Activities of Richard HOWITT related to 2011/2185(INI)
Plenary speeches (2)
Human rights in the world and the European Union's policy on the matter (debate)
Human rights in the world and the European Union's policy on the matter (debate)
Reports (1)
REPORT on the Annual Report on Human Rights in the World and the European Union’s policy on the matter, including implications for the EU’s strategic human rights policy PDF (418 KB) DOC (261 KB)
Amendments (12)
Amendment 54 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 5
Paragraph 5
5. Welcomes the development of Country Strategy Papers on human rights and stresses that these should also cover democratisation; calls for their prompt implementation through action plans to complement these strategies, based on broad consultation processes with local and international civil society organisations, analyses of the situation and needs in each country and making full use of the EU's relevant instruments; reiterates its call for the Country Strategy Papers to be made available to Parliament;
Amendment 89 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 13
Paragraph 13
13. Recommends that, to move beyond general ideas of human rights mainstreaming, a set of practical measures be drawn up which must be binding on all EU officials working externally; stresses that training on human rights must be compulsory across the EEAS and relevant parts of the Commission; recommends that tasks pertaining to mainstreaming be incorporated into officials' job descriptions as part of the yearly staff evaluation;
Amendment 109 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 18
Paragraph 18
18. Welcomes the updating of the EU's policy on the ICC through the Council Decision of 21 March 2011 and the revision of the EU Action Plan on the ICC; encourages the EU and its Member States to adopt a set of internal guidelines outlining a code of conduct for contacts with persons wanted by the ICC; calls on all Member States (notably the Republic of Cyprus, the Czech Republic, Hungary, Italy, Luxembourg and Portugal) to sign framework agreements with the ICC in order to facilitate cooperationfully integrate the Rome Statute into national legislation, in particular by enacting relevant national legislation on cooperation with the Court, and concluding framework agreements with the ICC in order to facilitate cooperation, in particular to ensure the execution of arrest warrants and other Court requests and to fully integrate the Rome Statute into national legislation;
Amendment 128 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 22
Paragraph 22
22. Reiterates its conviction that all EU external actions must combine a development dimension which focuses on socio-economic progress for all based on sustainable development, and a political dimension which supports pluralism, democracy and respect for human rights and fundamental freedoms;
Amendment 154 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 30
Paragraph 30
30. Stresses that participation in a structured human rights dialogue, while welcomed, is too often used as a pretext to avoid discussion of these issues at higher political levels including partner summits; calls on all EU institutions, its Member States and their embassies to make greater efforts to integrate these dialogues in all in- country EU external actions; stresses the need for transparency and genuine previous consultation of civil society organisations, as well as subsequent debriefing after the dialogues, in order to inform on the results;
Amendment 197 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 46
Paragraph 46
46. Welcomes the clearer definition of the objectives of the EIDHR and its updated scope which reflects the stronger focus on economic, social and cultural rights, on freedom of thought, conscience and religion and on democracy support; appreciates the new possibility to directly award grants to finance actions in the most difficult conditions or situations, or to enhance support for human rights defenders and non-registered organisations;
Amendment 219 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 53
Paragraph 53
53. Welcomes the EU's political commitment to supporting human rights defenders and the many positive examples of demarches, trial observations, prison visits, and other concrete actions undertaken by EU missions and delegations such as regular, institutionalised meetings with human rights defenders, but remains concerned at the lack of implementation of the EU Guidelines on Human Rights Defenders in some third countries; considers that the HR/VP should make recommendations for enhanced action to those missions where implementation has been noticeably weak;
Amendment 222 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 55
Paragraph 55
55. Reiterates its call for greater inter- institutional cooperation on human rights defenders; considers that the EU's response capacity and the coherence between the actions of the different institutions on urgent crises for human rights defenders would be well served by a shared alert system based on focal points, and encourages the CouncilEEAS and the Commission to explore this avenue further with the European Parliament;
Amendment 229 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 56
Paragraph 56
56. Highlights the distinctive roles, experiences and contributions of women in the context of peace and security; condemns the use of sexual violence in countries such as the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), and calls for zero tolerance for its perpetrators, particularly among military and police forces in EU- mandated missions and operations; and stresses the importance of ensuring victims access to multi-disciplinary holistic rehabilitation services that include any necessary combination of medical and psychological care as well as legal, social, communal, vocational, educational services, and interim economic support;
Amendment 235 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 60
Paragraph 60
60. Welcomes the adoption of the landmark Convention by the Council of Europe on preventing and combating violence against women and domestic violence, creating a comprehensive framework to prevent violence, protect victims and end impunity, and calls on all Member States and the European Union to quickly sign and ratify this Convention;
Amendment 265 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 63 b (new)
Paragraph 63 b (new)
63 b. Welcomes the conclusion by the EU of the United Nations Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (UNCRPD), and the adoption of the European Disability Strategy 2010-2020, in particular area of action 8; condemns any and all forms of discrimination based on disability, and calls for all states to ratify and implement the UNCRPD; points out that the EU also needs to monitor the implementation of the UNCRPD on its own territory; also regrets the EU's inaction on human rights for persons with disabilities in the context of the EU-Africa Strategy;
Amendment 332 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 90
Paragraph 90
90. Supports the EU concept of ‘deep democracy’ developed by the High Representative; regrets that non- discrimination and gender equality criteria are not included within this concept; urges the EEAS to fully integrate anti- discrimination measures and benchmarks to ensure there is a clear focus on the issue of women's rightsthe rights of women and minorities, equal citizenship and equal political participation;