European Parliament resolution on Egypt: the Ayman Nour affair
Date: 2006-04-06
Institutions: European Parliament
Subjects: Egypt, Union for the Mediterranean, democracy, human rights, imprisonment, leader of the opposition, rule of law

2.12.2006

EN

Official Journal of the European Union

C 293 E/325

Thursday 6 April 2006

12. Welcomes the inspection of places of detention throughout the country carried out by the Iraqi
authorities; welcomes the fact that more inspections are underway; also welcomes the fact that UNAMI
encourages this process;

Calls on the MNF-I and the Iraqi authorities to grant the International Committee of the Red Cross

13.
unfettered access to all British and US detention facilities;

Supports the continuing efforts of the Iraqi Ministry of Human Rights to uphold high standards,

14.
including for people under detention;

15.
Supports EUJUST LEX; notes that the Iraqi authorities have requested that the mission be extended
beyond the end of its current mandate and the scope of the training provided expanded; urges the Com-
mission and the Council to extend the mission beyond the end of its current mandate and to expand the
scope of the training provided to include forensic policing;

Calls on the Iraqi Council of Representatives to ratify the Convention against Torture and Other

16.
Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment;

Calls on the Commission, the Council and the Member States to make further contributions to the

17.
strengthening of human rights and the rule of law in Iraq;

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18.
Instructs its President to forward this resolution to the Council, the Commission, the Iraqi Transi-
tional Government, the Iraqi Council of Representatives, the Government of the United States of America,
the governments of the other countries that are part of the MNF-I, and the UN Secretary-General.

P6_TA(2006)0144

Egypt: the Ayman Nour affair

European Parliament resolution on Egypt: the Ayman Nour affair

The European Parliament,

— having regard to its previous resolutions on the case of Ayman Nour and on the Euro-Mediterranean

Partnership,

— having regard to the Barcelona Declaration of 28 November 1995,

— having regard to the communication of 21 May 2003 from the Commission to the Council and the
European Parliament on reinvigorating EU actions on Human Rights and democratisation with Medi-
terranean partners — Strategic guidelines (COM(2003)0294),

— having regard to the first conference of the Euro-Mediterranean Human Rights Network, held in Cairo

on 26 and 27 January 2006,

— having regard to the work programme adopted by the Heads of State and Government at the Barcelona

Summit on 28 November 2005,

— having regard to the conclusions of the fifth Conference of Euro-Mediterranean Presidents of Parlia-

ments, adopted in Barcelona on 26 November 2005,

— having regard to the resolutions adopted by the Euro-Mediterranean Parliamentary Assembly (APEM) on

27 March 2006 and the declaration of its President,

— having regard to its resolution of 19 January 2006 on the European Neighbourhood Policy (1),

(1) Texts Adopted, P6_TA(2006)0028.

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Thursday 6 April 2006

— having regard to Article 11(1) of the Treaty on European Union and Article 177 of the Treaty establish-
ing the European Community, which establish the promotion of human rights as an objective of the
common foreign and security policy,

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

A. whereas the promotion of respect for democracy, human rights and civil liberties is one of the funda-
mental principles and aims of the European Union and constitutes a common ground for the devel-
opment of the Euro-Mediterranean area,

B. whereas the EU has defined a European Neighbourhood Policy aiming at enhancing and strengthening
political dialogue and integrating partner countries into EU policies in order to promote peace, stability
and democracy in neighbouring countries,

C. whereas the first action plans with Morocco, Tunisia, Jordan, Israel and the Palestinian National Auth-
ority adopted by the Council commit the Union and partner countries to a closer and all-encompassing
dialogue and must follow a coherent and common regional approach; whereas the adoption in June
2006 of the action plan with Egypt, which is currently under negotiation is expected,

D. whereas it attaches great importance to relations with Egypt and considers fair and transparent elections

as the established way to make progress towards a more democratic society,

E. whereas it is concerned by the waiving of the parliamentary immunity and the detention of Ayman
Nour, Chairman of the Ghad Party in Egypt and recalls its previous resolutions on human rights issues
in Egypt, including the case of Ayman Nour,

F. whereas the leader of the El Ghad Party and former member of Parliament Ayman Nour and other
defendants were arrested after Dr Nour had stood in the last presidential elections and also in the
parliamentary elections of November and December 2005, during which intimidation of Dr Nour's
supporters was witnessed,

G. whereas Ayman Nour, who came second in the last presidential elections, has been sentenced to five
years' imprisonment for allegedly falsifying some of the 50 signatures needed to register his party,

H. whereas it is disturbed by reports that Dr Nour's health has seriously declined due to the hunger strike

on which he has embarked in protest at the conditions of his trial and detention,

I. whereas it has been decided that Dr Nour's appeal will be considered by the Court of Cassation on
18 May 2006; whereas it is concerned, however, by the fact that the judge who was chosen to head this
tribunal is the same one who was chosen to question the Egyptian judges who testified against the
government and confirmed the forgery of the election process last November; whereas it proposes
that, should Dr Nour remain in prison following the court hearing, an ad hoc delegation from Parlia-
ment visit him in prison,

1.
Stresses the importance of Egypt and EU-Egypt relations for the stability and development of the Euro-
Mediterranean area and welcomes the process of political reform which the Egyptian authorities have under-
taken to pursue;

2.
Stresses that respect for human rights is a fundamental value of the EU-Egypt Association Agreement
and reaffirms the importance of the Euro-Mediterranean Partnership for promoting the rule of law and
fundamental freedoms;

3.
Calls on the Egyptian authorities to act in accordance with the laws of Egypt in the spirit of its
professed desire for increased political openness and dialogue; recalls nevertheless the political context in
which this trial is taking place;

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Thursday 6 April 2006

4.
Urges the Egyptian government to reform the legal framework regulating elections in accordance with
international standards providing for freedom and transparency, as well as enabling political groups to be
founded and civil society organisations to be represented;

Calls on the Council and the Commission to devise practical arrangements in cooperation with Parlia-
5.
ment for regular assessments of compliance with Article 2 of the Euro-Mediterranean Association Agree-
ment by all contracting parties thereto with a view to bringing about verifiable progress, in particular with
regard to regular and impartial monitoring of developments in the field of human rights and the extent to
which human rights activists and opposition leaders, such as Dr Nour, are free to act and speak out;

6.

Calls for the release of Dr Ayman Nour;

Stresses the positive and moderate role that Egypt plays in the Middle East peace process; calls on the

7.
Commission and the Council to strengthen this role;

8.
Calls on the Egyptian government to establish precise timetables and benchmarks in order effectively
to monitor the progress of the implementation of the Action Plan and thereby involve and consult organi-
sations working within the framework of the Euro-Mediterranean Human Rights Network;

Urges, in this regard, the Commission and the Egyptian government to include in the Action Plan the
9.
creation of a specific Sub-Committee on Human Rights in the framework of the EU-Egypt Association
Agreement and to establish an efficient monitoring mechanism for the Action Plan once it is adopted;

Takes the view that the lifting of the Emergency Laws is an absolute necessity if democracy is to be

10.
respected;

11.
Strongly supports measures to guarantee academic freedom and freedom of the media and private
religious belief, putting an end to discrimination between citizens on grounds of sex, religion, race or any
other grounds to be included in the Action Plan; is worried, however, about the growing role of fundamen-
talism in this area;

12.
Takes the view that the Action Plan should include concrete, measurable and time-bound commit-
ments, even if this means prolonging the negotiations beyond the proposed date for the meeting of the EU-
Egypt Association Council, scheduled to take place on 12 June 2006; calls, in particular, on the Commission
and the Egyptian government to tackle in the Action Plan sensitive issues such as the lifting of the state of
emergency, the prevention of and the fight against torture, the abolition of arbitrary detention and the
reinforcement of the independence of the judiciary;

Calls on the Parliament of the Republic of Egypt to engage in a process of democratisation and of
13.
enforcement of the rule of law and human rights with a view to it playing a leading role in the region as a
future model of parliamentary democracy;

14.
Recalls its request, as expressed in its above mentioned resolution of 19 January 2006, to have a
follow-up on the conditions and the situation of Sudanese refugees who were subjected to violence in
Cairo on 30 December 2005;

15.
Instructs its President to forward this resolution to the Council, the Commission, the governments
and parliaments of the Member States and the Mediterranean countries signatory to the Barcelona Declar-
ation and to the President of the Euro-Mediterranean Assembly.