28 Amendments of Raül ROMEVA i RUEDA related to 2008/2201(INI)
Amendment 2 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital A
Recital A
A. whereas respect for, and the promotion and safeguarding of, the universality of human rights is part of the European Union’s ethical and legal acquis and one of the cornerstones of European unity and integrity,
Amendment 4 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital C
Recital C
C. whereas the United Nations and the UNHRC potentially constitute one of thconstitute the only worldwide organisations best able to deal comprehensively with the human rights issues and challenges facing mankind today,
Amendment 6 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital D
Recital D
D. whereas the decision on establishment of the UNHRC has been generally welcomed as an initiative to rectify the shortcomings of the UNCHRenhance the place of human rights within intergovernmental debates by setting up a quasi-standing body,
Amendment 9 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital I
Recital I
I. whereas the fact that EU Member States constitute a numerical minority within the UNHRC compared to the fact that the African and Asian regional groups together represent 55% of the States within that body poses a serious challenge to the integration of EU positions in the work of the UNHRC, which poses a serious challenge to the integration of EU positions in the work of the UNHRC and therefore forces the EU to build cross-regional alliances with a view to promoting the human rights agenda,
Amendment 12 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital J
Recital J
Amendment 16 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 1
Paragraph 1
1. Notes that the UNHRC has the potential to develop into a valuable framework for the European Union's multilateral human rights efforts; regrets the fact that, during the first two years of its activities, the new body has not achieved substantial progress in improving the United Nations' human rights recddressed efficiently key situations concerning human rights violations around the world;
Amendment 22 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 3 a (new)
Paragraph 3 a (new)
3a. Welcomes the fact that the procedure for elections to the UNHRC has made it possible to exclude from the UNHRC major human rights violators such as Iran and Belarus ; regrets, nevertheless, that not all geographic groups have organised genuine procedures for elections concerning accession to the UNHRC; regrets that the system of voluntary pledges has had very disparate and inadequate results, enabling governments to shy away from their international human rights obligations; in this regard, is deeply concerned by the instrumental use of so-called commitments by some members and therefore reaffirms that full cooperation with Special Procedures should remain the bottom-line criterion for acceding to the UNHRC;
Amendment 23 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 4
Paragraph 4
4. Regrets the growing division of the UNHRC into regional blocs; considers that this "bloc mentality" undermines its ability to deal effectively, impartially and objectively with human rights violations around the world; considers that this "bloc mentality" could be the real cause of the politicisation and selectivity of the UNHRC; looking ahead to the 2011 review, stresses that, if the situation does not improve, serious consideration should be given to opening up the UNHRC to universal membership, as in the case of the Third Committee of the General Assembly;
Amendment 27 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 4 a (new)
Paragraph 4 a (new)
4a. Recognises that a number of delegations in Geneva are insufficiently equipped to pursue human rights negotiations adequately and thus rely on group leaders to formulate their position; nevertheless, notes that this trend has been efficiently counterbalanced with regard to several key issues such as the code of conduct for Special Procedures and the situation in Darfur, notably within the Asian and African groups; emphasises at the same time that the positions adopted jointly by the EU together with the acceding countries have greatly contributed to the bloc mentality by forcing the other members to adopt the same attitude;
Amendment 28 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 4 b (new)
Paragraph 4 b (new)
4b. Acknowledges that the broad membership of the Council and the participation of many observer states ensures that virtually all countries are involved in the Council's debates; wonders, however, whether this broad participation is not undermining the body's effectiveness in terms of its ability to take decisions in response most serious situations and most important challenges as regards the protection of human rights in today's world;
Amendment 29 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 4 c (new)
Paragraph 4 c (new)
4c. Considers, looking ahead to the 2011 review, that the possibility of opening up the UNHRC to universal membership could be explored, while a smaller composition could prove to be beneficial; recalls, in this connection, that the task of the Third Committee of the United Nations General is to pass on within this body, which includes all UN member states, the main concerns of the Human Rights Council; considers that this body can also offset the Council's shortcomings, just as the General Assembly does with regard to the decisions of the Security Council, which is an important element of complementarity between the UNHCR and the Third Committee; calls on the EU to reiterate its commitment to supporting the UNHRC and improving its effectiveness, as a unique platform specialising in universal human rights and a specific forum dealing with human rights within the UN system;
Amendment 30 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 5
Paragraph 5
5. Expresses strong concern at the fact that the principle of the universality of human rights isinternationally recognised human rights norms and fundamental freedoms are being increasingly undermined, as illustrated in particular by the attempts on the part of certain countries to introduce limits to well-recognised human rights, such as freedom of expression, or to interpret human rights against a cultural or traditional background; calls on the EU to remain vigilant vis-à-vis these attempts and to strongly defend the principles of the universality, indivisibility and interdependence of human rights;
Amendment 33 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 6
Paragraph 6
Amendment 35 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 8 a (new)
Paragraph 8 a (new)
8a. Notes the introduction of conditions for the suspension of the country mandate of Burundi; recognises the importance of defining an exit strategy for each of these country procedures, but stresses that they should be based on the realisation of fully-fledged human rights action plans;
Amendment 39 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 15
Paragraph 15
15. Welcomes the fact that the UPR has provided an incentive to many States to commit themselves to reporting to treaty bodies, ratifyimplementing their international obligations, following up on the conclusions and recommendations of Treaty bodies and Special Procedures, presenting overview reports to Treaty bodies, responding to outstanding requests for the invitation of Special procedures and ratifying outstanding treaties and even adopting national legislation aimed at ensuring compliance with obligations stemming from treaties to which they have signed up;
Amendment 40 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 18
Paragraph 18
18. Deplores the lack of focus on economic, social and cultural rights as well as the rights of minorities during the UPR process and calls for increased attention to be given to these rights during the coming sessions, in line with the principle of the universality, indivisibility and interdependence of human rights;
Amendment 42 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 19
Paragraph 19
19. Denounces the use of political alliances to shield certain States from scrutiny rather than to critically assess human rights conditions and protections, which seriously undermines the very purpose of the UPR; notes that this practice reached a dangerous level in the review of Tunisia, which appeared to be an orchestratedcontained declarations significantly contradicting independent expercise in filibusterts' findings;
Amendment 43 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 20
Paragraph 20
20. Takes note ofWelcomes the EU's decision not to coordinate efforts in respect of the UPR process by agreeing on a list of questions to be asked or undertaking any common analysis ofmake joint interventions in the country reviews but to ensure the complementarity of interventions so that the broad spectrum of issues may be raised; stresses in theis reports in anspect the EU's attempts to break down the “bloc mentality” at the UNHRC by raising questions on each other's record;
Amendment 45 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 21
Paragraph 21
21. Expresses concern that, in several cases, the final report of the UPR and the interactive dialogue during the review did not reflect the information contained in the summary documents or even in the concluding remarks contradicting independent experts' findings, thus depriving the review process of its significapertinence, and that the recommendations put forward in the reports of the Working Group are too vague and lack any operational substance; calls the members of the UPR Working Group to provide measurable, concrete, realistic and victim- oriented recommendations in its future reviews, based on information established by independent monitoring mechanisms or NGOs;
Amendment 46 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 22
Paragraph 22
22. Regrets the non-binding character of UPR recommendations, which stems from the right that the UPR affords States to decide which recommendations they can accept; notes that in some cases, such as thatpromote the implementation of international human rights obligations, as seen in the case of Sri Lanka, where the percentage of accepted recommendations was low; considers, however, that not all recommendations may be valuable or in line with international human rights obligations; therefore considers that this illustrates the fact that the UPR may prove not to be the most useful instrument in suchcertain cases, and highlights the importance of grounding the UPR process in the work of independent monitoring mechanisms and findings by NGOs while maintaining UNCHR country mandates;
Amendment 50 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 27
Paragraph 27
27. Welcomes the retention of the practice of the participation of human rights NGOs in the debates and hopes that this participation will be improved and strengthened in the future; reiterates its call for a reform of the UN Committee on NGOs, so as to ensure the effective participation of independent NGOs, and points out that recommendations for accreditation must be made by independent experts on the basis of the work and contributions of NGOs;
Amendment 56 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 32
Paragraph 32
32. Encourages the efforts of the OHCHR to strengthen its presence on the ground through the opening of regional offices; in this respect, welcomes the signing of a memorandum of understanding between the OHCHR and the Kyrgyz authorities on the opening of an OHCHR regional office in Bishkek; reiterates its appreciation of the crucial work done by the office in support of Treaty bodies and Special Procedures;
Amendment 57 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 33
Paragraph 33
33. Expresses its appreciation of the work of Ms Louise Arbour as head of the OHCHR, together with the commitment and integrity that she has shown, and expresses its hopeis confident that her successor, Ms Navanethem Pillay, will engage with similar enthusiasm and live up to the challenges of the post;
Amendment 59 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 35 a (new)
Paragraph 35 a (new)
35a. Recognises the commitments made by the EU to addressing country situations in theUNHRC; nevertheless regrets the lack of initiative and tangible results in responding adequately to the situation in the Palestinian Occupied Territories;
Amendment 61 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 37
Paragraph 37
37. Takes noteWelcomes the fact that the EU Member States participating in the UNHRC are split into two regional groupings, namely the Western European States group and the Eastern European States group; notes that the EU opposes the presentation of “clean slates” by regions, which results, effectively, in EU Member States competing between themselves for election to the UNHRC;
Amendment 65 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 40
Paragraph 40
40. Welcomes the increasing trend whereby EU Member States intervene in the debates in addition to the EU Presidency; calls on EU Member States to reinforce the EU’s message by putting across "one message, but with many voices"; encourages EU Member States to further develop cross-regional initiatives as a useful way of counteracting bloc policies;
Amendment 76 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 49 a (new)
Paragraph 49 a (new)
Amendment 80 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 51
Paragraph 51
51. Reaffirms the need for a clear vision, political agenda and long-term strategy as regards the functioning of the UNHRC as well as the activities of EU Member States within that body, especially as regards the review of the HRC to be undertaken in 2011; considers that this strategy should include clear benchmarks; in this respect, calls on the EU to: – reaffirm and strongly defend the principles of the universality, indivisibility and interdependence of human rights; – ensure that the ability of the UNHRC to address country situations, including through country mandates, is preserved and reinforced; – do its utmost to strengthen, notably through comprehensive and fully-fledged human rights action plans associated with these mechanisms; – ensure the independence and effectiveness of Special Procedures in general; –, and work towards further improvement of the efficiency of the UPR procesthe realisation of the obligation to cooperate with Special Procedures for members of the UNHRC; – work towards the grounding of the UPR process in the work of independent mechanisms and NGOs; – reaffirm the UNHRC's specific role as a universthe principal and legitimate international human rights forum and its complementarity vis-à-vis other UN bodies; – safeguard the independence of the OHCHR; – reinforce its external coalition-building strategy, notably through cross-regional initiatives; – further address its internal/external human rights credibility, notably throughTreaty ratification;