Activities of Maria ARENA related to 2020/2116(INI)
Plenary speeches (1)
Human rights protection and the EU external migration policy (debate)
Amendments (45)
Amendment 1 #
Motion for a resolution
Citation 1
Citation 1
— having regard to the Universal Declaration of Human Rights of 1948, and in particular Article 13 and Article 14 thereof,
Amendment 2 #
Motion for a resolution
Citation 5
Citation 5
— having regard to the Convention against Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment of 1984 and in particular Article 3, and the additional protocol thereto,
Amendment 3 #
Motion for a resolution
Citation 9 a (new)
Citation 9 a (new)
- having regard to the International Convention for the Protection of All Persons from Enforced Disappearance,
Amendment 4 #
Motion for a resolution
Citation 13
Citation 13
— having regard to the work of various international human rights mechanisms, including the reports of the UN Special Rapporteur on the human rights of migrants, notably his follow-up to the regional study on the management of the external borders of the European Union and its impact on the human rights of migrants of 8 May 2015, as well as his report on the freedom of association of migrants of May 2020, and of other Special Rapporteurs, the Universal Periodic Review and the work of other treaty bodies,
Amendment 6 #
Motion for a resolution
Citation 16 a (new)
Citation 16 a (new)
- having regard to the Report of the UN Secretary-General: Smuggling of migrants and trafficking in persons in the Mediterranean Sea off the coast of Libya form September 2020 (S/2020/876) in particular violations faced by migrants and asylum seekers in Libya,
Amendment 7 #
Motion for a resolution
Citation 16 b (new)
Citation 16 b (new)
- having regard to the Report of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights on the situation of human rights in Libya, and the effectiveness of technical assistance and capacity-building measures received by the Government of Libya in particular the paralysis of the state’s security institutions by armed groups and militias,
Amendment 9 #
Motion for a resolution
Citation 20 a (new)
Citation 20 a (new)
- having regard to EU Regulation 656/2014: establishing rules for the surveillance of the external sea borders in the context of operational cooperation coordinated by the European Agency for the Management of Operational Cooperation at the External Borders of the Member States of the European Union,
Amendment 10 #
Motion for a resolution
Citation 22 a (new)
Citation 22 a (new)
- having regard to the Council Conclusions on the EU Action Plan on Human Rights and Democracy 2020- 2024, and the annexed EU Action Plan on Human Rights and Democracy 2020- 2024, as agreed by the Council on 17 November 2020,
Amendment 11 #
Motion for a resolution
Citation 22 b (new)
Citation 22 b (new)
- having regard to the Joint Communication to the European Parliament and the Council for the EU Gender Action Plan (GAP) III {SWD(2020) 284 final},
Amendment 16 #
Motion for a resolution
Citation 29 a (new)
Citation 29 a (new)
- having regard to the Malta Declaration by the members of the European Council on the external aspects of migration: addressing the Central Mediterranean route of 3 February 2017,
Amendment 21 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital A
Recital A
A. whereas migration is a global phenomenon amplified by globalisation, rising conflicts, inequalities, and climate disruption; whereas gradual, normative development within the modern international human rights framework of the rights of migrants, independently of their legal status, represents a source of progress and collective pride for humanity; whereas migrants remain and - in particular - forcibly displaced persons, however, among the most vulnerable and disadvantaged groups worldwide and continue to face violations of their rights; whereas migration continues to be for many individuals a human journey marred by suffering, discrimination and violence; whereas the European Union, as a historic region of both emigration and immigration and, as a community united by founding values of human dignity, freedom and human rights and as one of the worlds’ largest donors promoting sustainable development, supporting displaced persons and working through multilateral forums towards finding durable solutions, has a particular duty to respect, protect and promote the rights of migrants, notably in its external dealings;
Amendment 31 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital B
Recital B
Amendment 41 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital D
Recital D
D. whereas since 2016 the EU hasand some Member States, such as France, Greece, Italy and Spain, have multiplied the number of informal agreements and arrangements on return and readmission with third countries, including Joint Migration Declarations, Memoranda of Understanding, Joint Ways Forward, Standard Operating Procedures and Good Practices as well as police cooperation agreements ; whereas, similarly to formal readmission agreements, such informal arrangements affirm states’ commitments to readmitting their nationals (or others) and establish procedures to carry out returns in practice; whereas since 2016, the EU has concluded at least 11 informal agreements but only one new readmission agreement;
Amendment 42 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital D a (new)
Recital D a (new)
Amendment 44 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital E
Recital E
E. whereas in its communication on the new Pact on Migration and Asylum of 23 September 2020, the Commission reiterated that in the framework of comprehensive partnerships with third countries migration should be built in as a core issue and linked to other policies, such as those relating to development cooperation, security, visas, trade, agriculture, investment and employment, energy, environment and climate change and educationstresses the importance to develop and deepen tailor-made comprehensive and balanced migration dialogues and partnerships with countries of origin and transit complemented by engagement at the regional and global level ;
Amendment 51 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital F a (new)
Recital F a (new)
F a. whereas the EU Gender Action Plan III commits the EU to ensuring that "the human rights of migrant women and girls are fully realised through gender- responsive migration policies, programmes and laws, and gender- responsive migration governance at global, regional and national levels reinforced";
Amendment 56 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital H
Recital H
H. whereas UN human rights experts, NGOs and civil society organisations warned that the COVID-19 pandemic is having serious and disproportionate effects on migrants and their families globally; whereas they have called on states to protect the rights of migrants and their families, regardless of their migration status, both during and after the pandemic;
Amendment 61 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 2
Paragraph 2
2. Stresses that these obligations require not only the abstract recognition of the applicability of the relevant standards, but also an appropriate operationalisation through detailed and specific instruments that allow for effective protection and safeguards in practice as well as through a human rights- based approach to the entire migration policy cycle, from formulation to adoption, implementation, monitoring and evaluation;
Amendment 64 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 3
Paragraph 3
3. Recalls that, in compliance with Article 3(5) and 21 TEU, the EU and, when applying EU law, the Member States, in their external and extraterritorial actions in the areas of migration, borders and asylum, should pay specific attention toall respect the rights enshrined in the Charter of Fundamental Rights, including the right to life, the right to liberty, the right to asylum, human dignity and security, the protection from enforced disappearance, the prohibition of ill- treatment, torture, slavery and forced labour, the right to the protection of personal data, protection in the event of removal, expulsion or extradition and the obligation to take the interests of the child as a primary consideration, as well as adopting a gender-sensitive approach, and to ensure non-discrimination and procedural guarantees such as the right to an effective remedy and data protection;
Amendment 80 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 4
Paragraph 4
4. Observes that the Commission has yet to evaluate the impact of the implementation of its successive migration policy frameworks, notably the GAMM and the new Partnership Framework, on the human rights of TCNs as well as the human rights impact of the EU’s cooperation on migration with third countries, including the impact of EU’s support for partner countries’ border and security forces; insists on the need to carry out such an evaluation in a comprehensive, inclusive and public format with a view to ensuring the full human rights compliance of the EU’s external migration policy including with regards to the Facility for Refugees in Turkey in the framework of the EU-Turkey statement and the EUTF;
Amendment 85 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 5
Paragraph 5
5. Notes with great concern the absence of operational, reporting, monitoring, evaluation and accountability mechanisms at the level of individual cases to track and respond to potential violations, as well as the lack of effective judicial remedies for persons whose rights are allegedly violated as a consequence of EU and EU agencies cooperation with third countries, especially in the case of informal agreements and financial cooperation;
Amendment 92 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 6
Paragraph 6
6. Calls for the EU to ensure that readmission agreements and agreements for cooperation on border management are only concluded with third countries that explicitly commit to respecting human rights and the rights enshrined in the UN Refugee Convention, and to ensure that such cooperation does not lead to violations of those rights and offers operational means to nullify these agreements, seek effective remedy and ensure accountability should such violations occur;
Amendment 95 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 6 a (new)
Paragraph 6 a (new)
Amendment 102 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 7
Paragraph 7
7. Calls on the Commission to ensure ex ante risk assessments, performed by independent agencies, on the impact of any formal, informal or financial EU cooperation with third countries on the rights of migrants and refugees and on the resilience and livelihood of communities in the regions of intervention – in particular in border regions, as well as human security, peace and stability, with a specific focus on women; calls on the Commission to set implementation guidelines for EU agencies and Member States before entering into cooperation with third countries; calls in this respect for particular vigilance in relation to countries which are experiencing ongoing or frozen conflicts and face increased risks of human rights violations;
Amendment 110 #
8. Calls on the Commission to establish an independent, transparent and effective monitoring mechanism, which entails periodic reports on the implementation of formal, informal and financial agreements with third countries that can potentially impact the rights of migrants and refugees in third countrieand human rights defenders and civil society in-country working to defend these rights, such as migration partnerships, readmission agreements, and international cooperation on migration management and governance, including direct targeting of challenges connected to migration and forced displacement; stresses that such a monitoring mechanism has to be transparent, participatory for civil society and field workers, and publicly available; insists on the need to ensure means for civil society and other interested stakeholders to be able to contribute to the work of the mechanism; insits that such a system should contribute to ensuring accountability for potential human rights vioalations, including unlawful push backs violating the principle of non- refoulement; insists that such a monitoring mechanism will assess the implementation of agreements strictly on the basis of international law, the EU Charter and the Sustainable Development Goals;
Amendment 112 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 8
Paragraph 8
8. Calls on the Commission to establish an independent, transparent and effective monitoring mechanism on the basis of international law, the European Charter and the Sustainable Development Goals, which entails periodic reports on the implementation of formal, informal and financial agreements that can potentially impact the rights of migrants and refugees in third countries, such as migration partnerships, readmission agreements, and international cooperation on migration management and governance, including direct targeting of challenges connected to migration and forced displacement; stresses that such a monitoring mechanism has to be transparent, participatory for civil society and field workers, and publicly available; insists on the need to ensure means for civil society and other interested stakeholders to be able to contribute to the work of the mechanism;
Amendment 117 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 10
Paragraph 10
10. Notes that the implementation and funding of the EU’s external migration policy is assigned to different Commission Directorates-General and mainstreamed across the EU’s migration, and asylum, policy, as well as development and foreign policies without a designated lead institutional actorhen it comes to address the root causes of migration; notes with concern that this blending of executive responsibilities has created a lack of sufficient and coherent oversight of the Commission’s activities that would enable Parliament to exert democratic control over the EU’s external migration policy and exercise budgetary authority over development funds; urges the Commission to designate a single lead institutional interlocu, insists on the importance to ensure coherence, synergies and complementarities in order tor at Commissioner level on the external dimension of migrationvoid overlap between the different tools. ;
Amendment 118 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 10
Paragraph 10
10. Notes that the implementation and funding of the EU’s external migration policy is assigned to different Commission Directorates-General and mainstreamed across the EU’s migration, asylum, development and foreign policies without a designated lead institutional actor; notes with concern that this blending of executive responsibilities has created a lack of sufficient and coherent oversight of the Commission’s activities that would enable Parliament to exert democratic control over the EU’s external migration policy and exercise budgetary authority over development funds; urges the Commission to designate a single lead institutional interlocutor at Commissioner level on the external dimension of migration;
Amendment 125 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 11
Paragraph 11
11. Highlights with great concern the practical human rights implications stemming from the increasing number, and hence the extrajudicial nature, of informal arrangements on return and readmission, which are concluded in the absence of due democratic scrutiny and parliamentary oversight and are not subject to judicial scrutiny; calls on the Commission to prioritise the conclusion of formal readmission agreements, thus ensuring full respect for Article 218(6) TEU, and to ensure that formal EU Readmission Agreements (EURAs) exclude the application of informal agreements; believes that Parliament must assess the legality of informal agreements which include commitments on issues that fall within its competencies, such as readmission, and must be ready to undertake further action including suspension if these informal agreements appear to be incompatible with the Treaties;
Amendment 129 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 12
Paragraph 12
12. Highlights with great concern the increased role of the European Border and Coast Guard Agency in practical and operational cooperation with third countries, including on return and readmission, provision of training, operational and technical assistance to authorities of third countries for the purpose of border management and border control, carrying out operations or joint operations at the EU’s external borders or in the territories of third countries, and deploying liaison officers and operational staff in third countries; calls on the Commission to establish an independent, transparent and effective monitoring mechanism on all activities carried out by the European Border and Coast Guard Agency, in addition to the internal complaint mechanism in place;
Amendment 136 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 12 a (new)
Paragraph 12 a (new)
12 a. Recalls that also other EU actors implementing the external migration policy in the context of e.g. EU naval missions, are bound to applicable international law and that forwarding information to authorities of third countries that ultimately result in the unlawful return of migrants and refugees to unsafe countries, can be considered under international law as assisting in human rights violations;
Amendment 139 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 13
Paragraph 13
13. Recalls that ad hoc Status Agreements, to be approved by the European Parliament, are required for the deployment of the European Border and Coast Guard Agency’s border management teams to a third country where the members of the teams will exercise executive powers; regrets that the two status agreements concluded to date do not include specific measures for the operationalisation of human rights as part of border management, and also fail to clearly regulate accountability for potential human rights violations or ensure that material support and training to third countries is not given to perpetrators of human rights violations, and calls for any future status agreements to include such measures;
Amendment 150 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 15
Paragraph 15
15. Calls for the extension of the mandate of the Fundamental Rights Agency to allow it to exercise an advisory role in the external dimension of EU asylum and migration policies and its effective and independent involvement in monitoring exercises; calls for the development of relevant tools and guidelines by the Fundamental Rights Agency;
Amendment 164 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 16
Paragraph 16
16. Notes with concern the increasing recourse since 2016 to enhanced conditionality between development cooperation and migration management, including return and readmission; stresses, howeverunderlines that the use of development aid to promote the EU’s own objectives and goals in partner countries may contradict the rules and definition of Official Development Aid as defined by the OECD DAC as well as the Development Aid Effectiveness Principles; stresses, in that regard, that according to Article 208 TFEU the primary objective of Union development cooperation policy shall be the reduction and, in the long term, the eradication of poverty; calls, therefore, on the Commission to ensure that policies on development cooperation do not contravene the principles enshrined in Article 208 TFEU; stresses that the use of development cooperation as an incentive for migration management undermines meaningful action on the needs of people in developing countries, the rights of refugees and migrants, and their potential impact on regional migration patterns and contribution to local economies, and thus also undermines a wide range of rights stemming from the Sustainable Development Goals;
Amendment 165 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 16
Paragraph 16
16. Notes with concern the increasing recourse since 2016 to enhanced conditionality between development cooperation and migration management, including return and readmission; stresses, however, that according to Article 208 TFEU the primary objective of Union development cooperation policy shall be the reduction and, in the long term, the eradication of poverty; calls, therefore, on the Commission to ensure that policies on development cooperation do not contravene the principles enshrined in Article 208 TFEU; stresses that the use of development cooperation as an incentive for migration management undermines meaningful action on the needs of people in developing countries, the rights of refugees and migrants, and their potential impact on regional migration patterns and contribution to local economies, and thus also undermines a wide range of rights stemming from the Sustainable Development Goals; stresses that visa issuing and development programmes should not be subject to cooperation on readmissions; stresses that cooperation and development budget should not be used for the purpose of border management and/or migration control;
Amendment 179 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 17
Paragraph 17
17. Notes that a complete, public overview of EU funding to third countries to facilitate cooperation on migration issues remains unavailable; calls on the Commission to provide improved transparency, including by establishing a clear overview of the funds used to finance cooperation with third countries in the field of migration management across all its financial instruments and their implementation, including information on the amount, purpose and source of funding as well as detailed information on any other potential support measures provided by EU agencies such as the European Border and Coast Guard Agency, in order to ensure that Parliament can efficiently perform its institutional role of scrutiny of the implementation of the EU budget; stresses to suspend any kind of budgetary support and training to the border authorities of third countries which, in this way, proceed with push backs by proxy in violation of the principle of non- refoulement (for example Libya, Tunisia, Morocco) and of Art.13 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights;
Amendment 189 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 18
Paragraph 18
18. Stresses the importance of allocating a substantial share of future EU funding in the field of migration to civil society and community based groups in third countries for providing assistance and for the protection and monitoring of the rights of migrants, supporting forcibly displaced persons and their host communities, reaping the benefits of well- managed and orderly migration, and of ensuring that a significant part of EU funding is earmarked for the improvement of human rights, international protection, and the future perspective of refugeesolutions for refugees and migrants;
Amendment 199 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 19
Paragraph 19
Amendment 200 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 19
Paragraph 19
19. Notes that the possibilities of mainstreaming migration policy in EU external policy are significantly broadened by the inclusion of migration in the thematic, geographical and rapid response component of the proposed Neighbourhood, Development, International Cooperation Instrument (NDICI); notes with concern, however, that through the ‘rapid response’ component, cooperation with third countries on migration management can be funded without the need for the Commission to publish any programming documents or consult civil society actors, and without the involvement of Parliament, including in the framework of the ‘Migration Preparedness and Crisis Blueprint’, which lacks mechanisms to assess the possible adverse impact of such interventions; insists in this regard on the need to ensure that the 2021- 2027 Multiannual Financial Framework is accompanied by a robust human rights framework for the identification, implementation and monitoring of future migration cooperation programmes, as to link the EU financial disbursement to human rights obligations;
Amendment 204 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 20
Paragraph 20
20. Calls on the Commission to regularly and publicly report to Parliament on the funding of migration-related cooperation programmes in third countries, the ways in which such funding has been used by partner countries and their human rights impact, including within the framework of the working group on external financial instruments of the Committee on Foreign Affairs;
Amendment 205 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 21
Paragraph 21
21. Believes that Parliament must make full use of its powers of implementation, scrutiny and budgetary control and auditing procedures before the European Court of Auditors and ensure that EU funding decisions and related allocations comply with the Union’s principles of legality and sound financial management;
Amendment 213 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 22
Paragraph 22
22. Recalls the commitment of the EU and its Member States under the Global Compact on Refugees to share responsibility for the effective and comprehensive protection of refugees and ease the pressure on host countries; stresses in this regard that the EU and its Member States should increase resettlement pledges and step up to legal pathways and contribute to a more structural and substantial funding of the regioncommunities and countries hosting most refugees, and should not use financial means to shift responsibility for the protection of refugees to third countries; calls on the EU and its Member States for increasing resettlement allocations and for working to prevent forced refugee returns from hosting countries; reiterates the importance of fully implementing the 23 objectives of the Global Compact for Safe, Orderly and Regular Migration; believes that Parliament must ensure the proper scrutiny of the implementation of both Compacts by the EU;
Amendment 217 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 23
Paragraph 23
Amendment 223 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 24
Paragraph 24
24. Calls for the EU to carry out a global campaign to support universal ratification of the Geneva Convention relating to the Status of Refugees and its 1967 protocol; urges Member States to lead by example by adhering to the UN Convention on the Rights of Migrant Workers, as one of the core UN human rights conventions;
Amendment 224 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 24 a (new)
Paragraph 24 a (new)
24 a. Calls for the EU to work together with concerned countries to identify and implement mitigation and adaptation solutions for communities at risk of being uprooted by the global climate crisis, and to promote multilateral cooperation on durable solutions for those who are eventually displaced;