Activities of Véronique DE KEYSER related to 2013/2169(INI)
Reports (1)
REPORT on the eradication of torture in the world PDF (277 KB) DOC (147 KB)
Amendments (45)
Amendment 3 #
Motion for a resolution
Citation 2 a (new)
Citation 2 a (new)
- having regard to the UN Standard Minimum Rules on the Treatment of Prisoners and other universally applicable relevant UN standards,
Amendment 6 #
Motion for a resolution
Citation 4
Citation 4
– having regard to the Convention on the Rights of the Child and the Secondits two Optional Protocols on the Sale of Children, Child Prostitution and Child Pornography1, and on the Involvement of Children in Armed Conflict2, __________________ 1 http://www.ohchr.org/EN/ProfessionalInt erest/Pages/OPSCCRC.aspx. 2 http://www.ohchr.org/EN/ProfessionalInt erest/Pages/OPACCRC.aspx.
Amendment 14 #
Motion for a resolution
Citation 16 a (new)
Citation 16 a (new)
- having regard to the UN General Assembly Resolutions on torture,
Amendment 17 #
Motion for a resolution
Citation 20 a (new)
Citation 20 a (new)
- having regard to the UN Committee against Torture Statement published in connection with the events of 11 September 2001 on 22 November 2001, that the prohibition against torture is an absolute and non-derogable duty under international law, and that whatever responses to the threat of international terrorism are adopted by States party to the Convention, such responses must be in conformity with the obligations undertaken by them in ratifying the Convention against Torture,
Amendment 18 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital A a (new)
Recital A a (new)
A a. whereas the term "torture" in this resolution should be understood as in the UN definition and also include cruel, inhuman and degrading treatment or punishment;
Amendment 19 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital C a (new)
Recital C a (new)
Ca. whereas the eradication of torture, ill- treatment, inhuman and degrading treatment and punishment is an integral part of EU human rights policy, in close interdependence with other areas and instruments of EU action;
Amendment 32 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 1
Paragraph 1
1. Welcomes the inclusion of three actions related to the eradication of torture in the EU Action Plan on Democracy and Human Rights but emphasises the need for specific and measurable benchmarks to assess their timely implementation, in partnership with civil society;
Amendment 34 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 1 a (new)
Paragraph 1 a (new)
1a. Notes that, according to the CAT, the term 'torture' means any act by which 'severe pain or suffering, whether physical or mental, is intentionally inflicted on a person [...] by or at the instigation of or with the consent or acquiescence of a public official or other person acting in an official capacity'; however, situations where acts of torture and other cruel, inhuman and degrading treatment or punishment occurs with the involvement of actors other than state or public officials also need to be addressed through policy measures for prevention, accountability and rehabilitation;
Amendment 38 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 3
Paragraph 3
3. Welcomes the 2012 update of the EU Guidelines on torture and other cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment; underlines the importance of their effective and results-oriented implementation in conjunction with other guidelines and policy initiatives;
Amendment 40 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 4
Paragraph 4
4. Welcomes the fact that the EU Guidelines reflect a holistic policy approach, including the promotion of an adequate legislative and judicial framework for the effective prevention and prohibition of torture, monitoring places of detention, addressing impunity, and the full and effective rehabilitation of torture victims, backed up by credible, consistent and coherent action;
Amendment 43 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 4 a (new)
Paragraph 4 a (new)
4a. Regrets that no comprehensive and public stocktaking review of the implementation of the Guidelines has been carried out since 2008 and stresses the need for a regular and comprehensive assessment of their implementation;
Amendment 46 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 8
Paragraph 8
8. Reiterates Parliament’s earlier call for the insertion of a ‘catch-all torture end- clause’ into the regulationto insert into the Regulation a ‘torture end- clause’, which would allow Member States, on the basis of prior information, to license and refuse the export of any items which pose a substantial risk of being used for torture, ill treatment or the capital punishment;
Amendment 54 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 10
Paragraph 10
10. Notes with grave concern the existence of secret detention centres and the practice of incommunicado detention and prolonged solitary confinement in several countries, which represent some of the most worrying examples of torture and ill- treatment; believes that these cases should be systematically raised in statements and démarches and included in the individual cases list at human rights dialogues and consultations;
Amendment 63 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 11
Paragraph 11
11. Reiterates its call on the US authorities to immediately close the Guantánamo Bay detention camp immediatelyand all similar forms of indefinite detention without trial or charge and prohibit the use of torture and ill-, cruel, inhuman and degrading treatment in all circumstances;
Amendment 64 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 11 a (new)
Paragraph 11 a (new)
11a. Reiterates the need for a comprehensive legal study and discussions at UN level on the links between the application of the death penalty, including the death row phenomenon of severe mental trauma and physical deterioration and the prohibition on torture and cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment; emphasises the need to interpret EU Guidelines on the death penalty and torture as cross-cutting;
Amendment 68 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 12
Paragraph 12
12. Stresses that no exceptions from the absolute prohibition of torture can be justified, and practices of cruel, inhuman and degrading treatment or punishment can be justified, and that states have an obligation to implement safeguards to prevent the commission of torture and ill- treatment, as well as to ensure accountability and access to effective remedies and reparations at all times, including in the context of national security concerns and counter- terrorism measures; emphasizes that the prohibition equally applies to the transfer and use of information where it is either obtained by or likely to result in torture;
Amendment 71 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 12 a (new)
Paragraph 12 a (new)
12a. Welcomes the joint project of the Council of Europe and the Association for the Prevention of Torture on drawing up a practical guide for parliamentarians on visiting immigration detention centres;
Amendment 73 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 13
Paragraph 13
Amendment 76 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 13 a (new)
Paragraph 13 a (new)
13a. Calls on the EEAS, COHOM and other relevant actors to jointly undertake a survey of EU support to National Preventive Mechanisms establishment and functioning, to identify best practices as outlined in the EU Action Plan;
Amendment 77 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 13 b (new)
Paragraph 13 b (new)
13 b. Calls on the EEAS, Member States and the Commission to facilitate the establishment and functioning of independent and effective NPMs, and particularly the professional training of their staff;
Amendment 78 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 13 c (new)
Paragraph 13 c (new)
13 c. Calls on COHOM, the torture task force and the European Commission DG HOME to elaborate measures with regards to the integration of torture prevention measures into all Freedom, Security and Justice activities;
Amendment 82 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 14
Paragraph 14
14. Notes that in an increasingly globalised world characterised by violence and commercialisation, children are subject to more diverse forms of torture; calls for the EU to undertake political, diplomatic and financial measures to prevent torture aimed at children;
Amendment 86 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 15
Paragraph 15
15. Calls for the EU to address types of torturehuman rights violations, affecting children, especially linked to child trafficking, child pornography, child soldiers, children in military detention, child labour, child witchcraft, and othcyber vbulnerable groups of childlying, when they amount to torturen, including in orphanages, detention centres and refugee camps, implementing effective safeguards for their protection;
Amendment 88 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 15 a (new)
Paragraph 15 a (new)
15a. Notes that the abusive use of deprivation of liberty of children, especially for preventive detention and detention of migrant children, has resulted in overcrowded detention centres, and the increase of practices of torture and ill-treatment against children; calls on states to ensure that deprivation of liberty of children is, as required by universal human rights standards, genuinely used only as a measure of last resort, for the minimum necessary period and always taking into account the best interest of the child;
Amendment 89 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 15 b (new)
Paragraph 15 b (new)
15 b. Calls on states for a more child- friendly justice system, comprising free and confidential child-friendly reporting mechanisms, including in detention centres, that not only empower children to claim their rights, but also to report violations;
Amendment 96 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 19 a (new)
Paragraph 19 a (new)
19a. Calls on the EEAS and COHOM to specifically address the torture of children in the forthcoming update of the Guidelines and the EU Action Plan on Human Rights;
Amendment 111 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 22
Paragraph 22
22. Recommends that HRCSs should address the root-causes of violence and ill- treatment by government agencies and in private settings and they should define assistance needs with a view to offering EU technical assistance for capacity building, legal reform and training in order to help third countries comply with international obligations and norms, in particular in the context of signing and ratifying the CAT and the OPCAT, and complying with the provisions they contain on prevention (specifically establishing national preventive mechanisms (- NPMs), fighting impunity and the rehabilitation of victims;
Amendment 113 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 22 a (new)
Paragraph 22 a (new)
22a. Underlines the need for the EEAS and EU Delegations to make available specific information regarding third countries' available support and possible legal remedies for victims of torture and ill-treatment;
Amendment 115 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 23
Paragraph 23
23. Calls on the EEAS and EU delegations to make full but carefully targeted and country-specific use of the political instruments at their disposal, including public statements, local démarches, human rights dialogues and consultations to raise individual cases, necessary legislative reform and ratification and implementation of relevant international conventions;
Amendment 121 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 24 a (new)
Paragraph 24 a (new)
24a. Notes that a general guide for parliamentarians on visiting places of detention in third countries would be a useful tool in the context of regular Parliament delegation visits to prisons and other places of detention, and should include a specific perspective for visits in detention centres and other places were children and women might be detained, to secure the application of the "do no harm" principle in compliance with the UN Training Manual on Human rights Monitoring, particularly in order to avoid reprisals following visits;
Amendment 122 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 24 b (new)
Paragraph 24 b (new)
24 b. Recommends placing torture-related issues in the focus of local and regional civil society forums and seminars, with the potential of follow-up in the regular human rights consultations and dialogues;
Amendment 123 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 25
Paragraph 25
25. Calls on EU delegations to carry out prison visitsvisits to prisons and other place of detention, including to juvenile detention centres and places were children might be detained, and observe trials where there is reason to believe that defendants may have been subjected to torture or ill- treatment and ask for information on and the independent investigation of individual cases;
Amendment 129 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 26
Paragraph 26
26. Calls on Member States to identify best practireview and analyse with diligences amongnd transparency the existing NPMs and national human rights institutions in the EU and in third countries, with a view to promotingand to identify best practices among them, making sure that they have a child rights perspective, with a view to strengthening the existing mechanisms, make changes for their improvement and promote these examples to partner countries;
Amendment 131 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 26 a (new)
Paragraph 26 a (new)
26a. Invites EU delegations to call for detention to be used as a last resort, and seek alternatives, particularly for persons in situations of vulnerability (such as women, children, asylum seekers and migrants);
Amendment 135 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 28
Paragraph 28
28. Calls on third countries to fully cooperate with the UN Special Rapporteur on torture, the Committee against Torture and regional anti-torture bodies such as the Committee for the Prevention of Torture in Africa, the European Committee for the Prevention of Torture, and the Rapporteur on persons deprived of their liberty in America; encourages the Member States and the EEAS to systematically take into account the recommendations of the Special Rapporteur and other bodies for follow-up in contacts with third countries, including in the Universal Periodic Review (UPR) process;
Amendment 137 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 29
Paragraph 29
29. Urges the EEAS and the Member States to actively promote the ratification and implementation of the CAT and the OPCAT as a priority and to step up their efforts to facilitate the establishment and functioning of effective and independent NPMs in third countries;
Amendment 142 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 30 a (new)
Paragraph 30 a (new)
30a. Underlines the importance of member states' active participation in the implementation of the provisions of the EU Action Plan on Human Rights and providing the EEAS with regular updates on the actions undertaken by them in this regard;
Amendment 143 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 30 b (new)
Paragraph 30 b (new)
30 b. Calls on the EU to cooperate more efficiently with the European Committee for the Prevention of Torture and Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment (CPT) and the Commissioner for Human Rights from the Council of Europe;
Amendment 144 #
Motion for a resolution
Subheading 3 a (new)
Subheading 3 a (new)
European Instrument for Democracy and Human Rights (EIDHR)
Amendment 145 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 30 c (new)
Paragraph 30 c (new)
30 c. Welcomes the existing initiatives and projects under the EIDHR, of which 7% of the funds have been allocated to torture-related projects, and underlines the need to continue earmarking specific funds to the fight against torture and cruel, degrading, with a focus on awareness-raising, prevention, addressing impunity, as well as the social and psychological rehabilitation of torture victims, with a priority to projects of a holistic nature;
Amendment 146 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 30 d (new)
Paragraph 30 d (new)
30 d. Stresses that funds allocated to projects under the upcoming programming period should take into account EU priorities as outlined in the EU Action Plan on Human Rights and Democracy;
Amendment 147 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 30 e (new)
Paragraph 30 e (new)
30 e. Calls on EU member states to provide an overview of bilateral assistance programmes in the field of torture prevention and rehabilitation with a view to share best practices, achieve efficient burden sharing and to create synergies and complementarity with EIDHR projects;
Amendment 150 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 31
Paragraph 31
31. Calls on all Member States that have yet to ratify the OPCAT to do so as a matter of priority; Belgium, Finland, Greece, Ireland, Latvia, Lithuania and Slovakia to ratify the OPCAT as a matter of priority and establish independent, well resourced, and effective NPMs, noting the importance of individual communications as an instrument for the prevention of torture, cruel, inhuman and degrading treatment or punishment, urges CAT Member States to accept individual jurisdictions in compliance with art.21; as well as signatories to the UN CRC to sign and ratify the 3rd Protocol to the Convention on the Rights of the Child;
Amendment 153 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 31 a (new)
Paragraph 31 a (new)
31a. Calls on all Member States which have NPMs to engage in a constructive dialogue to implement NPM recommendations; as well as recommendations of the European Committee for the Prevention of Torture, UN Committee against torture and UN Subcommittee for the Prevention of Torture in a coherent and complementary way;
Amendment 156 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 32
Paragraph 32
32. Regrets the limited support provided by EU and non-EU state parties to the UN- managed Special Fund for Torture Victims under the OPCAT Voluntary Fund for Victims of Torture, and to the OPCAT Special Fund; calls on the Member States and the Commission to support the work of the Special Fund for Torture Victimse funds through substantial and regular voluntary contributions;