32 Amendments of Brando BENIFEI related to 2018/2236(INI)
Amendment 1 #
Motion for a resolution
Citation 6 a (new)
Citation 6 a (new)
– having regard to the EU Guidelines to promote and protect the enjoyment of all human rights by lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and intersex (LGBTI) persons, adopted by the Council in 2013,
Amendment 3 #
Motion for a resolution
Citation 17 a (new)
Citation 17 a (new)
– having regard to the UN Sustainable Development Goals,
Amendment 5 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital A
Recital A
A. whereas on 23 November 2018, the EU and Uzbekistan launched negotiations on a comprehensive Enhanced Partnership and Cooperation Agreement (EPCA), with a view to replacing the current EU- Uzbekistan PCA, aiming for enhanced and deeper cooperation in areas of mutual interest and based on the shared values of democracy, the rule of law and good governance, in order to promote sustainable development, international security and effectively tackle global challenges such as terrorism, climate change and organised crime;
Amendment 7 #
Motion for a resolution
Point a
Point a
(a) welcome strongly thethe pledges and steps taken by Uzbekistan towards a more open society and the genuine engagement within the political dialogue between the EU and Uzbekistan, which led to the opening of negotiations on a comprehensive EPCA;
Amendment 12 #
Motion for a resolution
Point b
Point b
(b) provide significant support to sustainable reforms, on the basis of the current and future agreements, leading to tangible results and addressing political, societal and economic issues, with a view in particular to improving governance, opening up space for a genuinely diverse and independent civil society, strengthening respect for human rights, protection of minorities and vulnerable people, including people with disabilities, ensuring accountability for abuses and removing obstacles to entrepreneurship;
Amendment 21 #
Motion for a resolution
Point c
Point c
(c) recognise the ongoingpledges of reforms to improve the business climate, the judicial system and security services, labour conditions, and administrative accountability and efficiency; stress the importance of their full and verifiable implementation; highlight that Uzbekistan’s comprehensive reform plan, the Development Strategy for 2017– 2021, must be backed up by measures facilitating external trade and improving the business environment;
Amendment 31 #
Motion for a resolution
Point d
Point d
(d) promote the emergence of a tolerant, inclusive, pluralist and democratic society under a credible government by supporting gradual liberalisation and socio-economic progress to the benefit of the people;
Amendment 42 #
Motion for a resolution
Point e
Point e
(e) welcome the release of some political prisoners and encourage the authorities to resolve cases oflease all other prisoners of conscience;
Amendment 44 #
Motion for a resolution
Point e a (new)
Point e a (new)
(ea) ensure that the mechanism of a transitional justice is established, including the right to appeal for those who served lengthy, politically motivated sentences, the right for former political prisoner to have access to copies of the court sentences on their cases, so as to be able to appeal, seek rehabilitation and clear their names from criminal offences; urge the government to ensure access for them to adequate medical treatment and end continued surveillance on them;
Amendment 49 #
Motion for a resolution
Point e b (new)
Point e b (new)
(eb) urge the authorities to establish an independent monitoring mechanism which will have unhindered access to prisons and other closed facilities with the purpose to monitor and prevent torture and other forms of ill-treatment, and to enable the penitentiary system to transition to more human structures;
Amendment 51 #
Motion for a resolution
Point e c (new)
Point e c (new)
(ec) urge Uzbekistan to invite the UN Special Rapporteur on Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment, whose last visit in the country took place in 2002;
Amendment 53 #
Motion for a resolution
Point e d (new)
Point e d (new)
(ed) welcome the fact that international human rights organisations have increased access to the country and ensure that operation of these organisations can be guaranteed without any hindrance and with a view of conducting monitoring and documentation work;
Amendment 58 #
Motion for a resolution
Point f
Point f
(f) welcome the progress made towards the eradication of child labour and the phasing-out of forced labour, as well as the recent visits to Uzbekistan by UN Special Rapporteurs and the reopening of the country to international non- governmental organisations in this field; express concern at the persisting recourse to forced labour by several local authorities and officials, despite the measures taken by the government;
Amendment 61 #
Motion for a resolution
Point f a (new)
Point f a (new)
(fa) strongly urge the authorities to fully ensure the abolishment of forced labour in cotton fields as well as in other sectors of the Uzbek economy; push them to tackle the root causes of the phenomenon, including the setting of quotas, the low wages, the lack of modernization of agriculture; press them to hold accountable local authorities and officials that mobilize public sector workers and students under threat of punishment; urge the government to facilitate a country visit by the UN Special Rapporteur on contemporary forms of slavery;
Amendment 68 #
Motion for a resolution
Point g
Point g
(g) encourage the authorities to take advantage of the relatively high level of education among its young people in order to reduce unemployment in the country and strstep up action to reduce unemployment in the country, including opening the private sector and strengthening small and medium-sized enterprises; recall the potential of its young population and its relatively high education in this sense; encourage to promote entrepreneurship education programmes; recall the importance of EU programmes such as Erasmus+ in promoting intercultural dialogue betweeng then small and medium- sized enterprises EU and Uzbekistan and in providing opportunities for empowerment for students taking part in them as positive actors of change in their society;
Amendment 74 #
Motion for a resolution
Point h
Point h
(h) continue holding annual Human Rights Dialogues, while mainstreaming human rights issues in all meetings; encourage and assess compliance with international human rights instruments; press for the resolution of individual cases, including political prisoners; establish concrete benchmarks ahead of each round of Dialogue;
Amendment 79 #
Motion for a resolution
Point h a (new)
Point h a (new)
(ha) welcome the pledges made and steps taken by the government of Uzbekistan to address serious human rights abuses in the country; express continued concern at the outstanding problems and lack of implementation of key reforms;
Amendment 80 #
Motion for a resolution
Point h b (new)
Point h b (new)
(hb) urge the government to swiftly amend its criminal code provisions relating to extremism that are commonly used to criminalise dissent, and bring them into compliance with Uzbekistan’s international human rights obligations;
Amendment 81 #
Motion for a resolution
Point h c (new)
Point h c (new)
(hc) welcome the commitments made to stop using Article 221 of Uzbekistan’s Criminal Code regarding “violations of prison rules” to arbitrarily extend the sentences of political prisoners; press the authorities to urgently remove this article from the Criminal Code;
Amendment 82 #
Motion for a resolution
Point h d (new)
Point h d (new)
(hd) welcome the emergence of an increasingly vibrant media environment and the statements by high level officials supporting media to address urgent social issues; express concern at continued state control over the media, continued censorship and self-censorship, and regular blocking of numerous websites, including of domestic news outlets, international news and human rights websites and social media platforms; urge the authorities to end pressure on and surveillance of media, stop blocking independent websites, allow international media to accredit correspondents and to operate in the country;
Amendment 83 #
Motion for a resolution
Point h e (new)
Point h e (new)
(he) welcome the relaxation of some restrictions on freedom of peaceful assembly; express concerns at the occurrences of detention of peaceful demonstrators;
Amendment 84 #
Motion for a resolution
Point h f (new)
Point h f (new)
(hf) welcome the new law on registration of non-governmental organisations relaxing some registration procedures and some requirements of advanced permission for holding activities or meetings; urge the authorities to fully implement it, to end surveillance of civil society activists and other procedures and to allow international monitors and human rights organizations to freely operate in the country, including by removing all barriers to the registration of Human Rights Watch and other international organizations and make accreditation available to international media outlets;
Amendment 85 #
Motion for a resolution
Point h g (new)
Point h g (new)
(hg) welcome the recent visit by the UN Special Rapporteur on Freedom of Religions and Belief and the pledge to facilitate the visits of other special procedures; press the authorities to implement the recommendations of the above-mentioned Special rapporteur and swiftly facilitate the visits of the Special Rapporteurs on Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment, on the rights to freedom of peaceful assembly and of association, on contemporary forms of slavery, on the independence of judges and lawyers, as well as the Working Group on Arbitrary Detention;
Amendment 90 #
Motion for a resolution
Point j a (new)
Point j a (new)
(ja) welcome the continued commitment of Uzbekistan in upholding the Central Asian Nuclear Weapon Free Zone; recall the commitment by the EU to support Uzbekistan in dealing with toxic and radioactive waste; encourage Uzbekistan to sign the Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons;
Amendment 91 #
Motion for a resolution
Point j b (new)
Point j b (new)
(jb) welcome the positive developments in regional cooperation on water, in particular with Tajikistan on the issue of the Rogun Dam and with Kazakhstan on the Aral Sea; welcome the establishment of the UN Multi-Partner Trust Fund on Human Security for the Aral Sea Region, the commitment shown by the authorities and the progress in reviving the Aral Sea; urge the authorities to further step up their action in this sense;
Amendment 95 #
Motion for a resolution
Point o
Point o
(o) support effective implementation of the key international conventions required for GSP+ status;
Amendment 114 #
Motion for a resolution
Point r
Point r
(r) use the negotiations and the forthcoming ratification and implementation of the EPCA to support a sustainable transition for Uzbekistan towards a more accountable and democratic regimeof the EPCA to support genuine and sustainable progress towards an accountable and democratic regime that guarantees and protects fundamental rights for all citizens; ensure that before the conclusions of the negotiations Uzbekistan takes genuine measures to bring freedom of association and peaceful assembly and freedom of expression in line with international standards and secures the release of individuals still detained under politically motivated charges, and publicly assess such progress in view of the conclusion of the negotiations and the ratification and implementation of the EPCA;
Amendment 118 #
Motion for a resolution
Point t
Point t
(t) renew their commitment to the advancement of democratic standards, principles of good governance and the rule of law, and to respect for human rights, including by taking steps to repeal legislation which stands in stark contrast to international human rights standards, such as article 120 of the Criminal Code which criminalises male homosexuality;
Amendment 119 #
Motion for a resolution
Point t
Point t
(t) renew their commitment to the advancement of democratic standards, principles of good governance and the rule of law, and to respect for human rights and fundamental freedoms, including freedom of religion or belief;
Amendment 123 #
Motion for a resolution
Point t a (new)
Point t a (new)
(ta) ensure regular and in-depth political dialogue between the EU and Uzbekistan, on political and democratic reforms; provide adequate support to Uzbekistan for these reforms, notably aimed at creating independent institutions, in particular the judiciary, and independent parliament, protecting human rights, media freedoms, and creating an environment in which a strong civil society can operate without undue interference from the state and where civil society is involved in the reform process;
Amendment 133 #
Motion for a resolution
Point w a (new)
Point w a (new)
(wa) ensure that before the conclusion of the agreement Uzbekistan takes tangible steps to consolidate operating environment for civil society;
Amendment 138 #
Motion for a resolution
Point y
Point y
(y) include terms on the potential suspension of cooperation in the event of the breach of essential elements by either party, including human rights violations or the failure to resolve key outstanding human rights concerns, including consultation of Parliament in such cases;