European Parliament resolution on the arbitrary arrests and the political situation in Laos
Date: 2001-11-15
Institutions: European Parliament
Subjects: EU relations, Laos, Member of the European Parliament, government violence, human rights, political prisoner, political situation, right to justice

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59.
Proposes that a centre for European and Latin American studies (CELAS) be set up, to be funded
initially from existing capacity by the Community budget, the Member States, the countries of Latin
America and other possible external donors, but looking to the private sector as its long-term source of
support;

Thursday 15 November 2001

Budgetary aspects of the EU-Latin America strategic bi-regional partnership

Calls on the Commission and the Council to provide adequate funding to achieve the objectives set

60.
under the present strategy, bearing in mind that Latin America needs opportunities not hand-outs;

61.
Calls for the financial provisions applicable to Latin America to be placed on a firmer legal footing
and for this purpose considers it vital to divide the existing financial regulation applying to both Asia and
the countries of Latin America into two separate financial regulations;

62.
Calls on the Commission, the Council, the Member States and the countries of Latin America to
help strengthen private enterprise as a key to the success of the actions provided for under the new
strategy and to sustainable development;

63.
Calls on the Commission, bearing in mind existing needs, to submit a proposal designed to increase
the efforts and resources deployed by the EIB in the region, under initiatives such as the action plan for
integration of regional infrastructures in South America or the Puebla-Panama project;

Duration and revision of the new common strategy

64.
Requests that the new common strategy remain in force for an initial period of four years and be
extended, revised and adapted by the European Council as often as necessary, on a recommendation from
the Council, following a report by the European Parliament and after consulting the Latin American part-
ners;

65.
Calls on the Council to review and assess the Union’s action under the future strategy and to inform
the European Council and the European Parliament at least once a year on the progress made towards
achieving its objectives;

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66.
Instructs its President to forward this resolution to the Council, the Commission, the governments
and parliaments of the Member States and of all the countries in Latin America and the Caribbean, the
Latin American Parliament, Parlacen, the Andean Parliament and the Mercosur Joint Parliamentary Com-
mittee.

12. Arbitrary arrests and the political situation in Laos

B5-0704/2001

European Parliament resolution on the arbitrary arrests and the political situation in Laos

The European Parliament,

6 having regard to the Cooperation Agreement between the European Community and the Lao People’s

Democratic Republic,

6 having regard to its resolution of 15 February 2001 on the human rights situation in the Lao People’s

Democractic Republic (1),

(1) OJ C 276, 1.10.2001, p. 281.

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A. having regard to the arrest in Vientiane on 26 October 2001 of the MEP Olivier Dupuis, as well as
Silvja Manzi, Bruno Mellano, Massimo Lensi and Nikolai Khramov, members of the Transnational
Radical Party, on the grounds of a non-violent demonstration in favour of democracy and reconcili-
ation in Laos, on the second anniversary of the ‘26 October 1999 Movement’, whose principal leaders,
Bouavanh Chanmanivong, Khamphouvieng Sisa-At, Thongpaseuth Keuakoun, Seng-Aloun Pheng-
phanh and Keochay, have in the meantime disappeared,

B. whereas Mr Olivier Dupuis and his four companions were imprisoned for fourteen days in particularly

harsh conditions,

C. whereas for several days the detainees were refused all contact with diplomatic representatives of the
Member States concerned and of Russia and with their lawyers, in defiance of their rights as recog-
nised by the Vienna Convention on Consular Relations of 24 April 1963,

D. whereas the two-year suspended sentences handed down by the Vientiane court to the detainees for
‘propaganda against the Lao People’s Democratic Republic tending to damage national security and
stability’ are manifestly contrary to the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and to the constitution
of the Lao PDR itself,

E. whereas the Cooperation Agreement between the European Community and Laos is based on ‘respect
for the democratic principles and fundamental human rights established by the Universal Declaration
on Human Rights’ (Article 1), and whereas failure to respect this condition must be considered a
‘case of the material breach of the Agreement’ with respect to Article 19 and Annex 1 thereof, imply-
ing non-execution of the Agreement by one of the parties,

F. whereas the attitude of the Laotian authorities, not only towards an MEP and four other members of
the Transnational Radical Party but also as regards the arrest and disappearance of five leaders of the
26 October 1999 Movement, is a clear and visible case of violation of the democratic principles of the
Universal Declaration on Human Rights, and must therefore be considered a case of non-respect of the
abovementioned Cooperation Agreement,

G. having regard to the numerous political and diplomatic actions taken by the countries of which the
five detainees are citizens, the President of the European Parliament, the Council, the Commission and
the High Representative for the CFSP with a view to resolving the situation;

H. deeply concerned at the general political situation in Laos under the ruling single party, which has
been in power since 1975, and at the plight of one of the world’s poorest populations subsisting
without democracy and bereft of the rule of law,

1. Welcomes the release of the MEP Olivier Dupuis and the other four European activists; draws atten-
tion to the role of the Italian government, and especially the Italian Under-Secretary of State for Foreign
Affairs, who went to Laos in person and managed to obtain their repatriation, and also stresses the efforts
of the representatives of the EU institutions and the governments of the Member States and Russia and
their interventions throughout the time these persons were under arrest,

Strongly condemns the attitude of the Laotian political and legal authorities towards an MEP and four
2.
other Radical activists, whose non-violent demonstration in solidarity with the leaders of the 26 October
1999 Movement was an expression of the rights guaranteed by the Universal Declaration of Human Rights
and was in the spirit of the demands made by the European Parliament in its abovementioned resolution;

Expresses its deep concern over the fate of the leaders of the 26 October 1999 Movement and of all

3.
prisoners of conscience, as well as over the failure to respect democratic principles in Laos;

4.
Notes that the Laotian authorities appear to be ignoring the relevant clauses of their Cooperation
Agreement with the EC, and therefore calls on the Commission and Council to issue a strong protest to
the Laotian authorities on the matter and to demand the convening of the joint committee provided for in
Article 14 of the Agreement, to examine the following:

(a)

the need for full information on the fate of the five student leaders who were arrested on 26 October
1999 and of whom no news has been forthcoming since that date;

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Thursday 15 November 2001

(b)

the need for an undertaking by the Government of the Lao PDR that it will guarantee respect for the
civil and political rights recognised by the Universal Declaration on Human Rights and will accept the
demands of the abovementioned resolution, including the repeal of Article 59 of the Laotian penal
code, which lays down a prison sentence of one to five years for ‘anti-government propaganda’;

5.
Calls on the Commission, the Council and the Member States to take all possible steps to ensure that
the trial of the five Laotian leaders against whom charges have been lodged takes place as soon as possible
and on a basis of full respect for international law and for the Constitution of the Lao PDR itself;

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

6.
ments and parliaments of the Member States, of Russia and of the Lao People’s Democratic Republic.

13. Negotiations within the framework of the Biological and Toxin Weapons

Convention following the recent anthrax attacks

B5-0708, 0709, 0716, 0717, 0719 and 0736/2001

European Parliament resolution on negotiations within the framework of the Biological and Toxin
Weapons Convention following the recent anthrax attacks

The European Parliament,

6 having regard to its previous resolutions on arms control, non-proliferation and disarmament, and in
particular to its resolution of 14 June 2001 on the compliance protocol for the Biological and Toxin
Weapons Convention (BTWC) (1),

6 having regard to the 1972 UN Biological and Toxin Weapons Convention (BTWC),

6 having regard to the Common Position of 17 May 1999 (1999/346/CFSP) (2) adopted by the Council
on the basis of Article 15 of the Treaty on European Union relating to progress towards a legally
binding Protocol to strengthen compliance with the BTWC,

6 having regard to the upcoming fifth review conference of the Convention to be held in Geneva from

19 November to 7 December 2001,

6 having regard to the fact that, since 11 September 2001, the US government, in order to strengthen
the BTWC, has presented a number of new proposals to the international community, and to the EU
in particular, to be negotiated at the Review Conference,

A.

extremely concerned by the realistic threat posed by the deliberate use, by state as well as by non-state
actors, of biological and toxin weapons on a massive scale against humans, plants and animals,

B.

regretting that there is currently no legally binding mechanism to verify compliance with the BTWC,

C.

regretting the failure of the States Parties to the BTWC to agree on a compliance protocol before the
Fifth Review Conference, following the US withdrawal in July 2001 from negotiations to conclude
such a protocol,

(1)
‘Texts Adopted’, Item 16.
(2) OJ L 133, 28.5.1999, p. 3.