European Parliament resolution of 15 March 2007 on Nigeria
Date: 2007-03-15
Institutions: European Parliament
Subjects: Islam, Nigeria, canon law, election, human rights, impunity, violence

C 301 E/260

Official Journal of the European Union

EN

13.12.2007

Thursday 15 March 2007

Insists that the Cambodian Government must put an end to the prevailing climate of impunity and

2.
effectively apply the law to violators of human rights and civil liberties;

Reminds the Cambodian Government that it must meet its obligations and commitments with regard
3.
to the democratic principles and fundamental human rights which are an essential element of the Coopera-
tion Agreement with the European Community, as defined in Article 1 of that agreement;

4.
Calls on the Cambodian authorities to engage in political and institutional reforms with a view to
building a democratic State governed by the rule of law and founded on respect for fundamental freedoms
and to ensure in all circumstances respect for human rights and fundamental freedoms, in accordance with
international human rights standards and international conventions ratified by Cambodia;

Urges the Cambodian Government to allow the Khmer Rouge Tribunal to start operating without
5.
further delay, in accordance with international standards of judicial independence, fair trial and due legal
process, as agreed with the UN in June 2003;

Supports the efforts of the ECCC Review Committee on the Internal Rules to narrow the differences

6.
on a number of issues in order to move prosecutions and trials forward;

Calls on the Council and the Commission to address the concerns over human rights and the rule of

7.
law in Cambodia in their contacts with the Cambodian Government;

8.
Instructs its President to forward this resolution to the Council, the Commission, the Government and
National Assembly of the Kingdom of Cambodia, the UN Secretary-General, the UN High Commissioner for
Human Rights, the Special Representative of the UN Secretary-General for Human Rights in Cambodia, and
the governments of the ASEAN Member States.

P6_TA(2007)0086

Nigeria

European Parliament resolution of 15 March 2007 on Nigeria

The European Parliament,

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

— having regard to the international human rights conventions ratified by Nigeria,

— having regard to Rule 115 of the Rules of Procedure,

A. whereas, despite efforts made in recent years by the Nigerian government to promote human rights and
to stem corruption, and, despite some improvements in respect for civil and political rights, a number
of urgent and basic human rights issues remain to be addressed; and whereas the country remains
marred by corruption, arbitrary arrests and torture, extrajudicial killings and political violence,

B. whereas ethnic and religious divisions, as well as widespread poverty, are major causes of chronic

intercommunal violence,

C. whereas Islamic Sharia courts have jurisdiction over criminal cases in 12 of Nigeria's 36 States; whereas
these courts continue to hand down death sentences as well as sentences of flogging and amputation;
whereas, although executions and amputations are no longer being carried out, trials do not conform
to international standards, for instance with regard to the right to a lawyer, and informing the accused
of their rights, and they tend to discriminate against women,

13.12.2007

EN

Official Journal of the European Union

C 301 E/261

Thursday 15 March 2007

D. whereas impunity remains the rule rather than the exception, since very few of the perpetrators of
violence and human rights violations are investigated and brought to justice, and whereas such impu-
nity is in itself one of the most important obstacles to tackling and ending human rights abuse and
violence,

E. whereas insufficient capacity and lack of resources of the Nigerian police force limit the possibilities of
investigating crimes and also result in large numbers of people being held in extended pre-trial deten-
tion in violation of their rights,

F. whereas police and security forces have often been implicated in human rights violations including

extrajudicial killings, arbitrary arrests and torture,

G. whereas child labour and child trafficking remain widespread,

H. whereas freedom of expression remains limited by the continued harassment of journalists and political

activists,

I. whereas the Nigerian Parliament is currently examining a Bill entitled the ‘Same Sex Marriage (Prohibi-
tion) Act’, imposing a five-year prison sentence on anyone who ‘performs, witnesses, aids or abets the
ceremony of same sex marriage’, but also on anyone involved publicly or privately in positive repre-
sentation of, or advocacy for, same sex relationships,

J. whereas state and national elections in 1999 and 2003 could not be considered as free and fair due to

widespread fraud and violence,

1.
Calls on the Nigerian Government to take immediate and effective measures to protect its citizens, put
an end to the violence, widespread corruption and impunity for the perpetrators of human rights violations,
and to actively promote respect for human rights;

2.
Calls on the Nigerian Government to abolish the death penalty and to intervene in individual cases of
persons tried under Sharia law and sentenced to death, amputation, flogging or other inhuman and degrad-
ing treatment that violates the Nigerian Constitution as well as international human rights law;

3. Welcomes the multilateral agreement among 26 western and central African countries against traffick-
ing in women and children, as well as other efforts made in this area by the Nigerian authorities; calls,
however, on the Nigerian Government to take further measures in this area as well as in tackling the
exploitation of children through child labour;

Calls on all stakeholders in the forthcoming national elections in April to publicly declare their com-
4.
mitment to ending political violence, killings, intimidation and other human rights abuses as well as impu-
nity for such crimes;

Calls on the Nigerian Government to take all necessary measures to address pre-election concerns
5.
regarding restrictions on the independence of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), abu-
sive conduct and harassment by security forces, and any other obstacle to freedom of expression and
opinion and other basic requirements for free and fair elections;

Calls on the Nigerian Parliament not to adopt the proposed ‘Same Sex Marriage (Prohibition) Act’ in
6.
its current form, since it contains infringements of the basic human rights of freedom of expression and
opinion, in particular since it envisages a five-year prison sentence for anyone involved publicly or privately
in positive representation of, or advocacy for, same sex relationships;

Instructs its President to forward this resolution to the Council, the Commission, and the Government

7.
and Parliament of Nigeria.