kfajdsl/voxpopuli huggingface dataset:
this means that beyond the acute moment of crisis we have a responsibility to work on the political scene.
we have two immediate priorities and i was glad to see that the un security council discussed this issue last night. un secretary general antnio guterres expressed similar priorities to the one i will share with you in a moment.
but then we have another important task to carry out.
we have to look at the events of these weeks and we also have to look at the history of the country.
this has led to a massive flow of refugees into bangladesh one of the most terrible refugee crises of our time.
addressing the situation is what we have always asked for in our political dialogue with myanmar over the years including at high level meetings and in the eu myanmar human rights dialogue.
but let me be clear this is a welcome step that can only be the beginning of a path that we have to see continuing because the bangladeshi authorities have welcomed the many refugees who fled their homes and the international community and we first of all i believe should not only praise but also support their efforts.
as an immediate response to the current situation the european union has decided to increase our support to bangladesh with another eur three million on top of the eur twelve million aid already provided for myanmar and bangladesh together.
human rights must be respected by all but it is very clear security forces face a special responsibility to refrain from any violence against unarmed civilians.
our coordination stays strong with the un personal contacts from my side with secretary general guterres and with my colleagues all over the world on this issue and we will use the un general assembly ministerial week for continuing intensive consultations and to guarantee that the international community can stay united in facing this issue.
for many of them this is a matter of life or death.
the responsibility that the country's leadership civilian but also military faces today is immense exactly because they have been san suu kyi in particular a source of inspiration for the democratic world.
violence must stop immediately.
recommendations include the issue of discrimination poverty alleviation assurance of basic rights equal access to education and social services as well as the promotion of trust and reconciliation.
myanmar's struggle for democracy has been a source of inspiration for many around the world and for me personally and i believe for many of you in this room.
let me also state just as clearly as what i said just now that we are very much aware of and concerned about the excesses during the security operations conducted by myanmar security forces.
as you know the last resolution adopted by the human rights council last march was also a european union initiative. the recommendations of the final report of the advisory commission on rakhine state headed by kofi annan are our point of reference.
in the last few years the country has gone through impressive change and yet the path towards an inclusive and diverse democracy is far from accomplished. let me start by stating clearly one thing the european union has condemned the attacks of twenty five august by the arakan rohingya salvation army as well as the violence that followed in northern rakhine state.
these are the two immediate priorities end the violence and bring in humanitarian aid.
this situation is completely unacceptable and risks destabilising the wider region.
we will continue to work with everyone involved to find lasting peace in myanmar to the benefit of the whole population addressing the structural issue of rakhine. as you mentioned this is not the first time we have come on this issue.
the time to implement the annan report is now because we are seeing what the people of rakhine are facing and they cannot wait any longer.
first immediate priority end the tensions the violence;
they need to show that the democracy they fought so hard fought can work for all the people of myanmar beyond ethnic social and religious boundaries.
we need a unhcrled body down in bangladesh but we also need a strong response from the european union and all its governments and active diplomacy in the region not least with the two big powers because this is something that is ongoing. people need to be able to return home in dignity with their rights restored. this is something which is not just about aung san suu kyi;
so we know this is something which has been going on for a very long time and where the european union has been a key funder in terms of supporting the rohingya people in bangladesh the refugees there.
mr president i also speak in my capacity as chair of the delegation for south asia which covers bangladesh as one of our countries and where in the past we visited the rohingya camps down at cox's bazar.
we gather that the eu has currently put in eu three million from echo funding in light of the current situation.
others felt that we should wait another month.
the same procrastination allowed the genocide in rwanda and srebrenica.
they also said that we should not jeopardise our on going trade talks with myanmar.
how can we have trade when the un calls this a textbook example of ethnic cleansing?
trade cannot and should never thrive alongside tyranny.
cruelty is no culture for commerce.
this resolution not the first on myanmar represents a unified and determined response from parliament.
however my fear is that unless we all seriously consider sanctions and suspension of trade talks there will no longer be any rohingyas left.
they have been targeted for decades during which thousands have lost their lives. what is different today is the brutality of the military campaign which in no universe can be considered proportionate to the insurgent attacks carried out last month.
what is unfolding before the eyes of the world is an inhuman process of ethnic cleansing.
solid reports confirm soldiers and militiamen raping and mutilating women decapitating children and setting fire to buildings with people herded into them.
i want to thank all those constituents and citizens who have contacted us to raise their concern.
we also know that words are not enough and mass atrocities like this go on despite diplomatic statements and resolutions.
the eu needs a robust joined up strategy for dealing with situations like this around the world to apply real pressure to stop the violence and to work together with international partners and grassroots anti racist organisations to bring perpetrators to justice.
mr president these atrocities against the rohingya community have to stop.
in the words of archbishop desmond tutu a country that is not at peace with itself that fails to acknowledge and protect the dignity and worth of all its people is not a free country'.
it impinges on career development and training and therefore results in precariousness in life more generally.
one out of ten workers has a precarious job most of them in the form of a zero hours contract.
in two thousand and sixteen the committee on petitions received submissions from mcdonald's workers who testified that some of their most basic rights such as the right to maternity leave paid holidays and redundancy rights were being withheld because of zero hours contracts.
we have taken this up in parliament and i'm proud to support mcdonald's workers including those brave people who have taken industrial action in the struggle for their rights at work as well as all the other precarious workers across europe with the resolution that we're putting on the table today.
but there's a catch because in the north east we are the capital for zero hours contracts in the uk.
what will you now do to enforce these rules and give mcdonald's workers across europe all of the rights that they deserve at work?
i am therefore happy to see that this resolution covers these issues.
they need us to stand up for them and ensure that they are protected.
it sends a message to the petitioners that we have heard them.
there is a trend to move away from traditional contracts and to move towards more flexibility flexibility for the employer and the employee.
therefore it sometimes happens that these more flexible workers are less protected.
this resolution sends a powerful message.
the member states have the most important task they need to implement the laws to protect the workers. incorrect implementation leads to insecurity. infringement proceedings started by the commission take a long time even years and during that entire period the workers suffer.
people in precarious working conditions are always in the weaker position.
by ensuring social protection coverage regardless of the employment status;
through these initiatives we want to prevent eu workers from being subjected to unfair and precarious working conditions by guaranteeing basic standards for all workers including workers subject to particularly flexible forms of employment such as on demand work or zero
let me assure you that the commission is strongly committed to ensuring compliance across the
we must ensure that no one is left behind. this is the essence of the european pillar of social rights jointly proclaimed in november last year.
the commission has provided comprehensive answers to your resolution and has also proposed new initiatives. our priority now is to ensure that the prosperity generated by the recovering european economy benefits society fairly.
the union has developed and extended its response to this issue over the years.
hour contracts;
it focused on two broad areas first atypical forms of employment and franchising;
in january of this year the committee coordinators unanimously decided as a follow up to these two activities to draft an oral question and a motion for a resolution responding to petitions.
we must not forget that petitions are a reflection of citizens and their situation and are an important signalling mechanism to the legislative committees of this house and to the commission.
these petitions reveal gaps in the legislation or in the implementation of legislation and the petitions sent to my committee regarding precarious employment should therefore be taken extremely seriously.
we should find ways to ease the life of eu citizens who are suffering from precariousness and the oral question and the resolution have been put on the plenary agenda in order to draw attention to the concrete problems faced by european citizens.
when you look at the text of the resolution you should bear in mind the increase in the number of workers with fixed term and part time contracts and the significant increase in temporary employment contracts and atypical contracts in both the public and private sectors.
we are and i personally am now expecting the commission not only to reply to the specific points in the oral question but also to commit to making all the necessary efforts to ensure the best possible protection of all workers in the european union.
nevertheless we as the petitions committee need to address all those citizens everywhere in the member states who actually came to us pointing out their difficulties.
in the light of this large number of petitions that we have received we consider there is a need for a debate on the situation of workers in the european union.
with european legislation i.
a study on temporary contracts was also commissioned by policy department c and was presented during the hearing.
and second recommendations on adopting a holistic comprehensive approach to address these problems.
had a hearing recently in the employment committee and the european labour authority recognises that workers across europe need to be protected.
i think we all have to play a role in this but the most important thing is that we do recognise that workers are being exploited and can be exploited and we need to work together to ensure that adequate protection is put in place to prevent precarious work particularly zerohours contracts which are really giving our workers across the eu no certainty in terms of social commitments
mr president there are literally millions of workers in the united kingdom on zero hours and other exploitative contracts and the highest proportion of them is in my constituency in the west midlands which is the capital of zero hours contracts in the united kingdom.
it will seem surprising to some here that a very large number of those people being exploited on those contracts in the united kingdom maybe even most of them but certainly a very large number of those millions will have voted for brexit and it is therefore the right answer
that has been sent out from these institutions since the referendum that here these institutions will deepen and re double the efforts to tackle those abuses.
we need real legislation we need a recognition of this in the written statement directive.
the time for action has come.
for us the epp group precarious employment means employment that does not respect european and national law.
we want to guarantee flexibility for employers but at the same time proper social security for all types of workers.
now i need to point out a few facts about this resolution.
first of all i would like to remind you that the conversion of a fixed term contract into an indefinite one is not an obligation for member states but an exclusive national competence.
we should not mix eu and national competences regarding labour and social policies.
secondly when we speak about different directives we have to recall the fact that they are in place especially to prevent abuses.
thirdly when we refer to specific cases we have to take into account all the observations of the court of justice of the european union. in addition to the current legislation the commission issued in december a proposal for a directive on transparent and predictable working conditions in the eu and adopted proposals for a european labour authority and for better access to social protection.
the european instrument for democracy and human rights has proved indispensable in protecting the rights of vulnerable people minorities and women promoting the work of human rights defenders. now is not the time to pull away that instrument.
what kind of message are we as an eu of twenty eight member states sending to the rest of the world?
the situation is such that should a crisis arise tomorrow we would not be able to intervene and provide assistance.
not only do we close our borders in the face of the syrian crisis but we fail to meet our commitments to those countries who welcome syrian refugees over nine million of them.
how can we be serious about our funding values if the first cuts we make are towards those who need it the most?
i say to those citizens who put me here thank you for the privilege of being able to give a voice to the voiceless to stand up for those whose rights would be ignored and taken away from them.
now is the time to support it.
this europe is a europe that must be defended because at its roots are the principles of equality fairness human rights and justice.
the shortage of payments affects humanitarian aid and other external financing instruments such as the european instrument for democracy and human rights.
were processed as quickly as possible. i am very pleased to inform you that since the beginning of this week following adoption at the agriculture and fisheries council on monday the commission is in a position to move the requested funds to the budget lines in need. should these additional appropriations turn out not to be sufficient to cover the needs of the budget lines later this year the commission is invited to present further proposals for redeployment of appropriations or if not sufficient a draft amending budget.
any possible request for the transfer of payment appropriations including across financial framework headings. it will also reach a position on any possible draft amending budget as quickly as possible in order to avoid any shortfall in payment appropriations.
it is therefore for the commission to present any proposals for budgetary redeployment or for a draft amending budget.
well. the commission has meanwhile taken a first set of measures to tackle the problem and the council has promised to react swiftly.
the council therefore welcomes the comprehensive assistance package presented by the commission and is committed to ensuring its implementation. we acknowledge that this might create additional pressure on the issue of payment appropriations in the eu budget this
i would like to assure you that the council will respect fully the wording and content of the joint statement on payment appropriations which was agreed by our three institutions in november last year in the context of the conciliation on the two thousand and fourteen budget. in line with that statement the council will process swiftly
it is about millions and this is my promise.
this is of course not about billions;
this is exploiting the profile of payments.
the next tool is the emergency aid reserve.
what is our toolbox in this respect?
' therefore in this context the commission intends to propose correcting measures in light of implementation using to the extent possible all the tools offered by the new mff as it was in two thousand.
in other words the commitment and payment appropriations included in the annual budget for two thousand and fourteen adopted in november two thousand and thirteen jointly by parliament and the council must be the guiding framework for the commission.
making use of all possibilities of reallocation if necessary.
i can assure you that in order to cover clearly justified and urgent additional needs the council is ready to look into all financing possibilities available if the commission proposes to use them.
and as soraya post has already explained this is a specific debate on what has been reported happening in chechnya in the russian federation in the last couple of weeks.
i also appreciate that the eas is having the building illuminated on tomorrow's international day against homophobia in the rainbow flags and this is important to show visibility and to struggle for equal rights for everybody.
it is clear that we demand in this resolution and i have to say the resolution we prepared is one of six groups in this parliament i really appreciate that there is broad support we demand from the russian federation and the chechnya regime to protect lgbti people and also to speak out and say this is not against any religious traditions;
this is a life of fear that nobody on this planet should be allowed to live and nobody who protects the perpetrators should not be brought to justice.
we already have many good reports by that.
mr president tomorrow is the international day against homophobia and that is why i am wearing this rainbow here to remind everyone who is listening who is speaking here and who is listening to us that this is a day where everybody should stand up like we are doing in this parliament against homophobia transphobia against all kinds of violence against lgbti people wherever it occurs in europe and on other continents.
this is something being lesbian gay bisexual trans or intersex that has existed all over the planet in all times and all epochs in all religions in all cultures everywhere and exists and should not be worked against. so now we also ask the external action service to see that the guidelines that we have are really implemented all over this planet
i do not know if there is anybody here watching in chechnya or in russia but you are not the problem if you are lgbti; you are not the illness.
i am a gay man and i am able to be here with other gay men other lesbians other lgbti people and do the work that we do because i know i am not going to be dragged from my seat by the authorities.
it is the people who are doing this to you that are the problem and it is this organisation the international community who will stand to defend you.
the appalling examples of denial that we have seen from the chechen and russian authorities do no justice to the people who are suffering but we do know now because of the hard work of ngos because of the hard work of organisations like novaya gazeta and the journalists who face recrimination and death that this is occurring.
the ongoing terror against and prosecution of opposition human rights activists and journalists has now been extended into targeting the lgbti minority.
it is only a common denominator representing the state of human rights in russia as a whole.
let us recall that in march this year russia has adopted a backwards legislation decriminalising domestic violence and now we are witnessing this. we the european union must make sure that our policy towards russia reflects seriously the crimes against the lgbti minority in chechnya.
she stressed the need to put an immediate stop to the crackdown against gay men in chechnya and to investigate these horrific reports.
some member states are willing to help.
this is indispensable so that anyone found guilty of complicity in such crimes is brought to justice.
we are all trying to help definitely but we cannot go public about everything that is being done.
i would like to say this because i know some cases on the ground.
we will keep working with member states to support the victims and put pressure on the russian authorities to stop the violence and ensure justice for the victims.
we all agree that this issue is completely unacceptable and i personally believe that it is a shame because we have to discuss this issue
in the twenty first century. the violence against the lgtbi community has given visibility to the disastrous situation of human rights in this russian republic.
last thursday five gay activists were detained in moscow when they wanted to deliver a petition demanding an investigation into the ongoing crimes in chechnya.
today we must stand with those two million. we must stand with the lgbti communities of the world and right now and most pressingly with the lgbti people in chechnya and russia.
this is what happens when politicians act as if human rights were only for a few when they dehumanise whole groups of people.
right now the european union is the global stronghold protecting the idea of equality of human rights for all.
more than two million people have signed it more people than live in chechnya.
i have received reports about honour killings families have murdered their own children in shame of their being gay.
but at the same time they round up gay men real or perceived and torture them into giving up the names of gay friends or lovers.
he was later released because of international pressure.
and three years on we can see that we must never be complacent.
yes the eu is a key protector of human rights in the world and all of us as parliamentarians and citizens must join in support of the effort to ensure those who fight for human rights have the support they need.
so the eu must increase the pressure.
mr putin apparently said that he would support an investigation after angela merkel pressed him on it.
but russian authorities still continue to dismiss reports as rumours.
the reported persecution of gay or allegedly gay men in chechnya is shocking and the international community must act resolutely to end it.
all too often in this chamber we find ourselves defending human rights defenders.
the human rights defender yuri guaiana was arrested trying to deliver a petition with two million signatures demanding justice for lgbti people in chechnya.
it would appear that the chechnya government has slipped back towards barbarism and my thoughts are with the families of those who have lost loved ones in this awful persecution.
the federal government must show the world that this will not be tolerated and do more to investigate and stamp out any and all of those persecutions in chechnya.
we have a massive debt of gratitude to civil society and the ngos and journalists who brought this to our attention at all people who are really struggling in their daily lives against shocking persecution.
amnesty international human rights watch the international crisis group vital ngos who do vital work need further support;
and indeed the brave citizens who are struggling on a daily basis.