36 Amendments of Ignazio CORRAO related to 2017/2122(INI)
Amendment 65 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital G
Recital G
G. whereas placing a high value ondemocratic freedom and, the principle of holdingrule of law, and periodic and genuine elections are essential elements of democracy;
Amendment 67 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital H
Recital H
H. whereas engaging with third countries in all bilateral and multilateral fora, for example during human rights dialogues, is one ofamong the most effective tools for addressing human rights concerns;
Amendment 71 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital K
Recital K
K. whereas the Global Strategy for the European Union’s Foreign and Security Policy, adopted by the Council in June 2016, affirms that human rights must be mainstreamed systematically across any policy sectors and institutions, including international trade and commercial policy;
Amendment 72 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital L
Recital L
L. whereas increased coherence between the EU’s internal and external policies, as well as among the external policies themselves, is a fundamental requirement for a successful and effective EU human rights policy; whereas improved consistency should enable the EU to respond more rapidly in the early stages of human rights violations, including international trade and commercial policy;
Amendment 97 #
2. Reiterates its firm belief that the EU and its Member States must actively pursue the principle of mainstreaming human rights and democracy in all EU policies; reiterates, in this regard, the crucial importance of ensuring increased coherence between the EU’s internal and external policies, including international trade and commercial policy;
Amendment 105 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 4
Paragraph 4
4. WelcomEmphasises the fact that in 2016, the rule of law, democratic principles and breaches of human rights were debated regularly in its plenary sessions, targeted in various parliamentary resolutions, and raised in committee and interparliamentary delegation meetings; denounces that a certain number of the EP resolutions on human rights do not have any follow up by the Commission;
Amendment 106 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 4 a (new)
Paragraph 4 a (new)
4 a. Calls on the Commission to concretely act following the initiative reports, such as corporate liability for serious human rights abuses in third countries;
Amendment 109 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 6
Paragraph 6
6. Notes that in 2016, DROI drafted three reports, namely on human rights and migration in third countries, corporate liability for serious human rights abuses in third countries, and the fight against trafficking in human beings in the EU’s external relations; denounces the lack of efforts of the Commission to provide a follow up to many EP resolutions concerning human rights;
Amendment 113 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 7
Paragraph 7
7. Expresses grave concern about the increasing number of attacks against religious minorities, in particular Christians, which are often committed by non-state actors such as ISIS/Daesh; deplores that many countries have and enforce blasphemy laws, which effectively limit and even deprive religious minorities and atheists from their freedom of religion or belief; calls for the EU and its Member States to step up their efforts to enhance respect for freedom of thought, conscience, religion and belief and to promote interreligious dialogue when engaging with third countries, by systematically including specific binding clauses in trade agreements; requests concrete action towards the effective implementation of the EU Guidelines on the promotion and protection of freedom of religion or belief, including by ensuring the systematic and consistent training of EU staff at headquarters and in delegations; supports fully the EU practice of taking the lead on thematic resolutions on freedom of religion and belief at the UN Human Rights Council (UNHRC) and the UN General Assembly (UNGA); supports fully the work of the EU Special Envoy for the Promotion of Freedom of Religion or Belief outside the EU, Mr Ján Figel;
Amendment 123 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 8
Paragraph 8
8. Reiterates the fact that freedom of expression online and offline is a vital component of any democratic society, as it nourishes a culture of pluralism that empowers civil society and citizens to hold their governments and decision-makers to account, and supports respect for the rule of law; emphasizes that any removal of online content is to be exceptional, prescribed by law, subject to a judgment and justified by the pursuit of a constitutional aim; stresses, therefore, that the EU should intensify its efforts to promote freedom of expression through its external policies and instruments; reiterates its request for the EU and its Member States to enhance their monitoring of all types of restrictions on freedom of expression and the media in third countries and to rapidly and systematically condemn such limitations; emphasiszes the importance of ensuring the effective implementation of the EU Guidelines on Freedom of Expression Online and Offline and of regularly monitoring their impact; condemns the use of vague notions such as ‘hate speech’ to define crimes and calls for more detailed definition in order to avoid the infringement of the principle of nullum crimen sine lege, above all in such a sensitive field as freedom of thought; welcomes the new European Instrument for Democracy and Human Rights (EIDHR) launched in 2016, with its specific focus on training EU delegations and media actors in third countries on how to apply the Guidelines;
Amendment 131 #
8 a. Emphasises the utmost importance of academic freedom as a human right protected by international treaties and as a basis for the rule of law, pluralism and democracy;denounces the attacks against academic freedom occurring worldwide, including travel restrictions, loss of positions, unlawful prosecutions and imprisonment, violence, disappearances and killings;
Amendment 149 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 11
Paragraph 11
11. Considers it deeply regrettable that torture, ill-nhuman or degrading treatment and the death penalty continue all over the world, and calls for the EU to intensify its efforts to eradicate these serious human rights violations; urges the EEAS and the VP/HR to engage more strongly in the fight against torture and other cruel, inhuman and degrading treatment or punishment, including the death penalty, through increased diplomatic efforts and more systematic public positioning; recommends that the EEAS, the EU delegations and the Member States use all existing instruments, such as the EU Guidelines on Torture, to their full potential; welcomes the fact that the UN’s resolution on a moratorium on the use of the death penalty was adopted by the UNGA in December 2016 with the support of 117 countries and calls for the EU to be in the front line in terms of monitoring the implementation of that resolution and for it to make all possible political and diplomatic efforts to persuade countries to adapt;
Amendment 167 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 12
Paragraph 12
12. Welcomes the adoption of the EU Gender Action Plan 2016-2020 which sets out a comprehensive list of measures to improve the situation of women in terms of equal rights and empowerment; emphasises the importance of ensuring its effective implementation; welcomes, in addition, the adoption of the Strategic Engagement for Gender Equality 2016-2019, which promotes gender equality and women’s rights worldwide; requests that the Commission, the EEAS and the VP/HR step up their fulfilment of the obligations and commitments in the area of women’s rights under the Convention on the Elimination of all Forms of Discrimination Against Women (CEDAW); believes that the EU should continue mainstreaming support for women within common security and defence policy (CSDP) operations, conflict prevention and post- conflict reconstruction; recalls that the 2016 Sakharov Prize was awarded to Nadia Murad and Lamiya Aji Bashar, survivors of sexual enslavement perpetrated by ISIS/Daesh; strongly condemns all forms of abuse and violence against women and girls in this connection;
Amendment 183 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 13
Paragraph 13
13. Reaffirms the urgent need for the universal ratification and effective implementation of the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child and its Optional Protocols; requests that the EU systematically consult relevant local and international child rights organisations, and raise, in its political and human rights dialogues with third countries, States Parties’ obligations to implement the Convention; welcomes the Council of Europe Strategy for the Rights of the Child (2016-2021); requests that the EU continue to promote the EU-UNICEF Child Rights Toolkit for integrating child rights in development cooperation through its external delegations, and to train the EU delegation staff adequately in this field; reiterates its request for the Commission to propose a comprehensive children’s rights strategy and action plan for the next five years, in order to prioritise children’s rights within EU external policies; welcomes the fact that under the 2016 Development Cooperation Instrument, resources were allocated to support UN agencies in carrying out measures targeted to children’s rightcalls emphatically for the implementation of spending policies designed to maximise the effective benefit for children in need, by minimising bureaucratic expenditure and transfers of money through numerous intermediaries;
Amendment 186 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 13 a (new)
Paragraph 13 a (new)
13 a. Highlights the serious issue of unregistered children born away from their parents’ home country;
Amendment 193 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 14 a (new)
Paragraph 14 a (new)
14 a. Condemns the continuing human rights violations committed against people suffering from caste hierarchies and caste-based discrimination, including the denial of equality and of access to the legal system and to employment, and the continued segregation and caste-induced barriers to the achievement of basic human rights and development;reiterates its call for an EU policy development on caste discrimination, and calls on the EU to use every opportunity, including EU- third country high-level dialogues and summits, to publicly and privately express its grave concern over caste discrimination;urges the EU and its Member States to intensify efforts and support initiatives at the UN and delegation levels to eliminate caste discrimination;asks that initiatives should include the promotion of specific indicators, disaggregated data and special measures to tackle caste in the implementation and monitoring of the 2030 Sustainable Development Goals, observance of the new UN Guidance tool on descent-based discrimination and support to states’ implementation of recommendations by UN human rights mechanisms on the topic of caste discrimination;
Amendment 203 #
15. Expresses profound concern that minorities are still at a heightened risk of discrimination and are especially vulnerable to political, economic, environmental and labour-related changes and disruptions; stresses the legitimate right of ethnic and religious minorities to political participation and notes that many have little or no access to political representation and are acutely affected by poverty; stresses that the EU should intensify its efforts to eradicate the violations of human rights committed against minorities;
Amendment 213 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 17
Paragraph 17
17. Reiterates its support for thethe vital importance of introduction ofing human rights clauses in international agreements between the EU and third countries, along with targeted monitoring and penalty mechanisms; calls on the Commission to monitor the implementation of such clauses effectively and systematically and to provide Parliament with regular reports on partner countries’ respect for human rights; takes a positive view of the GSP+ preference system as a means to stimulate 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 its ratification; reiterates the importance of the proper implementation of the UN Guiding Principles on Business and Human Rights;
Amendment 222 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 18
Paragraph 18
18. Reaffirms the factCalls for the EU and Member States to take tangible steps to ensure that the activities of all companies, including European ones, operating in third countries should bare in full compliance with international human rights standards; 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; acknowledgescalls for the EU and Member States to take tangible steps to ensure that global value chains contribute to enhancing international core labour, environmental and social standards, and represent an opportunity for sustainable progress, especially in developing countries;
Amendment 224 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 18 a (new)
Paragraph 18 a (new)
18a. Strongly condemns, once more, the lack of action by the Commission in response to the Resolution on corporate liability for serious human rights abuses in third countries, which was adopted with a huge majority in the EP over a year ago; vigorously denounces the fact that the Commission has ignored the many calls made by the EP, including in an oral question, specific questions within a structured dialogue between the Committee on Development and the Commissioner, and a letter to the Secretary-General of the Commission signed by two Committee Chairs; firmly reiterates its desire for the many proposals made in that resolution to be implemented in the form of binding rules, and thus to move from words to deeds;
Amendment 226 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 18 a (new)
Paragraph 18 a (new)
18a. Welcomes the ongoing negotiations on binding Transnational Corporations and Other Business Enterprises with respect to human rights; calls on the Commission and the Member States to engage constructively in these negotiations and to play an active role through the development of concrete proposals, including access to remedies, and through genuine efforts to achieve a positive outcome including by encouraging trade partners to equally engage; asks the Commission, in this context, to consider the possibility of extensive mandatory due diligence, including at global level;
Amendment 228 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 18 b (new)
Paragraph 18 b (new)
18b. Calls strongly on the Commission to launch legislative procedures to convert into binding rules the many proposals made in the Resolution on corporate liability for serious human rights abuses in third countries, including the creation of suitable judicial redress mechanisms for victims and rules to efficiently regulate the use by those responsible for serious human rights abuses of corporate veils in order to avoid liability;
Amendment 230 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 19
Paragraph 19
19. Calls for the EU and its Member States to use all their political weight to prevent any act that could be considered genocide, a war crime or a crime against humanity from taking place, to respond peacefully in an efficient and coordinated manner in cases where such crimes occur, to mobilise all necessary resources to bring to justice all those responsible, and to assist the victims and support stabilisation and reconciliation processes; calls on the international community to set up instruments to minimise the warning- response gap in order to prevent the emergence, re-emergence and escalation of violent conflict, such as the EU’s early warning system;
Amendment 243 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 20
Paragraph 20
20. Strongly condemns the heinous crimes and human rights violations committed by non-state actors such as Boko Haram in Nigeria and ISIS/Daesh in Syria and Iraq; is horrified at the vast range of crimes committed, including murder, torture, rape, enslavement and sexual slavery, the recruitment of child soldiers, forced religious conversions and the systematic killing of religious minorities, including Christians, Yazidis and others; emphasises that the EU and its Member States should support the prosecution of members of non-state groups such as ISIS/Daesh by seeking a consensus within the UN Security Council to confer jurisdiction to the International Criminal Court (ICC);
Amendment 251 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 21
Paragraph 21
21. Reiterates its full support for the ICC, the Rome Statute, the Office of the Prosecutor, the Prosecutor’s proprio motu powers, and the progress made in initiating new investigations as an essential means to fight impunity for atrocity crimes; strongly condemns any attempts to undermine its legitimacy or independence, and calls on the EU and Member States to consistently support ICC examinations, investigations and decisions, in order to end impunity of the most serious international crimes; welcomes the meeting of 6 July 2016 between EU and ICC representatives in Brussels in preparation for the 2nd EU-ICC round table meeting, enabling relevant staff at the ICC and the EU institutions to identify common areas of interest, exchange information on relevant activities and ensure better cooperation between both parties; notes, with profound regret, the recent announcements of withdrawals from the Rome Statute, which represent a challenge in terms of victims’ access to justice and which should be firmly condemned; reiterates its call for the VP/HR to appoint an EUSR for International Humanitarian Law and International Justice with a mandate to promote, mainstream and represent the EU’s commitment to the fight against impunity and to the ICC across EU foreign policies;
Amendment 257 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 21 a (new)
Paragraph 21 a (new)
21a. Expresses grave concern about the continued impunity for violations of international law worldwide and calls on the EU and its Member States to support UN accountability mechanisms and vote in favour of all resolutions on accountability at the UN multilateral fora, including the Human Rights Council;
Amendment 260 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 22 a (new)
Paragraph 22 a (new)
22a. Strongly condemns the intimidation and violence used against legal practitioners such as judges, public prosecutors and lawyers; firmly reiterates the key importance of the independence of the judiciary and impartiality of the prosecution and the sanctity of the unconditional right of defence; condemns in particular violence and intimidation when used by the state, and calls on the EU and Member States, within the ambit of their international relations, to promote their non-use, as a basic facet of democracy and the rule of law;
Amendment 285 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 24 a (new)
Paragraph 24 a (new)
Amendment 291 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 25
Paragraph 25
25. Considers that the EU should continue its efforts to enhance respect for the rights of LGBTI people, in line with the EU Guidelines on the topic; recommends that the Guidelines be implemented, including through the training of EU staff in third countries; regrets that 72 countries still criminalise homosexuality, is horrified that some 13 of whichthese have the death penalty, and believes that practices and acts of violence against individuals on the basis of their sexual orientation should not go unpunished;
Amendment 301 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 27
Paragraph 27
27. Highlights clearly the essential obligations and responsibilities of states, enterprises and other duty bearers to mitigate climate change, prevent its negative impacts on human rights and foster policy coherence in order to ensure that climate change mitigation and adaptation efforts are adequate, sufficiently ambitious, non-discriminatory and otherwise compliant with human rights obligations; emphasises the intrinsic link between trade policies, environmental policies and development policies, and the positive and negative impact such policies can have on respect for human rights;
Amendment 306 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 27 a (new)
Paragraph 27 a (new)
27a. Strongly condemns practices that undermine human rights such as land grabbing, indiscriminate use of natural resources and waste trafficking; calls on the Commission to take urgent action in response to Parliament's many recent resolutions in this field;
Amendment 328 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 36
Paragraph 36
36. Reiterates strongly its invitation to the VP/HR to take part in a debate with MEPs in two plenary sessions per year, once when the Annual Report is presented and once in response to its own report; recalls that written answers also play an important role in interinstitutional relations, as they allow for a systematic and in-depth follow- up to all the points raised by Parliament;
Amendment 335 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 40
Paragraph 40
40. Recognises the key role ofthat the EUSR for Human Rights, Mr Lambrinidis, could play in enhancing the EU’s visibility and effectiveness in protecting and promoting human rights and democratic principles around the world, and highlights his role in promoting the consistent and coherent implementation of the EU’s human rights policy; welcomes the extension of the EUSR’s mandate until 28 February 2019 and reiterates its request for this mandate to be made permanent; recommends, in this regard, that the EUSR be given own- initiative powers, higher public visibility and adequate staff and financial resourcesgreater political support to work at his full potential;
Amendment 336 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 40 a (new)
Paragraph 40 a (new)
40a. Regrets that the work and the impact of the EU Special Representative for Human Rights (EUSR) can only be partially accessed through a review of the Annual Report on Human Rights, his Twitter account, and available speeches; also regrets that there is no official information on his activities, plans, nor progress reports and reviews;
Amendment 344 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 44
Paragraph 44
44. Recalls the EU’s commitment to placing human rights and democracy at the centre of its relations with third countries; stresses, therefore, that the advancement of human rights and democratic principles needs to be supported through all EU policies with an external dimension, such as enlargement and neighbourhood policy, the CSDP, and development, commercial, trade, justice and home affairs policies;
Amendment 347 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 45
Paragraph 45
45. Notes the Commission’s efforts to fulfil its commitment to including human rights provisions in its impact assessments for legislative and non-legislative proposals, implementing measures and trade agreements; urges the Commission to improve the quality and comprehensiveness of the impact assessments and to ensure in consequence the systematic incorporation of human rights issues in the text of the legislative and non-legislative proposals;