kfajdsl/voxpopuli huggingface dataset:
people charged with criticising their government online while working abroad.
all these rights are guaranteed by the national constitution of laos as revised in two thousand and fifteen and by the international covenant on civil and political rights laos ratified in.
in a few months' time we will have another opportunity to formally raise this issue in our human rights dialogue with laos and we truly hope and believe that the situation should have been addressed by then.
we also raised the case in the eu laos human rights dialogue that took place earlier this year.
their three names were included in our list of persons of concern based on the work we do with and for human rights defenders. during the dialogue we handed over this list to the authorities of laos.
' but it is certainly in the charter of fundamental rights where it is enshrined as a right.
the minister talked about co location being under consideration of consular officials.
where are these?
the minister speaking in english said that it was only an entitlement' and not a right whereas mrs roure cited the french which says.
but these were promised in the action plan in two thousand and seven a reference in passports posters a website in development.
we will surely not make progress unless it is legally confirmed that it is a right with binding eu decisions and common standards and the right to challenge a refusal of protection in the courts.
my experience in the field of visa policy is that it is like pushing a boulder uphill trying to get member states to co locate.
instead i saw only competition between member states and further centralisation or consolidation of consular services will risk taking away the flexibility missions require on the ground in rapidly changing circumstances.
i am not going to go through them but the first two are perfectly sensible.
under article twenty there is a requirement for member states only to provide consular assistance to unrepresented eu nationals on the same terms as their nationals. this difference in approach between member states is recognised within the action plan of two thousand.
there is a real problem here because for any european citizen who is fleeing a situation it is perfectly feasible that they may not actually be in possession of such documentation.
that is all very good in theory but in practice i certainly did not see this happen in mumbai.
to make all this happen we have heard about the concept of a lead state which will endeavour to ensure that all eu citizens are assisted and that it will coordinate between member states.
more work needs to be done there.
assistance is provided in the event of death serious accident serious injury arrest detention assistance to be provided to victims of violent crime and relief and repatriation of distressed citizens of the union.
well there are approximately one hundred and eighty million trips made outside of the european union every year and in theory they are protected under article twenty as the commissioner and indeed the council presidency have already provided for in this debate.
the third puts forward a requirement for that citizen to provide proof of his or her nationality either by means of passport identity card or other document for the diplomatic or consular representation to be provided.
and seven and two thousand and nine of course there needs to be a criterion as to when and how other consular services should become involved and these break down basically into three.
there was no real sharing of information and intelligence not the sort of cooperation i expected to see.
i have never been there so i do not know this personally.
the experience will even by means of field work teach the participants how to behave and promptly react in a situation of extreme psychological and time pressure.
we really need to bring home to our own member states that this is a travel document of parliament the commission and of the union and should be fully respected.
those dealing with travel arrangements at airports and ports should be fully briefed as to the worthiness of this document.
i am sure this has been the experience of many other meps.
i would just say from experience that without going into stories i would like to see more coordination more help between embassies in the bigger countries where they do have embassies and consuls in almost every country so as to help all other member state embassies with their constituents.
your election symbolises not only the reunification of europe but also a europe that is very much attached to the central values of freedom and solidarity. personally and institutionally i want to commit to close cooperation with you and with the european parliament.
i believe that we have a special responsibility for the european project in full respect of the treaties.
however i believe that that choice should also be given to my people the british people.
if not their possible successors in the conservatives should do the same.
the post dated promises and threats have done nothing to change the fundamentals of the treaty.
i commend the electorate of the irish republic for exercising good sense in the first referendum sense that i believe that they will show once again in the second one.
i urge them to remain firm in their resolve to reject the treaty.
i stand here before you as one who believes in a europe of cooperating nations not a europe tied to the federalist approach of the lisbon treaty. on two october the irish electorate will be asked for a second time to vote for the lisbon treaty a treaty cobbled together to circumvent the people's rejection of a european constitution.
they were promised a referendum by the labour government and the labour government should fulfil that promise.
it remains the wrong path for europe and europe's nations.
mr president i have always admired mr barroso as our commission president who is an atlanticist free marketeer which my party strongly supports and holds dear.
however i am concerned at what i read yesterday in the daily telegraph that he has agreed with the alde group to create a powerful new and intrusive human rights commissioner in his commission straddling external and internal human rights issues.
for all his assistance. i have tried in my role as rapporteur to follow on from the good work of the previous rapporteur my former colleague glyn ford. i am fortunate that the adoption of glyn's resolution in two thousand and nine meant that parliament already had a clear position on the ec pacific interim economic partnership agreement.
secondly i plan to discuss three specific aspects of the epa which i believe it is important to highlight namely aid for trade the fijian political situation and fisheries.
account. these include intellectual property. too often we talk about intellectual property from one side only but i hope that we will look at intellectual property in terms of including traditional knowledge.
women. i support the purpose of the flexible rules of origin in this agreement namely to develop the processing industry but it is essential that the industry develops in a sustainable manner.
i hope that the necessary reforms can take place to allow financial support for the fijian sugar industry to be allocated. on fishing the fisheries sector plays a key role in papua new guinea's economy and importantly provides employment and income to its citizens.
nevertheless it is of course right that we should continue to monitor the situation and that if there are any unexpected increases in fishing products coming from papua new guinea the commission should take appropriate
epa. in my report i have recommended the inclusion of several points of substance in future negotiations which i hope the commission will take into
it is important that a fair and equitable share of the eur two billion set aside in the two thousand and seven aid for trade strategy is directed towards the pacific region.
action. as i mentioned earlier i hope that the pacific states can agree a comprehensive regional
i would urge the fijian government to make moves towards democracy.
the commission will in any event closely monitor the implementation of the derogation and will report to parliament on the basis of a study which will be prepared before the end
the commission's commitment to concluding negotiations on a comprehensive epa with the pacific region as a whole remains unchanged and we are currently engaged in negotiations with our pacific partners. we can go forward only if we accept the special nature of the pacific region
has important political significance because this is a trade agreement with a long term development focus and because of the momentum it will provide to ongoing negotiations on the comprehensive epa with the pacific region. back in two thousand and seven the immediate purpose of the interim agreement was to secure
the interim agreement explicitly allows for the application of such measures in its chapter two on trade defence instruments.
the agreement as it is now is not a perfect one not least because it is not a comprehensive epa but only an interim one.
mr president one of the objectives of the epas is to promote regional integration.
i believe that this derogation is potentially hazardous and that it must be thoroughly evaluated in two thousand and eleven as already agreed.
they accept that at the moment there is no serious threat to the eu industry.
there is nothing to stop eu fishing fleets fishing in papua new guinea waters and landing their catch and getting their catch canned in papua new guinea and as has been said earlier that would be very good for development and indeed we should encourage it.
the three factories in papua new guinea meet these standards at the moment and are providing useful jobs.
firstly to repeat it is important that we sign the interim epa because if we do not existing trade preferences for papua new guinea and fiji will disappear under the wto ruling.
it has to meet all our sanitary and phytosanitary conditions.
this will be the only derogation.
here we are actually doing something positive for downstream activity.
but we have to take this step at the moment to ensure the continuation of preferences for the two largest countries in the pacific region.
there is no threat to the european tuna industry.
this agreement has been in place since. two thousand and eight there has been no surge.
on fishing the commission has made it very clear that what we have here is an exception.
as the commissioner has said in order to qualify the fish still needs to meet all the standards under the regulation on illegal unreported and unregulated fishing.
i will tell you it is because papua new guinea is literally on the other side of the world and the likelihood of eu fishing fleets exploiting that area extensively is limited although they are free to do so.
mr president i actually came down to participate in the next debate but i have been watching this debate from my office and i am concerned like others who have spoken in the debate here about the idea of flexibility on rules of origin.
it is a major achievement though and it will be judged in the end on the difference it makes to people's lives on the ground.
i am confident that the european parliament tomorrow will pass this treaty with a large majority and i welcome the fact that after we do that the commission will push the twenty eight member states to ratify it as quickly as possible and use its diplomatic contacts to encourage other countries to sign up. we need to get past the fifty threshold as quickly as possible and to get this on the un books. many members have rightly condemned iran syria and north korea for voting against this treaty but let us be clear that this does not mean they escape the impact of this treaty if exporters act responsibly because if exporters
i would also like to thank all my colleagues for taking part in this debate.
is this treaty a huge achievement in beginning to seriously regulate a very volatile industry?
let me say if people are posing the question is this treaty perfect?
adhere to the terms of the agreement they will not sell arms to those countries and that itself will make a major contribution to bringing stability to for example the middle east and perhaps bringing north korea back into the civilised world.
this treaty is not perfect.
finally i want to stress that within the eu we have to discuss and decide how we want to develop and manage different export control regimes.
the united states is the biggest exporter of weapons but was divided on the treaty and looks unlikely to ratify it in the near future.
to be effective the treaty must have the world's biggest players engaged.
citizens and civil society organisations will be able to evaluate the principles of the treaty and hold their governments to account for the arms trade transactions taking place and the impact they are having on recipient countries.
countries will be required to evaluate arms transactions to ensure they meet the necessary criteria including a block on any transactions in cases where there is a risk of genocide or war crimes.
countries must assess how the arms transactions could be used to undermine peace and stability or could contribute towards violations of human rights cross border crimes or terrorism. there are some shortcomings in the agreement.
unfortunately some significant countries have indicated that they may not take part in this agreement.
this was not included in the treaty.
we must use eu support mechanisms to assist our own member states to implement the treaty in line with existing eu commitments.
one person dies every minute as a result of armed violence which is a moral outrage in today's world.
at the outset it is important to note that this un agreement is a huge step forward for the regulation of the global arms trade and this house should welcome it.
the treaty is a major achievement after a decade of negotiations.
in particular the work of civil society organisations in supporting and pushing for this agreement has to be acknowledged.
the aim of the agreement is to establish common standards for the regulation of the arms trade and to eradicate their illegal trade.
the global arms trade is a eur twenty two billion industry.
all major types of arms are covered including small arms and light weapons.
until now there has been no legally binding global treaty on conventional weapons unlike weapons of mass destruction and landmines which are already regulated.
it is important that in the first stages of the implementation there is a strict understanding of the need for high standards and i hope the eu can help to promote this.
the treaty gives signatory countries responsibility to interpret and implement the agreement.
the european union speaking with one voice can help to lead the way and encourage the implementation of and widespread agreement on this treaty.
with this agreement the signatory countries have acknowledged that this is an industry which urgently needs to be more transparent and more responsible.
it is important to note that even after countries evaluate an arms transaction in relation to genocide or war crimes there are other criteria which must be taken into account.
the treaty also requires transparency measures including annual reporting of arms exports and informing other parties of national control systems.
it is vital here to stress the difference between the united nations which is intergovernmental i. e.
indeed the official un brochure i have here says that the un is not a super state nor is it a world government. the states members of the un remain sovereign and equal and have no intention of delegating this sovereignty to any supra national entity.
we are committing ourselves to helping third countries to develop control systems so that they can ratify it too and i am very sorry that the british conservatives have opposed this initiative tonight.
the right to bear arms should never outweigh the right of innocent victims to be protected from their use so speaking at. ten twenty p. m. in this european parliament i am confident that we in europe will do the right thing.
mr president over ten years ago in response to the amnesty international campaign i proposed a successful amendment in the british labour party's national policy forum to support an arms trade treaty and having campaigned for it ever since and with our then uk government playing a leading role i am honoured to join my colleague david martin in being present tonight as the european parliament gives it assent to the historic treaty which resulted.
this treaty is a major step which will restrict the flow of arms to those who would use them to violate human rights.
now europe is taking a major step towards the treaty entering into force this very year.
it was also one of the co authors of the un general assembly resolution that called for this internationally agreed arms trade treaty to be drawn up.
over the years i have been much involved in the campaign to ban anti personnel landmines. this was about eliminating a certain very specific weapon often used indiscriminately and with terrible consequences mainly by terrorist and insurgent groups.
there were those that constantly sought to widen the scope of the resultant ottawa treaty into other fields so it is important that we be clear about the limited purposes of this arms trade treaty.
we should also be clear that it should not interfere in the right of a state to decide nationally on its arms export controls in compliance with internationally agreed criteria. in discussing such matters we are entering into important and sensitive areas of national sovereignty.
it is unfortunate therefore that the resolution perhaps inevitably includes some eu competence creep calling for the eu to be part of the treaty pushing for an eu support mechanism for implementation and an att outreach programme.
i suggest that what is more important is that our governments and the eu put effort into ensuring that countries such as china pakistan and russia are signed up to the highest possible international standards rather than wasting valuable time harmonising european positions that are already very similar.
although some countries which manufacture significant amounts of small arms are not supporters of this treaty and never will be we do engage the moral majority of the world by actually proposing it in the way it has been proposed.
a number of operational instruments have already been activated to improve the current situation.
such assistance could be provided to any affected country upon official request. also the copernicus emergency mapping system has been activated and maps are being produced for the fires in brazil in bolivia and affected parts of peru and paraguay.
but the amazon is a unique forest unique for the oxygen that we breathe unique for the biodiversity that it hosts and unique for the health of our planet.
in july the commission adopted the communication stepping up eu election to protect and restore the world's forests.
at the recent g seven summit we were engaged in the preparations for a highlevel meeting on the amazon region on the margins of the united nations general assembly.
collaboration with partner countries is also key inter alia to identifying the long term economic consequences of further deforestation.
we are assessing additional demandside regulatory and non regulatory measures to minimise the risk of importing products associated with deforestation and forest degradation.
the european union is already financing development projects which are related to forest and land use in the amazon basin including in brazil for a total of eur one hundred and twenty eight million and is planning new actions for a total of eur twenty eight million.
we are in close contact with the chilean authorities and the colombian authorities who have been active in coordinating regional efforts to address the situation.
sound scientific information is an important element of the eu's strategy;
we are also working to improve the availability and the quality of information on forests and commodity supply chains inter alia by establishing an eu observatory on deforestation and forest degradation.
the communication outlines a comprehensive set of actions including support for sustainable landuse practices.
while the immediate priority is fighting wildfires it is necessary to address the underlying structural causes such as agricultural expansion.
the degradation and loss of forests have major consequences on stability and security on human rights the climate biodiversity and the health and livelihoods of both local communities and the wider planet. the european commission is helping address the situation in the amazon countries affected by forest fires and is in regular contact with the relevant authorities including those in brazil.
i am therefore grateful that you have put this issue high on your agenda.
these are in the public domain.
following bolivia's request the emergency response coordination centre has already sent a team of fire fighting experts to the country.
current forest fires across the globe are releasing great amounts of carbon dioxide into the atmosphere deepening that crisis not only in the amazon but also in other parts of the world such as siberia.
i wish her luck in her job and declare my full support for her.
eurozone member states do not need to worry about a liquidity shortage in time of crisis and they do not need to waste national resources to accumulate international currency reserves to name just two of the benefits.
term used in relation to the us dollar.
it is the second global currency.
the eu already has domestic regulations banning for example the sale of illegally harvested timber.
those measures include reinforcing standards and certification schemes to identify and to promote deforestation free commodities exploring possible additional demandside regulatory and non regulatory measures to increase supplychain transparency and to minimise the risk of importing products associated with deforestation and forest degradation
we trust and expect but above all we will ensure that brazil will live up to its own commitments in the framework of the paris agreement which includes a pledge by brazil to reduce by two thousand and twenty five its net greenhouse gas emissions by thirty seven compared to two thousand and five levels
the commission has a range of tools and mechanisms available to ensure that these commitments are respected.
where a party fails to comply with a commitment we can resort to the dispute settlement mechanism tailored to the specifics of labour and environment.
many are concerned that we have to make certain that the commitments are there and that the commitments are honoured. the eumercosur agreement includes a comprehensive trade and sustainable development chapter containing legally binding commitments on environmental protection as well as climate change including a commitment to the implementation of the paris agreement.
when it comes to any future eu domestic measures relating to products associated with deforestation let me refer to our recent communication on deforestation where we have announced a number of other measures in this regard.
it is essential.
and an action plan to stop illegal deforestation including in the brazilian amazon. on our part we also committed a pledge by the eu to reduce our domestic emissions by at least forty by.
covering dialogue on human rights and cooperation in many fields including the environment and climate change.
these are reinforced by privatesector initiatives such as the soy moratorium or commitments by brazilian meatpackers not to source meat from farms in recently deforested areas. in addition to provisions to promote sustainable trade and the trade agreement itself let me note that the trade deal is part of an overall association agreement
this debate has reiterated that the ongoing fires in the amazon basin are deeply worrying to all of us all the more so against the backdrop of devastating fires raging in other parts of the world.
mr president occasionally an issue comes to public attention because it crystallises a big and complex issue in a way that hits home for all of us that we can all understand and the fires in the amazon are one such example.