Activities of Nicole KIIL-NIELSEN related to 2013/2020(INI)
Shadow reports (1)
REPORT on the situation of human rights in the Sahel region PDF (407 KB) DOC (198 KB)
Shadow opinions (1)
OPINION on the situation of human rights in the Sahel region
Amendments (29)
Amendment 9 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 1
Paragraph 1
1. Recalls that where more women are engaged in conflict resolution and peace- building processes, they play a key role in peace negotiations, broadening the scope of reconstruction, rehabilitation and peace buildinglong-term stability; therefore encourages the participation of women in all reconciliation efforts in Mali and in the north of the country especially; calls for national action plans under UN Security Council Resolution 1325 to be subject to regular reviews and for the priority points to be updated regularly;
Amendment 14 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 1 a (new)
Paragraph 1 a (new)
1a. Stresses that efforts to tackle impunity, including in connection with gender- based violence in conflicts, which is an affront to women's dignity, are key to restoring stability and building lasting peace; welcomes, therefore, the application to the ICC by the Malian Government and the establishment of an international commission of inquiry into the crimes and human rights violations committed in Mali;
Amendment 17 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 2
Paragraph 2
2. Recognises the positive role played by the European Instrument for Democracy and Human Rights (EIDHR) in the protection of women’s rights and in the consolidation of democracy in third countries and recalls that democracy entails the full participation of women in public life;
Amendment 29 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 4
Paragraph 4
4. Calls on the Commission, the EEAS and the Council to encourage more countries in the region to make explicit statutory provision for women’s and girls’ rights and to prioritise programmes that would ensure those rights, in particular, access to education, the financial independence of womenpublic services, including in the field of education and health, in particular sexual and reproductive health, access to resources and to loans particularly in rural areas, empowerment and the financial independence of women, in particular by helping them make the transition from informal to formal work, the participation of women in political and economic decision-making by promoting temporary measures such as quotas where necessary, and the elimination of all forms of violence against women and girls;
Amendment 33 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 4 a (new)
Paragraph 4 a (new)
4a. Draws attention to the need to involve local women's associations in setting up and implementing projects, taking account of their knowledge and experience and making it easier for them to access national and international public funding;
Amendment 38 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 5
Paragraph 5
5. Calls on the Special Representatives of the EU for the Sahel and for human rights to develop joint actions to ensure women’s rights in the region more effectively; urges that the European Commission, the EEAS and partner states make women’s rights and gender equality a priority for bilateral aid programmes., and that they provide sustainable and reliable funding for initiatives aimed at empowering women and boosting gender equality;
Amendment 66 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital H
Recital H
H. whereas a ceasefire in Western Sahara between the Moroccan Government and the Polisario Front has been in place since 1991; whereas the UN considers Western Sahara a non-self-governing territory; whereas no country recognises Moroccan sovereignty over Western Sahara; whereas the Sahrawi Arab Democratic Republic is currently recognised by the AU and over 45 UN states, but not by the UN collectively or by any EU Member State; whereas the UN andrecognises Morocco as the de facto administrative power of Western Sahara; notes with surprise that the EU does not explicitly consider Morocco to be an occupying power; whereas a referendum on the status of Western Sahara, first agreed on principle in 1988, has still not taken place;
Amendment 100 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 4
Paragraph 4
4. Attaches particular urgency to the human rights situation in Mali, with reports of serious human rights violations in northern Mali by armed groups; notes that alleged crimes include mass rape, mutilation, cruel treatment and torture, ethnic-based violence, summary executions, illegal arrests and passing of sentences without due process, forced disappearances, the use of child soldiers, forced marriages, intentionally directing attacks against protected objects, and destruction and looting of property; notes that, since January 2013, there have also been reports of human rights violations by elements of the Malian security forces and vigilante groups against the Tuareg and Arab communities, and other groups perceived to have cooperated or been associated with rebel groups; urges the Malian authorities and their international partners to pay close attention to the new patterns of human rights violations, including reprisals based on ethnicity, that have emerged since the recovery of certain parts of northern Mali, and could constitute an obstacle to peace-building and reconciliation if not properly addressed; calls upon the Malian Government to facilitate the reporting of abuses in any future offensives, and to respect due process when interrogating suspected militants; reiterates its condemnation of the atrocities committed against the civilian population; recalls the International Criminal Court (ICC) Prosecutor's determination of a reasonable basis to believe that atrocities committed in the Mali conflict constitute war crimes; believes moreover that some atrocities could constitute crimes against humanity;
Amendment 105 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 4 a (new)
Paragraph 4 a (new)
4a. Welcomes the fact that a peace accord was signed in Mali on 18 June 2013 in order to pave the way for the presidential election and for peace negotiations between the Malian authorities and non- terrorist armed groups in northern Mali and that the signatories have all promised to end human rights violations in every form; urges the Malian authorities and their international partners to pay close attention to the new patterns of human rights violations, including reprisals based on ethnicity, which could constitute an obstacle to peace-building and reconciliation if not properly addressed; welcomes the fact that the Malian Government has set up units to monitor military operations in northern Mali and opened investigations into the human rights violations allegedly committed by certain elements of the Malian armed forces; calls on the Government to redouble its efforts and respect due process when interrogating suspected militants;
Amendment 107 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 5
Paragraph 5
5. Notes with grave concern the UNHCR’s estimate of almost 300 000 internally displaced persons in Mali, in addition to over 175 000 refugees in neighbouring countries; calls for immediate action in those refugee camps which are reportedlyand in those parts of northern Mali which are suffering from extreme food insecurity and alarming levels of child mortality; maintains that the immediate action in question has to be taken before the start of the rainy season in July; appeals to international donors to honour their financial commitments as a matter of urgency and, without delay, to raise the $290 million needed to enable the UNHCR to halt the severe food crisis now affecting 3.4 million Malians; stresses the importance of securing the refugees’ and IDPs’ safety, and facilitating their orderly return to their home communities as a key element of national reconciliation;
Amendment 113 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 7
Paragraph 7
7. Abhors the grave violations against children in Mali, including the reported use of child soldiers by all of the armed groups active in the north; emphasises the importance of allocating sufficient recourses to the tasks of demobilisation and rehabilitation of child soldiers; welcomes the draft agreement being drawn up between the Malian Government and the United Nations whereby child soldiers involved in the armed groups are to be handed over to UN representatives; condemns in the strongest terms the sexual violence against girls, forced marriages, abductions and attacks on schools and hospitals that have occurred during the Mali conflict; draws attention to the capture and detention of children for intelligence purposes and to the cases of abandonment of children born as a result of rape crimes in northern Mali as a worrying emerging trend thato which a solution needs to be addressed found as a matter of the utmost urgency;
Amendment 125 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 10
Paragraph 10
10. Welcomes the substantial African contingent within the MINUSMA mission, and in particular the AU’s decision to send human rights observers embedded within it; welcomes the fact that the armed groups and the Malian authorities which signed the interim peace accord of 18 June have promised to facilitate the phased deployment of human rights observers in northern Mali; welcomes furthermore the European Commission’s endeavour to train additional local observers within the European Instrument for Democracy and Human Rights; urges the EU to learn lessons from this experience and to explore appropriate ways to have available pools of trained experts, who could be quickly deployed on the ground in urgent situations to give professional advice to EU policy- makers if necessary;
Amendment 134 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 12
Paragraph 12
12. Considers the need to fight impunity and hold all perpetrators of serious human rights violations accountable, irrespective of affiliation and status, as key to ensuring lasting peace and stability in Mali; welcomes therefore the Malian Government’s referral of the situation to the ICC and the ICC Prosecutor’s opening of formal investigations; calls on the EU and other international partners of Mali to help the government to pursue its objective of investigating and prosecuting perpetrators of abuses; calls on the Malian Government to consider establishing a Truth and Reconciliation Commission, along the South African lines, to encourage dialogue and foster trust between communitiewelcomes Article 18 of the interim peace accord of 18 June 2013 and the undertaking by the Malian authorities and the signatory armed groups to set up an international committee of inquiry as soon as possible to investigate war crimes, crimes against humanity, and other serious breaches of international and humanitarian law in all parts of Mali; calls on the EU and other international partners of Mali to help the Malian authorities to implement the provisions of the interim peace accord; welcomes the fact that the Dialogue and Reconciliation Commission was set up in March 2013 to serve for a two-year term, and maintains that the commission must be as broadly representative as possible and that its work has to produce practical results as soon as possible; welcomes the fact that the national reconciliation process, encompassing all elements of Malian society, is to be launched after the presidential election, once a new Malian government has been installed; calls on the EU and its partners in the international community to support the national reconciliation and inclusive dialogue process;
Amendment 184 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 22
Paragraph 22
22. Notes with due seriousness the extreme and pervasive poverty of Mali, Niger, Chad and Burkina Faso, and acknowledges its detrimental impact on the prospects of realising human rights; expresses grave concern over the high maternal and under- five child mortality rates in the region; draws attention to the inverse relationship between the level of education among mothers and the infant mortality rate and accordingly points to the importance of promoting schooling for girls; stresses the UN’s findings of lower mortality rates among better educated mothers as a rallying call for universal education; points out that fast population growth puts additional pressure on governments’ capacity to protect even the most basic economic and social rights; considers it necessary, therefore, to provide better access to health services and – as far as sexual and reproductive rights are concerned – to family planning services in particular;
Amendment 191 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 23 a (new)
Paragraph 23 a (new)
23a. Draws attention once again to the need to make development aid for States contingent on respect for fundamental rights; reiterates that the allocation of European development aid funding can be effective only if the Union is in a position to carry out proper scrutiny of the way that funding is used, in order to satisfy itself that it is not being diverted from its intended purpose; reaffirms the need, if human rights are to be safeguarded effectively, to make the EU’s external and internal policies more consistent, in keeping with the EU’s development aims;
Amendment 202 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 25
Paragraph 25
25. Condemns in the strongest possible terms the ongoing slavery in Mauritania; is shocked by evidence that up to20 % of Mauritania's population reportedly lives in slavery, embedded in a rigid caste system, despite the country's official abolition of slavery in 1981 and its criminalisation in 2007; notes thatpractice of hereditary slavery, which is still widespread in the Sahel, and in Mauritania in particular; urges the Mauritanian Government is extremely reluctant to acknowledge the continued widespread existence of slavery, and that to date only one legal case against a slave owner is known to have seen successful prosecution; urges the Mauritanian Government to live up to its national and international legal commitments and obligations tothorities of the States concerned to enact as soon as possible, in cooperation with the International Labour Organisation, appropriate specific laws which can be used to combat this phenomenon effectively; end all forms of slavery; furthermore, urges the Mauritanian authorities to stop harassing local civil society organisationsmphasises that anti-slavery laws should make provision for procedures for caompaigning for an end toensating persons held as slaverys; calls on the Commission and the Member States to continue to support the work of Mauritanian as well as international anti- slavery organisations, including the UN Special Rapporteur (UNSR) on contemporary formsensure that laws of this kind are in fact adopted, implemented and enforced in such a way as to end the practice of slavery;
Amendment 204 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 25 a (new)
Paragraph 25 a (new)
25a. Declares itself extremely shocked by evidence that 20 % of Mauritania's population reportedly lives in slavery, trapped in a rigid caste system, despite the country's official abolition of slavery in 1981 and its criminalisation in 2007; expresses deep concern at the institutionalised nature of this practice, which reaches as far as the civil service; deplores the fact that the Mauritanian Government is extremely reluctant to acknowledge the continued widespread existence of slavery, and that to date only one successful prosecution has been brought against a slave owner; urges the Mauritanian Government to honour its national and international legal commitments and obligations to end all forms of slavery; urges, further, the Mauritanian authorities to stop harassing local civil society organisations campaigning for an end to slavery and to waive all the charges brought against their members and representatives; calls on the Commission and the Member States to continue to support the work of Mauritanian and international anti- slavery organisations, including the UN Special Rapporteur (UNSR) on contemporary forms of slavery;
Amendment 208 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 26
Paragraph 26
26. Notes, furthermore, with great concern, that slavery persists across the wider Sahel region, withthere are a large numbers of people in bonded labour in Mali, Niger and elsewhere; urges the responsible national and international authorities to take action in this regard, with particular attention to the position and vulnerability of women and girls, inter alia assisting victims' rehabilitation and reintegration, collecting data, and organising awareness-raising campaigns;
Amendment 222 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 29
Paragraph 29
29. Notes the discrimination and violence faced by women and girls in much of the region, the manifestations of which include forced marriage, child marriage, sexual exploitation, under-education and, particularly in Chad, widespread female genital mutilation, including infibulation; calls on the EU to assistprovide financial support for local women's groups and civil society to tackle oppression, and enable women to lead lives that they have freely chosen;
Amendment 258 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 37
Paragraph 37
37. Emphasises the need for human rights in Western Sahara to be considered without anticipating any final political settlement or expressing a view on such a settlement; reiterates, nevertheless, that self- determination is a fundamental human right, as specified by Article 1 of the UN International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights; moreover, recalls UN Security Council Resolution 1754, urging the parties to enter into negotiations in good faith, without preconditions, 'with a view to achieving a just, lasting and mutually acceptable political solution, which would provide for the self- determination of the people of Western Sahara'; fears that the 25-year delay in arranging a referendum is increasing Sahrawi alienation and the potential for violence, particularly amongst the young; calls on the European Union to become more closely involved and to support the United Nations in its efforts to encourage the parties to resume direct negotiations with a view to securing a peaceful and lasting resolution of the conflict;
Amendment 270 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 38
Paragraph 38
38. Expresses deep concern at the recent report from the UNSR on torture, who found credible evidence that Moroccan officials have detained individuals on political grounds, inflicted torture and rape on Sahrawi inmates, kidnapped and abandoned protesters in the desert to intimidate them, and deliberately and frequently targeted pro-independence advocates, including in their homes; notes further widespread allegations of forced disappearances and unfair trials; draws particular attention to the dismantling of the Gdeim Izik protest camp in November 2010, where significant violence claimed Moroccan and Sahrawi lives, and the subsequent trial of 25 Sahrawis, many of them known human rights activists, in February 2013; notes Morocco's insistence regarding the trial's fairness and due process, and the positivecontradictory conclusions of some international observers, but also recalls the OHCHR's and the UNSR's concern at the use of a military court, the allegations of torture, and the Moroccan authorities' failure to investigate them; notes the conclusions by some NGOs and human rights observers relating to the case's alleged politicised prosecutions, deficient evidence and excessive sentences to try civilians, the serious allegations of torture, including reports of rape from Sahrawi inmates, and the court’s refusal to allow any investigations or medical examinations to be conducted in that connection; notes the conclusions by some NGOs and human rights observers relating to the case's alleged politicised prosecutions, deficient evidence and excessive sentences; deplores the fact that Morocco’s decision no longer to try civilians in military courts was made after the military court sentenced the 25 Sahrawis, who are unable to lodge an appeal with the Supreme Court; calls therefore on the Moroccan authorities to work with civil society and other actors to guarantee the transparency and fairness of its judicial processes, and to investigate and prosecute security officials alleged to have been involved in arbitrary detentions, torture and other abuses of power;
Amendment 274 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 38 a (new)
Paragraph 38 a (new)
38a. Condemns the fact that on Wednesday 6 March 2013 Morocco expelled a delegation of four Members of the European Parliament; notes that the aim of the delegation was to visit the territories of Western Sahara, to inquire about the situation of human rights and to meet with representatives of the MINURSO; condemn Morocco's authorities behaviour and demands the Kingdom of Morocco to permit free access and free movement in Western Sahara to independent observers, members of parliaments, to the press and to humanitarian organisations;
Amendment 279 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 39
Paragraph 39
39. Reiterates the concerns of the 2006 OHCHR report, as well as those voiced by the UNSR on torture, about restrictions on freedom of speech, assembly and association in Western Sahara; notes Morocco's claim to allow sit-ins and other forms of protest but points out that, according to local NGOs and international observers, Sahrawi demonstrators have been beaten, abducted and tortured by Moroccan forces; regrets Morocco's apparent institutional obstruction of NGOs advocating a pro- independence position by preventing their legal registration and recognition; condemns the often severe punishments for 'undermining Moroccan territorial integrity', an item of legislation reportedly used to target Sahrawis peacefully advocating independence; recalls the findings of the UN Independent Expert on cultural rights that the Moroccan authorities suppress certain aspects ofon Morocco to accept the five recommendations regarding the human rights situation in Western Saharawi culture, and repeats her call to overturn such measures and promote full cultural diversity that were made by the UN Human Rights Council in September 2012 as part of the universal periodic review for Morocco;
Amendment 281 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 39 a (new)
Paragraph 39 a (new)
39a. Recalls the finding of the UN Independent Expert on cultural rights that the Moroccan authorities suppress certain aspects of Sahrawi culture, and repeats her call to overturn such measures and promote full cultural diversity;
Amendment 292 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 40
Paragraph 40
40. WelcomNotes the significant economic and infrastructural development implemented by the Moroccan Government in Western Sahara; remains concerned, however, by the ongoing dispute over the exploitation of the territory's natural resources, particularly relating to phosphate mines, fisheries, and preliminary oil exploration; recalls the UN Under-Secretary-General for Legal Affairs' advice in 2002, which stressed the Western Saharan people's 'inalienable rights' to their territory's natural resources, and determined that further exploitation 'in disregard of the interests and wishes of the people of Western Sahara' would be illegal; stresses, therefore, that Western Saharan goods and resources should be exempt from any trade agreements between Morocco and the EU unless the Sahrawi population's consent and benefit can be clearly demonstrated; expresses particular concern that the EU should not re-institute a fisheries agreement with Morocco while this controversy remains unresolved; calls on the Commission explicitly to exclude Western Saharan territorial waters from the fisheries agreement currently being renegotiated with Morocco;
Amendment 293 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 40
Paragraph 40
40. Welcomes the significant economic and infrastructural development implemented by the Moroccan Government in Western Sahara; remains concerned, however, by the ongoing dispute over the exploitation of the territory's natural resources, particularly relating to phosphate mines, fisheries, and preliminary oil exploration; recalls the UN Under-Secretary-General for Legal Affairs' advice in 2002, which stressed the Western Saharan people's ‘inalienable rights’ to their territory's natural resources, and determined that further exploitation ‘in disregard of the interests and wishes of the people of Western Sahara’ would be illegal; stresses, therefore, that Western Saharan goods and resources should be exempt from any trade agreements between Morocco and the EU unless the Sahrawi population's consent and benefit can be clearly demonstrated; expresses particular concern thatinvites the EU shouldto not re-institute a fisheries agreement with Morocco while this controversy remains unresolved;
Amendment 319 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 44
Paragraph 44
44. Notes that while most recent observers, and reports from the OHCHR, Robert F. Kennedy Center for Justice and Human Rights, and Human Rights Watch, have identified little evidence of systemic and institutional human rights violations in the camps, multiple actors, including the Moroccan Government, Moroccan NGOs and some former inhabitants of Tindouf, have alleged that the Polisario authorities restrict inhabitants’ freedom of expression and freedom of movement, practise or permit slavery, forcibly marry children, and separate families in order to send children to Cuba for military training; notes Polisario's vigorous denials of these accusations, which it claims are politically motivated; notes Polisario's vigorous denials of these accusations and its willingness to cooperate with UN human rights agencies; calls therefore on Polisario to allow independent human rights observers full, regular and unfettered access to the camps; amidst reported evidence of some residual private slavery in both Tindouf and Western Sahara, calls on the Polisario and Moroccan authorities to redouble their efforts to terminate this practice and rehabilitate its victims;
Amendment 327 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 45
Paragraph 45
45. Welcomes efforts to improve the documentation of alleged human rights abuses in Western Sahara, in particular through the institution of the Moroccan National Council for Human Rights (CNDH), with offices in Laayoune and Dakhla; notes the positive work of the CNDH, and calls on the Moroccan Government to help strengthen its independence and remit, and to ensure the implementation of its recommendations; furthermore welcomes Moroccan invitations to, and acceptances of, ad-hoc international delegations, including the UNSR on torture, and the fact that those invitations were accepted, and urges the Moroccan authorities to give authorisation for fact- finding missions to be conducted by other international organisations, such as the African Commission on Human and Peoples’ Rights and the European Parliament; urges all relevant parties to continue such engagement with UN human rights bodies;
Amendment 334 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 46
Paragraph 46
46. Notes, nevertheless, the serious and contested allegations against both the Moroccan and Polisario administrations, and recalls the UN Secretary-General's recent emphasis on 'independent, impartial, comprehensive and sustained monitoring of the human rights situation in both Western Sahara and the camps'; notes with dismay, in this regard, that the UN did not upgrade the mandate of MINURSO in April 2013 to incorporate a human rights dimensionfailed to incorporate a human rights dimension into the mandate of MINURSO in April 2013; encourages the UN to do so, or else to establish a new, permanent, impartial human rights body for the purpose of supervising and reporting on the overall situation of human rights, and investigating individual complaints; calls on such a body to encompass the Moroccan-controlled section of Western Sahara, the Tindouf camps, and other territory controlled by the Polisario Front;