Activities of Katrin LANGENSIEPEN related to 2023/2052(INI)
Plenary speeches (1)
Recommendation to the Council, the Commission and the EEAS on the situation in Syria (debate)
Shadow reports (1)
REPORT on a European Parliament recommendation to the Council, the Commission and the Vice-President of the Commission / High Representative of the Union for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy on the situation in Syria
Amendments (35)
Amendment 15 #
Motion for a resolution
Citation 2 a (new)
Citation 2 a (new)
– having regard to the report of the UN Independent International Commission of Inquiry on the Syrian Arab Republic of 14 August 2023 to the 54th regular session of the Human Rights Council,
Amendment 19 #
Motion for a resolution
Citation 2 b (new)
Citation 2 b (new)
– having regard to the order of the International Court of Justice (ICJ) of 16 November 2023 on the request for the indication of provisional measures for the application of the Convention against Torture and other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment (Canada and the Netherlands v Syrian Arab Republic),
Amendment 21 #
Motion for a resolution
Citation 2 c (new)
Citation 2 c (new)
– having regard to the order of the Paris Judicial Court (TJP) of 14 November 2023 issuing an international arrest warrant against Syrian President Bashar al-Assad, Maher al-Assad, Ghassan Abbas and Bassam al-Hassan,
Amendment 24 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital A
Recital A
A. whereas the Geneva and Astana processes have failed, given the continued refusal of the Syrian regime to negotiate seriously a political solution with the opposition; whereas the Syrian regime has used selective engagement in international talks as a delaying tactic to nullify results, thereby prolonging the suffering of the Syrian people;
Amendment 30 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital B
Recital B
B. whereas since 2011 half a million Syrians have died and 14 million have been displaced due to violent attacks by armed and terrorist groups, but mainly as a result of the fierce repression and demographic engineering by the Syrian regime, with the help of its allies, of its own people; whereas this repression has included the repeated use of chemical weapons, cluster munition, incendiary bombs, barrel bombs, missiles and conventional aerial bombardments on civilians; whereas at least 150 000 Syrians are missing in the regime’s concentration-camp system, andmong which no fewer than 112 713 forcibly disappeared, frequently resulting in deaths in custody and extrajudicial executions; whereas families have still not been informed of the fate of their loved ones;
Amendment 39 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital B a (new)
Recital B a (new)
Ba. whereas despite the Syrian regime´s brutal repression of its people, Syrians continue organising peaceful anti-government protests, notably those in Souweïda that started in August 2023 and attracted thousands of protesters, particularly women, from across the province over several weeks;
Amendment 45 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital C
Recital C
C. whereas authoritarian foreign actors, including Russia, the Wagner militia, Hezbollah and IranIran and its backed-militias, namely the Lebanese Hezbollah, Iraqi militias, Afghan and Pakistani mercenaries as well as local Syrian proxies, have played a destructive role for the country since 2011, and whereas the Syrian regime does not control the whole of national territory and can remain in power only with the support of these foreign actors;
Amendment 62 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital D
Recital D
D. whereas Türkiye, which occupies territories in northern Syria, is engaging in large-scale armed conduct on Syrian territory on a regular basis, particularly targeting Kurdish-held areas;
Amendment 70 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital E
Recital E
E. whereas ISISDaesh committed crimes against humanity, including genocide, in the territories temporarily under its control prior to the intervention of the international coalition;
Amendment 76 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital F a (new)
Recital F a (new)
Fa. whereas since 2014 the Bab-al Hawa crossing is being used for cross- border relief deliveries from Türkiye to Syria upon the authorisation of the UN Security Council; whereas Russia has frequently obstructed the renewal of the authorisation in the UN Security Council and eventually vetoed the authorisation for the aid corridor in July 2023 for which reason Bab-al Hawa remained closed; whereas in September 2023, as a result of negotiations between UN agencies, the Syrian regime, and Hay’et Tahrir al-Sham, the dominant armed group in Idlib, aid deliveries through Bab al-Hawa resumed and the aid corridors Bab al-Salam and Al-Rai border crossings, that the Syrian regime agreed to open following the devastating earth quake in February 2023, were extended for another three months; whereas the conditions under which the Syrian regime and Hay’et Tahrir al-Sham authorised the UN to resume aid deliveries through the three border crossings are unknown; whereas renowned experts of International Humanitarian Law question whether cross-border UN aid requires a UN Security Council authorisation;
Amendment 93 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital J a (new)
Recital J a (new)
Ja. whereas the destruction and neglect of the Syrian regime for water sources and the healthcare system have led to the outbreak of a country-wide cholera-epidemic from August 2022 onwards;
Amendment 94 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital J b (new)
Recital J b (new)
Jb. whereas according to a report by the European Monitoring Centre for Drugs and Drug Addiction (EMCDDA) and the German Federal Criminal Police Office (BKA) from September 2023, Europe is a key transshipment point for Captagon arriving from the Middle East, mainly Syria and Lebanon, and bound for the Arabian Peninsula;
Amendment 96 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital J c (new)
Recital J c (new)
Jc. whereas the UN Independent International Commission of Inquiry on Syrian Arab Republic, in its most recent report from September 2023, found that insecurity remained rife far beyond frontlines, rendering the safe return of Syrian refugees implausible and further concluded that it had documented specific cases where Syrian refugees returning from neighbouring countries were ill- treated by Syrian security forces;
Amendment 105 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 1 – point b
Paragraph 1 – point b
(b) stress the regime’s personal responsibility for the death of half a million civilians, the destruction of the country, the displacement of the majority of the population, the torture and disappearance of 150 000 peopleand the deliberate change of demographic structure, the torture and disappearance of 150 000 people, among which no fewer than 112 713 forcibly disappeared, at the hands of the concentration-camp system, the use of chemical weapons against civilians and the systematic destruction of any peaceful opposition;
Amendment 110 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 1 – point c
Paragraph 1 – point c
(c) oppose any normalisation of relations with the Assad regime without any profound and verifiable developments in the implementation of UN Security Council Resolution 2254 (2015), including the release of political prisoners, informing the families of the victims about the fate of the missing persons and victims of enforced disappearance, and the cessation of any attacks and obstacles to humanitarian aid; call on EU Member States to refrain from measures weakening or undermining the common EU position on Syria;
Amendment 118 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 1 – point d a (new)
Paragraph 1 – point d a (new)
(da) set up an EU coordinated security response to prevent the EU being used as a transshipment zone for Captagon produced in Syria and Lebanon;
Amendment 121 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 1 – point e
Paragraph 1 – point e
(e) stress that the repression, negligence and corruption on the part of the regime are responsible for the economic situation, not the targeted sanctions from the EU against individuals and entities involved in the repression; commit to a constant review and adjustment of the targeted and sectoral sanctions to prevent any unintended effects, such as over-compliance by banks that can impede aid groups to transfer funds into the country and to run programmes or pay local staff and suppliers, even when the transactions are to support activities exempt from sanctions;
Amendment 125 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 1 – point u a (new)
Paragraph 1 – point u a (new)
(ua) involve the Syrian civil society networks in Europe and their networks inside Syria in the design and implementation of EU foreign policy towards Syria; protect human rights defenders and activists in the region; provide long-term, flexible and core support to Syrian civil society organisations in the region and in Europe;
Amendment 129 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 1 – point h
Paragraph 1 – point h
(h) deplore the continued presence on Syrian territory of hundreds of Iranian, Turkish and Russian bases and Iranian and Russian militias; express concern about the economic exploitation of the country by predatory foreign powers as well as investments into luxury real estate in Syria by the United Arab Emirates, such as the Marota City project in Damascus;
Amendment 138 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 1 – point i
Paragraph 1 – point i
(i) condemn the attacks by Turkish forces and their occupation of Syrian territories in the north as well as the renewed brutal military campaign by the Syrian government and Russia in north- western Syria, including on civilian targets; express their deep concern about the persistence of radical Islamist opposition in Idlib province; support the continuation of the international coalition against the Islamic StateDaesh, which remains active in Syria despite significant defeats;
Amendment 144 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 1 – point j
Paragraph 1 – point j
(j) stress the role of the Syrian Democratic Forces in the fight against Daesh; urge local partners of the international coalition to comply with international law, to continue the process of democratisation and to hold their forces to account;
Amendment 152 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 1 – point k
Paragraph 1 – point k
(k) urge Member States to continue repatriating their nationals from the Al-Hol and Roj jihadist prison camps, giving urgent priority to children and their mothers, and provide rehabilitation and reintegration assistance; ask EU Member States to prosecute adults as appropriate and to try them for the crimes they have committed in fair trials;
Amendment 158 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 1 – point l
Paragraph 1 – point l
(l) step up efforts to counter Russian disinformation about Syria, including disinformation in Arabic, including by translating Syria-related resolutions, reports and decisions into Arabic language;
Amendment 167 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 1 – point m
Paragraph 1 – point m
(m) stress that the fight against impunity in Syria is a moral and political imperative for Europe; welcome the judicial progress made by the Franco- German Joint Investigation Team regarding the 11 000 bodies of torture victims identified in the César report, the suspension of Syria from the International Organisation for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons and the progress made in Germany, France and Sweden in bringing Syrian criminals to justice, the international arrest warrant issued by France against Bashar Al-Assad, his brother Maher Al- Assad and two further individuals, for their complicity in crimes against humanity over chemical attacks in 2013, the ICJ order to prevent torture after the Netherlands and Canada filed a case regarding Syria’s violation of the international Convention Against Torture, and the progress made in Germany, France and Sweden in bringing Syrian criminals to justice, such as through the criminal trials in Koblenz and Frankfurt; encourage all EU Member States to implement universal jurisdiction;
Amendment 175 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 1 – point n
Paragraph 1 – point n
(n) urge that information be exchanged automatically between all Member States on warthose implicated in serious criminales whose asylum applications are rejected under Article 1(F) of the Convention Relating to the Status of Refugees;
Amendment 181 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 1 – point o
Paragraph 1 – point o
(o) call for the pooling of expertise and interpreters among the judicial and police authorities, and for a public prosecutor to be appointed in each Member State for crimes against humanity; call on EU Member States to establish specialised war crime units within law enforcement and prosecution services, where they do not already exist, and ensure they are adequately resourced; encourage the Member States to pay particular attention to, and prevent, the activities of Syrian intelligence services and their influence on the Syrian diaspora, including the protection of witnesses; call for European scholarships to be specifically allocated to Syrians seeking legal training;
Amendment 186 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 1 – point p
Paragraph 1 – point p
(p) call on Member States to establish a European fund for victims of crimes against humanity in Syria and victims of torture, by developing a legal framework allowing the transfer to families of the victims funds frozen for being linked to property unlawfully acquired by the Syrian regime;
Amendment 189 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 1 – point q
Paragraph 1 – point q
(q) welcome the adoption of the UN General Assembly resolution of 29 June 2023 establishing an Institution for Missing Persons in Syria, and thesupport the new mechanism once finalised; continued funding of the International, Independent and Impartial Mechanism to support investigations into the most serious crimes committed in Syria since 2011;
Amendment 192 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 1 – point r
Paragraph 1 – point r
(r) inviturge the international community, at the 2024 Brussels Conference, to increase urgently its humanitarian assistance to the 15.3 million Syrians who depend on it on a daily basis; insist on access to clean water, education and long- term budget support tailored to women’s needs; point out that the EU is the biggest contributor in this regard; welcome the continued efforts of Lebanon, Jordan, Türkiye and Iraq to host 6 million refugees while facing difficult economic conditioncall on the European Commission and EU Member States to step up efforts to support the work of local civil society and refugee-led organisations; stress the importance for aid agencies to reinforce accountability to the beneficiaries of assistance and act on their feedback and needs, in line with the principle of “Accountability to Affected Populations”; point out that the EU is the biggest contributor in this regard; welcome the continued efforts of Lebanon, Jordan, Türkiye and Iraq to host 6 million refugees while facing difficult economic conditions; makes sure that financial support provided to host countries adheres to International Law, in particular non- refoulement and the protection of refugees, including against attacks, discrimination and hate-speech; calls on the Commission to assess and monitor the compliance of the programmes supported by EU funds with the rights and principles enshrined in the Union acquis;
Amendment 198 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 1 – point r a (new)
Paragraph 1 – point r a (new)
(ra) develop and implement a human- rights based relief and recovery response to address the needs emerging from the 6 February 2023 earthquakes, that allows for the meaningful participation of a diverse set of local civil society organisations and communities, including women-led initiatives, in the determination of needs and the design, planning and evaluation of humanitarian programming and structural support, including contingency planning for possible future natural disasters;
Amendment 203 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 1 – point r c (new)
Paragraph 1 – point r c (new)
(rc) increase the resettlement quotas of EU Member States for Syrian refugees living in host countries and increase EU Member States´ efforts in welcoming Syrian refugees in the EU;
Amendment 209 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 1 – point t
Paragraph 1 – point t
(t) strongly condemn Russia’s countless vetos against delivering aid to the people in the north; denounce once again Russia’s attempts to tarnish the image of wthe “White hHelmets (Syria Civil Defense)”;
Amendment 210 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 1 – point r b (new)
Paragraph 1 – point r b (new)
(rb) urge the European Commission and EU Member States to, in parallel with robust diplomatic action at the level of the UN Security Council, obtain the continued operation of the border crossings of Bab al-Hawa, Bab al-Salaam and Al-Rai, for a minimum period of 12 months; explore the possibility to also channel resources through the recently established “Aid Fund for Northern Syria” (AFNS);
Amendment 211 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 1 – point t a (new)
Paragraph 1 – point t a (new)
(ta) urge for the UN General Assembly to codify aid access without consent where the state arbitrarily and systematically denies access; call on the UN to implement resolutions that address arbitrary denial of aid as a war crime;
Amendment 216 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 1 – point u
Paragraph 1 – point u
(u) recall that Syria cannot be regarded, in whole or in part, as a safe country for the return of its nationals living as refugees or asylum seekers in Europe, people who have fled the crimes of the regime and risk torture and enforced disappearance if they return to Syria; insist towards host countries such as Lebanon, Jordan, Türkiye and Iraq that Syria is not a safe country, neither in whole nor in part, and that Syrian nationals can therefore not return safely; urge EU Member States to issue or prolong residence permits and to stop issuing return decisions against Syrian nationals, including refugees and asylum seekers; encourage EU Member States to explore alternatives to individual document procurement by Syrians at Syrian embassies in the European Union, in order to minimise surveillance and repression as well as sources of income for the Syrian regime; actively encourage the UN Independent International Commission of Inquiry on Syrian Arab Republic to publish regular stand-alone reports on the conditions for safe, voluntary and dignified return in Syria;