European Parliament resolution on the proceedings against Ríos Montt
Date: 2006-10-26
Institutions: European Parliament
Subjects: Guatemala, crime against humanity, economic sanctions, human rights, international sanctions, war

20.12.2006

EN

Official Journal of the European Union

C 313 E/465

Thursday 26 October 2006

8.
Calls on the Council and the Commission to reiterate their position that only dialogue between the
Government of the People's Republic of China and the representatives of the Dalai Lama can contribute to a
peaceful and sustainable settlement for Tibet that both sides agree upon;

Calls on the Government of the People's Republic of China to continue its dialogue with the repre-
9.
sentatives of the Dalai Lama in order to improve respect for religious, cultural, linguistic and political rights
in the Tibet Autonomous Region;

Instructs its President to forward this resolution to the Council, the Commission, the UN Secretary-

10.
General and the Government of the People's Republic of China.

P6_TA(2006)0466

Case against Ríos Montt

European Parliament resolution on the proceedings against Ríos Montt

The European Parliament,

— having regard to its resolutions of 18 May 2000 (1), 14 June 2001 (2), 11 April 2002 (3), 10 April

2003 (4) and 7 July 2005 (5) on Guatemala,

— having regard to the International Criminal Court Statute, the Convention against Torture and Other
Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment and the European Convention for the Protec-
tion of Human Rights and Fundamental Freedoms,

— having regard to its firm and permanent commitment to ensure compliance with the peace agreements

and with human rights in Guatemala,

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

A. having regard to the allegations of crimes against humanity and genocide during the armed conflict in
Guatemala, according to which 83 % of the victims of the conflict were of Mayan ethnic origin,
200 000 people were murdered and 45 000 suffered enforced disappearances, 10 % of the population
was displaced and entire indigenous communities were eradicated; whereas, as the Parliament has
gradually come to acknowledge, these crimes cannot go unpunished,

B. whereas those accused of planning and committing the above-mentioned crimes have never been

brought before a court and some of them continue to hold high political office,

C. whereas in December 2006 the 10th anniversary of the peace accords will be commemorated and the
Global Agreement on Human Rights has still not been implemented: the victims have not obtained
adequate compensation, whether material or symbolic; the perpetrators of the crimes have never pub-
licly apologised; and the whereabouts of most of the disappeared people remains unknown,

D. whereas on 7 July 2006, a judge at the Spanish Audiencia Nacional issued an international warrant for
the arrest of seven former Guatemalan dictators and military officers accused of genocide, torture and
illegal detention,

E. whereas before issuing the warrant, the judge travelled to Guatemala to carry out investigations which
he was unable to conduct following appeals to the Guatemalan constitutional court and court for
resolving conflicts of jurisdiction by the defendants' lawyers,

(1) OJ C 59, 23.2.2001, p. 286.
(2) OJ C 53 E, 28.2.2002, p. 403.
(3) OJ C 127 E, 29.5.2003, p. 688.
(4) OJ C 64 E, 12.3.2004, p. 609.
(5) OJ C 157 E, 6.7.2006, p. 494.

C 313 E/466

Official Journal of the European Union

EN

20.12.2006

Thursday 26 October 2006

1.
Urges the Guatemalan institutions to cooperate fully and do everything in their power to shed light on
human rights violations and to ensure that those responsible are brought to justice and that the findings of
investigations are made public, as called for in the international arrest warrant issued on 7 July 2006 by the
Spanish Audiencia Nacional against José Efraín Ríos Montt, Oscar Humberto Mejía Víctores, Ángel Aníbal
Guevara Rodríguez, Germán Chupina Barahona, Pedro García Arredondo, Benedicto Lucas García and
Donaldo Álvarez Ruiz, all of whom are accused of crimes of genocide, torture, terrorism and illegal deten-
tion;

Asks the governments and the management of the relevant banking entities concerned to cooperate in
2.
sequestrating the goods and property of the defendants, in order to ensure that they discharge their financial
and civil responsibilities;

Urges Interpol and Europol, in the event of a request being made by the appropriate authorities, to

3.
provide the necessary means to ensure extradition;

4.

Reaffirms its commitment to ensuring that those accused do not go unpunished;

5. Welcomes the progress made in the application of the principle of universal jurisdiction in respect of
crimes against humanity, genocide and torture;

6.
Considers that, should these proceedings be brought to a successful conclusion, the same procedure
should be followed under similar circumstances in taking action against dictators and persons responsible
for mass human rights violations;

7.
Expresses its support for the Guatemalan people and authorities, with a view to their continuing to
uphold the rule of law and fostering economic, social and political development, which will contribute to
peace and national reconciliation;

8.
Instructs its President to forward this resolution to the Council, the Commission, the Government
of Guatemala, the governments of Central American countries, the Government of the United States of
America, and the Central American Parliament.

P6_TA(2006)0467

Uzbekistan

The European Parliament,

European Parliament resolution on Uzbekistan

— having regard to its previous resolutions on the Central Asian Republics and Uzbekistan, and in par-

ticular to its resolutions of 9 June 2005 (1) and 27 October 2005 (2),

— having regard to the Commission's Strategy Paper for Central Asia 2002-2006

— having regard to the Partnership and Cooperation Agreement between the European Communities and
their Member States, of the one part, and the Republic of Uzbekistan, of the other part, which entered
into force on 1 July 1999,

— having regard to the conclusions of the meetings of the General Affairs and External Relations Council

of 18 July and 3 October 2005,

— having regard to the Council Presidency statements on the human rights situation in Uzbekistan in

2005 and 2006,

— having regard to the report of the UN Working Group on Enforced or Involuntary Disappearances

published on 27 December 2005,

(1) OJ C 124 E, 25.5.2006, p. 560.
(2) Texts Adopted, P6_TA(2005)0415.