21 Amendments of Malin BJÖRK related to 2017/2122(INI)
Amendment 20 #
Motion for a resolution
Citation 18 a (new)
Citation 18 a (new)
- having regard to the Guidelines to Promote and Protect the Enjoyment of All Human Rights by Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender and Intersex (LGBTI) Persons, adopted by the Council on 24 June 2013,
Amendment 42 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital C
Recital C
C. whereas the protection of the human rights of the most vulnerable groups, such as ethnic, linguistic and religious minorities, LGBTI persons, women, children, asylum-seekers and migrants deserves special attention;
Amendment 43 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital C a (new)
Recital C a (new)
C a. whereas human rights violations such as torture and inhuman treatment, hate crimes, forced disappearances, violation of bodily integrity, and many other violations continue to be a cause for serious concern;
Amendment 46 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital C b (new)
Recital C b (new)
C b. whereas states have the ultimate responsibility to safeguard all human rights of people through enacting and implementing international human rights treaties and conventions, monitoring human rights violations and ensuring effective remedy for victims;
Amendment 53 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital E
Recital E
E. whereas freedom of thought, conscience, religion and belief must be enhanced unconditionallycould be preserved through interreligious and intercultural dialogue;
Amendment 62 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital G
Recital G
G. whereas placing a high value on freedom and the principle of holding periodic and genuine elections, as well as protecting the fundamental rights to freedom of assembly and expression, are essential elements of democracy;
Amendment 129 #
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; 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, including when they are used to silence minority groups, and to rapidly and systematically condemn such limitations; emphasises the importance of ensuring the effective implementation of the EU Guidelines on Freedom of Expression Online and Offline and of regularly monitoring their impact; 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 130 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 8 a (new)
Paragraph 8 a (new)
8 a. Strongly condemns increasing restrictions on freedom of assembly and association of opposition movements or minority group events, such as Pride marches, in some cases with violent responses from authorities against protesters;reaffirms the crucial role of these fundamental freedoms in the functioning of democratic societies and the responsibility of states in ensuring such rights are upheld and participants protected;calls on EU delegations, relevant institutions, bodies and individuals to take an active role in promoting these rights in line with international human rights standards;
Amendment 136 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 9
Paragraph 9
9. Is deeply concerned that civil society is increasingly under attack worldwide; recalls that independent civil society plays an essential role in the defence and advancement of human rights and in the functioning of democratic societies; calls for the EU and its Member States to constantly monitor and raise cases of violations of freedom of assembly and association, including the various forms of bans and limitations on civil society organisations (CSOs) and their activities through restrictive legislation, heavy administrative burdens, monitoring or other means that inhibit the functioning of the organisations; calls, in addition, for the EU and its Member States to use all available means, such as human rights dialogues, political dialogues and public diplomacy, to systematically raise individual cases of human rights defenders (HRDs) and civil society activists at risk, particularly those in prison;
Amendment 150 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 11
Paragraph 11
11. Considers it deeply regrettable that torture, ill-treatment and the death penalty continue all over the world, and against dissenting members of society and against vulnerable groups, such as ethnic, linguistic and religious minorities, LGBTI persons, women, children, asylum seekers and migrants; 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;
Amendment 154 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 11 a (new)
Paragraph 11 a (new)
11 a. Condemns violations of bodily integrity against women as well as minority groups which are in breach of the fundamental right to bodily integrity and identity, such as female genital mutilation (FGM), intersex genital mutilations, forced sterilisation of people belonging to ethnic minority groups and people with disabilities;calls on states to outlaw these practices, address perpetrators and support victims;highlights that transgender people are psychopathologised and subjected to forced sterilisation in order to obtain legal recognition of their gender identity;calls on states to establish fast, accessible and transparent procedures for legal gender recognition, based on self-determination only and to depathologise trans identities in accordance to the ICD-11;
Amendment 162 #
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 all women and girls, including violence based on sexual orientation, gender identity and sex characteristics, in this connection;
Amendment 168 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 12 a (new)
Paragraph 12 a (new)
12 a. Welcomes the signing of the Istanbul Convention on preventing and combating violence against women and domestic violence by the European Union;highlights the importance of fighting against gender-based violence in the countries of the Council of Europe and beyond;calls on the EU and Member States to ratify the Istanbul Convention as soon as possible;calls on the EU, EU delegations and Member States to mainstream the fight against gender- based violence and violence against women, including lesbian and bisexual women and transgender and intersex people, in their work with third countries;
Amendment 189 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 14
Paragraph 14
14. Condemns in the strongest terms all forms of discrimination, including on grounds of race, colour, religion, gender, sexual orientation, gender identity, gender expression, sex characteristics, language, culture, social origin, caste, birth, age, disability or any other status; stresses that the EU should intensify its efforts to eradicate all types of discrimination, racism and xenophobia through human rights and political dialogues, the work of the EU delegations and public diplomacy; stresses, in addition, that the EU should continue promoting the ratification and full implementation of all UN conventions that support this cause;
Amendment 212 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 17
Paragraph 17
17. Reiterates its support for the introduction of human rights clauses in international agreements between the EU and third countries; recalls that all human rights must be considered of equal value, being indivisible, interdependent and interrelated; 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 216 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 18
Paragraph 18
18. Reaffirms the fact that the activities of all companies, including European ones, operating in third countries should be 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; emphasises that European enterprises should serve as examples of good practice by enforcing within their workforce and across vertical and horizontal value chains equal treatment and suitable support for women and minorities, such as ethnic, linguistic and religious minorities, LGBTI people, people with disabilities, children, asylum seekers and migrants; acknowledges 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 261 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 23
Paragraph 23
23. Expresses profound concern at and solidarity with the large number of asylum seekers, refugees and migrants who suffer grave human rights violations as the victims of conflicts, persecution, governance failures and illegal migration, trafficking and smuggling networks; 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 by developing cooperation and partnerships with the third countries concerned, while keeping in sight the importance of ensuring the respect of human rights in those countries; underlines the need for a comprehensive human-rights-based approach to migration and calls for the EU to collaborate further with the UN, regional organisations, governments and NGOs; in the meantime calls on Member States to respect and fully implement the adopted common European asylum package and the common migration legislation, particularly to safeguard vulnerable asylum seekers, such as women as well as LGBTI people, against violence, discrimination and re-traumatisation during the asylum process; calls on Member States to recognise that specific vulnerabilities of LGBTI people must be considered in classifying whether a country is “safe”, and to factor this into decisions on applications, country placements and deportation; calls for specific medical needs to be unconditionally provided for throughout the migration and asylum process, especially for particularly vulnerable populations, including women as well as trans and intersex people and people with disabilities; calls on the EASO to provide appropriate training to Member States to enable appropriate and sensible proceedings; calls on Member States to recognise the gender identity of trans asylum seekers already in asylum proceedings; calls on Member States to participate in resettlement programmes, giving access to family reunification and granting humanitarian visas;
Amendment 289 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 25
Paragraph 25
25. Considers that the EU should continue its efforts to enhance respect for the human rights of LGBTI people, in line with the EU Guidelines on the topic; recommends that the Guidelines be implementedcalls for the full implementation of the Guidelines, including through the training of EU staff in third countries; regrets that 72 countries still criminalise homosexuality, 13 of which have the death penalty, and believes that practices and acts of violence against individuals on the basis of their sexual orientation, gender identity or sex characteristics, such as forced outings, hate crimes and hate speech both online and offline, corrective rape, and intersex genital mutilations should not go unpunished;
Amendment 314 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 30
Paragraph 30
30. Expresses its conviction that the revised European neighbourhood policy should continue to have the promotection, promotion and implementation of human rights and democratic principles at its core; reiterates the fact that the promotection, promotion and implementation of human rights and democracy are in the interest of both partner countries and the EU;
Amendment 330 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 38
Paragraph 38
38. Reiterates its view that the adoption of the EU Strategic Framework and the first Action Plan on Human Rights and Democracy in 2012 constituted a major milestone for the EU in placing human rights and democracy at the core of its external relations; welcomes the adoption by the Council in July 2015 of a new Action Plan on Human Rights and Democracy for 2015-2019 and the performance of a mid-term review in 2017; calls on the VP/HR, the EEAS, the Commission, the Council and the Member States to ensure the efficient and coherent implementation of the current Action Plan, including through genuine collaboration with civil society organisations; stresses that the Member States should report back on how they have implemented the Plan; draws particular attention to the importance of increasing the effectiveness and maximising the local impact of the tools used to promote respect for human rights and democracy worldwide;
Amendment 332 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 39
Paragraph 39
39. Reiterates its view that a solid consensus and enhanced coordination between Member States and the EU institutions, as well as genuine collaboration with civil society organisations at local, national and international level, is required in order to advance the human rights and democracy agenda coherently and consistently; stresses firmly that Member States should take greater ownership of the implementation of the Action Plan and the EU Strategic Framework and use them as a blueprint for promoting human rights and democracy bilaterally and multilaterally;