WRITTEN QUESTION E-2087/02 by Bob van den Bos (ELDR) to the Council. Slavery.
Date: 2002-07-12
Institutions: European Parliament, Provisional data
Subjects: ACP countries, EU relations, Sudan, establishment of peace, human rights, report, rule of law, slavery, trafficking in human beings

17.4.2003

EN

Official Journal of the European Union

C 92 E/135

(2003/C 92 E/185)

WRITTEN QUESTION E-2087/02

by Bob van den Bos (ELDR) to the Council

(12 July 2002)

Subject: Slavery

In late May, the US-led Eminent Persons Group on Slavery, which was set up by President Bush and
includes members from a number of European countries, published a damning report on the situation in
Sudan. The Group accused the Sudanese Government of turning a blind eye to slavery. Slavery is a
phenomenon which occurs not only in a large number of African countries but also, for example, in the
Islamic Gulf States, in the Caucasus and in south-east Asia.

Is the Council aware of the existence of that report? What political conclusions does it draw

1.
therefrom?

Is the Council aware of slavery occurring in ACP States? If so, what policy is it pursuing with a view

2.
to this practice being abolished in those countries?

3. Was this subject addressed in the political dialogue? If so, what was the outcome? If not, why not?

4. What sanctions does the Council have at its disposal if no progress is made towards the abolition of
slavery in those countries where its existence is proven?

Reply

(19 December 2002)

The Council has taken note of the international Eminent Persons Group report on Slavery, Abduction and
Forced Servitude in Sudan, presented by US Senator Danforth and released by the US Bureau of African
Affairs on 22 May 2002. The Council will discuss the different elements of the report at a later stage,
possibly in the context of the assessment of the political dialogue.

The Council adopted conclusions on Sudan on 17 June 2002. In those conclusions the Council underlines
that the EU’s main interest in its relations with Sudan is the promotion of a peace settlement, and respect
for human rights and humanitarian law, as a pre-condition for internal and regional stability. The EU also
aims to pursue the linked issues of democracy, rule of law and the alleviation of poverty.

The Council welcomed the EU-Sudan political dialogue since the last Troika visit
to Khartoum in
December 2001 and noted the developments registered so far. The EU has discussed the human rights
situation with the Sudanese government and expressed its concern. The Council endorsed the EU approach
to the peace process in Sudan, stressing its appeal
for a comprehensive ceasefire as part of a
comprehensive and just peace negotiation process. A fresh assessment of the dialogue between the EU
and Sudan since November 1999 is scheduled to take place in December 2002. The resumption of EU
development cooperation with Sudan is subject to progress towards a peace settlement.

At an international level, the EU has once again initiated resolutions on the human rights situation in
Sudan, in close consultation with the relevant Special Rapporteurs, at the Third Committee of the 56th
session of the UN General Assembly in 2001 and at the 58th session of the Commission on Human Rights
in 2002. Amongst other things, the Government of Sudan was urged to prevent and stop abduction of
women and children and their subjection to forced labour or similar conditions, and to prevent all acts of
torture and cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment.

Human rights are regularly taken up in the EU political dialogue with third countries. Whenever the
Council disposes of specific and substantiated allegations, concrete cases are addressed and the EU will
consequently emphasise that slavery and abduction of civilians are forbidden under international law.

C 92 E/136

Official Journal of the European Union

EN

17.4.2003

Signatories to the ACP-EC Partnership Agreement, which includes Sudan, have agreed that respect for
human rights, democratic principles and the rule of law should underpin the domestic and international
policies of the Parties and constitute the essential elements of the Agreement. If, despite a political dialogue
conducted regularly between the Parties, a Party considers that the other Party has failed to fulfil an
obligation stemming from the Agreement, it can invite the other Party to hold consultations that focus on
the measures taken or to be taken to remedy the situation. If consultations do not lead to an acceptable
solution, appropriate measures may be taken.

(2003/C 92 E/186)

WRITTEN QUESTION E-2093/02

by Alexandros Alavanos (GUE/NGL) to the Council

(16 July 2002)

Subject: Human rights in Algeria

On the eve of the European troika’s visit to Algeria, the Director of Amnesty International’s Brussels office,
Dick Oosting, addressed an open letter to EU representatives Javier Solana, Josep Pique and Chris Patten,
calling for greater transparency in talks held with countries such as Algeria ‘where serious violations of
human rights,
including killings, torture and secret detentions, continue’. The letter addresses specific
questions concerning human rights in Algeria to the EU’s representatives for them to put to their Algerian
interlocutors. Having discussed the human rights issues, does the Council consider the answers which it
received from the Algerian authorities to be satisfactory?

Reply

(16-19 December 2002)

The Council is keeping a close watch on matters concerning respect for human rights in Algeria. In this
context and in the framework of the meetings for regular political dialogue which have been held with
Algeria since 1997, the Council has pointed out repeatedly that it is concerned by the reports on arbitrary
detentions, extrajudicial arrests, the use of torture and the fate of missing persons. It invites Algeria, as it
did in the letter to which the Honourable Member refers, to cooperate with relevant UN and NGO
mechanisms and to provide information on the fate of several missing persons. A list of certain missing
persons has been sent to the Algerian authorities for the purpose.

The Algerian authorities replied concerning certain specific cases in a note verbale dated March 2000.
Since the response was not considered satisfactory, the Council has brought up these cases again (along
with some other cases) at the political dialogue meetings. Algeria does not deny the possibility of slippage
on the part of certain elements in the security forces, but states that it is conducting investigations into the
matter and that it has already processed more than 4 000 missing persons cases, a majority of which have
been closed. It states that it opens a preliminary inquiry for each case. At a meeting in December 2001,
Mr Belkhadem, the Minister for Foreign Affairs, noted that the inquiries had shown that the persons
concerned were dead or had emigrated or had perhaps joined the terrorists, their whereabouts remaining
unknown. The EU does not consider this response to be satisfactory and will continue to raise the cases of
missing persons and to emphasise strongly that any slippage and abuses must in all cases be avoided and
that combating terrorism does not justify human rights violations.

As long as respect for human rights continues to pose a problem in Algeria, questions on respect for
human rights will remain on the agenda for political dialogue.