1), 15 May

1997 (2), 16 July 1998 (3) and 16 November 2000 (4),

1 having regard to its resolution of 5 July 2001 on religious freedom in Vietnam (5),

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

B. whereas respect for human rights and democratic principles is an essential element in the 1995 coop-

eration agreement between the European Union and Vietnam,

C. whereas Amnesty International reports that, even after revision of the criminal code in December
1999/January 2000, 29 offences ranging from offences against national security to economic crimes
remain punishable by death and that one hundred and twelve death sentences and 12 executions were
recorded in 2000 while the true figures are believed to be much higher,

D. whereas dozens if not hundreds of prisoners of conscience and possible prisoners of conscience con-
tinue to be detained for their political beliefs and religious affiliations, and many of those are known
or believed to be elderly and in poor health; whereas among them is Professor Nguyen Dinh Huy, the
founder and president of the ‘Movement to Unite the People and Build Democracy’, who continues to
be held in prison camp Z30A, in the Dong Nai province,

E. whereas Human Rights Watch reported in September 2001 on the largest and most systematic effort
to intimidate Vietnamese dissidents in a long time: on 5/6 September 2001 at least 15 dissidents were
detained and interrogated, including Pham Que Duong, Hoang Tien, Hoang Minh Chinh, Nguyen Vu
Binh and Duong Hung; Tran Van Khue and Nguyen Thanh Giang have also been detained, at least
temporarily, since 6 September 2001,

F.

having regard to the persecution of business and foreign investors, notably the case of a Dutch citizen,
Binh Vinh Trinh,

(1) OJ C 43, 20.2.1995, p. 86.
(2) OJ C 167, 2.6.1997, p. 154.
(3) OJ C 292, 21.9.1998, p. 162.
(4) OJ C 223, 8.8.2001, p. 337.
(5)
‘Texts Adopted’, Item 18.