BETA

Activities of Isabel SANTOS related to 2021/2055(INI)

Shadow reports (1)

REPORT on the persecution of minorities on the grounds of belief or religion
2022/04/04
Committee: AFET
Dossiers: 2021/2055(INI)
Documents: PDF(234 KB) DOC(87 KB)
Authors: [{'name': 'Karol KARSKI', 'mepid': 124887}]

Amendments (59)

Amendment 4 #
Motion for a resolution
Citation 27 a (new)
— having regard to its resolution of 10 October 2013 on caste-based discrimination, in particular article 6 on religion as an intersectional factor of discrimination and abuse,
2021/06/28
Committee: AFET
Amendment 11 #
Motion for a resolution
Citation 29 a (new)
— having regard to its resolutions of 17 December 2020 on forced labour and the situation of the Uyghurs in the Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region and of 18 April 2019 on China, notably the situation of religious and ethnic minorities,
2021/06/28
Committee: AFET
Amendment 28 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital A
A. whereas UN human rights treaties, together with international and EU laws provide standards for the protection of the rights of persons belonging to belief or religious minorities as an integral part of human rights;
2021/06/28
Committee: AFET
Amendment 38 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital B
B. whereas freedom of religion or belief is violated in almost one third of countries worldwide; whereas over 5 billion people live in countries imposing or tolerating severe violations of freedom of thought, conscience, religiousn or belief;
2021/06/28
Committee: AFET
Amendment 42 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital C
C. whereas discrimination and persecution of religious is carried out by different actors – whether governments or other groups in society – and can take different forms, such as killings, physical attacks, arbitrary arrests, enforced disappearances, extrajudicial executions, coercion, forced conversion, kidnapping and forced marriage, forced birth control, threats, exclusion, discriminatory and unfair treatment, harassment, physical and mental abuse, rape and sexual violence, executions, limitation of access to elective offices, judicial harassment and prosecution, employment, education, health and administration services, destruction of places of worship, cemeteries and cultural heritage, and online hate speech;
2021/06/28
Committee: AFET
Amendment 43 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital C
C. whereas discrimination and persecution of minorities on the ground of belief or religious is carried out by different actors – whether governments or other groups in society – and can take different forms, such as killings, physical attacks, arbitrary arrests, coercion, forced conversion, kidnapping and forced marriage, forced birth control, threats, exclusion, discriminatory and unfair treatment, harassment, limitation of access to elective offices, employment, education, health and administration services, destruction of places of worship, cemeteries and cultural heritage, and online hate speech;
2021/06/28
Committee: AFET
Amendment 44 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital C
C. whereas discrimination and persecution of religious is carried out by different actors – whether governments or other groups in societystates and non- state actors, or combination of both – and can take different forms, such as killings, physical attacks, arbitrary arrests, coercion, forced conversion, kidnapping and forced marriage, forced birth control, threats, exclusion, discriminatory and unfair treatment, harassment, limitation of access to elective offices, employment, education, health and administration services, destruction of places of worship, cemeteries and cultural heritage, and online hate speech;
2021/06/28
Committee: AFET
Amendment 48 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital C a (new)
Ca. whereas the COVID-19 pandemic has exacerbated persecution and violence against belief and religious minorities in some countries; whereas furthermore the health crisis can provide a pretext to adopt persecution measures for purposes unrelated to the pandemic; whereas belief and religious minorities have become particularly vulnerable to COVID-19 infection and mortality due to unequal access to adequate medical care;
2021/06/28
Committee: AFET
Amendment 50 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital C b (new)
Cb. whereas women of belief and religious minorities are particularly at risk of increased discrimination and violence linked to intersectional factors such as gender, religion, caste, ethnic background, power imbalances and patriarchy;
2021/06/28
Committee: AFET
Amendment 56 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital C c (new)
Cc. whereas minorities on the ground of belief and religious often lack of adequate national representation; whereas legislation often excludes the needs and interests of these minorities, with governments employing a range of extra-legal measures that persecute, delegitimise or stigmatise minorities on the ground of belief or religion;
2021/06/28
Committee: AFET
Amendment 58 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital C d (new)
Cd. whereas social media platforms are increasingly exploited as spaces for incitement to hatred and violence; whereas belief or religious minorities continue to be subject to hate speech online and offline from individuals across the political spectrum;
2021/06/28
Committee: AFET
Amendment 63 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital D
D. whereas in 2018 Asia and the Pacific experienced the largest increase in government restrictions on freedom of religion or belief, while the Middle East and North Africa continued to have the highest median level of restrictions;deleted
2021/06/28
Committee: AFET
Amendment 69 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital E
E. whereas in 2018, Christians were harassed in 145 countries, Muslims in 139, Jews in 88, Buddhists in 24, Hindus in 19 countries and non-believers in 18 countries12 ; __________________ 12According to data collected by the Pew Research Center (10 November 2020).deleted
2021/06/28
Committee: AFET
Amendment 79 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 1
1. Affirms its unwavering commitment to promoting and protecting the rights of persons belonging to religious minorities everywhere in the world, including their right to change or choose their religion or belief, in respect of the principles of equality and non- discrimination; condemns in the strongest terms all persecution, violence, incitement to violence and terrorism targeting any minority on the grounds of religion and belief; reaffirms its support for victims of violence based on belief or religion, and its commitment to eradicating such violence;
2021/06/28
Committee: AFET
Amendment 80 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 1
1. Affirms its unwavering commitment to promoting and protecting the rights of persons belonging to belief or religious minorities everywhere in the world, including their right to change or choose their rbeligionef or breliefgion, in respect of the principles of equality and non- discrimination; condemns in the strongest terms all persecution, violence, incitement to violence and terrorism targeting any minority on the grounds of rbeligionef and breliefgion;
2021/06/28
Committee: AFET
Amendment 85 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 2
2. Takes the view that, regardless of their religion and beliefbelief, religion, thought and conscience, it is essential to promote and ensure the inclusion of all citizens in their societies and in political, socio-economic and cultural life;
2021/06/28
Committee: AFET
Amendment 93 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 3
3. Stresses that freedom of religion or beliefthought, belief and religion, including freedom to worship, and freedom to believe or not believe, to espouse theistic, non-theistic, agnostic or atheistic views and the right to apostasy is a human right, and that it often serves as a last bastion of liberty and as a source of fierce determination in highly repressive settings;
2021/06/28
Committee: AFET
Amendment 95 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 3 a (new)
3a. Stresses that the religious grounds of persecution are often intertwined with some other grounds of distinct nature, in particular those linked to ethnicity, gender and caste; condemns the ongoing persecution and serious and systematic human rights violations in some countries that can amount to crimes against humanity;
2021/06/28
Committee: AFET
Amendment 99 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 4
4. Is deeply concerned about the rise over the last decade of violence against people belonging to minorities on the grounds of their belief or religion as a global phenomenon, which is intensifying and affecting more and more countries; notes that it affects many religious communities, namely Christians (including Copts), Jews, Muslims (including Ahmadis and Alevis), Buddhists, Hindus and smaller religious groups, such as Baha’is, Sikhs and Zoroastrians, as well as groups of people who are atheists, humanists, agnostics or do not identify with any belief or religion;
2021/06/28
Committee: AFET
Amendment 108 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 5
5. Stresses that among believers’ groups, Christians are estimated to constitute the majority of people facing persecution for their faith; underlines that globally around 340 million Christians experience high levels of persecution and discrimination, with over 4 500 Christians killed for their faith, 4 500 churches and other Christian buildings attacked, and over 4 200 believers detained without trial, arrested, sentenced or imprisoned in 2020 alone; is alarmed about the increase in the overall level of discrimination, and especially about the sharp increase in the number of killings compared to 2019;deleted
2021/06/28
Committee: AFET
Amendment 117 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 6
6. Is concerned about the persecution and serious human rights violations against Muslim minorities;deleted
2021/06/28
Committee: AFET
Amendment 128 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 7
7. Is worried about growing antisemitism worldwide, given that although Jews make up only 0.2 % of the global population, they faced harassment in 88 countries in 2018;deleted
2021/06/28
Committee: AFET
Amendment 131 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 7 a (new)
7a. Is concerned about the application of sharia, blasphemy and other religious laws over national laws in some countries, where discrimination based on religious ground is taught at school and where practices like female genital mutilation, forced conversions, birth control, abortions and marriages, among others forms of violence, are taking place in total impunity;
2021/06/28
Committee: AFET
Amendment 138 #
Motion for a resolution
Subheading 1
The Middle East and North Africadeleted
2021/06/28
Committee: AFET
Amendment 142 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 9
9. Notes with particular concern that persecution of Christians is widespread in the Middle East, at times amounting to genocide, and has prompted an exodus of Christians from the region over the past two decades, resulting in approximately 15 million Christians making up 4 % of the population in the Middle East and North Africa, down from 20 % a century ago;deleted
2021/06/28
Committee: AFET
Amendment 149 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 10
10. Strongly deplores that millions of Christians have been uprooted from their homes, and that many have been killed, kidnapped, imprisoned, discriminated against and have had restrictions placed on their freedom of worship; notes that forms of persecution also exist in all aspects of social life, including in employment and education;deleted
2021/06/28
Committee: AFET
Amendment 156 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 11
11. Recalls the crimes against humanity and war crimes were committed in Iraq and Syria by the so-called ‘ISIS/Daesh’ against Christians, Yazidis, Muslims and other religious and ethnic minorities in the territories under its control during the period 2014-2020;deleted
2021/06/28
Committee: AFET
Amendment 163 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 12
12. Underlines that the persecution of minority Muslim denominations or sects is widespread in the countries in the Middle East and North Africa in which Islam is the predominant or official religion;deleted
2021/06/28
Committee: AFET
Amendment 164 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 13
13. Notes with particular concern that the Middle East and North Africa present the highest regional levels of anti-Semitic attitudes, and that Holocaust denial is prevalent among certain segments in society and even at state level, such as in Iran;deleted
2021/06/28
Committee: AFET
Amendment 172 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 14
14. Is concerned about the persecution of Baha’is in the Middle East; strongly condemns the restrictions imposed on the Baha’i community by the Houthis in Yemen, the expulsion of community members from Qatar and the continued systematic arrests, imprisonment, torture and harassment of community members in Iran;deleted
2021/06/28
Committee: AFET
Amendment 177 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 15
15. Deplores the fact that atheists are still persecuted in almost all of the region and that apostasy carries the death sentence in several countries; expresses its regret that freedom of worship is severely limited in some of the countries in the Middle East, with the notable example of Saudi Arabia, where public practice of any religion other than Islam is strictly prohibited;
2021/06/28
Committee: AFET
Amendment 181 #
Motion for a resolution
Subheading 2
Asiadeleted
2021/06/28
Committee: AFET
Amendment 188 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 16
16. Notes that persecution of religious minorities in Asia is commonplace in many countries, especially in those with communist regimes, and that blasphemy laws are of particular concern, particularly in Pakistan;deleted
2021/06/28
Committee: AFET
Amendment 198 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 17
17. Deplores the crimes against Muslim communities in Asia, including the past and current human rights abuses against the Muslim Rohingya population;deleted
2021/06/28
Committee: AFET
Amendment 211 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 18
18. Is concerned about the situation of Buddhists; takes special note of the difficult situation faced by Buddhists in Vietnam;deleted
2021/06/28
Committee: AFET
Amendment 217 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 19
19. Underlines that Hindus continued to be harassed in 19 countries in 2018, most notably in Pakistan, Bangladesh and Sri Lanka;deleted
2021/06/28
Committee: AFET
Amendment 223 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 20
20. Strongly condemns terror attacks on places of worship, including the Easter attacks in Sri Lanka in 2019, when nine suicide bombers carried out a series of attacks, including on three churches;deleted
2021/06/28
Committee: AFET
Amendment 231 #
Motion for a resolution
Subheading 3
Sub-Saharan Africadeleted
2021/06/28
Committee: AFET
Amendment 234 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 21
21. Notes with particular concern the rise of terrorist groups and militias in several parts of Africa, including in the Sahel, Nigeria and Mozambique, and of terrorist violence against religious minorities;deleted
2021/06/28
Committee: AFET
Amendment 242 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 22
22. Strongly condemns, in this regard, the violence, including murder, kidnapping and burning of places of worship, committed by terrorist and militant groups against Christian and Muslim communities in Nigeria, Mozambique and the Central African Republic;deleted
2021/06/28
Committee: AFET
Amendment 249 #
Motion for a resolution
Subheading 4
Tackling key challenges posed by the persecution against belief or religious minorities
2021/06/28
Committee: AFET
Amendment 257 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 23
23. Stresses the paramount importance of holding accountable perpetrators of human rights abuses against persons belonging to belief or religious minorities; calls on the EU and Member States to urgently work towards the establishment of additional UN mechanisms and committees to investigate current human rights violations against belief and religious minorities around the world;
2021/06/28
Committee: AFET
Amendment 261 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 23 a (new)
23a. Calls on the Council, the Commission, the EEAS and EU Member States to work with third countries for the adoption of measures to prevent and fight hate crime, and for the adoption of legislation that is fully compliant with international standards on the freedom of expression and the freedom of belief and religion;
2021/06/28
Committee: AFET
Amendment 266 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 24
24. Calls on the Council and EU Member States to apply sanctions against individuals and entities responsible for or involved in systematic violations of the rights of persons belonging to belief or religious minorities, as provided for by the EU Global Human Rights Sanctions Regime;
2021/06/28
Committee: AFET
Amendment 270 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 25
25. Is appalled by the exacerbation of persecution against belief or religious minority groups during the COVID-19 pandemic; denounces the fact that persons belonging to belief or religious minorities have been scapegoated, blamed for spreading the COVID-19 virus, and have been denied or faced discrimination in access to public healthcare, food or humanitarian aid, on the basis of rbeligiousef or breliefgious criteria;
2021/06/28
Committee: AFET
Amendment 276 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 26
26. Underlines that women belonging to belief or religious minorities have been specifically and increasingly targeted with the purpose of inflicting harm on their community as a whole; stresses that they are particularly exposed to violent attacks, kidnapping, sexual violence, forced conversion, forced and early marriage and domestic incarceration, and that lockdown measures taken during the COVID-19 pandemic have made their human rights situation even more precarious; calls to devote particular attention to abolishing practices and legislation that discriminate against them;
2021/06/28
Committee: AFET
Amendment 284 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 27
27. Condemns the use by authoritarian regimeState actors of legislation on security, or security imperatives, sedition and the fight against terrorism and extremism as an instrument to persecute or criminalize persons belonging to belief and religious minorities, to outlaw or restrict the practise or expression of their belief or religion and gatherings of believers, and to deter the membership and registration of belief or religious associations; calls on the Commission and European External Action Service (EEAS) to monitor carefully the implementation of such legislation, and to consistently raise this issue in bilateral dialogues with the governments concerned; urges EU Member States to reject any request by foreign authorities for judicial and police cooperation in individual judicial cases if they are based on such legislation;
2021/06/28
Committee: AFET
Amendment 289 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 27 a (new)
27a. Strongly condemns the use of coercive detention of belief and religious minorities in State-run re-education camps; deplores the actions of State authorities to force learning the dominant language, sing praises of the dominant party and renounce their religion in the internment camps; strongly condemns the use of forced labour of belief or religious minorities in State controlled factories; and the massive use of digital surveillance technologies to monitor and control population belonging to belief or religious minorities;
2021/06/28
Committee: AFET
Amendment 291 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 27 b (new)
27b. Condemns the intensified surveillance, attempts to control the functioning, practices and leadership of religious communities and minorities by some countries and the interference in their systems of belief;
2021/06/28
Committee: AFET
Amendment 296 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 28
28. Deplores the fact that more than 70in some countries in the world authorities enforce criminal laws or seek to introduce new legislation which provide for punishments for blasphemy, apostasy and conversion, including the death sentence, or use laws against provoking religious offence to arbitrarily detain and ill-treat minorities on the ground of belief or religion, or claim violation of public order laws or law against incitement to violence without sufficient evidence to justify such charges; notes that laws already in place are used disproportionately against people belonging to belief or religious minorities, and are thus seen, with good reason, as an instrument of oppression; calls for the EU to intensify its political dialogue with all countries concerned with a view to repeal those laws;
2021/06/28
Committee: AFET
Amendment 299 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 28
28. Deplores the fact that more than 70 countries in the world enforce criminal laws or seek to introduce new legislation which provide for punishments for blasphemy, apostasy and conversion, including the death sentence; notes that laws already in place are used disproportionately against people belonging to religious minorities, and are thus seen, with good reason, as an instrument of oppression; calls for the EU to intensify its political dialogue with all countries concerned with a view to repeal those laws; underlines that converts leaving a majority faith often experience the most severe violations including imprisonment, forced divorce, abduction, physical violence and murder;
2021/06/28
Committee: AFET
Amendment 302 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 28 a (new)
28a. Notes the need to protect the lawyers, NGOs and members of the civil society that help, collaborate and defend those who are persecuted on the grounds of belief or religion;
2021/06/28
Committee: AFET
Amendment 303 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 28 b (new)
28b. Stresses the need to eliminate discrimination in the field of employment, education, access to justice and effective remedies, housing, and healthcare; underlines the need to work with human rights institutions and organisations to monitor the compliance, examine complaint and repeal laws and policies that discriminate or persecute minorities on the ground of belief or religion;
2021/06/28
Committee: AFET
Amendment 309 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 28 c (new)
28c. Underlines the importance of civil society initiatives in tackling the persecution of minorities on the ground of belief and religion, and in promoting a multi-layered holistic approach that encompass human rights, conflict resolution, development, and interfaith and interreligious initiatives;
2021/06/28
Committee: AFET
Amendment 313 #
Motion for a resolution
Subheading 5
Strengthening EU human rights foreign policy and external actions to address the persecution of belief or religious minorities
2021/06/28
Committee: AFET
Amendment 315 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 29
29. WelcomesTakes note of the recent appointment of Mr Christos Stylianides as the EU Special Envoy for the promotion of freedom of religion or beliefbelief or religion; reiterates its calls on the Commission to guarantee transparency in the nomination, mandate, activities and reporting obligations of the Special Envoy and to ensure commitment to the universality, indivisibility and interdependence of all human rights and to European values; stresses that the Special Envoy’s duties should focus on promoting freedom of thought, conscience, religion and belief, and the rights to non-belief, apostasy and the espousal of atheistic views, also paying attention to the situation of non-believers at risk; calls on the Commission to include objectives for the fight against persecution of minorities on the grounds of belief or religion as important part of his mandate; recommends that the Special Envoy works closely with the EU Special Representative for Human Rights and the Council Working Group on Human Rights (COHOM), and reiterates its calls on the Council and the Commission to adequately support the Special Envoy’s institutional mandate, capacity and duties; carry out a transparent and comprehensive assessment of the effectiveness and added value of the position of the Special Envoy;
2021/06/28
Committee: AFET
Amendment 323 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 30
30. Calls on the Council, the Commission, EEAS and EU Member States to address persecutions based on belief or religion as a priority of EU human rights foreign policy, in line with the EU action plan for human rights and democracy for 2020-2024; stresses that a multi-layered and multi-actor approach is needed to protect and promote freedom of rbeligionef or breliefgion, encompassing human rights, conflict resolution and interfaith initiatives that involve multiple state and non-state actors; reiterates its call for a public review of the EU Guidelines on freedom of religion or belief, allowing for the assessment of their implementation and of proposals for their update; also calls for progress reports on the implementation of the Guidelines to be communicated regularly to Parliament;
2021/06/28
Committee: AFET
Amendment 328 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 31
31. Urges the EEAS and EU Delegations to include objectives specifically related to the protection of belief or religious minorities for all relevant situations, as part of the human rights and democracy country strategies (HRDCSs) for 2021-2024. and to consistently raise general issues and specific cases relating to the discrimination against and persecution of belief or religious minorities during human rights dialogues with partner countries and ensure that these exchanges produce genuine positive outcomes; reiterates its call for Members of the European Parliament to be given access to the content of HRDCSs;
2021/06/28
Committee: AFET
Amendment 334 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 32
32. Calls on the Commission and EEAS to scrutinise the human rights situations of belief or religious minorities in third countries and the implementation of related commitments under bilateral agreements of those countries with the EU, including under trade agreements such as the Generalized Scheme of Preferences Plus;
2021/06/28
Committee: AFET