Activities of María Soraya RODRÍGUEZ RAMOS related to 2021/2055(INI)
Plenary speeches (1)
Persecution of minorities on the grounds of belief or religion (short presentation)
Shadow reports (1)
REPORT on the persecution of minorities on the grounds of belief or religion
Amendments (64)
Amendment 1 #
Motion for a resolution
Citation 15 a (new)
Citation 15 a (new)
— having regard to UN General Assembly resolution on promoting a culture of peace and tolerance to safeguard religious sites, adopted on 21 January 2021,
Amendment 8 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 1
Paragraph 1
1. Acknowledges that churchesRecalls that freedom of belief and religion are fundamental human rights, enshrined in the EU Charter of fundamental rights and the United Nations Universal Declaration of Human Rights; recognizes the importance of freedom of belief and freedom of religion for an inclusive society and for the full and entire achievement of the 2030 SDGs; acknowledges that institutions of and places of worship, faith- based organisations (FBOs) and religious associations have a major role in the social fabric of developing countries, are important partners in delivering humanitarian assistance to hard-to-reach communities and can greatly contribute to sustainable development and to achieving the SDGs, in particular SDGs 3 and 4; further notes that churchesinstitutions and places of worship and FBOs deliver in social sectors where shortcomings in state services are experienced;
Amendment 12 #
Motion for a resolution
Citation 29 a (new)
Citation 29 a (new)
— having regard to its resolution of 17 December 2020 on forced labour and the situation of the Uyghurs in the Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region,
Amendment 13 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 1 a (new)
Paragraph 1 a (new)
1 a. Recalls that combatting discrimination against all minorities regardless of their traditions, belief or religion, and promoting and protecting their rights, contribute vastly to social and political stability, poverty reduction, democratic governance, and conflict prevention;
Amendment 16 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 1 b (new)
Paragraph 1 b (new)
1 b. Considers that freedom of belief and freedom of religion is only possible with the assurance of personal and human freedom, including the right to sexual and reproductive health and the right to self-determination, regardless of origin or sexual orientation;
Amendment 19 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 1 c (new)
Paragraph 1 c (new)
1 c. Condemns the criminalization and other punitive treatment of minority traditions in legal systems through the instrumentalisation of religion; Condemns the use of religion and religious interpretation to the detriment of human rights, through the institutional persecution of belief- or religious minorities and for the legal and social restriction of sexual health and of gender and sexuality;
Amendment 21 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 2
Paragraph 2
2. Recognises that FBOs cover approximately 40 % of healthcare and a significant part of education in sub-Saharan Africa alone1 , while their role remains mostly unrecognised; emphasizes that healthcare and education provided by FBOs must be provided to all persons in need, regardless of their religious background, ethnicity, gender or orientation; condemns the severe restrictions on sexual and reproductive healthcare by religious institutions and associations, which are translated into restrictive laws and penal codes; _________________ 1 https://apps.who.int/iris/bitstream/handle/1 0665/43884/9789241596626_eng.pdf
Amendment 34 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 3
Paragraph 3
3. Notes that churchesinstitutions and places of worship and FBOs are frequently the only providers of healthcare, and other social services in remote areas of sub-Saharan Africa and, in conflict- prone settings such as northern Mozambique and otherand in crisis zones;
Amendment 41 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 4
Paragraph 4
4. Welcomes the activities of churchesinstitutions and places of worship and religious leaders in the field of conflict management and mediation, and in fostering reconciliation, dialogue and peace; highlights that inter-religious dialogue is crucial, notably in conflict areas, to foster peace and, reconciliation and an inclusive society on all levels;
Amendment 45 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 4 a (new)
Paragraph 4 a (new)
4 a. Reminds institutions and places of worship, FBOs and religious leaders of their responsibility and role in preventing hatred and violence directed towards religious or belief minorities; calls on all institutions and places of worship, FBOs and religious leaders to promote a tolerant and non-discriminatory discourse and to contribute to constructive exchanges between communities, regardless of their belief or religion, minority and majority alike;
Amendment 51 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital C a (new)
Recital C a (new)
Ca. whereas women face more difficulties in exercising their right to leave a religious or belief community due to lack of social or economic independence or threats of violence or loss of custody of their children;
Amendment 53 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital C b (new)
Recital C b (new)
Cb. whereas indigenous beliefs or religions' practices are part of a people's cultural identity and that indigenous peoples have the right to promote, develop and maintain their institutional structures and their distinctive customs, spirituality, traditions, procedures, practices according to international human rights standards;
Amendment 54 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital C c (new)
Recital C c (new)
Cc. whereas discrimination on the grounds of religion and belief forces many individuals and communities to migrate or become internally displaced; whereas the instrumentalization of religion and belief constitutes an important driver of conflict worldwide;
Amendment 56 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 5
Paragraph 5
5. Calls on the Commission and the Council to makcontinue the fight against the persecution of religious minorities and to priorityize, promote and protect freedom of belief, assembly, expression and speech in the programming of activities related to EU development assistance, in line with the areas of cooperation for geographic and thematic programmes of NDICI-Global Europe;
Amendment 57 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital C d (new)
Recital C d (new)
Cd. whereas the lack of knowledge and recognition on the role that religions and beliefs play for individuals and communities fuels intolerance, hate speech, stereotypes and contributes to increase discriminatory attitudes and behaviours;
Amendment 59 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital C e (new)
Recital C e (new)
Ce. whereas social networks are increasingly used as a forum for incitement to hatred, intimidation and violence by religious, political and organized groups;
Amendment 59 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 5 a (new)
Paragraph 5 a (new)
5 a. Recognizes that LGBTQI+ communities are a part of faith traditions; Recognizes that as all human beings, LGBTQI+ persons have a right to freedom of expression, speech, belief and religion; reiterates the importance of the role that religious authorities can play to ensure that religion and tradition are not utilized to discriminate, criminalize or exclude persons based on their sexual orientation and gender identity;
Amendment 64 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 5 b (new)
Paragraph 5 b (new)
5 b. Calls on the EU and its Member States to strengthen legal and institutional protection mechanisms to ensure that human rights of members of minorities on the basis of belief and religion, as well as those of women, children and members of the LGBTQI+ community are ensured and to guarantee that others in vulnerable situations, such as migrants, refugees and internally displaced persons are fully protected on the basis of their fundamental rights and are not subjected to discrimination on the basis of their belief or religion;
Amendment 65 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital D
Recital D
Amendment 68 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital E
Recital E
Amendment 69 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 6
Paragraph 6
6. Calls on the EU to develop the necessaryan adequate accountability, reaction and sanction mechanisms to combat effectively violations of freedom of religion or belief, including discrimination or legal restrictions based on religion or belief in its partner countries, as well as any kind of impediment to freedom of religion or belief, freedom of association and freedom of expression.
Amendment 81 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 1
Paragraph 1
1. Affirms its unwavering commitment to promoting and protecting the rights of persons belonging to religious and belief 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;
Amendment 87 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 2
Paragraph 2
2. Takes the view that, regardless of their religion and belief, it is essential to promote and help to ensure the inclusion of all citizens in their societies and in political and cultural life;
Amendment 89 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 3
Paragraph 3
3. Stresses that freedom of religion or belief, including freedom to worship, and freedom to believe or not believe, is a human right, and that it often serobservance, practice and teaching, freedom to adopt, change or abandon one's religion or belief and freedom to believe or not believes as a last bastion of liberty and as a source of fierce dend to manifest one's religion or belief, is a human right protected under intermination in highly repressive settingsal law;
Amendment 98 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 4
Paragraph 4
4. Is deeply concerned about the rise over the last decade of violencecoercion, violence and repression 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 religion;
Amendment 111 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 5
Paragraph 5
Amendment 120 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 6
Paragraph 6
Amendment 125 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 7
Paragraph 7
Amendment 135 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 8 a (new)
Paragraph 8 a (new)
8a. Recognizes the important contribution of faith-based non- governmental organizations to development; acknowledges the growing role of some of these organizations in the fight against environmental degradation and in advocacy for peace and reconciliation;
Amendment 137 #
Motion for a resolution
Subheading 1
Subheading 1
Amendment 141 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 9
Paragraph 9
Amendment 146 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 10
Paragraph 10
Amendment 153 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 11
Paragraph 11
Amendment 161 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 12
Paragraph 12
Amendment 167 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 13
Paragraph 13
Amendment 171 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 14
Paragraph 14
Amendment 178 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 15
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;
Amendment 183 #
Motion for a resolution
Subheading 2
Subheading 2
Amendment 187 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 16
Paragraph 16
Amendment 199 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 17
Paragraph 17
Amendment 209 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 18
Paragraph 18
Amendment 218 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 19
Paragraph 19
Amendment 222 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 20
Paragraph 20
Amendment 232 #
Motion for a resolution
Subheading 3
Subheading 3
Amendment 235 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 21
Paragraph 21
Amendment 243 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 22
Paragraph 22
Amendment 258 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 23
Paragraph 23
23. Stresses the paramount importance of holding accountable perpetrators of human rights abuses against persons belonging to religious minorities; calls on the EU and Member States to urgently work towards the establishment of UN mechanisms and committees to investigate current human rights violations against religious minoritbased on religion or beliesf around the world;
Amendment 263 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 24
Paragraph 24
24. Calls on the Council and EU Member States to apply sanctions against individuals and entities responsible for or involved in systematic abuses or violations of the rights of persons belonging to religious minorities, as provided for by the EU Global Human Rights Sanctions Regimfreedom of religion or belief, as provided for by the EU Global Human Rights Sanctions Regime (EU Magnitsky Act); notes that the Rome Statute covers both crimes against humanity and genocide based on the persecution of groups on the basis of religion or belief and establishes a fundamental international legal framework to fight impunity; calls on the EU and its Member States to increase their political and financial support to the International Criminal Court and calls on UN member states to commit to the fight against impunity in this context through the ratification of the Rome Statute;
Amendment 267 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 24
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 religious minorities, as provided for by the EU Global Human Rights Sanctions Regime (EU Magnitsky Act);
Amendment 269 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 25
Paragraph 25
25. Is appalled by the exacerbation of persecution against religious minority groupand belief minorities during the COVID-19 pandemic; denounces the fact that persons belonging to religious and belief 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 religious or belief criteria;
Amendment 272 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 25 a (new)
Paragraph 25 a (new)
25a. Calls on the EU and its Member States to recognize the rights, beliefs and values of indigenous peoples, and to commit to address the specific discrimination of indigenous populations based on their beliefs, in a comprehensive manner through EU's external action;
Amendment 274 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 26
Paragraph 26
26. Underlines that women belonging to religious and belief minorities have been specifically and increasingly targeted with the purpose of inflicting harm on their community as a whole; condemns all types of gender-based violence against women; stresses that they are particularly exposed to violent attacks, kidnapping, rape and sexual violence, forced conversion, female genital mutilation, beatings, 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; strongly condemns the use of forced sterilization against women as an extremely violent form of persecution;
Amendment 280 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 26 a (new)
Paragraph 26 a (new)
26a. Condemns the imposition of discriminatory norms based on gender and sexuality rooted in religious orthodoxy, which are often translated into national legislation as secular restrictions; stresses that the defence of "tradition" or "public morality" cannot contradict, in any case, international human rights provisions subscribed by States; expresses deep concern about the situation of LGBTI+ and transgender people, women and girls who, in many contexts, see their conduct criminalized, are subject to gender-related violence and whose access to basic services such as health and education is restricted on the basis of narrow interpretations of religious beliefs or principles, which are often instrumentalized to justify discrimination;
Amendment 282 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 26 b (new)
Paragraph 26 b (new)
26b. Deplores the instrumentalization of religion or beliefs to restrict sexual and reproductive rights and women's access to safe and free abortion worldwide;
Amendment 286 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 27
Paragraph 27
27. Condemns the use by authoritarian regimes of legislation on security, sedition and the fight against terrorism and extremism as an instrument to persecute persons belonging to religious and belief minorities, to outlaw the practise or expression of their religion and gatherings ofor believersf, and to deter the registration of religious or belief 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;
Amendment 290 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 27 a (new)
Paragraph 27 a (new)
27a. Strongly condemns any practice of coercive detention, forced labour and exploitation of belief or religious' minorities as well as the extensive use of digital surveillance technologies to monitor and control population belonging to belief or religious minorities;
Amendment 293 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 27 b (new)
Paragraph 27 b (new)
27b. Deplores the restriction on access to legal documentation and registration for organizations and individuals belonging to religious and belief minorities, and recalls that legal identity is a right that must be guaranteed for all citizens on an equal manner;
Amendment 298 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 28
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 and belief 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;
Amendment 306 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 28 a (new)
Paragraph 28 a (new)
28a. Underlines the importance of strategic approaches and educational initiatives aimed at addressing religious intolerance and hate speech, encouraging interreligious and intercultural dialogue, and building mutual respect and understanding;
Amendment 311 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 28 b (new)
Paragraph 28 b (new)
28b. Deplores destruction and damage to the religious sites, which constitute an integral part of the cultural heritage, and calls for their protection and restoration;
Amendment 320 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 30
Paragraph 30
30. Calls on the Council, the Commission, EEAS and EU Member States to address persecutions based on belief or religion as a priorityn important element 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 religion or belief, encompassing human rights, conflict resolution and interfaith initiatives that involve multiple state and non-state actorsdialogue and mediation, conflict resolution and prevention in cooperation with multiple state and non-state actors such as faith-based organisations, religious leaders and actors, non- believer's groups, civil society organizations and human rights defenders; calls for enhanced cooperation with UN initiatives on this matter; 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;
Amendment 329 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 31
Paragraph 31
31. Urges the EEAS and EU Delegations to include objectives specifically related to the protection of 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 persecution of religious and belief minorities during human rights dialogues with partner countries including a gender- perspective; reiterates its call for Members of the European Parliament to be given access to the content of HRDCSs;
Amendment 335 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 32
Paragraph 32
Amendment 341 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 33
Paragraph 33
33. Recommends strengthening EU multilateral engagement with like-minded states and other actors with a view to promoting and mainstreaming the respect for religious and belief minorities in human rights policies everywhere in the world; calls for the EU and EU Member States to enhance cooperation with the UN, the Council of Europe and the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE), to intensify its dialogues with the African Union and, the Organization of American States, the Association of Southeast Asian Nations, the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation and other regional organisations, and to forge alliances with third countries in order to provide international responses to human rights issues faced by religious and belief minorities, in particular those who are most vulnerable or targeted in conflict areas; also recommends that the EU continue to be the lead sponsor of resolutions on freedom of thought, conscience, religion or belief in the UN General Assembly and the UN Human Rights Council and reiterates its call to step up cooperation with the Office of the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights and the UN Special Rapporteur on freedom of religion or belief on this matter;