Activities of Maria Gabriela ZOANĂ related to 2017/2270(INL)
Shadow opinions (1)
OPINION with recommendations to the Commission on Humanitarian Visas
Amendments (18)
Amendment 5 #
Draft opinion
Recital A
Recital A
A. whereas gender is a ground forpersecution on the basis of a person’s gender constitutes a ground for seeking and being granted international protection under the 1951 UN Convention relating to the status of Refugees and its 1967 Protocol (the Refugee Convention) as well as under different international and EU legal frameworks, including the Istanbul Convention, and women worldwide are affected disproportionately by sexual and others forms of gender-based violence;
Amendment 9 #
Draft opinion
Recital A a (new)
Recital A a (new)
Aa. whereas in current refugee crisis, single women travelling alone or with children, women heads of household, pregnant and lactating women, people with disabilities, adolescent girls and elderly women are among those who are particularly vulnerable along migration routes to Europe and are facing particular greater risks of gender-based violence;
Amendment 11 #
Draft opinion
Recital A b (new)
Recital A b (new)
Ab. whereas according to the International Organisation for Migration (IOM) statistics, since 2014 more than 15 thousand migrants have lost their lives or gone missing on the way to Europe in the Mediterranean; and whereas the Central Mediterranean remained the most deadly route with nearly two deaths for every 100 travellers in 2015, which is unacceptable;
Amendment 13 #
Draft opinion
Recital A c (new)
Recital A c (new)
Ac. whereas the Istanbul Convention, in particular its Article 60, requires the parties to take necessary legislative or other measures to ensure that gender- based violence against women may be recognized as a form of persecution and to ensure that the grounds for asylum listed in the 1951 Refugee Convention are interpreted in a gender-sensitive manner;
Amendment 21 #
Draft opinion
Recital C a (new)
Recital C a (new)
Ca. whereas women and girls can be subject to specific forms of gender-related persecution and discrimination in the countries of origin, including but not limited to female genital mutilation, forced marriage, domestic violence, rape, sexual violence, and ‘honour crimes’;
Amendment 24 #
Draft opinion
Recital C b (new)
Recital C b (new)
Cb. whereas criminal groups, smugglers and traffickers take advantage of the lack of safe passage into Europe, and women and girls who are in need of international protection become particularly vulnerable to sexual exploitation and are being forced to survival sex in exchange for continuing their journey, and therefore these women and girls are more exposed to the risk of sexually transmitted diseases, including HIV;
Amendment 26 #
Draft opinion
Recital C c (new)
Recital C c (new)
Cc. whereas girls and women victims of gender-based violence who are in need of international protection may be reluctant to identify the true extent of the persecution suffered or feared and therefore, they require a supportive environment that they can be reassured of the confidentiality;
Amendment 30 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 1
Paragraph 1
1. ERegrets that there is a great degree of gender inequality for women and girls who are forced to leave their countries of origin for international protection; emphasizes that oftentimes vulnerable economic and other type of dependence puts women and girls in third countries in a situation where it is even more improbable for them thean for men to safely seek asylum - according to the UNHCR in 2017, women comprised from 9 - 22 % of the sea arrivals to Italy, Greece and Spain1 ; __________________ 1 [1] https://data2.unhcr.org/en/documents/down load/63039
Amendment 36 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 2 a (new)
Paragraph 2 a (new)
2a. Stresses that gender-based violence, including sexual violence, has serious consequences on women and girls’ life and health, which could affect the mental health of women and lead to post-traumatic stress disorder, and anxiety and depression;
Amendment 40 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 2 b (new)
Paragraph 2 b (new)
2b. Is deeply concerned and regrets the deaths and human rights violations at the EU external borders; believes that legal and safe route into the EU is a crucial step for women, girls and minors who are in need of international protection, which will improve their security and safety, prevent them from gender-based violence along migration routes and secure their fundamental rights;
Amendment 45 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 3
Paragraph 3
3. Calls for a separate instrument on humanitarian visas, in addition and complementary to a Union programme on resettlement and humanitarian admission, to be established at the Union level in order to provide an additional safe and legal access to the EU territory for persons in need of international protection and calls on the Commission to deliver the legislative proposal wherein the third country nationals will receive the possibility to apply for a European humanitarian visa directly at any consulate or embassy of the Member States, while ensuring its gender-sensitive approach and effective protection of persons suffering gender-based persecution.
Amendment 47 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 3 a (new)
Paragraph 3 a (new)
3a. Calls on the Commission to incorporate a gender perspective into the proposal, to respect for the existing international and European guidelines and legal instruments, and to recognize gender-based persecution as a valid ground for seeking international protection;
Amendment 50 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 3 b (new)
Paragraph 3 b (new)
3b. Calls on the Member States to provide necessary and sufficient trainings to staffs and health professionals involved in dealing with children, girls and women victims of gender-based violence when they arrive in the EU, in order to provide specialised assistance and care services, including sexual and reproductive healthcare and psychological support;
Amendment 53 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 3 c (new)
Paragraph 3 c (new)
3c. Regrets that some Member States have not ratified the Istanbul Convention and reiterates its call for all Member States to ratify the Istanbul Convention and to fully implement it without any delay;
Amendment 55 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 3 d (new)
Paragraph 3 d (new)
3d. Calls for shared responsibility and close cooperation among the European countries, international organizations, relevant stakeholders and sectors at different levels;
Amendment 57 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 3 e (new)
Paragraph 3 e (new)
3e. Calls on the Commission and the Member States to improve the collection of sex-disaggregated data in current refugee crisis and to ensure that a gender equality perspective is incorporated into relevant asylum policies;
Amendment 58 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 3 f (new)
Paragraph 3 f (new)
3f. Reminds the Commission and the Member States that the protection of persons in need of international protection is an issue which concerns all and a common response based on the principle of solidarity shall be given;
Amendment 60 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 3 g (new)
Paragraph 3 g (new)
3g. Calls on the Commission proposal to take account of women and girls who are victims of gender-based violence in countries of origin and are in need of international protection, such as their application might be prioritised in order to reduce the waiting time, and they should be able to be interviewed separately and be informed of the choice to have interviewers and interpreters of the same sex as themselves; recommends that special assistance to be given to these women and girls during the application of humanitarian visas and when necessary, second or subsequent interviews should be conducted; addresses that the interviewers should receive sufficient trainings before conducting the interviews;