European Parliament resolution on Burma
Date: 2005-11-17
Institutions: European Parliament
Subjects: Myanmar/Burma, human rights, international sanctions, military regime, political prisoner, political violence

18.11.2006

EN

Official Journal of the European Union

C 280 E/473

Thursday 17 November 2005

D. whereas amongst the prisoners currently being held under sentence of death in the Philippines is a

European citizen, Francisco Larrañaga, who is accused of rape and murder,

E. whereas despite the fact that his case has all the characteristics of an unfair trial according to inter-
national legal standards, the death sentence on Francisco Larrañaga was confirmed in July 2005 and
there are no further possibilities of appeal,

Endorses all international initiatives which would lead to the abolition of capital punishment world-
1.
wide, notably United Nations Commission on Human Rights resolution No 2005/59 on ‘The Question of
the death penalty’ and the Second Optional Protocol to the International Covenant on Civil and Political
Rights, Aiming at the Abolition of the Death Penalty, and reiterates its call for the universal abolition of the
death penalty, and in the meantime for a moratorium on executions;

2.
Calls on the President of the Philippines to revoke her decision to end the moratorium on the death
penalty, and urgently calls on the Philippines Congress to repeal the law on the reintroduction of the death
penalty;

Supports the legislative initiative of the Philippines Congress for the abolition of the death penalty in

3.
the Philippines;

Asks the President of the Philippines, Mrs Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo, to exercise her powers by grant-
4.
ing an absolute pardon to Francisco Larrañaga and securing his immediate release from prison, as well as
commuting the death penalty of the prisoners on death row, particularly the 18 child offenders;

Calls for a review of the legal procedure leading to the death penalty in this case, and asks for a fair

5.
trial to be held on the basis of respect for all legal, penal and jurisdictional guarantees;

Calls on the Government and Parliament of the Philippine to take radical steps for the reform of the

6.
national law enforcement and criminal justice system;

Urges the Council and the Commission to take all necessary initiatives to prevent the execution of this

7.
EU citizen;

Calls on the Council and Commission to consider the abolition of the death penalty and a universal
8.
moratorium on executions as an essential element in relations between the EU and third countries, raising
this issue when concluding or renewing agreements with third countries;

Instructs its President to forward this resolution to the Council and Commission, the Government and
9.
Parliament of the Philippines, and the other governments of the Member States of the Association of South-
east Asian Nations.

P6_TA(2005)0444

Burma/Myanmar

The European Parliament,

European Parliament resolution on Burma

— having regard to the resolution on the situation of human rights in Myanmar adopted on 14 April
2005 at the 61st session of the UN Commission on Human Rights, and to the resolution on the
situation of human rights in Myanmar adopted by the UN General Assembly on 23 December 2004,

— having regard to the report of the UN Secretary-General on the situation of human rights in Myanmar

of 10 October 2005,

C 280 E/474

Official Journal of the European Union

EN

18.11.2006

Thursday 17 November 2005

— having regard to the Chairman's Statement of the Seventh Asia-Europe Meeting (ASEM) of Foreign

Ministers held in Kyoto on 6 to 7 May 2005,

— having regard to its previous resolutions on Burma, in particular that of 12 May 2005 (1),

— having regard to Rule 115(5) of the Rules of Procedure,

A. whereas the people of Burma are subject to human rights abuses, including forced labour, persecution
of dissidents, conscription of child soldiers, rape and pillage by government troops, and forced relo-
cation,

B. B whereas under its ‘Four Cuts’ strategy the Burmese military practise brutality and repression against

the population in the seven ethnic states of Burma,

C. whereas the Sixth ASEM Foreign Ministers' Meeting held in Kildare on 17 to18 April 2004 laid down
clear conditions for Burma's entry into ASEM, including the release of Aung San Suu Kyi as a minimum
condition, allowing the National League for Democracy (NLD) to operate freely, and starting genuine
political dialogue with pro-democracy and ethnic groups in Burma,

D. whereas none of these conditions have been fulfilled by the Burmese dictatorship,

E. whereas, on 6 July 2005, the Government of Burma released 249 political prisoners, including dis-
sidents and NLD activists; whereas, however, according to the Special Rapporteur of the UN Commis-
sion on Human Rights on the situation of human rights in Myanmar, there are still over 1 000 people
imprisoned for political reasons,

F. whereas the National Convention in Burma will be convened in December 2005 without the partici-
pation of the NLD and without due democratic process, thus failing to guarantee the proper represen-
tation of the Burmese people,

G. whereas, on 2 November 2005, the Burmese military dictatorship sentenced Hkun Htun Oo, Chairman
of the Shan Nationalities League for Democracy, to 90 years in prison, General Hso Hten, President of
the Shan State Peace Council, to 106 years in prison and eight other Shan leaders to 70 years in prison
each, all of whom have been detained in prison since February 2005 and denied the possibility of being
assisted by the lawyers of their choice and seeing their family,

H. whereas, in June 2005, the International Labour Organisation (ILO) decided to ‘reactivate’ the measures
that it had adopted in June 2000 calling for members to review their relations (under Article 33 of the
ILO Constitution) with Burma because of its continuing large-scale use of forced labour,

I. whereas, the report commissioned by former President of the Czech Republic Václav Havel and Arch-
bishop Desmond Tutu, ‘Threat to the Peace — A Call for the UN Security Council to Act in Burma’,
clearly demonstrates the need for UN Security Council action,

1.
Calls on the UN Security Council to address the situation in Burma as a matter of urgency and to
empower the UN Secretary-General to mediate in Burma in order to bring about national reconciliation and
a transition to democracy, and calls on the UN Security Council to take the necessary measures to impose
economic sanctions against Burma in an effort to force change;

2.

Condemns the total disregard of the military dictatorship for the welfare of the people of Burma;

Condemns the Burmese military's brutal campaign involving forcible relocations against several major

3.
ethnic groups fighting for autonomy;

(1) Texts Adopted, P6_TA(2005)0186.

18.11.2006

EN

Official Journal of the European Union

C 280 E/475

Thursday 17 November 2005

4.
Demands the immediate release and full freedom of movement and expression for Aung San Suu Kyi,
Hkun Htun Oo, General Hso Hten, other political leaders and all political prisoners held by the State Peace
and Development Council (SPDC);

5.
Insists that the SPDC immediately initiate a meaningful dialogue with the NLD and ethnic groups to
bring about a return to democracy and respect for human rights, including ethnic minority rights and state
rights in Burma;

6.

Insists that the EU's Common Policy on Burma be strengthened immediately by:

(a) officially stating that the EU will not accept any outcome of the military's National Convention unless
the minimum conditions laid down at the Sixth ASEM Foreign Ministers' Meeting are met, due demo-
cratic process is guaranteed and the NLD and other representative pro-democracy parties are free and
able to attend;

(b) encouraging a blanket prohibition in Council Regulation (EC) No 1853/2004 of 25 October 2004
concerning additional restrictive measures in respect of Burma/Myanmar and amending Regulation
(EC) No 798/2004 (1) on EU-registered companies making new investments or extending loans to all
Burmese state-owned enterprises;

7.
Calls for a high-ranking EU envoy to be appointed to work towards securing the release of Aung San
Suu Kyi, Hkun Htun Oo and other political leaders, to develop a comprehensive EU strategy on Burma
enabling humanitarian aid to be delivered to the people of Burma from within Burma and through cross-
border strategies, and to bring about a transition to democracy and respect for human rights;

Deeply regrets the fact that the Government of Burma has not yet undertaken all the relevant
8.
measures to allow the Joint Government of the Union of Myanmar — International Labour Organization
Plan of Action for the elimination of forced labour practices in Myanmar to come into force;

Calls on the EU to endorse the report and resolution proposed in the abovementioned report ‘Threat

9.
to the Peace — A Call for the UN Security Council to Act in Burma’;

Urges all members of the ILO within the EU to seriously review their relations, under Article 33 of

10.
the ILO Constitution, with Burma, as called for by the ILO;

11.
Instructs its President to forward this resolution to the Council, the Commission, the governments of
the ASEAN and ASEM member states, the ASEAN Inter-Parliamentary Myanmar Caucus, Aung San Suu Kyi,
the NLD, the SPDC, the UN Secretary-General, the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights and the
Special Rapporteur on the situation of human rights in Myanmar.

(1) OJ L 323, 26.10.2004, p. 11.

P6_TA(2005)0445

Development strategy for Africa

European Parliament resolution on a development strategy for Africa (2005/2142(INI))

The European Parliament,

— having regard to the United Nations Millennium Declaration of 8 September 2000, which sets out the
Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) as criteria established jointly by the international community
for the elimination of poverty,