The European Parliament adopted, by 533 votes to 63 with 41 abstentions, a resolution on the Annual Report on Human Rights in the World 2007 and the European Union's policy on the matter. The own-initiative report was tabled for consideration in plenary by Marco CAPPATO (ADLE, IT), on behalf of the Committee on Foreign Affairs.

Parliament deplores the fact that that the EU is still far from conducting a coherent and hard-hitting policy to uphold and promote human rights around the world. Steps must be taken to strengthen the EU's common foreign and security policy (CFSP), which is often hampered by the predominance of Member States' national interests, with the aim of ensuring that the promotion of human rights is regarded as a priority. The Council and the Commission are called upon to make greater efforts to improve the ability of the EU to respond rapidly to breaches of human rights by third countries, not least by mainstreaming human rights policy into all external EU policies vis-à-vis such countries and systematically addressing human rights issues within the framework of the political dialogue at all levels.

General principles: MEPs reaffirm that human rights are universal and indivisible, effective respect for which is an essential means of guaranteeing the enforcement of international law and order, and the promotion of peace, freedom, justice and democracy. The effective "justiciability" of human rights throughout the world in local and national courts or, where this is not possible, supranational courts, should be established as an explicit and key objective of EU policies, starting with the CFSP. One of the main political goals of the EU should be to support judicial institutions at all levels, and in particular to provide support for international courts. Parliament calls on the Council and the Commission to take priority action – along the same lines as for the establishment of the ICC – to support the activities of all courts involved in protecting human rights. It considers that the right to democracy – understood as the right of every citizen to take part in the exercise of the sovereignty of the people within the framework of institutions subject to the rule of law – is an historically acquired universal human right. Consequently, a new additional step should be taken, namely the setting-up of a genuine network of democracies around the world by transforming and strengthening existing organisations.

Non-violence is the most appropriate means of ensuring that fundamental human rights are respected. Its promotion should constitute a priority objective in EU human rights and democracy policy. Parliament proposes that a European Conference on Non-Violence be convened in 2009 and that 2010 be designated 'European Year of Non-Violence. MEPs call on the Member States to endeavour, under the auspices of the United Nations, to ensure that the 'Decade of Non-Violence 2010-2020' is proclaimed.

The EU Annual Report on Human Rights 2007: Parliament considers that better information should be provided for the assessment of previous policies and that guidelines should be proposed to modify the general approach as well as to adjust the policy priorities on a country-by-country basis, with a view to the adoption of a Country Strategy on human rights or, at least, a human rights chapter in the Country Strategy Papers. It calls on the Council and the Commission to identify the 'countries of particular concern' where it is particularly difficult to promote human rights and, to that end, to develop criteria by which to measure countries by reference to their human rights score. Parliament adds that the EU's capacity to prevent, respond to, manage and resolve crises has proven to be insufficient. Amongst several recommendations, MEPs call on the Council to transform gradually the civilian aspects of the European Security and Defence Policy into a 'Civil Peace Service', responsible for the management of short-term civilian crises and longer-term peace building.

UNHCR: Members note that the UNHRC has the potential to develop into a valuable framework for the European Union's multilateral human rights efforts. However, during the last year of activities that new body has not proved its credibility. Parliament trusts that the implementation of the Universal Periodic Review mechanism will achieve the first concrete results and improvements. It calls on the Council and the Commission closely to monitor this process.

Combating the death penalty: Parliament welcomes Resolution 62/149 adopted by the United Nations General Assembly on 18 December 2007, calling for a global moratorium on the use of the death penalty, and recognises the positive cross-regional nature of the initiative. MEPs also welcome the abolition of the death penalty in Albania, Kyrgyzstan, Rwanda, in the State of New Jersey (USA) and Uzbekistan in 2007 and the beginning of 2008. However, they express disquiet at the possibility that the death penalty might again start to be enforced in Guatemala, and are concerned about China as the latter still carries out the greatest number of executions worldwide. Parliament condemns the practising of the death penalty in Belarus, and also condemns the Iranian regime's increasing use of capital punishment.

Torture and other inhuman treatment: Parliament calls on the Council and the Commission to enhance the cooperation with the Council of Europe for the purposes of creating a Europe-wide zone free from torture and other forms of ill-treatment, as a clear signal that European countries are firmly committed to eradicating these practices also within their borders. It requests the regular presence of the Presidency or the Council Secretariat in the relevant United Nations Committees as well as further cooperation with the Council of Europe and its Committee for the Prevention of Torture in order to achieve useful material input into decision-making concerning demarches towards certain countries.

Human rights defenders: MEPs call on the Council and the Commission to engage in a more transparent implementation of the European Union Guidelines on Human Rights Defenders. They expect that the identification of the Guidelines as a priority element of the EU's human rights foreign policy will be matched by the effective implementation of those Guidelines in local strategies concerning 120 countries. Parliament points out that the lack of EU demarches on behalf of human rights defenders in certain countries, such as in China, Tunisia, Ethiopia, Iran and Russia, appears to reflect a lack of consensus among EU Member States, with individual Member States prioritising different foreign policy interests and thus making collective action impossible.

China , Iran and Russia: although MEPs consider all of the third countries where human rights are violated, it is mainly China, Iran and Russia which are singled out for persistent and serious violations of human rights.

-China: MEPs emphasise that despite promises made by the Chinese regime with a view to the forthcoming Olympic Games in accordance with the Olympic Charter, the situation on the ground regarding human rights has not improved in China. However, the Beijing Olympic Games constitute an important historic opportunity to make progress in this area. MEPs urge the EU to ensure that its trading relationship with China is contingent on human rights reforms, and call on the Council to make a comprehensive evaluation of the human rights situation before finalising any new Partnership and Cooperation Framework Agreement. Parliament is concerned about the limits placed on the freedom of the Chinese and international media and equally concerned about the blacklisting of journalists and human rights activists, including the Dalai Lama, his associates and Falun Gong practitioners. It calls in this regard for the immediate release of the prominent AIDS activist Hu Jia.

-Iran: MEPs recall that the human rights dialogue with Iran has been interrupted since 2004. It is necessary to resume this dialogue with the Iranian authorities. The situation has seriously deteriorated in 2007 with the increased use of capital punishment. Iran is also condemned by MEPs for arresting thousands of men and women in moves to 'counter immoral behaviour';

-Russia: MEPs regret the lack of results from the European Union-Russia consultations on human rights and regret that the European Union has not succeeded in bringing about policy change in Russia, particularly in Chechnya and other Caucasian Republics. MEPs protest against the arrest of human rights defenders and political prisoners (including Mikhail Khodorkovsky), the lack of independence of the media, the treatment of ethnic and religious minorities, etc. They are equally concerned about the many NGOs in Russia that are victims of harassment, and they deplore Russia's unwillingness to invite international election observers during elections.

In addition, MEPs protest against the deplorable situation regarding human rights in the Maghreb countries, in Syria and in Uzbekistan. Efforts are still awaited in Turkey, a candidate country for EU-accession. MEPs also single out Sudan (Darfur), Burma and Pakistan for their lack of progress. Parliament deplores the ongoing violations of human rights and democracy by the military junta in Burma.

Women's rights: Parliament calls on the Council, the Commission and Member States to use the human rights clause to make combating all forms of female genital mutilation a priority issue in relations with non-Member States, particularly those States that have preferential relations with the EU within the framework of the Cotonou Agreement (now under the European Partnership Agreements), and to put pressure on them to adopt the necessary measures to put an end to these practices.

EIDHR: Parliament proposes that the EIDHR's budget be increased from 2009 with a view, in particular, to making additional funding available both for projects in "difficult" countries and for projects managed directly by the Commission delegations with local civil society organisations, so that any countries in which such projects are implemented can have access to Community funds.

Implementation of human rights and democracy clauses in external agreements: Parliament deplores the fact that the human rights and democracy clause, an essential element of all cooperation and partnership agreements with third countries, is still not being implemented in a concrete fashion, due to the lack of a mechanism that would allow it to be enforced. In an amendment adopted in plenary, Parliament urges the Commission, within its EU foreign trade, investment and development policies, to ensure that the economic activities of EU private companies in third countries abide by international human rights standards, in particular as regards the exploitation of natural resources and the international obligation to obtain the prior and informed consent of local communities and indigenous people affected; considers that Parliament should monitor and report on the progress made in this matter.

European Parliament's interventions: Parliament reviews its actions on human rights, and strongly regrets the rejection by the Burmese and Cuban authorities of Parliament's request for their agreement to the sending of a delegation to visit former Sakharov Prize laureates. It also strongly condemns the systematic violence and the recurrent acts of harassment suffered by the Sakharov Prize laureates the "Damas de Blanco" ("Ladies in White") when they peacefully demonstrate. It acknowledges the work of its Temporary Committee on the alleged use of European countries by the CIA for the transportation and illegal detention of prisoners, requesting the EU and Member States to work together at all levels to expose and denounce the practice of extraordinary rendition. In this respect, it wants more answers from the Polish and Romanian Governments.

The Committee on Foreign Affairs adopted the own-initiative report by Marco CAPPATO (ADLE, IT) on the 2007 Annual Report on Human Rights in the World, and regretted the fact that the European Union is still far from conducting a coherent and hard-hitting policy to uphold and promote human rights around the world. MEPs expect substantial progress to be made in this area, as well as the strengthening of the common foreign and security policy (CFSP), which is largely influenced by national interests. In addition, it is necessary to maintain the Union’s efforts to improve the ability of the European Union to respond rapidly to breaches of human rights by third countries and therefore better mainstream human rights policy into all external European Union policies.

General principles and proposals on human rights, democracy, peace and non-violence : MEPs reaffirm that human rights are universal, historically acquired rights, effective respect for which is an essential means of guaranteeing the enforcement of international law and order, and the promotion of peace, freedom, justice and democracy in the world. It is for this reason that these rights must be defended globally in all courts, including supranational courts. Consequently, the Commission and the Council must take priority action – along the same lines as for the establishment of the International Criminal Court – to support the activities of all international courts involved in protecting human rights.

Although MEPs reaffirm the right to democracy in all countries, they also believe the promotion of Ghandian non-violence to be the most appropriate means of ensuring that fundamental human rights are respected. To further support this action, MEPs suggest that a European Conference on Non-Violence be convened in 2009 and that 2010 be designated 'European Year of Non-Violence'. They also call on the Member States to endeavour, under the auspices of the United Nations, to ensure that the 'Decade of Non-Violence 2010-2020' is proclaimed.

EU activities in the area of human rights in 2007 : MEPs recall the value that they attach to the EU report on human rights, as a fundamental instrument to appraise the Union’s current activities in this area. However, this report should provide more information, and of a higher quality, on the situation in certain countries. Moreover, MEPs reiterate their call for a regular periodic assessment of the implementation and the results of European Union policies and instruments regarding human rights.

Due to the recurring inability of the EU to respond to and resolve crises, MEPs call on the Council to transform gradually the civilian aspects of the European Security and Defence Policy into a ' Civil Peace Service ', responsible for the management of short-term civilian crises and longer-term peace building. Once again, they reiterate their request for the Commission to encourage European Union Member States and third countries to ratify all core United Nations and Council of Europe human rights conventions and for Member States to cooperate with the Council of Europe more efficiently.

Turning to the work of international actors, Members see the new UN Human Rights Council ( UNHRC ) as having the potential to develop into a valuable framework to improve global human rights. However, the Committee regrets that during 2007 the United Nations' human rights record has not improved. It continues to press for the establishment of membership criteria for election to the UNHRC. It also encourages all Member States to ratify urgently the Rome Statute on the International Criminal Court (ICC), particularly the Czech Republic which is the only remaining EU Member State not to have ratified this text. Romania is also called to rescind its Bilateral Immunity Agreement with the USA regarding the ICC.

Combating the death penalty : MEPs repeatedly return to the actions taken by the Union during 2007 and, once again, call for the creation of a new European External Action Service to harmonise the approaches of Member States’ missions and the

Commission abroad in the area of human rights, the idea being to create genuine 'European Union embassies'. Although they consider the adoption of a Resolution by the United Nations calling for a global moratorium on the use of the death penalty as a giant step in 2007, MEPs still seek the universal abolition of the death penalty . Welcoming the decision by the Justice and Home Affairs Council on 7 December 2007 to establish a European Day against the Death Penalty (10 October each year), MEPs also welcome the abolition of the death penalty in Albania, Kyrgyzstan, Rwanda, in the State of New Jersey (USA) and Uzbekistan in 2007 and the beginning of 2008. However, once again, they criticise China as the latter still carries out the greatest number of executions worldwide. The same is true for Belarus and Iran.

Torture and other inhuman treatment : MEPs are astonished at the number of European countries that have still not ratified the Optional Protocol to the Convention Against Torture. They call for the creation of a Europe-wide zone free from torture and hope that the fight against torture and ill treatment will become a top priority of human rights policy at EU level. In addition, more concrete actions are awaited in order to fight against the enrolment of children in armed conflict.

Human rights defenders : MEPs wish to stress the role of “human rights defenders”, who are often in the front line during conflicts. These people deserve much more effective protection. For this reason, they call for specific guidelines on human rights defenders as well as the possibility of giving them emergency visas, such as those that exist in Ireland and Spain. They make a series of recommendations to the Council on the way in which they foresee dialogues and official consultations with third countries. In particular, they reiterate their call for human rights issues to be reviewed at the highest political level with third countries, in order to give these issues more weight at bilateral level.

China , Iran et Russia : although MEPs consider all of the third countries where human rights are violated, it is mainly China, Iran and Russia which are singled out for persistent and serious violations of human rights.

China , with a view to the forthcoming Olympic Games : MEPs firstly emphasise that despite promises made by the Chinese regime with a view to the forthcoming Olympic Games in accordance with the Olympic Charter, the situation on the ground regarding human rights has not improved in China. However, the Beijing Olympic Games constitute an important historic opportunity to make progress in this area. MEPs recall the blacklisting of journalists and human rights activists, including the Dalai Lama and Falun Gong practitioners. Again, they call for the immediate release of the prominent AIDS activist Hu Jia. They urge the EU to ensure that its trading relationship with China is contingent on human rights reforms , and call on the Council to make a comprehensive evaluation of the human rights situation before finalising any new Partnership and Cooperation Framework Agreement; Iran : MEPs recall that the human rights dialogue with Iran has been interrupted since 2004. Therefore, it is necessary to resume this dialogue with the Iranian authorities, and to consolidate the involvement of all Iranian human rights defenders and civil society representatives in policymaking processes, as the situation seriously deteriorated in 2007 with the increased use of capital punishment. Iran is also condemned by MEPs for arresting thousands of men and women in moves to 'counter immoral behaviour'; Russia : MEPs r egret the lack of results from the European Union-Russia consultations on human rights and regret that the European Union has not succeeded in bringing about policy change in Russia, particularly in Chechnya and other Caucasian Republics. MEPs protest against the arrest of human rights defenders and political prisoners (including Mikhail Khodorkovsky), the lack of independence of the media, the treatment of ethnic and religious minorities, etc. They are equally concerned about the many NGOs in Russia that are victims of harassment, and they deplore Russia's unwillingness to invite international election observers during elections.

In addition, MEPs protest against the deplorable situation regarding human rights in the Maghreb countries, in Syria and in Uzbekistan. Efforts are still awaited in Turkey, a candidate country for EU-accession. MEPs also single out Sudan (Darfur), Burma and Pakistan for their lack of progress.

Women’s rights : MEPs wish for bolder measures to combat female genital mutilation and other harmful traditional practices. They insist that women's rights be explicitly addressed in all human rights dialogues, and in particular the combating and elimination of all forms of discrimination and violence against women and girls, including, gender-selected abortion, domestic violence and femicide.

The role of the Council Presidencies in 2007 (Germany and Portugal) and of the EIDHR : on the whole, these presidencies are congratulated on their achievements in 2007, with notable progress made towards finalising EU guidelines on the rights of the child. However, MEPs regret the lack of a visible European policy on human rights and call for quantifiable indices and benchmarks to measure the effectiveness of actions taken. MEPs also examine the European Instrument for Democracy and Human Rights (EIDHR), welcoming its effectiveness. However, the budget of this fundamental instrument remains significantly below expectations. It is for this reason that MEPs propose that the EIDHR's budget be increased from 2009 so that projects in ‘difficult’ regions can be managed directly by the Commission delegations in third countries. Moreover, MEPs note that a large proportion of the total EIDHR funding for projects went to big thematic projects and only a small proportion (24%) to country-based support schemes (equivalent to micro-projects). They also note that only a small part of the funds were destined for Asia. Therefore, it is necessary to rethink the geographical balance.

European Parliament’s interventions : acknowledging that human rights play a prominent role in the work of the European Parliament itself , MEPs recall the impact of the report produced last year by the Temporary Committee on the alleged use of European countries by the CIA for "rendition flights". The Committee refers also to the holding of regular "urgency" debates and resolutions on human rights voted in plenary. MEPs call on the Council to attend these debates more regularly and to take these into account. They also call for the resolutions on human rights to be translated into the languages spoken in the target areas. Lastly, they call for Parliament to be involved in the EU's human rights dialogues and consultations with partner countries.

The Council adopted the following conclusions on human rights and democratisation in third countries:

The Council welcomes the progress made in mainstreaming human rights into all EU policies and underlines the need to further strengthen these efforts. The Council underlines the importance of taking human rights aspects into consideration in all relevant geographical and thematic policies of the EU and stresses the continuing character of this work; The Council emphasises the need to further strengthen the human rights perspective in the ESDP and welcomes efforts made in this direction, such as the inclusion of human rights and gender expertise both in the planning and in the implementation of all ESDP operations, the compilation of relevant documents on mainstreaming and the development of a generic pocket card for ESDP personnel; The Council reaffirms its commitment to improving the coherence and consistency of the EU's human rights policy in its internal matters as well as in external affairs. The EU's Fundamental Rights Charter as well as the establishment of a Fundamental Rights Agency are to be seen as important steps in this context; The Council welcomes measures taken in the course of 2007 to further strengthen the implementation of the Guidelines, namely the adoption of a new set of Guidelines on the Promotion and Protection of the Rights of the Child. The EU has chosen "All Forms of Violence Against Children" as its first priority area; The EU reiterates its firm opposition to the death penalty in all cases. The adoption of the resolution on the moratorium on the use of the death penalty paves the way for the EU to step up its efforts to encourage retentionist countries to institute a moratorium as a first step on the way towards its abolition. Demarches were carried out by the EU in a significant number of countries. The Council will continue to take action on individual cases of concern; The EU reaffirms its commitment to the prevention and eradication of all forms of torture and ill-treatment within the EU and world-wide. The EU continued its global campaign to support relevant UN instruments, and encourages its partners to fully cooperate with the UN Special Rapporteur on torture; The Council remains deeply committed to the promotion and protection of the rights of children affected by armed conflict and welcomes the initiatives undertaken to promote and strengthen these principles in priority countries through specific implementation strategies, which will continue to be implemented; The Council will continue to support the important work of Human Rights Defenders worldwide. The continued persecution and harassment of Human Rights Defenders in many countries requires concrete EU action to ensure their safety and protection. In that respect the Council welcomes the elaboration of local implementation strategies to support the work of Human Rights Defenders by EU missions in third countries; Human rights dialogues are a vital instrument of the EU external human rights policy. The Council notes that the various agreement-based, ad hoc and local human rights dialogues with third countries are an important channel to promote human rights, rule of law and democracy and to express concerns. The Council welcomes efforts aimed at including all relevant human rights issues on the agendas of the Article 8 dialogue meetings. In this context the Council welcomes the first round of human rights expert talks with the African Union, which should pave the way for a regular human rights dialogue; The Council reaffirms the importance it attaches to the EU-China Human Rights Dialogue as a key instrument to build a mature relationship with China in this field. The two dialogue rounds that took place in May and October of 2007 provided a platform for a substantive and frank exchange of views between China and the EU on a wide range of human rights issues. The Council acknowledges the progress made by China in the field of economic, social and cultural rights, notably the recent adoption of the labour contract law. This needs to be matched by progress on civil and political rights and the ratification of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights remains a key EU demand in this regard. The Council remains seriously concerned about continued restrictions on freedom of expression, freedom of religion, minority rights, re-education through labour system, torture and the extensive use of the death penalty. The EU will continue to closely monitor the human rights situation in China and to work for positive change through continued and improved dialogue and cooperation; The EU remains deeply concerned with the continuing deterioration of human rights and fundamental freedoms in Iran . In 2007, the EU expressed on several occasions its concerns over the extended use of capital punishment, including the death sentences for juvenile offenders, and the use of cruel and inhumane punishment such as stoning. The Council is also seriously concerned by the escalation of restrictions to the rights to freedom of expression and freedom of the media, the harassment and persecution of Human Rights Defenders and restrictions on freedom of religion and belief, including those placed on the Bahá'í. The Council has repeatedly called on Iran to ensure implementation of its human rights obligations through statements and demarches. The EU regrets that Iran has suspended the EU-Iran Human Rights Dialogue and reiterates its willingness to resume the dialogue with Iran; The Council welcomes the continuation of the human rights consultations with the Russian Federation . The EU, however, remains concerned about certain developments in Russia in 2007 regarding freedom of expression, assembly and freedom of the press, especially in the context of parliamentary and presidential elections. The EU regrets that the electoral campaign for the Duma did not always meet international standards and commitments voluntarily assumed by Russia; Other issues of concern are minorities, women's rights (including trafficking), torture and maltreatment, including abuse of psychiatric detention, the respect for the rule of law, the effects of the law on NGO activities and of the counter-extremist law on civil society, instances of racism and xenophobia, and the situation in northern Caucasus . The Council welcomes the first round of the human rights dialogue with Uzbekistan in 2007, and calls on Uzbekistan to make further progress on human rights. As regards Turkmenistan, the Council confirms its objective of bringing into line the Ad-hoc Human Rights Dialogue with Turkmenistan with the structure of other official Human Rights Dialogues, especially in the light of the Strategy for a new Partnership with Central Asia. Overall, the Council remains concerned by the situation of human rights in Central Asia and remains committed to working for a concrete improvement in the human rights situation in the five Central Asian Republics; The Council underlines the importance of the European Instrument for Democracy and Human Rights (EIDHR) and the need for the EU´s continuous support for the promotion of human rights and democracy worldwide. The Council reiterates the need to continue to enhance the effectiveness and consistency of EIDHR and all the financial instruments relevant to the promotion and protection of human rights and democracy. To this end, the Council encourages the Commission to further strengthen the coordination of existing mechanisms within the EU and with other players and donors, making use of their specific inputs and experiences; The Council further welcomes the ongoing close cooperation with the European Parliament . At the same time the Council acknowledges the important role of civil society in promoting and protecting human rights, and will continue to work closely with the representatives of civil society in achieving the goals in the fields of human rights. The Council takes note of the recommendations of the Annual EU Human Rights Forum, held in Lisbon 7-8 December 2007, and underlines the need to continue the existing active cooperation among the European human rights community.