European Parliament resolution on the Annual Report on Human Rights in the World 2005 and the EU's policy on the matter (2005/2203(INI))
Date: 2006-05-18
Institutions: Committee on Foreign Affairs, European Parliament
Subjects: EU activity, EU policy, activity report, human rights, the EU's international role

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P6_TA(2006)0220

Annual Report on Human Rights in the World 2005 and the EU's policy on the
matter

European Parliament resolution on the Annual Report on Human Rights in the World 2005 and the
EU's policy on the matter (2005/2203(INI))

The European Parliament,

— having regard to the seventh EU Annual Report on Human Rights (2005) (1),

— having regard to Articles 3, 6, 11, 13 and 19 of the Treaty on European Union and Articles 177 and

300 of the EC Treaty,

— having regard to the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and to all relevant international human

rights instruments (2),

— having regard to the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women

(CEDAW) and its Optional Protocol,

— having regard to the United Nations Charter,

— having regard to the entry into force on 1 July 2002 of the Rome Statute of the International Criminal

Court (ICC) and to its resolutions related to the ICC (3),

— having regard to the Council of Europe Convention on Action against Trafficking in Human Beings and
the 2005 Action Plan on trafficking in human beings, developed and adopted by the Council and the
Commission in accordance with the Hague Programme,

— having regard to Protocol No 13 to the European Convention for the Protection of Human Rights and

Fundamental Freedoms, concerning the abolition of the death penalty in all circumstances,

— having regard to the Charter of Fundamental Rights of the European Union (4),

— having regard to the ACP-EU Partnership Agreement (5) and its recent 2005 revision (6),

— having regard to its previous resolutions on human rights in the world,

— having regard to its resolution of 24 February 2005 on the EU's priorities and recommendations for the
61st session of the UN Commission on Human Rights in Geneva (14 March to 22 April 2005) (7),

— having regard to its resolution of 14 February 2006 on the human rights and democracy clause in Euro-

pean Union agreements (8),

— having regard to all urgency human rights resolutions adopted by it,

— having regard to the Commission Communication entitled ‘Tenth Anniversary of the Euro-Mediterranean

Partnership: A work programme to meet the challenges of the next five years’ (COM(2005)0139),

— having regard to the resolutions of the Euro-Mediterranean Parliamentary Assembly, and particularly that

voted on 21 November 2005 in Rabat,

— having regard to its resolution of 17 November 2005 on the Council's Sixth Annual Report on the Euro-

pean Union's Code of Conduct on Arms Exports (9),

— having regard to the conclusions of the EU Human Rights Discussion Forum, which took place in

December 2005,

(1) Council document 12416/05.
(2) For all relevant basic texts, please consult the table annexed to report A6-0158/2006 of the Committee on Foreign

Affairs.

(3) OJ C 379, 7.12.1998, p. 265; OJ C 262, 18.9.2001, p. 262; OJ C 293 E, 28.11.2002, p. 88; OJ C 271 E,

12.11.2003, p. 576.

(4) OJ C 364, 18.12.2000, p. 1.
(5) OJ L 317, 15.12.2000, p. 3.
(6) OJ L 287, 28.10.2005, p. 4.
(7) OJ C 304 E, 1.12.2005, p. 375.
(8) Texts Adopted, P6_TA(2006)0056.
(9) Texts Adopted, P6_TA(2005)0436.

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— having regard to the United Nations Convention against Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading

Treatment or Punishment,

— having regard to Rule 45 of its Rules of Procedure,

— having regard to the report of the Committee on Foreign Affairs and the opinion of the Committee on

Women's Rights and Gender Equality (A6-0158/2006),

A. whereas the EU Annual Report on Human Rights 2005 is a general overview of activities of the Euro-

pean Union institutions regarding human rights inside and outside the European Union,

B. whereas this resolution sets out to examine, evaluate and, where appropriate, offer constructive criticism
of the human rights activities of the Commission, the Council and the overall activities of the Parlia-
ment,

1. Welcomes the fact that the EU is playing an increasingly active role on the world stage to improve
human rights globally; considers that the last enlargement of the EU to 25 Member States with 457 million
inhabitants (soon to be supplemented by the accession of Bulgaria and Romania) has increased the global
importance of the EU and has thus given it greater weight in international human rights politics;

2. Considers that, despite vigorous activities to advocate the promotion of human rights, such efforts are
largely confined to specialists and to one-off representations, and that there is a general failure by the Euro-
pean Union systematically and continuously to address human rights concerns with respect to third coun-
tries and to mainstream human rights policy with respect to the Union's trade, development and other
external policies vis-à-vis such countries;

3.
Emphasises the need for a common, consistent and transparent policy implemented by all Member
States in their bilateral relations with third countries having poor human rights records, and calls upon the
Member States to conduct their bilateral contacts with those countries in compliance with the common EU
position;

4. Considers it essential that the European Union should establish an integrated framework of rules and
institutions to confer binding force on the Charter of Fundamental Rights, ensure compliance with the
system provided for in the European Convention for the Protection of Human Rights and Fundamental Free-
doms, and form the basis of a single European front in the battle for a worldwide culture of rights; calls on
European political institutions to mobilise their energies in support of those objectives;

The Council's Annual Report

5. Underlines the importance of the EU Annual Report on Human Rights in raising the visibility of
human rights issues in general;

6.
Strongly welcomes the Council's public presentation of the 2005 Report at the December 2005
plenary, in parallel with Parliament's award of its annual Sakharov Prize for Freedom of Thought to three
joint winners, namely Ladies in White, Reporters without Borders and Hauwa Ibrahim; urges the continua-
tion of this practice in the future so that the December European Parliament plenary session becomes a
focal point for the EU's activities in the area of human rights;

7. Welcomes the increased clarity and conciseness of the Report; asks the Council, however, to further
focus on the assessment of the EU instruments and initiatives in third countries, to deal with the results
achieved in this matter and to include impact studies on the activities reported while defining a clear metho-
dology for such work, as well as strategic analyses of key goals for the forthcoming year;

8. Considers it a positive development that the Council's report for the first time endeavours to do justice
to the activities of the European Parliament, but invites the future Finnish Presidency in its drafting of the
Eighth EU Annual Report on Human Rights to consult actively with the European Parliament, to report on
the way that Parliament's resolutions have been taken into account by the Council and the Commission, and
to include, as a fundamental element, a role for the Parliament in the drafting of the report in some suitable
form so that the final version will be a real attempt to reflect the views of the Council, the Commission and
the Parliament; takes the view that the European Parliament must continue to issue its own report in order
to assess the EU's human rights policy and to exercise parliamentary control;

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9.
Suggests that a key priority for the Council in future human rights reports should be the analysis and
implementation of the EU's guidelines, as well as the production of impact assessments for each of the
guidelines, weighing up their effectiveness in forging change in third countries;

Thursday, 18 May 2006

10. Asks that future annual reports on human rights should analyse how human rights are dealt with
within the external dimension of other EU policies, such as development and trade, including by reporting
on the extent to which human rights and democracy clauses have been utilised in the EU's relationships
with third countries; calls in addition, in this connection, for future annual reports on human rights to
assess actual compliance with the human rights and democracy clause in EU agreements, as endorsed by
Parliament in its abovementioned resolution of 14 February 2006;

European Union activities during the two Presidencies

11. Welcomes the cooperation-focused approach of the Luxembourg and UK Presidencies and looks
forward to seeing this continue during the Austrian and Finnish Presidencies through the adoption of a joint
annual programme; considers that such cooperation should increase the coordination and consistency of EU
action and hopes that this trend will continue and be further enhanced in the future;

12. Welcomes the efforts and commitment of the Luxembourg and UK Presidencies to develop a metho-
dology and criteria for more effective implementation of the EU guidelines, including demarches to third
countries regarding individual cases, public statements and declarations; and emphasises the importance of
setting up a special mechanism for a systematic compilation of practices at local level by the heads of EU
missions and Commission delegations, in order to identify examples of ‘best and bad practices’ of implemen-
tation on the ground, which could permit an assessment of local implementation;

13. Welcomes the initiatives taken by the Luxembourg Presidency to overcome the problem of limited
resources through burden-sharing, early negotiations, the pooling of resources and informal troikas with
other Member States on particular issues; calls on the Council to develop this approach during other Presi-
dencies;

14. Appreciates the approach of the UK Presidency regarding the death penalty, in line with the EU Guide-
lines on the Death Penalty, undertaking demarches in countries where either a moratorium on the death
penalty was in danger of being de jure or de facto lifted or where internal steps aimed at introducing a mora-
torium were under consideration; asks the Austrian Presidency and all future Presidencies to follow this
example to demarche such countries regularly; requests all Presidencies to follow up on demarches
previously carried out, as appropriate; calls on the Commission to instruct its delegations in third countries
which have the death penalty to support the Council's moves to secure a moratorium and to redouble their
efforts in cases of European citizens under sentence of death; welcomes the resolution adopted by the Euro-
Mediterranean Parliamentary Assembly in Rabat on 21 November 2005, which calls on the Barcelona
Process partner countries to support the moratorium on the death penalty;

15. Welcomes the priority given to compliance with human rights obligations as part of the steps taken
during the UK Presidency to open accession negotiations with Turkey and Croatia, to grant the Former
Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia candidate-country status and to open negotiations for Stabilisation and
Association Agreements with Serbia-Montenegro and Bosnia-Herzegovina; asks the Commission to ensure
that real progress is made by the candidate countries in the field of the human rights, and in particular
regarding protection of minorities, religious freedom and freedom of expression, displaced and refugee
populations, people with mental health problems and/or intellectual disabilities and cooperation with inter-
national justice, in accordance with European principles and the Community acquis; urges the Council and
the Commission to include compliance with UN Conventions in contractual relationships with candidate
countries and countries in the Stabilisation and Association process as a key issue; underlines the impor-
tance of the association and accession process in providing the impetus to carry out necessary human rights
reforms;

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16. Notes with approval that combating human trafficking is regarded as a priority of the Council's Presi-
dencies; urges the EU to adopt an integrated, human rights-centred approach to tackling this growing
phenomenon;

17. Welcomes the choice of freedom of expression as a major human rights theme during the UK Presi-
dency; is concerned at the high number of journalists worldwide, and in particular in China, Belarus, Cuba
and North Korea, being convicted for alleged defamation of public officials or politicians; asks the Council
to advocate a worldwide moratorium on such imprisonment of journalists as a first step; stresses, however,
that freedom of expression does not exclude mutual respect and understanding between different civilisa-
tions;

18.
Expresses dismay at the failure of the UK Presidency to organise a third meeting of the EU Network of
contact points for genocide, crimes against humanity and war crimes (1), which represents an invaluable
means of strengthening cooperation among EU Member States in investigations and prosecutions of interna-
tional crimes at national level;

Performance of Council and Commission activities in the area of human rights in international fora

19. Welcomes the active involvement of the EU and its Member States on human rights issues in a variety
of international fora in 2005, including the UN Commission on Human Rights (UNCHR), the UN General
Assembly, the Ministerial Council of the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE), the
Council of Europe and the WTO Ministerial Conference;

20. Appreciates the result-oriented approach of the EU Presidency and the Council in the 61st session of
the UNCHR; in this context, welcomes the key role played by the EU in securing critical and constructive
resolutions on human rights in the Democratic Republic of Congo, Nepal, North Korea, Sudan, Uzbekistan
and Turkmenistan, and on human rights and counter-terrorism and the appointment of Special Rapporteurs
to develop principles and guidelines on discrimination based on work and descent; equally welcomes the
support given to the appointment of a Special Representative to contribute to the strengthening of standards
on human rights at work;

21. Reminds the Council, however, of its abovementioned resolution of 24 February 2005, which called
on the EU to present resolutions on a certain number of priority issues; regrets, in particular, the EU's
refusal to sponsor resolutions on human rights abuses in China, Zimbabwe and Chechnya; recalls, in this
regard, the commitments entered into by the Council in the context of the EU Guidelines on Human Rights
Dialogues, which clearly state that a human rights dialogue with a third country cannot prevent the Council
from sponsoring a resolution on that specific country in the UN Human Rights Council; in this context,
also takes account of the statement in the 2005 Report that the African group in particular has not been
cooperative when discussing the human rights situation in specific African countries during the proceedings
of the UN General Assembly's Third Committee; therefore calls on the Commission and the Council to use
all means at their disposal to persuade the African group to cooperate with the UN General Assembly in the
future by conducting dialogue and providing information on the African countries concerned, especially
those with whom ACP-EU cooperation is suspended under Article 96 of the ACP-EU Partnership Agreement
or with whom political dialogue is conducted under Article 8 thereof; suggests that the European Parliament
should in future, when submitting its proposals for resolutions to the Council, limit them to those relating
to key countries of concern, and that it should support more strongly the Council's work in this regard;

22. Calls on the Council and the Commission to make significant efforts to continuously link their discus-
sions conducted in international fora with the European Union's bilateral political dialogues, development
and trade policy, and to avoid the current situation in which countries opposing EU human rights initiatives
in international fora can do so with little expectation that they will suffer any adverse consequences in
respect of bilateral relations;

Specifically reminds the Council and the Commission that most human rights abuses would be impos-
23.
sible in countries with stronger traditions of freedom of speech and press freedom; therefore calls on the
Council and the Commission to emphasise this key point as strongly as possible in all political dialogues, as
in the case of development and trade policy;

(1) Council Decision 2003/659/JHA of 18 June 2003 (OJ L 245, 29.9.2003, p. 44).

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24. Welcomes the Council's continued support for the establishment of a strong, forceful and effective UN
Human Rights Council, with the following essential characteristics: it must be a standing body with a suffi-
cient number of sessions of adequate length to enable it to properly perform its mandate, it must be capable
of responding to urgent situations, the system of Special Procedures must be retained and the Committee of
NGOs should be reformed so as to permit a strong level of independent NGO participation; asks the
Council to continue to take action to set standards for membership of the new UN Human Rights Council,
including election procedures, involving direct and individual votes by an absolute majority of members,
which seek to guarantee the credibility and efficacy of the future body; in this regard, is concerned that
countries with a poor human rights record have been elected as members of the UN Human Rights Council,
and therefore stresses the importance of establishing a universal ‘peer review’ with the task of examining the
human rights situation in all countries and monitoring the implementation of international conventions and
standards; regrets that during the latter months of 2005 EU Member States appear to have been out-
manoeuvred in the negotiations by a small group of UN members composed of countries which themselves
have suspect human rights records; nevertheless welcomes the final agreement secured in New York and
looks forward to a strong and effective EU representation in the agreed UN Human Rights Council;

25. Calls on the Council and the Commission to systematically oppose the conferment of the presidency
of the UN Human Rights Council on countries which fail to respect human rights;

26. Calls for continued support from the Council and the Commission for the speedy agreement of the
proposed UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities; welcomes the outcome of the 7th Ad
Hoc Committee session including agreement on strengthening the draft text in relation to violence against
disabled people, the human rights of people with complex dependence needs and the right of deaf people to
use sign language; calls on the Member States, the Council and the Commission to support a further
strengthening of the existing draft text in relation to the involuntary treatment of people with disabilities
and in respect of its implementation; calls for support for current efforts regarding international cooperation
aimed at supporting disabled people in developing countries, and for a strong and independent monitoring
and enforcement mechanism capable of receiving and handling individual complaints;

27.
In general, considers that EU activities in the UN with respect to human rights are too introverted;
asks the Council to endeavour to speed up the consultation process so as to allow more time for consulta-
tion with non-EU partners; asks the Council to consider having its Working Party on Human Rights
(COHOM) provide only a negotiation framework to EU representatives present at international fora and to
delegate to those representatives authority to make ad hoc decisions as necessary;

28. Welcomes the fact that, in general, at International Labour Organization (ILO) meetings, the EU takes
a forceful stance in discussions about trade union rights and other fundamental human rights of workers,
including under the Luxembourg Presidency, when, for instance, the EU took a strong position concerning
alleged violations of human rights in relation to Colombia's trade unionists, which then in a show of consis-
tency translated into a strong EU statement at the June 2005 Session of the International Labour Confer-
ence; in this context, is surprised that it was possible for a country such as Belarus to be elected in June
2005 to the Governing Body of the ILO despite the fact that Belarus is not a democracy with free trade
unions and four major EU countries are permanent members of the Governing Body; asks the Council to
explain its diplomatic demarches prior to that election and whether it considered opposing Belarus' member-
ship; maintains that it is essential to strengthen the EU-backed special programmes to protect vulnerable
sectors in third countries;

29. Congratulates the Council and the Commission for the substantial diplomatic success in achieving the
referral by the UN Security Council of the case of Darfur in Sudan to the ICC, as called for in Parliament's
resolution of 16 September 2004 (1); however, concerned at the deteriorating security situation in Darfur,
urges the international community, the UN, the Council and the Commission to act immediately to stop the
violence, while providing substantial support to the African Union as well as a sufficient level of humani-
tarian aid to the population affected; encourages speedy progress in the prosecution of high-ranking officials

(1) OJ C 140 E, 9.6.2005, p. 153.

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from the military or civilian hierarchy of the Sudanese government for crimes in this regard, in particular
the use of rape as a weapon of war; urges the EU to actively support the transition of the present African
Union Mission towards a fully-fledged UN peace-keeping mission in order to provide increased security in
the region; urges the EU to continue its support for the implementation of the Comprehensive Peace Agree-
ment between the various parties;

30. Calls on the Council and the Commission to continue their vigorous efforts to promote universal rati-
fication of the Rome Statute and the adoption of the implementing legislation relating to the ICC, in confor-
mity with the Council Common Position on the ICC and the Action Plan; calls on the Council and the
Commission to redouble their efforts in this regard in their demarches to the United States, a key partner of
the EU, notably in the war against terror; requests that each EU Presidency present to Parliament a report
concerning actions taken under the Common Position;

31. Welcomes the inclusion, following the recent revision of the ACP-EU Partnership Agreement, of the
promotion and strengthening of peace and international justice, giving due regard to the Rome Statute, as
an objective of cooperation between the EU and ACP countries; regrets, therefore, the lack of reference to
the ICC in the final UN World Summit outcome document in September 2005; welcomes the fact that refer-
ences to the ICC have been included in several European Neighbourhood Action Plans, notably those
relating to Ukraine and Moldova, and in the draft action plans concerning Azerbaijan, Lebanon, Armenia
and Georgia; calls on the EU and its Member States to reaffirm their commitment to the ICC whenever
possible;

32. Calls on the US Administration and the Congress to end the delay and ratify the Rome Statute estab-
lishing the ICC; considers that no legal exception can be made for the United States on this point; condemns
the fact that certain countries, including a number of EU Member States, have entered into ‘bilateral agree-
ments’ with the United States granting de facto impunity to US soldiers;

33. Considers it essential to establish a close relationship between the European Union and the Council of
Europe and points to the difficulties still posed for such a relationship: the fact that cooperation is of a tech-
level, the lack of communication between the
nical nature instead of being organised at the political
Commission and Council of Europe bodies, overlapping, and the failure to clarify areas of activity; calls on
the Austrian and Finnish presidencies to ensure that the memorandum of understanding now being drafted
serves to resolve these difficulties; points out that the relationship between the European Union and the
Council of Europe is a vitally important ‘meeting-place’, open also to third countries sympathetic to a
culture of human rights, and helps to ensure the success of neighbourhood policies and other special rela-
tions founded on partnership;

Scrutinising EU political and human rights dialogues and consultations as well as general political
dialogue with third countries

34. Welcomes the fact that the Annual Report makes a balanced assessment of the effectiveness of the
EU's human rights dialogues; takes note of the evaluation of those dialogues in 2004, and notes that initial
moves are being made by the Council to develop an overview document on human rights dialogues and
consultations; is looking forward to receiving this document once it has been adopted; asks the Council, in
particular, to closely associate the European Parliament in this work as well as in the process of evaluating
the dialogues; in this regard, informs the Council that an own-initiative report will be drafted on the evalua-
tion of human rights dialogues and consultations with third countries;

35.
Points to the need for the Union and each and every Member State to act coherently and in accord-
ance with Treaty and acquis obligations where human rights are concerned, in order to avoid inconsistencies
that would diminish the moral authority of the Union in the international system;

36.
Takes note of the evaluation in the Council's Annual Report of the Human Rights Dialogue with
China, with continuing reports of a long list of human rights abuses including political imprisonment, parti-
cularly of members of minorities, allegations of torture, widespread use of forced labour, frequent use of the
death penalty and systematic repression of freedom of religion, freedom of speech and expression (including
in the context of the treatment of people in Tibet) and the freedom of the media including the internet;

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regrets that no substantial progress was made on the ratification and implementation of the International
Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR) or the release of prisoners connected with the 1989 events
in Tiananmen Square; regards the Dialogue as a valuable instrument and an important element of the
overall strategic dialogue between the EU and China, in which human rights must be treated as a priority
concern; calls on the Council and the Commission to undertake strenuous efforts even if these can bear
fruit only in the medium term; asks China and the Council to consider improving the Dialogue by the
simple practical decision to introduce simultaneous interpretation;
is hopeful that innovations such as
holding the high-level political dialogue and the legislative seminar directly after one another could lead to
stronger synergies; stresses that an increasingly positive trade relationship must be contingent on human
rights reforms; asks the Council to invite Members of the European Parliament to attend, just as Chinese
parliamentarians have been invited;

37. Condemns the Iranian President's call for Israel to be wiped off the map; expresses its concerns about
the human rights situation in Iran and the fact that — due to Iran's lack of engagement — the human rights
dialogue with Iran has been interrupted since its last round in June 2004; calls on Iran to re-engage in the
dialogue and, drawing on input from the EU, to define benchmarks aimed at real improvements in the field;
welcomes the clear statement in the Council conclusions of 12 December 2005 to this effect; calls on the
Council to continue, in particular, its demarches towards Iran on individual cases and welcomes in this
regard the Austrian Presidency's commitment; expresses its regret at Iran's poor human rights record during
the first six months of President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad's term of office and calls upon the Commission to
take all necessary measures within the framework of the European human rights initiative to intensify
contacts and cooperation with Iranian civil society and further support democracy and human rights;

38.
Expresses concern about serious human rights abuses in Iraq, including in Iraqi prisons; nevertheless
welcomes EU support for the new government in Iraq; calls for increased EU engagement in bringing about
stability in Iraq and for making the Commission Delegation office fully operational, provided that security
concerns can be addressed; calls on the Council and the Commission to support the continuing efforts of
the Iraqi Ministry of Human Rights to uphold high standards;

39. Welcomes the start of the EU human rights consultations with Russia; supports the Council in its aim
of developing those consultations into a frank and genuine EU-Russia Human Rights Dialogue and calls for
the involvement of the European Parliament in such a process; calls on the Council to continue urging
Russia to agree that European and Russian NGOs be associated with the consultations, given the example of
other dialogues on human rights issues; welcomes the Council's debriefing of NGOs on the consultations;
however, regrets that there are no systematic consultations with the European Parliament; asks the Council
to press Russia to agree to have this dialogue also take place in Russia on an alternating basis and not only
when the summits take place in the EU; is concerned that the new Russian NGO legislation will inhibit
human rights organisations from carrying out their activities properly whenever respect for human rights is
at stake or even from functioning at all; asks the Commission and the Council to raise this issue persistently
with Russia, not least in international fora and, in particular, in the Council of Europe, of which Russia takes
over the chair of the Committee of Ministers on 19 May 2006; asks the Commission and the Council to
raise the issue of extrajudicial killings, disappearances and torture in custody in Chechnya, as well as attacks
on human rights defenders engaged in investigating and speaking out about human rights violations in
Chechnya;

40. Welcomes the Joint Action Plan adopted at the sixth India-EU Summit, which includes discussions on
human rights issues based on the commitment to work together to uphold human rights in a spirit of
equality and mutual respect; expects that these discussions will include the rights of minorities; expects that,
within this framework, both sides can also discuss the problematic social situation of the Dalits; calls on the
Council and the Commission to emulate such dialogue with the governments of other caste-affected coun-
tries; welcomes the fact that the Commission and the Council regularly consult Indian NGOs in the frame-
work of an EU-India civil society roundtable; recommends that discussions in the region also tackle the issue
of human rights in Kashmir;

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41. Notes the Council conclusions on Colombia adopted on 3 October 2005; recommends that, for
future Council conclusions, consultation with civil society and with the UN High Commissioner for Human
Rights should be a priority and should also involve debate in COHOM; asks the Council to monitor the
ongoing impact of the Justice and Peace Law on human rights defenders; notes that the Justice and Peace
Law applies to all illegal armed groups in Colombia (not only the United Self-Defence Forces of Colombia
(AUC) but also the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC) and the National Liberation Army
(ELN));

42. Calls on the Council and the Commission to consistently raise in all political dialogues with third
countries the point that those countries should issue standing invitations to all specialist institutions, Special
Rapporteurs and Special Representatives of the United Nations and should submit all outstanding reports to
UN treaty bodies;

43.
Takes note of the policy instrument of an official EU list of ‘prisoners/detainees of concern’ in the
policy vis-à-vis one particular country, as mentioned in the Council's Annual Report; encourages the
Commission and the Council to establish such an official EU list vis-à-vis each third country where there are
human rights concerns and to raise that list at each political dialogue meeting; asks the Commission to
inform Parliament on all such existing lists;

44.
Furthermore, calls on the Council to consider, in the context of its Annual Report each year, adopting
the approach taken by governments of some Member States and by certain international NGOs to identify a
list of ‘Countries of Particular Concern’ with respect to human rights violations; suggests that those countries
should be highlighted in accordance with concrete and transparent criteria, based on the themes of the EU's
Human Rights Guidelines, the treaties and commitments they have entered into and the countries selected
by Parliament to be the subject of urgency resolutions, in order to draw greater attention to human rights in
the implementation of all EU policies with respect to the countries identified, including the imposition of
aid or trade sanctions if those breaches persist; considers that criteria such as the independence of the judi-
ciary and the media, and the status of civil society organisations, are essential from the point of view of
assessing the state of human rights;

45. Welcomes the fact that the Council maintained its Common Position on Burma/Myanmar in 2005;
takes particular note of the Haval/Tutu report issued in September 2005, which called for the actions of the
State Peace and Development Council to be regarded as a risk to international security and for the regime
therefore to be referred to the United Nations Security Council; acknowledges the support of EU Member
States for the UN Security Council briefing on ongoing violations; notes with concern that Daw Aung San
Suu Kyi continues to be kept under house arrest and that the UN Special Rapporteur, whose mandate will
end this year, has been denied access to the country since 2003; encourages the EU to take a more pro-
active role in that country (with particular regard to the resolution on Burma/Myanmar adopted by the
European Parliament on 17 November 2005 (1));

46. Welcomes the fact that the Council and the Commission have introduced human rights, democracy,
the rule of law and good governance concerns with specific benchmarks in all National Action Plans drawn
up in the framework of the European Neighbourhood Policy (ENP); accepts that, whilst the strength of the
Action Plans is that they constitute a binding commitment, this also represent their weakness, because they
must be negotiated with the partner country; urges the Council therefore to hold such countries to their
commitments and to consider measures to be taken in the event that they do not fulfil them within an
agreed timeline; draws specific attention to the weakness of human rights engagements in this respect with
Morocco and the Western Sahara, Tunisia, Syria, Israel and the Palestinian Authority, Algeria and Egypt, the
Action Plans concerning the latter two countries still being under negotiation; looks forward to examining
the reports on the first year of implementation of the first seven action plans and the priorities for the ENP
set for 2006; calls, in this spirit, for the setting-up of sub-committees on human rights dealing with, inter
alia, individual cases so as to further improve the human rights dialogue with all partner countries;

47. Calls upon the Council and Commission to incorporate the rights of the child in all their actions, in
order effectively to combat child labour, with the main focus on teaching and educating children, this being
one of the Millennium Development Goals;

(1) Texts Adopted, P6_TA(2005)0444.

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General scrutiny of Council and Commission activities

Thursday, 18 May 2006

Takes note of the information that during the UK Presidency the EU made demarches on 26 individual

48.
human rights cases and issued 49 statements on human rights issues;

49. Understands that, especially in the area of human rights, EU activities, such as demarches to third
countries, must sometimes be confidential; however, believes that a list of those activities should be included
in the Annual Report;

50.
Therefore asks the Council and the Commission to develop, together with Parliament, a confidential
system whereby selected Members of the European Parliament can be kept informed of the demarches of
Member States, the Presidency, the High Representative for CFSP, the Personal Representative on Human
Rights, the Special Representatives or the Commission regarding individual human rights cases or situations
raised in resolutions of the European Parliament; suggests that such a system could be modelled on the
system for informing selected MEPs about classified material regarding security and defence;

51. Welcomes the fact that the General Affairs Council of 12 December 2005 adopted the provision that
the Council's updated EU human rights fact sheets are to be made available to all EU institutions, and looks
forward to receiving the current version of these as soon as possible (1);

52. Asks the Council to consider making COHOM a working group with Brussels-based representatives;
considers that this would allow more time for meetings, better coordination and thus, possibly, a tighter
grip on EU human rights policies in the wider sense;

53. Welcomes the establishment of working groups on institution building, administrative reform, govern-
ance and human rights between the EU and, respectively, Bangladesh, Laos, and Vietnam; subject to an
evaluation of their effectiveness, calls on the Council and the Commission to extend this approach to other
third countries such as Cambodia and Nepal;

Insists that all human rights instruments, documents and reports including the Annual Reports need
54.
to address explicitly discrimination issues including the issues of ethnic minorities, religious freedoms
including discriminatory practices towards minority religions, the human rights of women, the rights of chil-
dren, the rights of indigenous peoples, disabled people including people with intellectual disabilities, and
people with all sexual orientations, fully involving their organisations, both within the EU and in third coun-
tries where appropriate;

55. Given the gender discrimination which still exists,
women's rights should be a cross-cutting policy in the European Union human rights agenda;

insists that the protection and promotion of

The Commission's external assistance programmes

The European Initiative for Democracy and Human Rights (EIDHR)

56. Calls on the Commission to take seriously into consideration the position of the European Parliament
seeking a specific human rights instrument for 2007-2013; looks forward to receiving the Commission's
communication in this matter;

57. Underlines the importance of the EIDHR as one of the chief instruments which the EU has at its
disposal; emphasises in particular the advantage that EIDHR programmes do not require governmental
approval in the country of implementation and that the majority of EIDHR funding is available for civil
society organisations;

58. Underlines its position that human rights must be streamlined throughout the four external action
financial instruments and that a fifth specific instrument for human rights needs to be created in order to
complement the thematic programming;

(1) Council Conclusions of 12 December 2005, 15293/1/05 REV 1, Annex, p. 14.

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59. Asks the Commission to ensure that the current reform of the Financial Regulation (1) and its accom-
panying implementing rules are sufficiently far-reaching, so as to reduce the excessive administrative burden
and the slowness in delivering funds that currently plague the EIDHR, so as to make it easier for smaller,
grassroots NGOs to access and manage funds and in turn to enhance the impact of the EIDHR;

60. Welcomes the conclusions of the evaluation report on the campaign against racism, xenophobia and
discrimination, stating that the projects funded under EIDHR target the most marginalised communities not
reached by governments and that they show substantial results;

61.
Is content that in 2005, the Commission was able to make commitments of over 125 000 000 Euro
but is concerned about the possibility that not all the projects contracted in 2005 will be implemented fully
and thoroughly;

62.
Takes note of the fact that EIDHR funds used for European Union election observation missions in
2005 amounted to more than one fifth of the total and such missions were conducted to 12 countries
including Afghanistan, Ethiopia, Lebanon, Liberia, Venezuela and the Palestinian Authority; commends the
increasing effectiveness of EU electoral observation activities but believes that this cannot be achieved at the
expense of decreasing budget commitments to human rights projects at grassroots level in countries world-
wide;

63. Requests the Commission and the Council to systematically follow up the EU election observation
missions, closely monitor the post-election situation and take political action if necessary;

64.
Takes note that a large proportion (50,9 %) of the total EIDHR funding for projects contracted in
2005 went to large projects organised by theme and only a small proportion (27,68 %) went to micro-
projects implemented by Commission Delegations; reiterates that a significant proportion should be devoted
to smaller, grassroots projects; calls on the Commission to pay particular attention to those NGOs which
play a key role in the promotion of human rights in their countries but which are not legally recognised by
the authorities in those countries; regards it as crucial that the Commission should propose, in this regard, a
review of the Financial Regulation including the financing of such NGOs;

65.
Fully supports the EU contribution to intergovernmental organisations, as these organisations can
make fundamental contributions to the promotion of democracy and human rights; considers, however,
that this contribution should not be to the detriment of NGOs, but should rather take place through stra-
tegic long-term partnerships;

66. Welcomes the fact that the Commission has changed its procedures regarding new calls for proposals
for 2006, in that the new calls, which are based on ‘concept notes’, appear to favour a greater quality assess-
ment of project proposals as a first major criterion;

67. Asks the Commission to make available to Parliament all impact assessment reports regarding projects
which are produced by external or internal evaluators, in order to ensure proper scrutiny; asks the Commis-
sion to make human rights impact assessments an integral and fully implemented part of all European
Union project cycle management, both ex-ante and ex-post, thereby influencing both future policy-making
and programmes, as well as the evaluation of ongoing programmes;

Assistance programmes in general

68. Considers it necessary to develop substantive mainstreaming of issues related to the respecting of
human rights, democratic principles, the rule of law and good governance (as expressed in the ACP-EU Part-
nership Agreement) within actions financed from the European Development Fund (EDF); asks the Commis-
sion to produce an annual overview of all the related spending of the EDF across all geographic, regional
and thematic programming, in order to increase the visibility of EU activities in this area;

69. Asks the Commission in its policy programming to base development objectives, indicators and plans
on agreed, universal
international human rights instruments, fully involving human rights organisations
from the conception of policies and programmes to the stages of implementation, monitoring and evalua-
tion;

(1) Council Regulation (EC, Euratom) No 1605/2002 of 25 June 2002 on the Financial Regulation applicable to the

general budget of the European Communities (OJ L 248, 16.9.2002, p. 1.).

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70. Calls for follow-up to the June 2005 seminar on human rights in relation to EU humanitarian assis-
tance, including by devoting EU resources to justice issues in the wake of massacres and crimes against
humanity;

Thursday, 18 May 2006

Consideration of the implementation of the human rights and democracy clauses

71. Recalls its abovementioned resolution of 14 February 2006 regarding future EU policy on the applica-
tion of human rights clauses in all EU agreements, including the setting-up of an effective mechanism for
monitoring respect for human rights and the reinforced involvement of the European Parliament in the
evaluation and consultation processes in respect of those clauses; is looking forward to the Austrian Presi-
dency responding together with the Commission to Parliament's proposals;

72.
Takes note of the fact that, as a matter of course, the EU's 4th-generation agreements with third coun-
tries include political dialogue as an essential element of the agreement incorporating human rights and
democracy issues; emphasises its determination to strengthen ex-ante control of the newest position in such
political dialogues;

73. Agrees with the position expressed in the 2005 Report that the human rights clause is a basis for
positive engagement on human rights and democracy issues with third countries; emphasises, however, that
this cannot exclude the possibility of the temporary suspension of cooperation on the grounds of a breach
of the clause; reiterates its call for a sliding scale of measures and a clear system of sanctions to be used with
respect to violations of the human rights clause by third countries, and calls on the Council to consider
extending qualified majority voting to the decision to adopt restrictive measures at a future appropriate
time; reiterates its demand for a better monitoring and consultation mechanism with respect to the clause,
and calls on the Commission and the Council to report annually on breaches of human rights clauses,
including those contained in the ACP-EU Partnership Agreement, to the Human Rights Subcommittee of the
European Parliament;

74. Reiterates its support for the Council's decision of 3 October 2005 to impose sanctions on Uzbekistan
following the events in Andizhan on 13 May 2005, when a very substantial number of civilians were shot
dead by government security forces and many people were arrested and afterwards put on trial in a process
which did not meet international fair trial standards and sought to cover up the truth; takes this as an
example of a coherent EU measure against a government which is bound by commitments on human rights
and democracy under a Partnership and Cooperation Agreement with the EU; regrets that, in the case of
Uzbekistan, the sanctions took six months to enact; hopes, however, that this precedent will have the effect
of strengthening the human rights clause in all agreements; calls on the Council to roundly condemn the
violation of human rights in Turkmenistan;

75. Reiterates its resolution of 15 December 2005 on human rights and freedom of the press in Tunisia
and evaluation of the World Summit on the Information Society held in Tunisia (1);

76. Recalls its resolution of 27 October 2005 on human rights in Western Sahara (2); welcomes the
release of Sahrawi political prisoners by the Moroccan authorities but condemns the continuation of human
rights violations against the Sahrawi population; calls for the Sahrawi population to be protected and funda-
mental rights particularly freedom of expression, movement and demonstration to be respected; reiterates its
call for a just and lasting solution to the conflict in Western Sahara, based on the right to self-determination
of the Sahrawi people, in accordance with the relevant Security Council resolutions, particularly Resolution
1495(2003);

77. Welcomes the monitoring and review of the Guidelines on Implementation and Evaluation of Restric-
tive Measures in the framework of the EU's Common Foreign and Security Policy (3);

78. Welcomes the role which the ACP-EU Joint Parliamentary Assembly plays as a platform for open and
transparent discussion on human rights issues, and encourages it to continue its work, thus contributing to
the political dialogue envisaged by Article 8 of the ACP-EU Partnership Agreement;

(1) Texts Adopted, P6_TA(2005)0525.
(2) Texts Adopted, P6_TA(2005)0414.
(3) The Council first approved these guidelines in December 2003. They contain standard wording and common defini-

tions that may be used in legal instruments implementing sanctions. The review took place in December 2005.

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79. Regrets that the human rights clause contained in Article 96 of the ACP-EU Partnership Agreement is
too rarely applied in the event of flagrant violations of human rights in the ACP countries, and urges that
political dialogue in the spirit of the ACP-EU Partnership Agreement be stepped up;

80. Welcomes, as a very positive example, the EU activities in terms of demarches and declarations
following violent repression in Ethiopia in June 2005; is concerned that when similar human rights viola-
tions occurred in November 2005, the EU appears not to have followed this up sufficiently; considering the
high number of opposition leaders and human rights defenders currently in prison and facing the death
penalty, believes that the government of Ethiopia is failing to meet its obligations under Article 8 of the
ACP-EU Partnership Agreement, and calls on the Commission and the Council to respond to the European
Parliament's call for a coordinated stance in line with Article 96 of the ACP-EU Partnership Agreement as
requested in its abovementioned resolution of 15 December 2005;

81.
Expresses its concern at the fact that Eritrea, in spite of serious human rights violations, including arbi-
trary detentions and the torture of thousands of detainees, is not mentioned in the Council's Annual Report
on human rights in 2005; regrets that, in spite of its resolution of 18 November 2004 on the human rights
situation in Eritrea (1) in which it condemned the human rights situation in Eritrea and called on the
Council and the Commission to open the consultation procedure in accordance with Article 96 of the ACP-
EU Partnership Agreement, little action has been taken by the Council and the Commission on this matter;
calls on the Council and the Commission without delay to open the consultation procedure under Article
96 of the ACP-EU Agreement with regard to the human rights situation in Eritrea;

Implementation of EU Human Rights Guidelines

82.
Takes note of the first biennial review of the EU Guidelines on Children and Armed Conflict under
the UK Presidency; is pleased to note, in particular, that the EU's human rights fact sheets, adopted in
July 2005, contain a section on children's rights and a specific requirement to report under these Guidelines
where appropriate; notes that the consultation with stakeholders and NGOs has been exemplary in the
process of drafting the review and recommendations; regrets, however, that the European Parliament was
not involved in the process of evaluation of these Guidelines, that the opportunity for a wide-ranging review
was not seized and that the outcome document was disappointing in its scope and ambition; therefore
requests the Council systematically to associate the European Parliament in the biennial review of these
Guidelines, so that it may be aware of Parliament's position and recommendations in this field;

83. Welcomes the commitment of the Austrian Presidency to continue the practice of demarches in
respect of all of the EU's international partners regarding the ratification of international conventions
banning the use of torture; asks the Council and the Commission to consider new and innovative ways to
implement the Guidelines on Torture; emphasises that, although those Guidelines were adopted as long ago
as 2001, they are among the least implemented; in view of the current threats facing the absolute prohibi-
tion of torture and ill-treatment in the international context of counter-terrorism; calls on the Council to
associate Parliament in the future evaluation process of the Guidelines; in that connection,
informs the
Council that its sub-committee on Human Rights has asked for a study aimed at optimising the implementa-
tion of the EU Guidelines on Torture and improving the means provided for by those Guidelines; recom-
mends to the Austrian and Finnish Presidencies that they conduct demarches on torture in all countries that
are signatories to the relevant conventions but appear not to be cooperating; emphasises that the regular
presence of the Presidency or the Council Secretariat in the relevant UN Committee on Torture could bring
substantial material input into a strategic analysis of which countries to demarche at which point in time;
asks the Council to consider whether the European Union could not act more forcefully and more convin-
cingly vis-à-vis third countries if all Member States were to sign and ratify the Optional Protocol to the UN
Convention against Torture and other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment (2); is also
concerned at the allegations of relocation and outsourcing of torture in third countries and calls on the EU
to consider the fight against torture as a top priority of its human rights policy, in particular through
enhanced implementation of the EU Guidelines and all other EU instruments such as the EIDHR;

(1) OJ C 201 E, 18.8.2005, p. 123.
(2) On 23 January 2006, the status of signatures and ratifications among the EU-25 was as follows: signed and ratified
(only 5 Member States): Denmark, Malta, Poland, Sweden, and the UK (as well as candidate country Croatia); signed
(11 Member States): Austria, Belgium, Cyprus, Czech Republic, Estonia, Finland, France, Italy, Luxembourg, Nether-
lands, and Spain (as well as candidate countries Romania and Turkey); neither signed nor ratified (9 Member States):
Germany, Greece, Hungary, Ireland, Latvia, Lithuania, Portugal, Slovakia, and Slovenia (as well as candidate country
Bulgaria).

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84.
Stresses that high priority must be given to full implementation of the EU Guidelines on Human
Rights Defenders; calls on the Council to take initiatives to protect human rights defenders; calls on the
Commission and on the Member States to organise training of their staff in delegations, embassies and
consulates on the application of those guidelines; asks the Commission to consider making funds available
to cover the expenses of such training; welcomes the fact that a handbook has been drawn up by the EU
Dutch Presidency for the implementation of the guidelines; regrets, however, that Parliament has been
denied accurate information concerning its content; calls on the Council and the Commission to raise the
situation of human rights defenders systematically in all political dialogues; calls on the Commission to orga-
nise, on the level of its Delegations, information seminars on the guidelines with all relevant local NGOs;
once again calls on the Council to inform Parliament about the implementation of those guidelines on the
ground and to involve it fully in the process of evaluating them;

85.
Supports the Council in its efforts to mainstream human rights throughout the EU's work, in particu-
lar by focusing on the regular review and implementation of a particular set of EU human rights guidelines;

Mainstreaming of human rights

86. Welcomes the fact that the Council and the Commission are making efforts to strengthen the coher-
ence between the EU's human rights policy and other international policies; considers it vital for the pursuit
of a credible EU human rights policy that these connections be strengthened;

87.
Emphasises the importance of the appointment of Michael Matthiessen as the Personal Representative
for Human Rights of the EU High Representative for the CFSP, this being an important step forward in the
mainstreaming of human rights; welcomes the activities and the personal commitment of the incumbent;

88. Welcomes the fact that working groups dealing with civil and police operations under the CFSP/ESDP
pillar, as well as military operations of the EU, have begun to discuss human rights aspects of their opera-
tions and to integrate such concerns, including condemnation of the use of violence against women, into
instructions given to EU mission personnel on the ground; welcomes the ‘Generic Standards of Behaviour
for ESDP operations’ adopted by the Council on 23 May 2005, which gives comprehensive instructions to
all categories of personnel operating in ESDP missions; draws attention, however, to the clear need to see
those standards implemented in a scrupulous and consistent fashion in the increasing number of military
and civil operations of the EU abroad; considers that, by acting in this way, the EU can prevent abuses of
the kind which have occurred in UN peacekeeping missions; asks the Commission to consider making more
funds available for training all personnel in the application of those standards;

89. Welcomes the adoption in December 2005 of European Union Guidelines on Promoting Compliance
with International Humanitarian Law; urges the Council to apply them to all relevant statements, declara-
tions and demarches;

90. Calls on the European Investment Bank (EIB), as one of the agencies implementing EU development
policies through lending and the biggest public financial institution in the world, fully to incorporate human
rights concerns in all its project evaluations and to ensure adequate internal capacity to mainstream human
rights in its operations; calls in particular for the introduction of clear safeguard procedures, based on inter-
national standards, to assess and mitigate the human rights-related impact of its projects; calls for safeguard
policies on issues not covered by EU legislation to equal those described in the Equator Principles, as a
minimum; calls on the EIB to consult with the Parliament on the matter;

91. Welcomes the fact that the Commission regularly considers whether countries should be added to the
‘GSP+’-list of countries which are granted the best customs rates for goods to be imported into the EU; asks
the Commission, however, to ensure that, for the purposes of its evaluations, it checks both on the entry
into force of international obligations and on the effective implementation and enforcement thereof on the
ground;

92. Calls on the Commission to apply objective criteria when granting GSP+ benefits to countries which
have shown serious flaws in the implementation of the eight ILO conventions relating to Core Labour Stan-
dards, and in particular to monitor implementation of the commitments made by Venezuela, Moldova, Sri
Lanka, Mongolia, El Salvador, Guatemala and Colombia in advance of
the Commission decision of
in general, calls on the Commission regularly to review the implementation of those
December 2005;
conventions and, if necessary, to apply the safeguards provisions contemplated in the Regulation.

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93. Asks the Council and the Commission to ensure compatibility of trade agreements with existing UN
treaties on human rights in accordance with the Parliament's abovementioned resolution of 14 February
2006, to carry out independent sustainability assessments prior to trade negotiations, specifically assessing
the impact on human rights, and to monitor, review and reverse any negative impact of existing and
proposed trade rules in respect of human rights and social and environmental matters;

94.
Points out that all country-specific human rights evaluations should include an analysis of the funda-
mental rights of workers, as enshrined in Article 23 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, Article
22 of the ICCPR and Article 8 of the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights;

95. Asks the Commission to include systematic human rights monitoring in all country strategy papers,
regional strategy papers, national indicative programmes, regional indicative programmes and action plans;
asks the Commission to update such documents regularly so that they invariably reflect the latest situation
regarding human rights on the ground, and to organise appropriate consultations with NGOs when so
doing;

96. Asks the Commission to provide a report on the manner in which it has implemented its own propo-
sals as contained in its Communication on the European Union's role in promoting human rights and
democratisation in third countries from May 2001, followed by a thorough review;

97. Asks the Commission to develop a strategy for promoting the application of all EU human rights
guidelines in conjunction with trans-national corporations, when implementing its recent Communication
of 23 March 2006 on corporate social responsibility (COM(2006)0136);

98. Reiterates that the EU's internal policies must not simply be consistent with, but must be exemplary in
their compliance with, international human rights law; expresses concern in this respect that current migra-
tion management measures do not always, in practice, safeguard access to protection for refugees; calls on
the Council and the Commission to ensure that migration management does not become a condition for
development cooperation with third countries, and that the pilot Regional Protection Programmes remain
protection-oriented, are well-resourced and long-term, are fully coordinated with EU humanitarian and
development policies, and are based on the principle of international solidarity;

Emphasises that,

99.
in the fight against trafficking in human beings, a human rights approach with
respect to the victims of trafficking should be adopted, and in this regard welcomes the focus on victim
protection in the Council's EU plan for combating and preventing trafficking in human beings (1); urges all
Member States to ratify the Council of Europe Convention on Action against Trafficking in Human Beings;

100. Urges the Council and the Commission to set benchmarks for all consultations on human rights,
with a view to improving the coherence of policy and political dialogue;

Effectiveness of the European Parliament's interventions in cases of human rights

101. Welcomes its increasing role in the human rights sphere, and in safeguarding commitments to
improving human rights throughout the world by scrutinising the activities of other institutions and, in par-
ticular, through the Sakharov Prize;

102. Welcomes the first year of activities of the Subcommittee on Human Rights within the Foreign
Affairs Committee, which, guided by Parliament's activities, has created a focal point for activities on human
rights which was absent during the last parliamentary term, including regular reports by the Presidency, the
Commission, the Personal Representative for Human Rights, the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights,
UN Special Rapporteurs and the Commissioner for Human Rights of the Council of Europe, numerous hear-
ings, exchanges of views, expertise and studies as well as human rights input into the work of the Foreign
Affairs Committee;

103.
Stresses the need for human rights concerns to be mainstreamed into the work of all parliamentary
in this respect,
committees and delegations dealing with external relations of the European Parliament;
draws particular attention to the work done by the Committee on Development in organising regular
human rights debates, and calls on the Commission and the Council to follow up the conclusions of these
and other human rights debates conducted in the Parliament;

(1) OJ C 311, 9.12.2005, p. 1.

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104.
Points out, in this regard, that the Subcommittee on Human Rights focused its 2005 activities on the
implementation of the EU human rights instruments such as the EU Guidelines on the Protection of Human
Rights Defenders and set up, in this respect, a system of coordination with representatives of United Nations
human rights bodies; regards it as a priority to continue to work closely together with the United Nations
and with Council of Europe representatives and bodies, so as to ensure greater consistency and coordination
in the human rights field;

Thursday, 18 May 2006

105. Considers that Parliament's work on human rights could be rendered more effective in a number of
ways, for example through more intense scrutiny of Council and Commission activities vis-à-vis countries
with human rights concerns and consistent follow-up and timely impact assessment of all human rights
statements made in resolutions and their implementation; suggests that the Subcommittee should consider
setting up small informal working groups to follow each set of Guidelines, so as to be better able to follow
the Council's work in this regard and to submit proposals;

106. Asks the Subcommittee to follow up human rights resolutions adopted pursuant to Rule 115 in a
systematic manner, and to strengthen efforts to address actively the external human rights considerations of
all Parliament's activities, including the work of other committees as well as parliamentary delegations;

Is of the opinion that the Subcommittee could enhance its impact on policy and programming by
107.
following more closely the work programmes of the Council and the Commission, particularly the work of
COHOM, and by being invited by the members of COHOM on a regular basis; calls for Members of the
European Parliament to be systematically invited to attend de-briefing sessions, such as those organised with
NGOs, and de-briefings concerning human rights dialogues with third countries; looks forward to assur-
ances that such invitations will now be issued in a consistent manner;

108. Asks the Bureau of the Parliament and the Conference of Presidents to consider whether measures
could be taken to increase the political support given by members in plenary when voting on urgency reso-
lutions of the Parliament pursuant to Rule 115, possibly by moving the voting time to a more appropriate
time-slot;

109. Calls for a more constructive role for the Subcommittee on Human Rights in the development of
consistent and transparent criteria for the selection of urgency topics, so as to ensure that parliamentary
interventions are timely and have maximum impact; calls for members of the Subcommittee to share their
expertise in this field and to play a more active and decisive role in the drafting of urgency resolutions;
proposes the creation of a permanent working group of members of the Subcommittee for these purposes;

110. Welcomes the drafting of guidelines for Parliament delegations on visits to third countries; asks
Parliament's Bureau and the Conference of Presidents to consider measures that could be taken to increase
both the visibility and the systematic use of those guidelines; underlines that any mission to a third country
should systematically include human rights concerns as a theme and that all participants should be fully
briefed on the human rights situation before and during the visit;

111. Welcomes the active role played by the Subcommittee, the Committee on Foreign Affairs and the
President of the European Parliament in standing up to cases of injustice around the world, especially
through the award of the Sakharov Prize; observes on this last point that the prize should be presented in
public, at a proper ceremony, to the winners in person;

112. Welcomes Parliament's undertaking to address the complex issue of upholding human rights along-
side the fight against international terrorism; points out that consistency in the approach of the EU to
different human rights issues is of the utmost importance if the EU wishes to be a credible actor internation-
ally; recalls its decision of 18 January 2006 (1) setting up a Temporary Committee on the alleged involve-
ment of the CIA and, possibly, EU Member States or accession States in the process of extraordinary rendi-
tion, which involves the transfer of detainees to so-called black sites where they may be subjected to torture;
looks forward to the report and the conclusions of that committee;

(1) Texts Adopted, P6_TA(2006)0012.

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113. Calls upon the Council and the Commission, looking ahead to the EU-US Conference to be held in
June 2006, and in accordance with the experts' report of the UNCHR, to call upon the US Government
immediately to close the Guantánamo detention centre, and to insist that all detainees be accorded treatment
compatible with humanitarian law and stand trial without delay in fair proceedings in open court before a
competent, independent and impartial tribunal;

Looks forward to receiving the results of an impact study designed to analyse and evaluate the

114.
impact of its activities in the area of human rights;

115. Notes proposals, still under discussion, to strengthen its role in the promotion of democracy, which
could support the work of key committees and delegations, provide an observatory for political develop-
ments in the Neighbourhood countries and beyond, and enhance the information network between national
parliaments across the EU;

116. Notes proposals, still under discussion, to establish a European Endowment for Democracy, which
would work with other organisations committed to the democratic process, such as the Council of Europe
and the OSCE, and consider how to develop a democracy and human rights promotion entity available to
the EU;

Resources devoted to human rights work, including in the Council Secretariat

117. Asks the Commission to designate at least one permanent post in each third-country delegation as
having responsibility for monitoring the human rights situation in the country concerned, promoting inter-
national human rights standards and being in charge of relations with civil society, such as relations with
human rights defenders; asks that this post have sufficient seniority to identify and address problems where
necessary; calls, in this regard, for official invitations to be issued on a regular basis to civil society represen-
tatives by the delegations of the Commission, so as to further support the work of human rights defenders
of third countries;

118. Asks the Commission to strengthen the Human Rights Unit in its Directorate-General for External
Relations, providing for additional personnel to cover all human rights issues, in order to enable it to fulfil
its additional function as a resource unit; asks also that one staff member in each geographical unit be given
added responsibility for human rights;

119. Requests increased funding for the Subcommittee on Human Rights in order to facilitate the finan-
cing of field trips and visits by Committee members to human rights black spots in the world, so that
breaches of international human rights law can be highlighted;

120. Asks the Council to strengthen the Human Rights Unit in its General Secretariat and in particular to
add new posts for experts with human rights backgrounds and specialist knowledge of international huma-
nitarian and human rights law to assist the Personal Representative on Human Rights and to enable a
sensible division of labour in his office, particularly given the increase in his responsibilities;

121. Advocates that all Special Representatives appointed by the Council should be assigned one human
rights expert to work exclusively in their office; calls on those Representatives to systematically raise human
rights issues in their work;

*

*

*

Instructs its President to forward this resolution to the Council, the Commission, the governments
122.
and parliaments of the Member States and the candidate and accession countries, the United Nations, the
Council of Europe, the OSCE, the governments of the countries mentioned in this resolution, and the offices
of the main human rights NGOs based in the EU.