kfajdsl/voxpopuli huggingface dataset:
the abuses of human rights that are spoken about are not historical.
this action plan that has been spoken of is operating here as a fig leaf for some meps to be able to say that the box is ticked we have looked after human rights now we can proceed with this free trade agreement.
add to that the systematic abuse of the rights of human rights defenders of journalists and of indigenous communities and you have a clear picture of a government that shows blatant disregard for human rights democratic rights and workers' rights.
for these reasons our group tomorrow will propose to refer this back to committee.
i would hope they do differently tomorrow but i am not confident about the majority of them.
he said that only countries that are open to trade have a consistently high standard of human rights while countries that are closed to trade usually do not.
he confirmed that the government is trying to stamp out the right wing paramilitary groups and to maintain the highest levels of human rights.
he said that it was vitally necessary for the european parliament to vote in favour of this free trade agreement. he said that those who oppose this agreement on human rights grounds simply do not understand the reality of colombia today.
he said that the colombian government is deep in negotiations with business industry and the trade unions over an above inflation rise in the minimum wage and on social dialogue.
he explained to me that next week in bogot he has organised a major conference on human rights which will be attended by our eu ambassador tanya van gool.
in addition he told me that the current santos government has financed a massive security operation to protect trade unionists.
last friday i had a private meeting with the vice president of colombia angelino garzn himself a renowned and courageous trade union leader.
they are also cracking down on bad banks and introducing tough regulatory measures.
so he emphasised that it will send a really good message to the rest of latin america if this parliament votes in favour of the free trade agreement this week.
i did not but i simply place that on the record.
the report refers with approval to the eu document of two thousand and six entitled global europe'.
the eu is moving slowly but surely towards a world free of tariffs a situation in which all living standards in the world will gravitate to the same level.
this agreement like many similar ones removes virtually all tariff and non tariff barriers after a transitional period.
but i would say that the european union is not european enough and has become wedded to the political and economic ideology of globalism.
madam president the only common ground in this debate appears to be that for decades systematic abuses of human rights have taken place in colombia and that the free trade agreement has acted as a carrot for bringing the colombians to the table to talk about these issues. but you do not withdraw a carrot so easily
the government are making the right noises in relation to human rights but until they actually change the situation on the ground it will not be right for this parliament to approve a free trade agreement with them.
what is clear to me so far is that the colombian government has got better at human rights propaganda.
we still have human rights defenders facing death threats assassination kidnapping. we still have journalists who are shot for the words that they put down on paper.
based on the slim evidence we have so far.
it is not acceptable that people who organise the poorest of people in these countries should in any way be terrorised or treated in a violent manner.
this meeting helped to concentrate minds in the colombian administration and the attorney general and ministers in the colombian government came here to listen to us members of parliament and our concerns.
i am glad to see that the governments of colombia and peru have made specific commitments to implement human rights clauses and have presented roadmaps to the european parliament which we will need to monitor closely.
giving consent to this trade agreement could be seen as a means of promoting continued progress towards better labour standards and improved human rights conditions in both countries. the idea behind this resolution is that trade between the parties provides a means of improving the quality of life of the people of each country especially the poorest.
will this be in the better interests of the working people and the unemployed in colombia and peru or should we stick to the line we held last year?
i am informed that between april two thousand and twelve and august two thousand and twelve one hundred and twenty eight new trade unions have been successfully established in colombia.
on balance if the commissioner gives the undertakings which we require i am prepared to consider voting for this agreement but i want the commissioner to be firm in his commitment that we will monitor human rights and trade union rights in these areas.
until now it has been time to debate to listen to civil society and to consolidate ideas.
this deal will result in total tariff savings of more than eur five hundred million per year.
in times where economic growth and employment creation should be two of our main objectives as politicians this trade agreement is a new and important tool for all the twenty nine nations involved.
i would also like to give a special word of thanks to the very numerous civil society organisations from labour unions to ngos that we heard and discussed with in the course of this long and widely participated process of ratification. but in democracy the political power lies in the constitutional institutions elected by the people for the people.
now it is time to act to decide.
however just a couple of weeks ago we had representatives of the comunidad de paz de san jos de apartad here who were finalists for the sakharov prize last year and they were reporting that just right now paramilitaries and also government forces soldiers are attacking or close to their
they are suffering right now.
thank you very much for that question mr howitt.
i am not sure if you are aware of this but only last week the inter american court of human rights which is the equivalent of the eu court of human rights in strasbourg gave a clean bill of health to colombia on its human rights record.
madam president it never seems to astound me that mr murphy has a problem for every solution and it is always a problem which works to his advantage and not necessarily to the advantage of poor people or people who are suffering human rights abuses. i was the person who organised for the international trade union confederation to appear on the first human rights issue at the development committee as coordinator on that committee.
if i believe that this best assists the interests of trade unions and workers i will vote for it.
if i do not i will not. but i will do what i believe to be right and in the interests of people and there does come a time when we have to say is the carrot better than the stick?
if i can be assured by the commissioner that he will ensure that these human rights provisions are fully overseen and applied then i would be prepared to consider changing my position from the one i took last year.
but i would say to you and any people on that side of the house who want to push this agreement through this week that the benefits are there under the existing agreement.
the human rights clause is there under the existing agreement;
it is the commissioner who said it was a joke when there was illegal surveillance against human rights defenders and against a committee of this very parliament. we have seen fake trade unionists and fake civil society organisations brought to this parliament and trying to give us a view so as to skew what we should do.
this was baffling to us and the colombians who were fighting for justice.
the fta has safeguard clauses on human rights and on the environment.
we would have gone further and were uncertain that real and lasting changes were in place so we passed the roadmap which called for clear measurable progress towards robust protection for minorities environment protection and freedom of speech.
the governments have responded but we have not yet heard from the monitoring groups and other stakeholders which is a pity.
i found people committed to change and to ushering in a new era for colombia.
i met president santos and was impressed with his commitment to change.
however we have seen other countries slip back once agreements have been signed.
will this happen with colombia?
the us canada and norway have trade agreements with these two countries and china is now opening negotiations.
without europe's presence under an fta can we stay actively involved and be in a position to monitor progress or exercise any influence on the issues we have all worked towards?
so my group will support this agreement but this support goes with a clear message this is just the start of our relationship.
the european parliament will be watching progress carefully.
this is the beginning of a closer relationship which i hope will help to bring increased prosperity stability and most of all peace to the colombian and peruvian peoples as well as to the eu.
mr mitchell if it is the case that the situation is improving significantly on the ground in terms of trade unionists' rights well then why are all of the trade union organisations the cut in colombia itself the tuca from america etuc representing the trade unions across europe ituc representing international trade unions ictu representing the trade unions in ireland
should we not listen to them as being the representatives of workers in europe in america and in colombia and listen to what they have to say about it?
i believe that it does give us leverage because the protection of fundamental rights is an essential element of the agreement and we will look into that. by the way i start from the assumption that you will ask me regularly whether i have been looking into it. then there is also the roadmap that has been proposed by the european parliament.
better protection of fundamental rights.
i remember that very well.
nowhere are the three pillars of sustainable development clearer than in relation to forests. in addition to their environmental value the economic and social value of forests is immense as i know well from my own country in which forests cover almost sixty of our territory. in many developing countries forests provide not only jobs but also medicines food and shelter
i am glad that the text before us recognises the efforts of countries entering into such agreements with the european union.
the eu will continue to engage with countries wishing to strengthen forest governance in particular through flegt voluntary partnership agreements.
that are critical for the subsistence of millions of rural people.
it is not perfect as the commissioner has admitted but it is a lot better than where we started off with a kind of voluntary code with which we would have due diligence.
i hope the commission will also play a role in doing that and in getting good enforcement of this very important new law.
no wonder illegal logging fuels criminality in madagascar.
it is important for the climate as everyone has mentioned but i think as the commissioner has said it is most important for the millions of people who live in the world's poorest countries and whose livelihoods are being destroyed by illegal logging.
illegal logging deprives millions of people of a better chance in life because billions of dollars are lost in tax revenues to governments.
there is an online petition which about four hours ago had one hundred and twenty five zero signatures and the number is going up every minute urging us to stick with this proposal tomorrow.
that is enough to provide basic heath care for one hundred million people in that country and is more than the entire health budget of that country.
so what we are doing today is a first step.
mr president the world's forests are being destroyed sometimes with the support of governments but often through illegal activities. the drugs trade and the timber trade are two activities that can generate such enormous amounts of money that they corrupt governments which makes enforcement hugely difficult.
what if slovenia says that the penalty for illegally importing wood will be ten years' imprisonment and the united kingdom says it will be a slap on the wrist?
how do you ensure that this legislation will be put into effect properly across the whole of the european union?
it has been a pleasure working with her.
i am very happy to have been part of the successful negotiations to secure an agreement.
it is possible to come to such agreements when we all work together. i would like to highlight one of the very welcome side effects. it follows on nicely from what jan was just saying.
together with the recent regulation on illegal unregulated and unrecorded fishing this means that in the european union we will have the instruments to counter illegality in two of our key natural resources fisheries and forests.
and yes it is also an important part of the fight against poverty. the impact of the regulation depends on effective implementation and the challenge is far from over. however today we can start to appreciate
the fact that a solution on this difficult but important file has been found.
we are clearly dealing with a proposal of a noble nature.
if adopted it will reinforce financial and operational support given to member states in securing the european union's common external borders.
as you can see we have many building blocks in place to strengthen our external borders but we need to make yet further efforts to preserve schengen to make it even stronger and more resilient. finally let me repeat
during the last three years schengen has been confronted with the most important challenges since its conception.
and the views of the other member states affected by such decisions must be duly taken into account.
we have already made substantial progress.
this is why we must do everything to preserve the careful balance between free movement and mobility on the one hand and security on the other.
we all agree that we should return to the full normal functioning of the schengen area as soon as possible.
it is precisely to maintain this balance that the commission has proposed among others to amend the schengen borders code which is also one of our priorities.
we also have proposals on the table to strengthen existing systems such as the schengen information system where negotiations are about to close and the european criminal records information system in respect to third country nationals convicted in the european union by creating this centralised system
it comes at the moment where we are reflecting a lot on the future of our common external border management but also on how to enhance our internal security and free movement in the schengen area.
this is why one of our concerns is how to better make use of the existing tools at our disposal to fully implement the legislative measures we have recently adopted and to conclude pending legislation.
the thing is we need to be pragmatic but without ever forsaking our values and fundamental principles.
thank you for your report and this very timely debate.
member states retain the main responsibility when it comes to security.
two thousand and fourteen two thousand and twenty a new integrated border management fund will help to guarantee a high level of security in the european union by ensuring strong and effective border management while safeguarding the free movement of persons.
our proposal on interoperability will be a game changer in this respect and we need to complete the work on it by the end of this year.
in the meantime the commission is in contact with the member states concerned on lifting internal border controls as soon as possible allowing them to maintain the same level of security by using other tools such as reinforced police checks and increased cross border cooperation.
the development of the entry exit system is starting.
alternative solutions such as police checks and cross border cooperation must always take priority.
it is important to use but also to improve all the tools we have at our disposal to ensure high standards of security.
like to thank you for your work on this file too.
if an external border is porous as it has been with the eu for many years then the absence of internal borders becomes still more critical.
so no wonder internal border checks are creeping back within schengen in the case of france for wholly understandable security reasons and for some other countries to cope with the sheer volume of merkel migrants. social and cultural cohesion is a precious and fragile thing.
one of the big reasons for brexit was the desire of the british to control their own borders again.
if you were wise you would make the schengen area the second item thrown into the dustbin of history hard on the heels of the eurozone but we know you won't do that and so the confrontation between europe's citizens and its elites is set to intensify.
italians want to control their own borders;
hungarians wants control their own borders;
the european political class is insulated from the downsides of uncontrolled mass migration.
instead of empathising with european populations who feel overrun far too many european politicians show contempt for their electorates even branding them as racist just for wanting a degree of social stability.
when ms merkel invited everyone in who claimed to be displaced by wars in the middle east she invited them in not just on behalf of germany but on behalf of twenty five other schengen members and to a large extent on behalf of the eu's six nonschengen members too.
when it exists it enhances the life of almost everyone in a community but allow the pace of population change to run too fast or be careless as to the character of people moving from one country to another and you will ignite the indignation of indigenous populations.
i think i said or i certainly meant to say italians and hungarians and the british.
it's the people who want to take back control of the borders.
to some degree the governments of some countries do as well but they are forbidden from doing so by the rules of the european union as you must well know.
i am simply pointing out that the european elite and its rules are on a collision course with the popular will in many countries which are members of this union.
so let me be clear.
so this is also important prior to the legislative elections in november. one last point if we stop now can we have a better protocol?
so here we have yet another argument for voting for this agreement.
all these member states have asked for licences and we have our fleet there.
so what exactly are we saying?
another point the new protocol is a major contribution to improving security and fighting terrorism in the sahel region.
i do not believe that there is really a chance to have something better.
moreover the overall european financial contribution has been decreased by eight compared to the previous protocols.
and our fleet this is my first argument is getting some income from this exercise.
i would like to add something more.
they need basic help food water shelter medicine.
the corpses of boys and men were revealed by the receding waters of a river hands tied behind their backs bullet holes in their skulls.
i agree with colleagues that the eu must be much more involved in finding a solution to the violence and the humanitarian crisis in and around syria because for over two years we have witnessed how syrians have been murdered in the most brutal way.
we receive horrific reports of rape and also of the selling or marrying off of girls far too young to marry.
the un will ask for no less than usd three billion to cover the needs only for this year.
there are now seven million syrians who rely on aid around four and half million are displaced in the country and the number of refugees is expected to rise to three and a half million in the next month.
four and a half thousand cross the border to lebanon every day.
girls and women are especially vulnerable.
mr commissioner could you tell us whether she is now at the friends of syria meeting that is taking place in jordan and if she is not there why not and whether she has attended these meetings before?
these girls and women need specific aid. the eu needs a long term plan and we must prepare to free up a lot more in emergency aid.
these people are mostly women and children.
children seek shelter in the arms of their mothers to no avail;
i believe the external action service needs to develop a roadmap for political governance in the liberated areas that includes the possibility of lifting economic sanctions and we need to seek a un security council mandate that allows for the delivery of humanitarian aid.
line. in the future we will be guided by the advice of the unhcr as regards the timing and scope of such an initiative at european
minister who would
we have to move to a longer term approach not only providing shelter but also investing in infrastructure and services for refugees such as health and education. what am i talking about? i am talking about looking differently at humanitarian assistance.
efforts. an increasing volume of assistance quick mobilisation of funds effective access and coordination coupled with an appropriate political response are our
from the middle east region including
a pledging conference.
referred to in your statements the humanitarian and the political dimensions.
in particular.
for the first time now we are addressing the region.
i am talking about looking differently at how our assistance is being provided.
and transform it in order to help the whole region. that is what i referred to when i said that we are working now on a comprehensive approach to this region. it is no longer just a matter of the high representative pursuing her political agenda
i wonder what steps the commission is taking to provide more aid through organisations such as the international committee of the red cross and the red crescent which seem to be most active in the field.
it has set up some seventeen camps holding nearly two hundred zero refugees.
turkey of course is a long standing nato ally and eu candidate and therefore deserves particular support.
international aid is far below the level needed by turkey and other friendly countries such as jordan to meet the heavy burden they are carrying.
tragically and inevitably as we have heard from so many it is the civilian population that bears the brunt of this struggle.
the european union urges all parties to the conflict to fully respect international humanitarian and human rights law and condemns terrorist attacks of any nature including any assaults that may endanger the civilian population.
to better coordinate our efforts the commission and the european external action service together with the member states are working on a comprehensive response to the crisis which will also include dealing with the threats stemming from the potential use of chemical weapons the presence of european fighters in the country
we are also working intensively to mobilise significant additional funds this year with a view to addressing the plight of the refugees and stabilising syria's neighbouring countries.
we are improving coordination among donors and welcome the assistance coordination unit's efforts as regards using all channels to provide assistance everywhere in syria.
this will require a long term commitment and a regional approach.
we will work to strengthen this syrian led effort and will work tirelessly to improve access for our aid.
the unhcr estimates that by the end of two thousand and thirteen the number of syrian refugees will have reached.
standing tall the european union has repeatedly called on all donors to deliver on existing pledges and to increase their contributions.
the european union should continue its engagement with the national coalition for syrian revolutionary and opposition forces while remaining open to cooperation with other moderate groups.