Activities of Georgios EPITIDEIOS related to 2018/2098(INI)
Plenary speeches (1)
Annual report on human rights and democracy in the world 2017 and the European Union’s policy on the matter (debate) EL
Amendments (15)
Amendment 84 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 2
Paragraph 2
2. Stresses the vital and central role played by human rights defenders and NGOvarious bodies in promoting and supporting the application of the fundamental rights enshrined in the core international human rights treaties; underlines, in this respect, the importance of the EU’s capacity to maintain support, through the European Instrument for Democracy and Human Rights (EIDHR), for human rights defenders and NGOs in situations where theyse rights are most at risk, while devoting special attention to the ProtectDefenders.eu mechanism;
Amendment 88 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 3
Paragraph 3
3. Welcomes the EU’s active participation in the UN Human Rights Council (UNHRC), which has seen it sponsor and co-sponsor resolutions, issue statements, intervene in interactive dialogues and debates, and call for special sessions on the situation regarding human rights; recognises the EU’s commitments to addressing country situations in the UNHRC; stresses not only the importance of the EU’s engagecommitment into dialogue and cooperation on human rights at a multilateral level, but also its ability to oblige even those countries that are currently violating them to protect them; fully supports the UNHRC’s activities and engagement when defending human rights worldwide;
Amendment 96 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 4
Paragraph 4
4. Praises the work done by the EU’s Special Representative for Human Rights (EUSR), Stavros Lambrinidis, in increasing the effectiveness, cohesion and visibility of human rights in EU foreign policy and recalls its request for his mandate to be made permanent; welcomes the recent approach on the EU’s Good Human Rights Stories initiative, which focuses on the best practices employed by various countries;
Amendment 107 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 8
Paragraph 8
8. Acknowledges that the EU Human Rights Dialogues (HRDs) constitute a valuable mixed diplomacy tool for the promotion of human rights and democracy in bilateral relations with third countries; notes, however, the enduring obstacles to the achievement of concrete results via HRDs, such as the prevalence of double standards, a lack of a unified stance and divergent interests among the Member State; calls on the Commission to seek ways to make human rights dialogues more effective and meaningful and to react swiftly when they are not constructive, by utilising political dialogue or public diplomacy, in order to keep human rights concerns high on the political agenda; calls therefore on the Commission to maintain a firm stance on the issue of the protection of human rights, not to be swayed by political considerations and, above all, to avoid forging and maintaining trade relations with countries which violate these rights; encourages the Commission to use clear benchmarks for the purposes of evaluating the success of each dialogue; advises the EU institutions, moreover, to provide adequate training on human rights for EU delegation officials and staff;
Amendment 142 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 13
Paragraph 13
13. Denounces the fact that media freedom had never been so threatened as it was in 2017; reiterates the importance of freedom of expression, both online and offline, as it fosters a culture of pluralism; strongly condemns the actions of many States that maintain this unacceptable situation with threats, intimidation and attacks against journalists, independent media, bloggers and whistle-blowers, as well as hate speech, defamation laws and incitements to violence, as they constitute a threat to the rule of law and the values embodied by human rights defenders; believes that the free expression of legitimate and peaceful grievances must be allowed;
Amendment 180 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 16
Paragraph 16
16. Reaffirms that freedom of thought, conscience, religion and belief, and the rights to apostasy and to espouse atheistic views, must be enhanced unconditionally through interreligious and intercultural dialogue; condemns the persecution of and attacks against ethnic and religious groups in 2017; deplores the attempts by state actors to limit freedom of religion and belief and freedom of expression by adopting and implementing without the necessary scrutiny blasphemy laws, among other means; requests that further action be taken to protect religious minorities, non- believers and atheists, including the victims of blasphemy laws, and calls for the EU and its Member States to increase their engagement in political discussions to repeal such laws; supports the EU’s efforts to implement the Guidelines on the promotion and protection of freedom of religion or belief;
Amendment 191 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 18
Paragraph 18
18. Strongly condemns all heinous crimes and human rights violations committed by state and non-state actors; urges the EU and its Member States to fight crimes of genocide, crimes against humanity and war crimes, and to ensure that their perpetrators are brought to justice; calls for the EU to provide support for organisations that collect, keep and protect evidence – digital or otherwise – of the crimes committed by any parties to these conflicts, in order to facilitate their prosecution at an international level; in order to maintain the credibility of the aforementioned, but also to further the above purposes, it is necessary to avoid creating and displaying false or disputed evidence in this connection; supports the key role played by the International Criminal Court (ICC) in cases where the states concerned are unable or unwilling to exercise their jurisdiction; calls on all the signatories of the Rome Statute to coordinate and cooperate with the ICC; reiterates its call for the VP/HR to appoint an EUSR on International Humanitarian Law and International Justice with a mandate to promote, mainstream and represent the EU’s commitment to the fight against impunity;
Amendment 216 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 20
Paragraph 20
20. Stresses that corruption undermines the rule of law, democracy and the competitiveness of economies, and puts human rights at risk; calls for improvements to anti-corruption mechanisms and practices, such as the imposition of sanctions on those individuals and countries that continue to commit serious corruption offences, despite the EU's constant appeals not to do so; calls on the EEAS and the Commission to devise joint programming on human rights and the fight against corruption, in particular initiatives for improving transparency, fighting impunity and strengthening anti- corruption agencies;
Amendment 223 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 21
Paragraph 21
21. Considers that the support the EU provides for electoral processes and democracy around the world – its electoral missions and subsequent follow-up, its electoral assistance and, in particular, the active role played by Parliament in this regard – is of the utmost importance; stresses the importance of electoral observation in the context of peaceful democratic transitions, of strengthening the rule of law, of political pluralism and increasing the participation of women inof the balanced composition of the missions that monitor the electoral processes, and of transparency and respect for human rights;
Amendment 261 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 23
Paragraph 23
23. Notes with appreciation the adoption of the revised EU Guidelines for the Promotion and Protection of the Rights of the Child; underlines the fact that children are often exposed deliberately to specific abuses of their rights, such as child marriage, genital mutilation and child labour, especially in humanitarian crises and armed conflicts, and therefore requirey must therefore be given enhanced protection; stresses the need to step up the EU’s engagement when it comes to addressing the protection of children, including unaccompanied minors, and to devote particular attention to education and, their psycho-social support and their smooth and controlled integration in societies;
Amendment 289 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 24
Paragraph 24
24. Calls on the EU and its Member States to establish full transparency as regards the funds allocated to third countries for cooperation on migration and to ensure that such cooperation should not benefit, either directly or indirectly, security, police and justice systems involved in human rights violations; warns against the instrumentalisation of EU foreign policy as ‘migration management’ and emphasises that all attempts to work with third countries on migration must go hand in hand with improving human rights conditions within these countries; calls onfor the Commission to continue to treat the protection and promotion of the rights ofEuropean Parliament to have oversight over migration agreements so that migrants cand refugees as a priority in its policies; insists on the need to develop and better implement protection frameworks for fairly be distributed in all EU countries and the rights of legal migrants; calls for the European Parliament to have oversight of migration agreementn be protected and in order to prevent their case being politically exploited by EU Member States;
Amendment 305 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 25
Paragraph 25
25. Denounces and explicitly rejects trafficking in human beings; underlines the fact that trafficking in human beings is a modern kind of slavery, and a serious crime which constitutes one of the worst forms of human rights violations; emphasises, in this respect, the importance of a consistent approach to the internal and external dimensions of the EU’s policies for combating trafficking in human beings; calls for the EU and the Member States to increase cooperation with third countries in order to investigate all stages of trafficking in human beings and for strict penalties to be introduced for traffickers;
Amendment 336 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 29
Paragraph 29
29. Strongly condemns all forms of discrimination, including that carried out on the grounds of race, gender, sexual orientation, disability or any other status; is alarmed by the many manifestations of racism, xenophobia and other forms of intolerance and a lack of political representation for the most vulnerable groups, such as ethnic, linguistic and religious minorities, people with disabilities, the LGBTI community, women and children; calls for the EU to enhance its efforts to eradicate, without distinction, all forms of discrimination and to promote awareness, a culture of tolerance and inclusion, and special protection for the most vulnerable groups by means of human rights and political dialogues,, age or political or political choice; calls for the EU to enhance its efforts to eradicate, without distinction, all forms of discrimination and to promote the work of EU delegations and public diplomacy; calls on all countries to ensure that their respective institutions provide effective legal protection within their jurisdictions;
Amendment 358 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 30
Paragraph 30
30. Condemns the arbitrary detention for any reason, torture, persecution and killings of LGBTI people; acknowledges that sexual identity and gender identity can increase the risk of discrimination; notes that in a number of countries around the world, LGBTI people still face persecution and violence on the basis of their sexual orientpersons who are the subject of the abovementioned discrimination; notes that 72 countries still criminalise same-sex relationships and urges these states to immediately change their legislation; welcomes the EU’s efforts to improve the rights of and legal protection for these people and calls on the Commission to carry out annual reporting on the implementation of Council conclusions to this end;
Amendment 375 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 32
Paragraph 32
32. Recognises that terrorism and radicalisation pose acuteconstitutes a very serious threats to democracy and human rights and regrets the fact that the attacks perpetrated in 2017 often targeted the very individuals or groups who embody these values; supports the EU’s efforts to combat terrorism and radicalisation, including EU-wide initiatives and networks such as the Radicalisation Awareness Network, but reiterates that all efforts must comply with international human rights laws; calls on the Commission to develop a better exchange and coordination of information via its channels and agencies in order to swiftly prevent, identify and bring to justice terrorist threats;