WRITTEN QUESTION E-1270/03 by Marianne Eriksson (GUE/NGL) to the Council. Human rights violations in Burma.
Date: 2003-04-03
Institutions: European Parliament, Provisional data
Subjects: Myanmar/Burma, armed forces, fact-finding mission, human rights, sexual violence, the EU's international role

26.2.2004

EN

Official Journal of the European Union

C 51 E/71

(2004/C 51 E/079)

WRITTEN QUESTION E-1270/03

by Marianne Eriksson (GUE/NGL) to the Council

(3 April 2003)

Subject: Human rights violations in Burma

The Burmese army is using rape as a weapon of war along the Thai-Burma border, especially directed
towards the Shan minority in Burma. The situation has worsened since the release of the report ‘Licence to
rape’ by the Shan Human Rights Foundation and the Shan Women’s Action Network in May 2002. The
report documents 173 cases of sexual violence,
involving 625 women and girls, committed by the
Burmese army between 1996 and 2001. I would like to request that the Council sends a fact-finding
mission to investigate all human rights violations carried out by the Burmese army.
Is the Council
intending to do so?

Reply

(2 October 2003)

The Council shares the Honourable MEPs’ serious concerns over human rights violations in Burma,
1.
and in particular over allegations that the Burmese army is systematically using rape as a weapon in the
internal conflict along the border with Thailand.

The EU has on several occasions in meetings with the Burmese authorities raised its human rights
2.
concerns, and will continue to do so. The Council has also publicly declared in its conclusions adopted in
mid-April 2003 that the EU is gravely concerned over the ongoing serious violations of human rights in
Burma, and over the reports of rapes and other forms of sexual violence persistently carried out by
members of the Burmese armed forces.

3.
The Council considers that an EU fact-finding mission to Burma would have little chance of being
admitted into the country by the Burmese authorities. The Council will therefore continue to support the
initiative of UN Human Rights Rapporteur, Amb. Paulo Sergio Pinheiro, in this regard. A full and speedy
investigation by Amb. Pinheiro and his team into the allegations of rape is deemed to be the most
appropriate way to address this issue.

4.
Consequently, at its meeting on 16 June in Luxembourg the Council adopted conclusions referring to
its decision, following the events of May, to implement without delay the strengthened sanctions originally
envisaged to enter into force by October 2003. The Council also decided to monitor closely the further
evolution of the situation in Burma/Myanmar, and reaffirmed its readiness to react proportionately to
future developments. The Council
level
previously scheduled to take place before the end of October 2003.

further decided to postpone the Troika visit on a political

(2004/C 51 E/080)

WRITTEN QUESTION P-1275/03

by Koldo Gorostiaga Atxalandabaso (NI) to the Council

Subject: Lack of medical care for Basque political prisoners

(31 March 2003)

Lack of medical care for Basque political prisoners shows how laws are not equally implemented in the
Spanish Kingdom.

Bautista Barandalla’s case is one of the clearest examples of that. This 38-year old Navarrian has been in
prison for over 12 years. In 2000 he was diagnosed with ulcerous proctitis but he was not admitted into
hospital until March 2002. From that time, 13 times he has had parts of his colon and rectum removed.