unimelb-nlp/MultiEup-v2 huggingface dataset:
Debate: Situation in Afghanistan, in particular the situation of women’s rights
Date: TUESDAY, 5 APRIL 2022
Speaker: Assita Kanko
Political group: ECR
Country: France
Language: EN

Dear colleagues, we can trust the Taliban as much as we can trust Putin. They promise many things, but at the end of the day they marry off children. Since these Taliban took over Afghanistan, the all—male interim government introduced a stream of policies that rolled back women rights that were achieved twenty years prior, that limit women and girls in their most basic rights and needs, such as the ability to work, the ability for girls to go to school beyond sixth grade, as well as their ability to travel inside or outside the country without a male chaperone. We are in 2022! But Afghan women resist, Afghan girls resist. They fight for their body and freedom, just like Zelenskyy is fighting for Ukraine, but with bare hands. By holding this debate today, we are telling each Afghan woman and girl: ‘we see you’. This is what we must continue.
Debate: Situation in Afghanistan, in particular the situation of women’s rights
Date: TUESDAY, 5 APRIL 2022
Speaker: Mick Wallace
Political group: The Left
Country: Germany
Language: EN

Anyone who has ever voted to implement economic sanctions, that have blanket effects on a population, has the blood of the innocent and the vulnerable on their hands. This is not controversial. UN agencies and multiple UN special rapporteurs on human rights have been shouting from the hilltops for years now about the hundreds of thousands of avoidable deaths that are a direct result of Western unilateral sanctions. Venezuela, Iran, Syria, Cuba, Zimbabwe, Yemen, and Afghanistan.  In Afghanistan, US sanctions currently imposed on the country, and the theft of the US of more than USD 7 billion of the country’s assets, are on track to take the lives of more civilians in the coming year than the illegal NATO war took in 20 years. Over 25 million people, 55% of the Afghan population, are facing high levels of acute food insecurity. 1 million children may starve. This is the choice made by the US Government, and we talk about EU values while we are blind to all the innocent people that we are sanctioning to death, and we do nothing to stop Biden killing millions of Afghan civilians. It is criminal.
Debate: Situation in Afghanistan, in particular the situation of women’s rights
Date: TUESDAY, 5 APRIL 2022
Speaker: Frances Fitzgerald
Political group: PPE
Country: Germany
Language: EN

Madam President, thank you Vice President. Thank you, High Representative.  Eight months ago, as Afghanistan quickly fell to the Taliban and as European foreign ministers reacted to the situation, I implored them to consider the situation of women and girls. I knew, as we all did, that women and girls were at particular risk from the Taliban, forced back into their homes, forced to dress more conservatively, denied education, crucially, denied all these basic human rights. This was, of course, all the crueller because we had promised this generation of Afghan women, and indeed they had expected it. They expected to have a brighter future, a future of their own making.  High Representative, you referred to the heart-breaking images. Yet again, women forced away, young girls forced away from education, from institutions of learning. Why? Because a woman with an education can build a brighter future not only for herself, but for her family and for her country. And that’s what the Taliban, the all-male leadership are afraid of – because they don’t want a brighter future for Afghanistan, its women and children. They want a subjugated people they can control. Afghanistan will never be free until we let girls learn. So if the Taliban don’t do it for us, we must help Afghan women and girls build their country’s brighter future.  High Representative, you must take every action you can on behalf of the EU to ensure that this situation is changed, that every pressure is brought to bear internationally. We have levers we can use. Let’s use every single one of them.
Debate: Situation in Afghanistan, in particular the situation of women’s rights
Date: TUESDAY, 5 APRIL 2022
Speaker: Katarina Barley
Political group: S-D
Country: Germany
Language: EN

Madam President, High Representative, all our eyes are on Ukraine and all our hearts go out to the people there. The more grateful I am that we have this debate today because we must not forget about what is happening in Afghanistan and especially what is happening to the women and girls there. The situation is terrible. They suffer and they starve. Afghanistan now has the highest number of people in emergency food insecurity in the world. More than 3 million children – 3 million children – are at risk of death from malnutrition. And the Ukraine crisis aggravates this situation even further with the food shortage that comes with it.  And it’s especially the women that suffer under the Taliban regime. They cannot work. They now cannot even go to secondary school. They are banned from public and restricted to their homes. The Taliban deny them all their human rights. Journalists, lawyers, activists, fighting for these women, are silenced with abuse and terror.  The Afghans have placed their hopes in the international community, in us, and we have a responsibility towards them, not only because of our prior involvement in Afghanistan, but as Europeans and as humans. And I want to mention especially Afghan women lawyers and judges, 200, that I tried to help leave the country. It didn’t succeed in every case. To live up to this responsibility, we have to walk a fine line. We must help the Afghan people quickly and efficiently without financing or legitimising the de facto Taliban government. And we have to look further. We have to see that feminist foreign policy is not a ‘nice to have’. It is what we need. It is a new approach that is heavily needed, not only for Afghanistan but for the world in foreign policy, in development policy. We know that where we foster, where we support women and girls, societies grow and become better.
Debate: Situation in Afghanistan, in particular the situation of women’s rights
Date: TUESDAY, 5 APRIL 2022
Speaker: María Soraya Rodríguez Ramos
Political group: Renew
Country: France
Language: ES

Señora presidenta, la llegada de nuevo del régimen talibán a Afganistán ha convertido a este país en una verdadera emergencia humanitaria, pero también en una emergencia de género. Las mujeres afganas nos advirtieron que no creyéramos en sus compromisos vacíos, en las promesas de que esta vez sí respetarían los derechos humanos y los derechos de las mujeres. Los talibanes de hoy son los mismos de hace veinte años y los derechos de las mujeres están siendo pisoteados en este país. El cierre de las escuelas para las niñas es solo una de las expresiones de la violación diaria de los derechos humanos de las mujeres en este país. Por eso tenemos que ser absolutamente cautos. No podemos cometer ningún error en el diálogo con este régimen que les sirva para poderse legitimar; cualquier justificación del régimen talibán es normalizar la violencia contra las mujeres. Le pido, señor alto representante, que, además de impulsar el diálogo con las mujeres afganas, celebre la primera conferencia internacional de mujeres afganas en el exilio, para poder trabajar con los millones de mujeres que están dentro de este infierno que es hoy Afganistán.
Debate: Situation in Afghanistan, in particular the situation of women’s rights
Date: TUESDAY, 5 APRIL 2022
Speaker: Hannah Neumann
Political group: Verts/ALE
Country: Sweden
Language: EN

Madam President, it is now 8 months since the Taliban takeover in Afghanistan. Girls are not going to school, activists are in hiding and families remain torn apart. Everyone has the responsibility to change that, especially the Taliban leadership; so this goes to you. In August, in your famous press conference, you promised to respect women’s rights and media freedom; but now, for 200 days, girls have been banned from going to school. This is self-sabotage on a national scale, and we all know that many of your daughters are actually going to schools and universities abroad. So why shouldn’t all Afghan girls have the same rights as your daughters? Why don’t you just allow them to go to school? And then, dear colleagues, it is also about our own responsibility. What happened to our promise to protect human rights defenders, activists and journalists? If this Union can set up a clearing house and raise EUR 1 billion to send weapons to Ukraine – and don’t get me wrong, I am all for that – why can’t we do the same to evacuate those at high risk from Afghanistan? Why do we put the burden on the most vulnerable? Why do we force NGOs to run from Member State to Member State with lists, begging for attention, dealing with opaque processes with little to no success?  Civil disobedience on the ground in Afghanistan is growing. The diaspora is getting organised. It is not too late for us to step up, to organise coordinated evacuation for those who need to leave, and to put in place a fund to support those who decide to stay. We all have a responsibility to Afghan women and girls, and there is no withdrawal from that.
Debate: Situation in Afghanistan, in particular the situation of women’s rights
Date: TUESDAY, 5 APRIL 2022
Speaker: Virginie Joron
Political group: ID
Country: Estonia
Language: FR

Madame la Présidente, Monsieur le Haut représentant, chers collègues, aujourd’hui, nous débattons de la situation des femmes en Afghanistan, de ces femmes et enfants qui vivent l’enfer chez elles. L’Afghanistan, avec ses montagnes immenses et arides, avec ses hommes au regard perçant en turban et avec ses champs infinis de pavot. Nous avons grandi ou nous avons vieilli avec l’Afghanistan en guerre, avec l’URSS, avec Bernard Kouchner, avec le commandant Massoud et les talibans à la télévision puis, cet été, avec les Américains qui ont fui du jour au lendemain cette terre de guerre. Ce brusque retour aux coutumes d’un autre temps nous rappelle notre incapacité à implanter les droits des femmes dans des sociétés lointaines où beaucoup rejettent fondamentalement notre mode de vie. Qu’ont fait les Américains là-bas pendant toutes ces années? Croyaient-ils vraiment qu’en changeant le régime, ils pourraient changer l’ensemble de la société afghane? Ils ont laissé l’Afghanistan en ruines. Ils ont laissé ce pays aux mains des talibans. «Quand les maisons étaient fermées de l’intérieur, les soldats américains les défonçaient à coups de bélier, enlevaient de force le voile des femmes», écrivait cet été Emmanuel Razavi, grand reporter. Alors, je pense à toutes ces femmes afghanes qui, finalement, paient notre arrogance à croire que nous pouvons imposer notre mode de vie à l’ensemble de la planète. C’est notre échec à tous. 2 000 milliards de dollars ont été investis en Afghanistan par les États-Unis ces 20 dernières années, dont 500 milliards pour payer les intérêts de la dette. La France y a perdu 90 hommes et 700 blessés. Qui sait si 1 000 milliards d’euros de plus pourraient changer ce pays? Qui sait si 1000 soldats amputés de plus pourraient changer ce pays? Je vois que des collègues organisent demain un flashmob en solidarité avec ces Afghanes. Vous pensez vraiment qu’un flashmob va changer ce pays? L’urgence est de gérer ces millions de réfugiés qui arrivent ici en Europe, notamment avec ces hommes qui viennent avec leurs coutumes d’un autre siècle et qui tentent de l’imposer à nos filles, nos sœurs, nos mères, et même à ces Afghanes réfugiées. Je finirai avec ce fait divers atroce de novembre 2021, un migrant afghan...
Debate: Situation in Afghanistan, in particular the situation of women’s rights
Date: TUESDAY, 5 APRIL 2022
Speaker: Margarita de la Pisa Carrión
Political group: ECR
Country: Slovakia
Language: ES

Señora presidenta, la defensa de los derechos humanos debe estar presente en cualquier país donde se respeten la libertad y la dignidad humana. La Unión Europea no puede tener una doble vara de medir cuando se trata de la defensa de estos derechos. Por ejemplo, vemos cómo se mantienen relaciones estratégicas, que han comprometido nuestra autonomía, con regímenes totalitarios que no respetan los más mínimos estándares democráticos. En Afganistán, grupos violentos se han hecho con el poder golpeando la vida de muchos inocentes, en especial mujeres y niños, sin que haya una respuesta contundente de la Unión Europea o incluso normalizando esta las relaciones con estos poderes ilegítimos.  La Unión Europea, ante esta realidad, muestra una gran debilidad moral y falta de liderazgo internacional. ¿Qué se puede conseguir limitando la acción a debates como este? La Unión Europea debe ser consecuente con su esencia en los valores de su fe, cultura y tradiciones si quiere inspirar la defensa y promoción de los derechos humanos, en lugar de confundir las conciencias con interpretaciones ideológicas de los mismos y callar ante los verdaderos responsables de la dramática situación de las mujeres afganas.
Debate: Situation in Afghanistan, in particular the situation of women’s rights
Date: TUESDAY, 5 APRIL 2022
Speaker: Eugenia Rodríguez Palop
Political group: The Left
Country: Netherlands
Language: ES

Señora presidenta, tengo una hija de doce años. Podría haber sido una de las que se manifestaban en Afganistán para ir a la escuela. Una de las golpeadas, detenidas o desaparecidas. Aún no sabe qué quiere ser de mayor, pero cultiva sus sueños e imagina un sinfín de mundos posibles.  No hay nada más sádico que controlar a las mujeres amputándoles el futuro desde la infancia; robándoles el mañana para anular su personalidad y esclavizarlas. Antes de la vuelta del régimen talibán, 88 000 mujeres estudiaban en la universidad. Un porcentaje importante de ellas trabajaba y ocupaba también cargos públicos.  Hoy, la mayoría no han podido volver a sus puestos de trabajo y no sabemos si algún día lo harán. El país se empobrece triturando el talento de las mujeres, pero la pulsión por dominarlas es tal que el 85 % de los varones sigue considerando que no deben trabajar.  No les importa ser más pobres si eso les asegura su particular servidumbre laboral y sexual. Por eso no quieren que las niñas vayan al colegio, porque es allí donde empiezan a construirse como mujeres en un mundo sin dueños.
Debate: Situation in Afghanistan, in particular the situation of women’s rights
Date: TUESDAY, 5 APRIL 2022
Speaker: Tomas Tobé
Political group: PPE
Country: Estonia
Language: EN

Madam President, it has been eight months since the Taliban captured Kabul in a critical and dramatic moment. Thereafter, we have witnessed an accelerating humanitarian crisis in Afghanistan with a complete reversal of the progress made over the past two decades in the field of women’s rights. There are severe restrictions on women’s and girls’ access to health, education and work. The Taliban dictate what women must wear, how they should travel, and enforce workplace segregation by sex. This is totally unacceptable. And yes, we need to provide humanitarian aid to Afghanistan. I welcome the clear position of the Commission that any future development assistance to Afghanistan will depend on the respect of women’s and girls’ rights.  Nevertheless, even today, we, together with our international partners, are funding schools. We are funding hospitals. I think we have come to a crossroads where we will have to make a decision. Can we go on the path to becoming more conditional that this will actually lead to progress for women and girls? Or do we need to stop funding that? And that is the decision that I expect the Commission to make soon.
Debate: Situation in Afghanistan, in particular the situation of women’s rights
Date: TUESDAY, 5 APRIL 2022
Speaker: Robert Biedroń
Political group: S-D
Country: Poland
Language: PL

Pani Przewodnicząca! Pani Komisarz! Piekło kobiet w Afganistanie trwa. 87 procent afgańskich dziewcząt i kobiet doświadczyło w swoim życiu przemocy ze strony partnera. W 2021 r. Afganistan zajął ostatnie miejsce w globalnym indeksie kobiet, pokoju i bezpieczeństwa.  Po raz kolejny tutaj w ciągu ostatnich miesięcy odbywamy debatę na temat sytuacji kobiet. Rozmawialiśmy o piekle kobiet w Białorusi, w Polsce, w Afganistanie dzisiaj. Będziemy rozmawiali pewnie wiele razy na temat piekła kobiet na Ukrainie.  Nie możemy odwracać dłużej głowy. Pani Komisarz! Pani Przewodnicząca! Sytuacja kobiet w Afganistanie nie wygląda tragicznie od wczoraj, od tygodnia. Dekady wojny, pandemia, zamrożenie pomocy finansowej, susza i ubóstwo, nieudolność talibów – to jest rzeczywistość dzisiejszego Afganistanu. Dlatego z Afganistanem, z tym reżimem nie możemy robić biznesu jak zwykle. Ale musimy pomóc tym kobietom. Musimy doprowadzić do tego, że powstanie fundusz, który sprawi, że kobiety, które będą chciały wydostać się z tego reżimu, będą miały taką możliwość. Kobiety, które będą chciały przeciwstawić się temu reżimowi, będą miały nasze wsparcie.  Dlatego dzisiaj z tego miejsca musimy powiedzieć jasno i wyraźnie, pokazać solidarność i powiedzieć wszystkim, wszystkim dziewczynkom i wszystkim kobietom z Afganistanu: Nigdy nie będziecie szły same. Jesteśmy z Wami, jesteśmy solidarni.
Debate: Situation in Afghanistan, in particular the situation of women’s rights
Date: TUESDAY, 5 APRIL 2022
Speaker: Nicola Beer
Political group: Renew
Country: Germany
Language: DE

Frau Präsidentin! Wir alle haben die Bilder vor Augen von Mädchen aus Afghanistan mit Tränen in den Augen, weil sie nicht mehr zum Schulunterricht gehen dürfen. Wir hören Berichte, dass Eltern ihre Kinder verkaufen, um den Rest der Familie ernähren zu können. 95 Prozent haben nicht genug zu essen, 9 Millionen sind von Hungersnot bedroht, und die Verknappung der Lebensmittel und der weltweite Anstieg der Weizenpreise werden die Situation verschärfen. Die Menschen in Afghanistan dürfen im Zuge des Krieges in der Ukraine nicht ins Hintertreffen geraten. UNICEF, die WHO, das Rote Kreuz und andere Organisationen müssen mit ausreichenden Mitteln ihre Arbeit dort fortsetzen können. Aber es reicht nicht, das physische Überleben der Menschen in Afghanistan zu sichern. Gerade junge Afghaninnen und Afghanen brauchen eine menschenwürdige Zukunftsperspektive, und dazu gehören Bildung und Ausbildung, gleichberechtigte Teilhabe in der Gesellschaft, Arbeitsplätze. Dazu gehört aber auch Wissenschaft. Eine ganze Generation von Studierenden, Lehrenden, Forscherinnen und Forschern droht verloren zu gehen, weil Studiengänge, die nicht genehm sind, geschlossen werden, weil Frauen nicht an die Universität dürfen. Deshalb brauchen wir die Unterstützung der Europäischen Union für die neu gegründete afghanische Online-Universität, die das Studieren, das Forschen, das Promovieren möglich macht – im Exil, aber hoffentlich auch in Afghanistan.
Debate: Situation in Afghanistan, in particular the situation of women’s rights
Date: TUESDAY, 5 APRIL 2022
Speaker: Alice Kuhnke
Political group: Verts/ALE
Country: Germany
Language: SV

Fru talman! Kommissionär! Kära kollegor! Vi vet att i Afghanistan stoppas flickor från att gå i skolan. Vi vet att kvinnor förhindras från att arbeta, och vi vet att de inte heller får resa utan sällskap av manliga släktingar. Allt detta samtidigt som fler än 24 miljoner afghaner är beroende av akut humanitärt bistånd, och 97 procent av befolkningen riskerar att falla ner i fattigdom. 97 procent! Vi bevittnar en kommande humanitär katastrof i Afghanistan, och vi i EU, världens rikaste region, kan inte och får inte titta bort och skylla på att vi är distraherade av andra hemskheter. Vi är de på denna jord som har bäst, mest och flest möjligheter att göra skillnad. Det humanitära stödet till Afghanistan måste skalas upp och vi måste fortsätta arbeta för och ge skydd till dem som kämpar för sina rättigheter oavsett var de kommer ifrån, oavsett vilken hudfärg de har.
Debate: Situation in Afghanistan, in particular the situation of women’s rights
Date: TUESDAY, 5 APRIL 2022
Speaker: Anna Bonfrisco
Political group: ID
Country: Belgium
Language: IT

Signora Presidente, signora Commissaria, onorevoli colleghi, vorrei ricordare le parole dell'Alto rappresentante Borrell quando ha detto che nessuna ragione religiosa o sociale potrebbe mai giustificare la disparità di trattamento che subiscono le donne in Afghanistan. Per noi europei risulta ancor più inaccettabile e io colgo con particolare favore le parole dei ministri degli Esteri di molti Paesi, tra cui il Regno Unito, la Germania, il Belgio, la Norvegia, che hanno con forza denunciato la bugia dei talebani sulla riapertura delle scuole alle ragazze. È dalla Conferenza di Pechino che definiamo i diritti delle donne diritti umani. E anche per noi la crisi afghana costituisce una prova. Innanzitutto, nel prevedere che ogni possibile dialogo, come quello di Oslo, sia uniformato al principio della parità di genere anche nella rappresentanza nelle trattative da parte dell'Unione europea, perché è nostro dovere fare di più. Io prego, quindi, signora Commissaria, la Commissione di valutare la proposta che in quest'Aula è già stata fatta e che io sottolineo, di poter riunire le donne afghane, che abbiamo accolto nei nostri Paesi e che sono rifugiate negli Stati membri dell'Unione europea, in un'organizzazione, in un forum che affianchi il lavoro delle Istituzioni europee che sono impegnate negli aiuti umanitari verso l'Afghanistan – l'Afghanistan distrutto dai talebani – e per misurare i talebani dalle loro azioni, non dalle loro parole.
Debate: Situation in Afghanistan, in particular the situation of women’s rights
Date: TUESDAY, 5 APRIL 2022
Speaker: Carlo Fidanza
Political group: ECR
Country: Greece
Language: IT

Signora Presidente, signor Commissario, onorevoli colleghi, le immagini dello scorso agosto sono ancora vive nella nostra memoria. La tragica ritirata occidentale da Kabul, il ritorno trionfale dei talebani hanno segnato l'inizio di drammatici passi indietro sui diritti conquistati faticosamente e pagati con il sangue da civili afghani e, non dimentichiamolo mai, anche da tanti nostri militari. Penso alle minoranze religiose, come gli Hazara e i cristiani, che ogni giorno si confrontano con discriminazioni e umiliazioni, e penso anche e soprattutto alle donne, la cui condizione è repentinamente peggiorata, soggiogate nuovamente da leggi e usanze tribali che offuscano e travolgono la loro stessa dignità. Usanze che condanniamo in Afghanistan e che con la stessa forza dovremmo condannare anche quando vengono importate dalla comunità musulmana in Europa. Ma per non limitarsi alla retorica e a una generica solidarietà, è importante chiederci cosa possiamo fare ora: attivare ogni canale diplomatico per consentire agli attivisti per i diritti di operare, condizionare con forza ogni rapporto futuro col regime talebano al ripristino dei diritti civili e sociali delle donne, delle minoranze etniche e religiose e, infine, impedire il riconoscimento formale del regime talebano fino a quando queste condizioni minime non saranno soddisfatte.