European Parliament resolution on Nigeria
Date: 2004-04-22
Institutions: European Parliament
Subjects: Christianity, Islam, Nigeria, freedom of religious beliefs, infectious disease, public safety, religious conflict, religious fundamentalism

30.4.2004

EN

Official Journal of the European Union

C 104 E/1069

Thursday 22 April 2004

5.
Calls on suppliers and manufacturers of sportswear and athletic footwear to adopt labour practices
that provide working conditions which comply with international labour standards and national labour
legislation;

6.
Calls on the Commission to work with the ILO to ensure that the IOC includes respect for inter-
nationally accepted labour rights in its Fundamental Principles, the Olympic Charter, and its Code of
Ethics, and to insist that the IOC require, as a contractual condition in its licensing, sponsorship and
marketing agreements, that labour practices and working conditions involved in the production of IOC-
branded products comply with internationally recognised labour standards, including all the human rights
standards identified by the ILO as constituting fundamental rights;

7.
Urges the World Federation of the Sporting Goods Industry to commit itself to stating publicly that
the sportswear and athletic footwear industries need to come forward with concrete and identifiable
measures for a sectoral solution aiming at full compliance with ILO labour standards;

8.

Considers that more funds should be made available to the ILO’s International Programme;

Considers that respect for fundamental rights at work requires not only that the ILO be involved, but

9.
also that strategies to promote core labour standards find a place within the WTO;

Stresses also the importance of increased consumer awareness and the development of social and

10.
fair-trade labelling in creating incentives for multinational enterprises to improve working conditions;

11.
Instructs its President to forward this resolution to the Council, the governments of the old and new
Member States, the Commission, the International Olympic Committee, the World Federation of the Sport-
ing Goods Industry and the International Labour Organisation.

P5_TA(2004)0381

Nigeria

The European Parliament,

European Parliament resolution on Nigeria

(cid:1) having regard to its previous resolutions on the situation in Nigeria,

(cid:1) having regard to the international human rights conventions ratified by Nigeria,

(cid:1) having regard to Rule 50(5) of its Rules of Procedure,

A. having regard to the too frequent confrontations between communities in Nigeria, which have led to

thousands of deaths in recent years,

B. whereas these confrontations are sometimes of a religious character,

C. whereas the recent eruption of religious violence in the Nigerian state of Plateau, resulting in the death
the displacement of up to 50 000 persons and the destruction of
of some 1 500 Christians,
173 churches, is one of the worst in the ongoing violence against Christian communities in several
Nigerian states in recent years,

D. whereas a large number of mercenaries are allegedly being recruited from Niger and Chad by Islamic

extremists in the Plateau State to attack Christian towns and villages,

C 104 E/1070

Official Journal of the European Union

EN

30.4.2004

Thursday 22 April 2004

E.

having regard to the violent actions of Islamic fundamentalist militants, particularly in these northern
states, and whereas a battalion of 500 soldiers, supported by tanks, was required to subdue the upris-
ing by the Islamic sect known as ‘Followers of the Prophet’, which had taken control of police stations
and schools in Kano State,

F. whereas, since 1999, 12 northern states with a Muslim majority have introduced strict Islamic Sharia
law, followed by increased tension between Muslims and Christians and resulting in ethnic and relig-
ious violence, including the killing of over 10 000 people,

G. whereas the Nigerian Constitution adopted in 1999 guarantees total freedom of belief,

H. whereas a religious law can only be applied to those who accept it, and whereas the European Parlia-
ment has repeatedly condemned the power of local courts under Sharia law to sentence women to
lapidation (stoning to death),

I. whereas the Nigerian region of Kano is one of the last remaining reservoirs of the wild polio virus,

Condemns all forms of religious intolerance and violence and most recently the widespread killing of

1.
Christians and the destruction of churches in the Nigerian state of Plateau;

2.
Calls on the Nigerian Government to take immediate and effective measures to protect its citizens,
put an end to the violence, actively implement the promotion of and respect for human rights and in
particular freedom of religion, and promote a dialogue leading to lasting peace and security in all states;

3.
Calls on the European Union to start immediately a political dialogue with the Nigerian Government
to promote tolerance and peace between the communities, including the religious authorities, and security
of the person, accompanied by respect for human rights, including respect for religious beliefs;

4.
Regrets the suspension of polio vaccinations by the Kano authorities, after unfounded rumours
spread by some Islamic preachers about the vaccine, thus seriously threatening the progress of polio
eradication in Africa;

Instructs its President to forward this resolution to the Commission, the ACP-EU Council, the Co-

5.
Presidents of the ACP-EU Joint Parliamentary Assembly and the Nigerian Government.

P5_TA(2004)0382

Women in South-East Europe

European Parliament resolution on women in South-East Europe (2003/2128(INI))

The European Parliament,

(cid:1) having regard to Articles 6 and 49 of the Treaty on European Union,

(cid:1) having regard to the Charter of Fundamental Rights of the European Union,

(cid:1) having regard to the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women

(CEDAW) adopted by the UN General Assembly in 1979,

(cid:1) having regard to the work of the Vienna Conference on Human Rights (1993), which affirmed human

rights and condemned the violation of these rights in the name of culture or tradition,