Activities of Marietta GIANNAKOU related to 2013/2147(INI)
Shadow reports (1)
REPORT on Saudi Arabia, its relations with the EU and its role in the Middle East and North Africa PDF (209 KB) DOC (108 KB)
Amendments (23)
Amendment 2 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital A
Recital A
A. whereas the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (KSA) is an influential political, economic and religious actor in the Middle East and the Islamic world, the world´s leading oil producer, and a founder and leading member of the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) and of the G-20 group; whereas the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia is an important partner for the EU;
Amendment 12 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital C
Recital C
C. whereas KSA is a hereditary absolute monarchy without an elected parliament; whereas it faces the challenge of royal succession; whereas KSA has a population of 28 million, including 9 million foreigners and 10 million aged under 18; whereas some reforms have been implemented in KSA since 2001, but are not still institutionalised and can thus be easily reversed; whereas the country’s record in the field of human rights remains dismal, with fundamental gaps between its international obligation and their implementation;
Amendment 30 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital F
Recital F
F. whereas KSA plays a leading role in disseminating and promoting worldwide a particularly rigorous Salafi/Wahhabi interpretation of Islam; whereas the most extreme manifestations of Salafism/Wahhabism have inspired terrorist organisations such as Al-Qaeda and pose a global security threat, including for KSA itself; whereas KSA has developed a system to control financial transactions to ensure that no funds are being channelled into terrorist organisations, but no such control can be guaranteed regarding private charities or entities operating outside KSAwhich must be further reinforced;
Amendment 35 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital F a (new)
Recital F a (new)
Fa. whereas the imports of goods from the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia to the EU, and the exports of goods from the EU to the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia have increased considerably from 2010 to 2012;
Amendment 37 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital F b (new)
Recital F b (new)
Fb. whereas the opening of a dialogue between the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia and the EU on human rights could provide a very useful opportunity to enhance mutual understanding and promote further reforms in the country;
Amendment 38 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital F c (new)
Recital F c (new)
Fc. whereas a number of gradual judicial reforms were initiated in 2007 by King Abdullah when he approved the plan for new judicial system, including the establishment of a Supreme Court and special commercial, labour and administrative courts;
Amendment 39 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital F d (new)
Recital F d (new)
Fd. whereas on 12 November 2013 the United Nations General Assembly elected the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia to serve a three-years term, beginning on 1 January 2014, on the Human Rights Council;
Amendment 40 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital F e (new)
Recital F e (new)
Fe. whereas in 2011, through a voluntary contribution of the Government of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, the United Nations Secretariat was able to launch the United Nations Counter-Terrorism Centre;
Amendment 41 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 1
Paragraph 1
1. Recognises the interdependence between the EU and KSA in terms of regional stability, relations with the Islamic world, the fate of the transitions in the Arab Spring countries, the Israel-Palestine peace process, counter-terrorism, stability of the global oil and financial markets, trade, investment and global governance issues, especially through the G-20 framework;
Amendment 44 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 1 a (new)
Paragraph 1 a (new)
1a. Stresses again that the objective is a strategic partnership with the GCC and its member states; underlines that its geopolitical environment makes the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia and the other GCC member states a focus of security challenges that have global and regional implications;
Amendment 50 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 2 a (new)
Paragraph 2 a (new)
2a. Welcomes the contribution agreement to launch the United Nations Counter- Terrorism Centre signed by the United Nations and the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia on 19 September 2011, and the decision of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia to fund it for three years;
Amendment 62 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 4 a (new)
Paragraph 4 a (new)
4a. Calls on the Government of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia to honour its commitments to several human rights instruments, including the Arab Human Right Charter, the Convention on the Rights of the Child, the Convention against Torture, and the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women;
Amendment 70 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 6
Paragraph 6
6. Reiterates its call for the universal abolition of the death penalty and calls for an immediate moratorium on the carrying out of death sentences in KSA; regrets that KSA continues to apply the death penalty for a wide variety of crimes, including drug offences, apostasy, sorcery and witchcraft;
Amendment 76 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 7
Paragraph 7
7. Regrets that there is noCalls on the authorities of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia to respect freedom of religion in KSA; encourages the authorities to foster moderation and tolerance of religious diversity at all levels of the education system, including in religious establishments, as well as in the public discourse of officials and civil servants;
Amendment 85 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 9
Paragraph 9
9. Welcomes the King’s appointment in 2013 of the first women to serve in the Consultative Assembly (Shura council) of KSA, occupying 30 seats out of 150; expects the implementation of the King’s declaration that women will be allowed to vote and stand for office in the next municipal elections, to be held in 2015, and that they will subsequently be allowed to vote and stand for office in all other elections;
Amendment 86 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 10
Paragraph 10
Amendment 89 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 11
Paragraph 11
Amendment 97 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 12
Paragraph 12
12. Urges the authorities to revoke the medieval male guardianship system, and to take further steps aimed at lifting restrictions on women’s rights, including freedom of movement, employment opportunities, legal personality and representation in judicial processes, eliminating all forms of discrimination against women in private and public life and, promoting their participation in the economic, social, cultural and political spheres, and lifting the ban on women driving;
Amendment 112 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 14
Paragraph 14
14. Welcomes the first licences issued to women lawyers, but deplores the fact that the legal system is in the hands of male judges of religious background and asks for their further advancement in the judicial system; takes note of the gradual codification of the Sharia and urges that it be speeded up, since lack of codification and the judicial precedent tradition often result in considerable uncertainty in the scope and content of the country’s laws and in miscarriages of justice; asserts the crucial importance of securing judicial independence and adequate legal training for judges;
Amendment 129 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 16
Paragraph 16
16. Rejects the zero-sum game logic as a paradigm for international relations in the Middle East, since it fuels distrust, sectarian hatred and the arms race in the region, including the proliferation of weapons of mass destruction; in this connection, deplores the destabilising effects of arms sales by some EU Member States to KSA and other countries in the region; bBelieves that the solution to the region’s escalating security problems lies in establishing a common security framework, from which no country is excluded and in which the legitimate security interests of all countries are taken into consideration;
Amendment 140 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 17
Paragraph 17
17. Is concerned that KSA’s financial and political support for religious and political groups in North Africa may result in reinforcing fundamentalist and obscurantist forces that undermine efforts to create democratic governance and oppose the participation of women in public life; is further concerned that the unconditional political and financial support offered to the leaders of the military coup in Egypt is undermining the efforts of the EU to promote a peaceful and inclusive political solution to the Egyptian crisis;
Amendment 152 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 19
Paragraph 19
19. Calls on KSA to refrain from acting on the basis of a narrow sectarian-based zero-sum game logic regarding the Syrian conflict, and to contribute insteadcontribute to a peaceful, inclusive solution to the Syrian conflict, notably through support for the Geneva II talks, without preconditions; calls also for the more active involvement of KSA in humanitarian relief for victims of the Syrian civil war;
Amendment 168 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 22
Paragraph 22
22. Instructs its President to forward this resolution to the High Representative of the Union for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy/Vice-President of the European Commission (HR/VP), the Council, the Commission, the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, Crown Prince Abdullah Ibn Abdul Aziz, the Government and Consultative Council of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, and the Secretary-General of the Centre for National Dialogue of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia.