Activities of Annemie NEYTS-UYTTEBROECK 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 (14)
Amendment 32 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital F a (new)
Recital F a (new)
Fa. whereas the 2012 Gender Inequality Index (GII from PNUD) ranks Saudi Arabia 145 out of 148 countries, making it one of the world’s most unequal countries; whereas the Global Gender Gap Report 2012 (World Economic Forum) ranks the women labour market participation in KSA as one of the weakest in the world (133 out of 135 countries);
Amendment 43 #
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, stability of the global oil and financial markets, and global governance issues, especially through the World Bank, the International Monetary Funds and the G-20 framework;
Amendment 51 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 3 a (new)
Paragraph 3 a (new)
3a. Calls on the KSA authorities to allow the work of human rights organisations by facilitating the registration of their license; regrets the harassment of human rights activists and their detention without charges;
Amendment 58 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 4
Paragraph 4
4. Calls on the KSA authorities to ensureallow independent press and media and freedom of expression for all inhabitants of KSA, and stresses that the peaceful advocacy of basic legal rights or making critical remarks using social media are expressions of an indispensable right, as Parliament has stressed in its report on digital freedom;
Amendment 61 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 4 a (new)
Paragraph 4 a (new)
4a. Calls on the KSA authorities to allow freedom of association and assembly; regrets the repression of activists and protesters when they peacefully manifest;
Amendment 63 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 4 b (new)
Paragraph 4 b (new)
4b. Calls on the KSA authorities to improve their Shari’a-based criminal justice system in order to meet the international standards governing procedures for arrest, detention and trials, as well as prisoners’ rights;
Amendment 68 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 6
Paragraph 6
6. Reiterates its call for the universal abolition of torture, corporal punishment, and 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 77 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 7
Paragraph 7
7. RegretsWelcomes the establishment of the ‘Kind Abdullah Bin Abdulaziz International Centre for Interreligious and Intercultural Dialogue’ (KAICIID) in Vienna for encouraging dialogue among followers of different religions and cultures around the world, regrets however that there is no 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 96 #
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, health, education, marriage, employment opportunities, legal personality and representation in judicial processes, eliminating all forms of discrimination against women in the family law and in private and public life and promoting their participation in the economic, social, cultural and political spheres;
Amendment 98 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 12 a (new)
Paragraph 12 a (new)
12a. Regrets the high unemployment rates for women and young people; stresses that ending absolute gender segregation is necessary for an efficient labour market;
Amendment 104 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 13
Paragraph 13
13. RTakes note of the election of the KSA as Member of the Human Rights Council in November 2013; recalls that KSA’s human rights record was assessed under the Universal Periodic Review of the UN Human Rights Council in February 2009, and that the KSA authorities formally accepted a significant number of the recommendations put forward by EU Member States during the review, including, for example, those calling for abolition of male guardianship and those aimed at limiting the application of the death penalty and corporal punishment; awaits more substantive progress in implementing these recommendations and urges KSA to adopt a constructive approach with regard to the recommendations presented in the context of the on-going 2013 Universal Periodic Review;
Amendment 124 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 15
Paragraph 15
15. Calls on the authorities to improve the ‘Kalafa’ sponsorship system, the working conditions and treatment of immigrant workers, with special attention to the situation of women working as domestic helpers, who are at particular risk of sexual violence and who often find themselves in conditions of virtual slavery; welcomes recent efforts to introduce national labour laws in order to provide standardised protection for domestic workers and ensure the prosecution of employers responsible for sexual, physical and labour rights abuses;
Amendment 133 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 16 a (new)
Paragraph 16 a (new)
16a. Welcomes the contribution of the KSA for the establishment of the United Nations Counter-Terrorism Centre;
Amendment 150 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 19
Paragraph 19
19. CallsWelcomes the contribution of the KSA to the ‘Friends of Syria Group’ and the assistance the KSA provided to the Syrian people and refugees; calls however 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 instead to a peaceful, inclusive solution, 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;