33 Amendments of Ignazio CORRAO related to 2015/2229(INI)
Amendment 3 #
Motion for a resolution
Citation 2 a (new)
Citation 2 a (new)
- having regard to the Charter of fundamental rights of the European Union,
Amendment 31 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital A
Recital A
A. whereas Article 21 TEU commits the EU to developing a Common Foreign and Security Policy (CFSP) guided byrespect and pursue the principles of democracy, the rule of law, the universality and indivisibility of human rights and fundamental freedoms, respect for human dignity, the principle of equality and solidarity and compliance with the UN Charter and international law in the development and implementation of the different areas of the Union's external action and of the external aspects of its other policies;
Amendment 31 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 4
Paragraph 4
4. Stresses the need for corporate accountability and for a clear and quick implementation of the UN Guiding Principles on Business and Human Rights; calls on the Commission to take all necessary initiatives to present a legally binding international instrument on business and human rights; calls on the Commission to report on the implementation of the UN Guiding Principles on Business and Human Rights by the EU Member States by the end of 2015;
Amendment 35 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 4 a (new)
Paragraph 4 a (new)
4a. Reiterates its support for the introduction of human rights clauses in all international agreements, including trade and investment agreements and sector-based agreements, between the EU and third countries; reiterates its call for a new 'model clause' establishing a procedure for their effective implementation in the spirit of Articles 8, 9 and 96 of the Cotonou Agreement; recommends a procedure for consultation between the parties, detailing the political and legal mechanisms to be used in the event of a request for bilateral cooperation to be suspended, but also a warning mechanism and process for descriptive and evaluation purposes;
Amendment 39 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 5
Paragraph 5
5. Underlines that the EU should address both the root causes of poverty in third countries and the root causes of migration from third countries to Europe, and therefore should address the external dimension of the refugee crisis, including by finding sustainable solutions to conflicts in our neighbourhood and developing countries ; while recognising that the nexus between migration and development is complex and multi- dimensional and cannot be reduced to a mechanical and simplistic link between more development aid and less migrants;
Amendment 51 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 6 a (new)
Paragraph 6 a (new)
6a. Welcomes the Commission's Staff Working Document on a toolbox for a Rights-Based Approach (RBA), encompassing all human rights, for an EU development cooperation, adopted on 30 April 2014 and welcomed by the Council in its conclusion of 19 May 2014; encourages the Commission to monitor the implementation of the RBA and to ensure that human rights and development cooperation are mutually reinforcing on the ground; calls on the Commission to provide transparent and public assessment of the implementation of the RBA EU toolbox;
Amendment 56 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital I a (new)
Recital I a (new)
Ia. whereas more should be done by the EU to measure the human rights impact of its own policies, maximize the positive ones, prevent and mitigate the negative ones and reinforce the access to remedies to affected populations;
Amendment 103 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 5 a (new)
Paragraph 5 a (new)
5a. Calls the EU to improve and systematize the full extent of the human rights impact of its own policies, and ensure these analyses serve to reframe its policies in consequence. Calls on the EU to develop more efficient mechanisms to maximize the positive human rights impacts of its policies, prevent and mitigate the negative ones and to reinforce the access to remedies to affected populations;
Amendment 123 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 18
Paragraph 18
18. Urges, in this respect, the Foreign Affairs Council to regularly discuss democracy and human rights topics; reiterates its call on the Foreign Affairs Council to hold an annual public debate on EU action in the area of human rights and democracy; recommends the EU councils formations to establish meetings and dedicated dialogues with civil society, in order to make a regular follow-up of the Action plan;
Amendment 124 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 19
Paragraph 19
19. Commends the EEAS and the Commission on reporting on the implementation of the first Action Plan and expects suchregular and comprehensive reporting to continuebe enhanced in the framework of the new Action Plan; recommends in particular to document the concrete steps and results achieved in enhancing mainstreaming of human rights, inter- institutional coordination, the rule of law, consistency and coherence of external policies; recalls, moreover, its determination to be closely associated with and consulted on the implementation of the new Action Plan;
Amendment 127 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 20
Paragraph 20
20. Expresses concern at the recent restructuring of the EEAS and its Human Rights Directorate and the impact this reorganisation could have on the EU’s ability to mainstream human rights throughout all dimensions of external policies; calls on the EEAS to take all necessary measures to ensure that the new Managing Director for Human Rights, Global and Multilateral Issues is given the mandate and adequate resources to mainstream human rights in the work of the EEAS; calls on the Managing director to present to the European Parliament and the civil society its working plan on ensuring the mainstreaming of human rights;
Amendment 129 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 21
Paragraph 21
21. Recalls the importance of the mandate of the EU Special Representative (EUSR) for Human Rights in enhancing the EU’s visibility and effectiveness in protecting and promoting human rights and democratic principles around the world; commends the current mandate holder for his significant achievements and for engaging in regular exchanges with Parliament and with civil society; recommends regular reporting on the achievements and follow-up to fields visits and on the formulation of recommendations for ensuring better coherence of EU policies to advance human rights abroad;
Amendment 137 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 25
Paragraph 25
25. Reiterates its call for the Members of the European Parliament and CSOs to have access to the content of the strategies, so as to allow a proper degree of scrutiny; insists that the EEAS include clear and measurable progress indicators for each individual strategy; notes that HRCS have become a cornerstone in the new action plan on democracy and human rights; considers it cannot be covered in secrecy any longer and reiterates its call to enhance the transparency of HRCS;
Amendment 146 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 29
Paragraph 29
29. Acknowledges that human rights dialogues with third countries can be an efficient tool for bilateral engagement and cooperation in the promotion and protection of human rights; welcomes, therefore, the establishment of human rights dialogues with a growing number of countries; welcomes the fact that a first human rights dialogue has been held with Myanmar/Burma; reiterates however its concern with the persistently disappointing lack of progress in a number of human rights dialogues which have become a process rather than a means to achieve measurable, tangible results; stresses the importance and urgency of improving the modalities and substance of these dialogues in consultation with civil society;
Amendment 147 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 29 a (new)
Paragraph 29 a (new)
29a. Calls on the EEAS to present to the European parliament and to civil society its assessment of past human rights dialogues, insisting on the lessons learnt and the ways for improvement; calls on the EEAS to present, on this basis, in coordination with the other institutions and in consultation with civil society, pilot projects for the improvement of the dialogue and the coherence of EU policies with the more difficult countries; encourages the EEAS to regularly report to the European Parliament and in the presence of civil society on the results and follow up of the human rights dialogues;
Amendment 148 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 30
Paragraph 30
30. UReiterates its calls to seek new ways of making the dialogues more meaningful and urges the VP/HR and the EEAS to conduct their human rights dialogues and the corresponding civil society seminars with a clear, results-oriented focus mirroring the HRCS; urges the EEAS to consistently include a preparatory dialogue with civil society organisations, which should automatically feed into the dialogue itself; and to encourage the direct attendance and participation of civil society representatives in the dialogue itself further urges the VP/HR and the EEAS to raise individual cases of human rights defenders in an accountable and transparent manner during human rights dialogues; considers it essential that the EEAS systematically seek concrete commitments from its counterparts and ensure that all the commitments made during each of the human rights dialogues are relayed vigorously in all forms of bilateral political dialogue, including at the highest level and honoured;
Amendment 152 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 31
Paragraph 31
31. Reiterates its call on the EEAS to develop a comprehensive mechanism for monitoring and reviewing the functioning of human rights dialogues with a view to improving their impact; reiterates the need to draw clear political conclusions when the human rights dialogue is not constructive and, in such cases or in cases of persistent human rights violations, put more emphasis on all political and sectoral dialogues demarches and public diplomacy; believes that, if such dialogues persistently fail, alternative tools for supporting the advancement of human rights in the country concerned should be used, making a better articulation between dialogue, targeted support, incentives and restrictive measures; notes, in this respect, that the human rights dialogue with Russia was suspended in 2014 and deplores the persistent lack of results of dialogues such as the one with China; urges, therefore, that the EEAS profoundly rethink its human rights strategy vis-à-vis Russia; and China; takes note of the steps taken to open dialogues with Bahrain, Belarus and Iran and presses the EEAS to develop an efficient strategy to ensure these dialogues lead to results and do not marginalize human rights in the other summits and cooperation fora;
Amendment 155 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 31 a (new)
Paragraph 31 a (new)
31a. Notes the EU's difficulties to negotiate improved modalities for its human rights dialogues, calls on the EU to introduce a new 'model clause' when concluding international agreements with thirds countries; reiterates that particular consideration must be given to indicators to ensure the effectiveness of democracy and human rights clauses in all EU agreements, whatever their nature;
Amendment 195 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 44
Paragraph 44
44. Reiterates its support for the introduction of human rights clauses in international agreements between the EU and third countries, including those concluded with developed countries and including trade and investment agreements and sectoral agreements; reiterates its call for a new 'model clause' establishing a procedure for their effective implementation in the spirit of Articles 8, 9 and 96 of the Cotonou Agreement; recommends a procedure for consultation between the parties, detailing the political and legal mechanisms to be used in the event of a request for bilateral cooperation to be suspended, but also a warning mechanism and process for descriptive and evaluation purposes; stresses that the use of the human rights clause should go hand in hand with the improvement of the dialogue and the development of dedicated monitoring mechanisms; calls on the Commission to effectively and systematically monitor the implementation of the human rights clauses and to report regularly to Parliament on partner countries’ respect for human rights;
Amendment 199 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 44 b (new)
Paragraph 44 b (new)
44b. Reiterates also its call on the Commission to draft a new 'model clause' for trade and investment agreements referring to the parties' international obligations, comprising a procedure for consultation and specifying political and legal mechanisms to be used; calls for the establishment of an independent body to settle pertinent disputes and the possibility of recourse to a dispute settlement mechanism with provision for fines and the suspension of trade benefits and investment protection equivalent to mechanisms for market access provisions; calls for the setting up of a specific inter- institutional committee for human rights in trade and investment agreements, and for a human rights civil society monitoring mechanism that is dedicated to dealing with the human rights impact of the trade and investment agreements. These mechanisms should aim to prevent any impact on human rights and to mitigate and help find remedies if violations occur;
Amendment 200 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 44 c (new)
Paragraph 44 c (new)
44c. Calls on the Commission to include in trade and investment agreements provisions barring foreign investors from the protections of the investment chapter where there is sufficient evidence of direct or indirect violation of national laws and international human rights obligations and responsibilities, both their own and those of the State in which they operate; calls for human rights impact assessments on ISDS and investment protection clauses which introduce explicit human rights standards;
Amendment 207 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 45
Paragraph 45
45. Welcomes the entry into force of the new Generalised Scheme of Preferences (GSP) (Regulation (EU) 978/2012) on 1 January 2014; positively notes that 14 countries had been granted GSP+ preferences by the end of 2014, as a means of stimulating the effective implementation of 27 core international conventions on human rights and labour standards; expects the Commission to report back to Parliament and to the Council on the status of ratification and the effective implementation of the conventions by the beneficiaries of the GSP+ preferences by the end of 2015; calls for the monitoring reports to concretely document progress and steps backwards if any, present the specific commitments taken by the beneficiary countries to pursue the effective implementation the 27 conventions and the roadmaps and benchmarks convened to ensure the fulfilment of the attribution of GSP+ criteria; calls on the Commission, under the forthcoming GSP mid-term review, to run a country-based study assessing the human rights impacts of GSP and Everything But Arms preferences;
Amendment 210 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 45 b (new)
Paragraph 45 b (new)
45b. Calls for the setting up of a complaint mechanism that can be accessed by individuals and communities whose human rights are affected by trade and investments in order to avoid negative impacts and ensure access to remedy and compensation, based on need and responsibility; calls for the inclusion of a mandatory and enforceable binding clause for investors to comply with the principles of corporate social responsibility as defined at international level, including the 2010 update of the OECD Guidelines, and with the standards defined by the UN, such as the UN Guiding Principles on Business and Human Rights. The agreement should clearly foresee that the investor may not contravene the human rights international standards and local law which is in conformity with human rights international law, nor be complicit in its violation, for the full duration of the investment;
Amendment 213 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 46
Paragraph 46
46. Reaffirms that the activities of EU companies operating in third countries should be in full compliance with international human rights standards and require also to take all necessary legal reforms at the EU and Member States levels to ensure effective prevention and access to justice; reaffirms, moreover, the importance of promoting corporate social responsibility and of European enterprises playing a leading role in promoting international standards on business and human rights;
Amendment 215 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 47
Paragraph 47
47. Believes, therefore, that the EEAS should require that EU Delegations engage with EU companies operating in third countries in order to promotensure respect for human rights in their business-related activities; recalls, furthermore, its request that EU Delegations include respect for human rights in business operations as a priority in local calls for proposals carried out under the European Instrument for Democracy and Human Rights (EIDHR) and that EU delegations take all necessary action to protect human rights defenders acting in the context of business activities in line with the EU guidelines on Human Rights Defenders;
Amendment 220 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 48
Paragraph 48
48. Reiterates its call on the Commission to report on the implementation of the UN Guiding Principles on Business and Human Rights by the EU Member States by the end of 2015; and to constructively participate in the work of the intergovernmental open-ended working group tasked with the elaboration of an international instrument on human rights, transnational corporations and other business enterprises;
Amendment 223 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 48 c (new)
Paragraph 48 c (new)
48c. Calls on the EU to develop pilot project on the indivisibility on human rights, land issue (land grabbing and forced eviction) and the coherence of EU policies in that regard. Calls on the EU to report on its efforts to consider accession to the Optional Protocol to the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights as committed in the EU action plan on human rights and democracy 2015;
Amendment 229 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 50
Paragraph 50
50. Welcomes the Commission’s Staff Working Document on a rights-based approach, encompassing all human rights for EU development cooperation, published in April 2014 and welcomed by the Council; encourages the Commission to monitor the implementation of the rights- based approach and to ensure that human rights and development cooperation are mutually reinforcing on the ground; calls the Commission to provide transparent and public assessment of the implementation of the RBA EU toolbox;
Amendment 236 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 51
Paragraph 51
51. Takes positive note of the counter- terrorism guidance document drafted by the EEAS and the Commission and endorsed by the Council with the aim of ensuring respect for human rights in the planning and implementation of counter- terrorism assistance projects with third countries; calls on the EEAS and the Commission to ensure effective implementation of the document, starting with its wide dissemination; supports, in this context, the international efforts to stop human rights violations being perpetrated by ISIS/Da’esh; calls the EU to enhance transparency of the timeframe and content of all forms of counter-terrorism dialogues with third countries and report on the way they raise human rights issues;
Amendment 243 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 52
Paragraph 52
52. Expresses its solidarity with the high number of refugees and migrants who suffer grave human rights violations as victims of conflicts, and persecution, tangible governance failures smuggling and trafficking and networks of illegal immigration and trafficking; expresses also its deep regret at the tragic loss of lives of people seeking asylum in the EU; trying to reach the EU's territory; notes that the actions taken by the European Union and its Member States in this regard have failed to prevent further tragedies; reiterates the importance that saving lives is prioritised in any effort made in this area; to this end, urges the Commission and Member States to overhaul their approach to migration, to ensure that saving lives and respecting migrants' rights take precedence over border control and surveillance; in particular, calls on the EU and Member States to establish a real search and rescue operation in the Mediterranean, which Frontex, as a border surveillance agency, cannot guarantee; also urges the EU and Member States to open up safe and legal channels for entry into Europe, to reduce the risks linked to irregular migration and to prevent further loss of life;
Amendment 252 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 53
Paragraph 53
53. Stresses the urgent need to tackle the root causes of migration flows and, therefore, to address the external dimension of the refugee crisis, including by finding sustainable solutions to conflicts in our neighbourhood; underlines the need for a comprehensive human-rights-based approach to migration and calls on the EU to collaborate with the UN, regional organisations, governments and NGOs in order to address the root causes of migration flows; takes note in this context of the European Union Naval Force – Mediterranean (EUNAVFOR Med) operation against smugglers and traffickers in the Mediterranean; welcomes the measures proposed by the Commission on 9 September 2015 to address the external dimension of the refugee crisis; regrets however that all efforts in this area focus on externalisation; recalls the importance that migrants' rights be central to any cooperation agreement on migration with non EU countries, including readmission agreements, technical cooperation and mobility partnerships; to this end, urges the EU to ensure that human rights safeguards are systematically integrated into any such agreement, and that adequate mechanisms are set up to monitor their implementation; also reiterates the need to ensure respect for the participation, accountability and transparency principles when negotiating cooperation agreements with third countries. This includes involving the European Parliament, including when negotiating working arrangements and other technical cooperation with non-EU countries that might have important and potentially detrimental effects on migrants, so as to allow for adequate democratic scrutiny and accountability, especially candidate countries for the EU. Cooperation agreements should not be concluded with non EU countries that do not offer sufficient guarantees of respect for migrants' human rights and where there are no satisfactory systems in place for assessing and recognising claims for international protection. When setting up lists of safe countries of origin, the EU and member states must refrain from including in any such list countries that do not offer sufficient guarantees of respect for human rights or do not have satisfactory systems in place for assessing and recognising claims for international protection;
Amendment 274 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 57
Paragraph 57
57. Emphasises that in order to strengthen the credibility and legitimacy of the UNHRC, all its members must uphold the highest human rights standards and fulfil their human rights commitments; considers that human rights must be promoted, developed and consolidated in all international fora; calls on the Commission to publicly report on the activities and actions it is carrying out to advance the human rights agenda and to reinforce the human rights accountability and liability of international organisations such as the WTO and the World Bank (BIRD, IFC, MIGA);
Amendment 285 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 59
Paragraph 59
59. Calls on the EU and the Member States to actively promote the ICC and the need for the enforcement of its decisions in all type of dialogues with third countrieo encourage further ratification and implementation of the ICC statute, strengthened cooperation by states parties with the ICC and the need for the enforcement of its decisions in all type of dialogues with third countries; invites states to enter into voluntary cooperation agreements with the ICC regarding issues such as witness relocation and acquittal agreements;