14 Amendments of Hilde VAUTMANS related to 2022/2154(INI)
Amendment 15 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital E
Recital E
E. whereas over 75 % of people live in non-democratic countries, which limits their basic human rights; whereas shrinking space for civil societya host of features of authoritarian regimes negatively influences the right to participate in genuine elections such as a shrinking space for civil society, voter intimidation, arbitrary disqualification of candidates and other forms of malicious interference by state authorities;
Amendment 21 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital F
Recital F
F. whereas the right to participate in genuine elections is not respected in autocratic and illiberal regimes, which conduct sham elections with the goal of entrenching their power; whereas such elections aredo not free and fairrepresent the true will of the people, lack real political contestation and place undue restrictions on the right to both vote and be elected;
Amendment 24 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital G a (new)
Recital G a (new)
Ga. whereas the EU should pay careful attention when choosing destinations to observe elections in order to avoid being seen as a legitimising force supporting the outcome of undemocratic elections;
Amendment 25 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital H
Recital H
H. whereas the weakening of judicial independence and the rule of law and the overall democratic backsliding in autocratic and illiberal regimes enable these regimes’ legitimisation strategies by removing effective checks on enforcement of repressive laws, control of media and malign interference over digital channels of communications;
Amendment 31 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital I
Recital I
I. whereas autocratic and illiberal regimes have developed new ways and mock-compliance strategies to overcome the costs of fully complying with international election observation standards without overtly denouncing them; whereas they are becoming increasingly well organised in their efforts to provide international legitimacy to each other’s fake elections; whereas these regimes contribute to the erosion of global trust in democratic institutions by copying, developing and multiplying fraudulent practices unchallenged;
Amendment 48 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 1 – point a
Paragraph 1 – point a
(a) design and implement more decisive EU actions to promote and protect the right to participate, which is a universal and fundamental human right, as part of a much broader strategy on human rights and democracy support;
Amendment 56 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 1 – point d
Paragraph 1 – point d
(d) acknowledge the severity of the difficulties that people living under autocratic and illiberal regimes have in accessing unbiasedfactual election-related information and discerning it from among regime-sponsored propaganda, including reliable information on candidates, voting preferences and the conduct of the election process, which inhibits their ability to understandresources to assess whether elections are truly competitive and whether citizens’ preferences are reflected in the results;
Amendment 63 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 1 – point f
Paragraph 1 – point f
(f) strengthen the link between election observation work and the EU’s wider support for human rights and democracy using both political and cooperation tools; consider authoritarian electoral legitimisation strategies as early symptoms of underlying non-democratic trends and react accordingly; counter authoritarian narratives that put security and democracy in contrast, thus limiting fundamental liberties under the pretext of state security,
Amendment 71 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 1 – point h
Paragraph 1 – point h
(h) recognise the crucial role of civil society in delegitimising fake elections in the eyes of local populations; support civil society organisations, human rights defenders and the media, including through capacity building and communications strategies, and by gathering data on violations of the right to participate in genuine elections; support, in particular, local elections observers, whose activities increase people’s belief that their right to participate in genuine elections will be respected and condemn in the strongest terms attacks against them;
Amendment 81 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 1 – point j
Paragraph 1 – point j
(j) make use of the EU’s cultural diplomacy and international cultural relations toolbox to strengthen the right to participate, to counter autocratic and illiberal regimes’ narratives attempting to legitimise fake elections and to strengthen a universal democratic culture in non-EU countries;
Amendment 88 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 1 – point l
Paragraph 1 – point l
(l) explore the possibility of introducing a standing invitation for election observation within the democratic clause in EU agreements, the Generalised Scheme of Preferences and equivalent mechanisms, given the current reluctance of many countries to send election observation invitations to the EU; support Parliament’s Democracy Support and Election Coordination Group and its work, especially in the framework of election observation;
Amendment 90 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 1 – point m
Paragraph 1 – point m
(m) include the outcomes of the EU’s election observation missions as an essential part of the overall framework for relations between the EU and the country concerned; include an adequate follow-up on the recommendations of the EU election observation missions with an increased involvement of the European Parliament;
Amendment 99 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 1 – point o
Paragraph 1 – point o
(o) use the EU Global Human Rights Sanctions Regime (the EU Magnitsky Act) for persons responsible for serious breaches of the right to participate and of democratic election standards;
Amendment 101 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 1 – point p
Paragraph 1 – point p
(p) recognise the role of the EU’s election observation missions and highlight the role of the European Parliament in providing evidence on whether elections are genuine and further improve this tool, including by strengthening its visibility; and condemning fake election observation missions;