European Parliament resolution on the situation in Belarus
Date: 2004-09-16
Institutions: European Parliament
Subjects: Belarus, EU relations, election monitoring, freedom of expression, freedom of the press, fundamental rights, human rights, parliamentary election

C 140 E/150

Official Journal of the European Union

EN

9.6.2005

Thursday 16 September 2004

— having regard to the Commission's Communication COM(1999) 0640 and the corresponding European

Parliament resolution of 7 September 2000 (1) on air transport and the environment,

— having regard to Rule 108(5) of its Rules of Procedure,

A.

concerned about the rapidly growing impact of global emissions from air transport on climate change,

B. whereas the proposed amendment to ICAO Assembly resolution A33-7 explicitly rules out unilateral
action to introduce emission-related levies on aviation, notwithstanding existing ICAO guidance on the
matter; whereas this would be counterproductive when it comes to integrated environmental and trans-
port policies and the EU would lose its rights to initiate legislation in this area,

C. having regard to the work undertaken by the ICAO Committee on Aviation Environmental Protection

(CAEP) in February 2004,

Considers that the proposed amendment to resolution A33-7, aimed at overall exclusion of inter-
1.
national aviation from emissions levies, is unacceptable, constitutes a retrograde step for the ICAO and
would undermine the organisation's credibility in the emissions field; supports the European Council, the
Member States and the Commission in registering a reservation against excluding economic measures for
developing a more sustainable aviation policy; urges the ICAO Assembly to reject the amendment and calls
on all
ICAO members to work towards a constructive contribution to the Conference of the Parties
(COP 10) to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (6 to 17 December 2004);

Urges the representatives of EU Member States at the ICAO Assembly to press for urgent additional

2.
progress by the ICAO in aviation environmental protection measures, as regards:

(a)

adoption of new, more stringent standards for NOX emissions;

(b)

implementation of an international open emissions trading scheme;

(c) development and eventual introduction of international CO2 emissions-related levies;

3.

Takes the view that the European Commission should have a seat in the ICAO Assembly;

4.
Instructs its President to forward this resolution to the Council, the Commission, the governments and
parliaments of the Member States and of the applicant countries, the Government of the United States of
America, and the President and members of the ICAO Assembly.

(1) OJ C 135, 7.5.2001, p. 265.

P6_TA(2004)0011

Situation in Belarus

European Parliament resolution on the situation in Belarus

The European Parliament,

— having regard to its previous resolutions on the situation in Belarus,

— having regard, in particular, to its resolution of 24 October 1996 on the situation in Belarus (1), in
which it decided that no further steps would be taken towards ratification of the EU-Belarus partnership
and cooperation agreement until clear signals had been given by the Belarus authorities of their inten-
tion fully to respect basic democratic and human rights,

(1) OJ C 347, 18.11.1996, p. 168.

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Official Journal of the European Union

C 140 E/151

Thursday 16 September 2004

— having regard, in particular, to its resolution of 5 July 2001 on Belarus (1), adopted prior to the 2001
presidential elections, and to the reports of the Parliamentary Troika (OSCE Parliamentary Assembly,
Council of Europe Parliamentary Assembly and European Parliament) published after the 2000 general
election (30 January 2001) and the 2001 presidential election (4 October 2001),

— having regard, in particular, to its resolution of 11 February 2003 (2) on relations between the European

Union and Belarus: towards a future partnership,

— having regard to the OSCE's 1999 Istanbul summit declaration (3),

— having regard to the resolutions by the Council of Europe on the situation in Belarus and, in particular,
to its resolution of 28 April 2004 (4) on the persecution of the press in the Republic of Belarus,

— having regard to the recent declaration of the Head of the OSCE Office in Minsk criticising the prison
sentences passed on two members of the Belarus opposition accused of defaming the President of
Belarus,

— having regard to the declaration made on 30 July 2004 by the Dutch Presidency on behalf of the
European Union on the unacceptable pressure exerted by the Belarus authorities on the European
Humanities University in Minsk (5),

— having regard to the Communication from the Commission of 11 May 2004 on the European Neigh-

bourhood Policy (COM(2004) 0373),

— having regard to the resolutions adopted by the UN Commission on Human Rights and its decision to

appoint a special rapporteur for Belarus,

— having regard to Rule 103(4) of its Rules of Procedure,

A. whereas elections for the Belarus Parliament will take place on 17 October 2004,

B. whereas President Lukashenko has decided that a referendum will be held at the same time asking for
the removal of an article in the constitution that limits the presidential term to a maximum of two
consecutive periods of five years in office,

C. whereas the Parliamentary Troika concluded that neither the parliamentary nor the presidential elec-
tions of 2000 and 2001 were free and fair and that they were preceded by arbitrary action by the
government against the political opposition, independent media and election-observing organisations,

D. whereas, instead of improving, the situation in Belarus has further deteriorated to a situation where
human rights are violated with contempt, the Lower House is deprived of its legislative rights, and
economic life is ruled by the President; whereas these violations include imprisonment of members of
the democratic opposition and the use of other forms of repression against them, the de-registration of
political parties in the run-up to the elections, the harassment and intimidation of opposition candi-
dates and the banning of representatives of opposition parties at polling stations,

E. whereas the EU has repeatedly condemned the arrest of prominent opposition leaders by the Luk-
ashenko government and whereas no progress has been made in the unsolved cases of a number of
disappeared persons,

F. whereas over the past few years more than 50 democratic NGOs of different levels and different pol-
itical orientations, over 20 independent mass media entities, several educational establishments and
several political parties have been closed for ‘technical’ reasons, but whereas it was clear that in all
cases these organisations were punished for criticising the President and his policy,

(1) OJ C 65 E, 14.3.2002, p. 373.
(2) OJ C 43 E, 19.2.2004, p. 60.
(3) SUM.DOC/2/99, 19 November 1999.
(4) Council of Europe Parliamentary Assembly Resolution 1372 (2004).
(5) 11835/1/04 REV 1.

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Thursday 16 September 2004

G. whereas politically motivated arrests and trials of activists of the democratic movement and indepen-
dent journalists, and deportations of foreign citizens are continually taking place in Belarus; whereas
only a few days ago two members of the Belarus opposition, Valery Levonevsky and Alexander Vasilyev,
were condemned to two years in prison on a charge of defaming the President of Belarus,

H.

I.

J.

extremely concerned at the decision of the Belarusian authorities to revoke the licence to operate as a
legal entity of the internationally recognised European Humanities University in Minsk, which is a
remarkable example of academic freedom and the pursuit of true European values in teaching and
research programmes, with dire consequences for the academic future of hundreds of students and
teachers,

having regard to the resolution of the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe of 28 April
2004 which acknowledged evidence of involvement of top State officials in the abduction and alleged
assassination of leading opposition figures in 1999,

stressing the increasing political isolation of Belarus, the only Eastern European country with which the
EU has not yet signed a partnership and cooperation agreement,

K. underlining the fact that Belarus is included in the European Neighbourhood Policy, but at present is
not benefiting from the offer of increased cooperation owing to the lack of democracy and the rule of
law in the country, despite the hope of Belarusian citizens for increased cooperation with the European
Union,

1.
Strongly condemns the Belarus regime's indiscriminate attacks on the media, journalists, members of
the opposition, human rights activists and any person who attempts freely to voice criticism of the President
and the regime, as manifested through arbitrary arrests, ill-treatment of detainees, disappearances, politically
motivated persecution and other acts of repression that flout the basic principles of democracy and the rule
of law;

2.
Calls on the Belarus authorities to guarantee that the parliamentary elections of 17 October 2004 will
be free, fair, equal, accountable and transparent and to ensure that the Parliament thus elected is given
meaningful powers, and rejects as undemocratic the steps undertaken to eliminate major democratic opposi-
tion parties, including making the Labour Party illegal and the official ‘warning’ given to the Belarusian
National Front, which may be the first step towards its delegalisation;

3.
Calls upon the people of Belarus to participate in the forthcoming parliamentary elections; strongly
urges the central election committee to provide all political movements in the country with equal access to
the committee and the same chances to field candidates; appeals to the Belarus government to allow inter-
national observers to monitor the elections in order to guarantee that they are carried out in a free and fair
manner; recognises the great importance of these elections for the reestablishment of democracy in Belarus
and the reintegration of Belarus within the international democratic community;

Considers President Lukashenko's attempts to seek an extension of his presidential term by referendum
4.
as a further confirmation of the authoritarian way in which he rules the country, and urges President
Lukashenko to respect the conditions of the Belarus Constitution as regards the maximum term of office
for the President of the Republic and to refrain from holding a referendum on this issue;

5.
Calls on the Belarus authorities to immediately stop the harassment of all educational institutions in
the country and to respect the basic principles of academic freedom, teaching autonomy and tolerance in
education;

6.
Expresses its deepest concern at the closure of the European Humanities University, a well-structured
academic institution which has developed significant cultural cooperation activities with EU countries and
embodies the principles of academic freedom and teaching autonomy; expresses similar concern at the
closure of the Jakub Kolas school, the only secondary school where all courses were taught in the Belarusian
language;

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Thursday 16 September 2004

Calls on the Belarus authorities to release immediately Valery Levonevsky, Alexander Vasilyev and

7.
Mikhail Larinich and all other imprisoned political opponents of the regime;

8. Welcomes the decision of the UN Commission on Human Rights to appoint a Special Rapporteur on
the human rights situation in Belarus and the objective of developing a human rights education programme
for all sectors of society;

Calls on the Belarus authorities to respect trade union rights, and in particular the right of association

9.
guaranteed under the ILO conventions ratified by Belarus;

Emphasises once again that the further development of EU relations with Belarus will continue to

10.
depend on the progress made towards democratisation and reform in the country;

Calls on the EU Council Presidency to press the Belarus authorities to allow a delegation from the
11.
European Parliament to be sent to Belarus to observe the elections on 17 October 2004 and to create the
conditions for independent observation;

Urges the Commission to make the most of the current spontaneous ‘people to people’ exchange
12.
programmes between Belarusian communities of Chernobyl children and some municipalities in EU
Member States; calls, in this connection, for the creation of a dedicated framework through which to sup-
port those Belarus municipalities sincerely committed to democratic values;

Instructs its President to forward this resolution to the Council, the Commission, the Parliaments and
13.
Governments of the Member States, the Government and the Parliament of Belarus, and the Parliamentary
Assemblies of the OSCE and the Council of Europe.

P6_TA(2004)0012

Humanitarian situation in Sudan

European Parliament resolution on the Darfur region in the Sudan

The European Parliament,

— having regard to the ACP-EC Partnership Agreement signed in Cotonou on 23 June 2000 (1),

— having regard to the Constitution of the Republic of the Sudan adopted on 30 June 1998,

— having regard to the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights adopted on 16 December

1966, ratified by the Republic of the Sudan on 18 June 1986,

— having regard to the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights adopted on

16 December 1966, ratified by the Republic of the Sudan on 18 June 1986,

— having regard to the Convention on the Rights of the Child adopted on 20 November 1989, ratified by

the Republic of the Sudan on 2 September 1990,

— having regard to the International Convention on the Elimination of all Forms of Racial Discrimination

adopted on 21 December 1965, ratified by the Republic of the Sudan on 20 April 1977,

— having regard to the African Charter on Human and Peoples' Rights adopted on 27 June 1981 and

ratified by the Republic of the Sudan on 18 February 1986,

— having regard to the Convention on the Prevention and Punishment of the Crime of Genocide adopted

on 9 December 1948,

— having regard to the Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court adopted on 12 September 2003,

(1) OJ L 317, 15.12.2000, p. 3.