Activities of Marie-Christine VERGIAT related to 2014/2216(INI)
Plenary speeches (1)
Annual report on human rights and democracy in the world 2013 and the EU policy on the matter (debate) FR
Shadow reports (1)
REPORT on the Annual Report on Human Rights and Democracy in the World 2013 and the European Union’s policy on the matter PDF (459 KB) DOC (407 KB)
Amendments (46)
Amendment 1 #
Motion for a resolution
Title
Title
Amendment 2 #
Motion for a resolution
Citation 1
Citation 1
– having regard to the Universal Declaration of Human Rights (UDHR) and other United Nations human rights treaties and instruments, in particular the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights and the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights adopted in New York on 16 December 1966,
Amendment 4 #
Motion for a resolution
Citation 1 a (new)
Citation 1 a (new)
– having regard to the UN Millennium Declaration of 8 September 2000 (A/Res/55/2), the UN post-2015 development agenda and the resolutions of the UN General Assembly,
Amendment 5 #
Motion for a resolution
Citation 1 b (new)
Citation 1 b (new)
– having regard to the European Convention on Human Rights,
Amendment 18 #
Motion for a resolution
Citation 21 a (new)
Citation 21 a (new)
– having regard to the UN Human Rights Council Resolution of 26 June 2014 calling for the establishment of an open- ended intergovernmental working group with the aim of drawing up ‘an international legally binding instrument on transnational corporations and other business enterprises with respect to human rights’,
Amendment 23 #
Motion for a resolution
Citation 26 a (new)
Citation 26 a (new)
– having regard to the ILO Convention on Migrant Workers (1949),
Amendment 30 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital A
Recital A
A. whereas Article 21 TEU further strengthened the EU’s commitment to act on the international scene guided by the principles of democracy, the rule of law, the universality and indivisibility of human rights and fundamental freedoms, respect for human dignity, the principles of equality and solidarity, and respect for the principles of the United Nations Charter, the Charter of Fundamental Rights of the European Union and international law; whereas the European Union acceded to the European Convention for the Protection of Human Rights and Fundamental Freedoms pursuant to Article 6 TEU,
Amendment 34 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital B
Recital B
B. whereas respect for, and the promotion and safeguarding of, the universality and indivisibility of human rights arshould as a minimum be cornerstones of the EU’s action on the international scene;
Amendment 39 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital C
Recital C
C. whereas the EU’s credibility in its external relations will be bolstered by increasing consistency between its internal and external policies in relation to human rights; deplores the fact that the European Union’s human rights policy is restricted, and even contradicted, by diplomatic, political or economic considerations, creating double standards which damage all EU policies in this field and are completely contrary to a universal vision of human rights;
Amendment 41 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital D
Recital D
D. whereas the new Vice-President of the Commission and High Representative of the Union for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy (VP/HR) has stated that human rights will be one of her overarching priorities and that she intends to use them as a compass with regard to all her relations with third countries; whereas she has also reiterated the EU’s commitment to promoting human rights in all areas of foreign relations ‘without exception’, and particularly where trade is concerned; whereas the adoption of the new EU Action Plan for human rights and democracy and the renewal of the mandate of the EU Special Representative for human rights will be on the EU agenda at the beginning of 2015;
Amendment 42 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital F
Recital F
F. whereas the EU’s Annual Report, and events after its reporting period, serve as a stark reminder of the grave human cost of the non-observance of human rights; whereas there is also a major material and budgetary cost to the EU as a result of the non-observance of human rights, non-observance of human rights in third countries has an adverse impact on the EU when failure to respect human rights and lack of legitimate democratic participation lead to instability, failed states, humanitarian crises and armed conflicts, phenomena to which the EU is obliged to respond;
Amendment 46 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital I a (new)
Recital I a (new)
Ia. whereas the number of people who are unemployed has risen by 28 million since 2007, and whereas it is estimated that 67 million people are out of work as a result of the systemic crisis; whereas 60.9% of workers in developing countries are still living on less than 4 dollars a day; whereas 1.2 billion people all over the world are living in extreme poverty, and 805 million are suffering from hunger; whereas although the priority MDG of eradicating extreme poverty and hunger had very nearly been attained in part, austerity measures in developed and developing countries have had an adverse impact on the labour market and on living conditions, and have widened the gap between the richest and poorest in society;
Amendment 47 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital J a (new)
Recital J a (new)
Ja. whereas free primary education for all children is a fundamental right established by the 1989 international Convention on the Rights of the Child; whereas educating children and adults helps reduce poverty and infant mortality and promote good environmental practices; whereas access to education for all is intrinsically linked to the gender equality MDG, notably in terms of completing primary education; whereas this goal is far from being achieved;
Amendment 54 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital N
Recital N
N. whereas Article 164 of the UDHR recognises the right of persons to seek asylum from persecution in other countries; whereas the UN Convention on the Status of Refugees clearly states that all refugees are entitled to special protection and that no state shall expel or return a refugee to a territory where he or she faces persecution or threats to life or freedom, whereas the Charter of Fundamental Rights of the European Union recognises the right to human dignity, the right to asylum, protection in the event of removal or expulsion, and the principle of non- refoulement; whereas the UN Convention on the Status of Refugees states in Article 33(1) thereof that no Contracting State shall expel or return (ʽréfoulerʼ) a refugee in any manner whatsoever to the frontiers of territories where his life or freedom would be threatened on account of his race, religion, nationality, membership of a particular social group or political opinion and that no state shall expel or return a refugee to a territory where he or she faces persecution or threats to life or freedom and whereas disembarkation in a third-party country shall be an exceptional circumstance; bearing in mind the obligation to comply with international human rights conventions in accordance with international law and with the obligations on Member States to arrange for reception conditions and procedures which respect people's dignity and fundamental rights;
Amendment 63 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital P
Recital P
P. whereas this report, while drafted in response to the EU Annual Report adopted by the Council, is a forward-looking analysis of the EU’s activities in this policy area; whereas Parliament, in its resolutions on the previous Annual Reports and on the review of the EU human rights strategy, has stressed the need for a continued reflection on its own practices related to the mainstreaming of human rights in its activities and, to the follow-up of its urgency resolutions on breaches of democracy, human rights and the rule of law and to the monitoring of compliance with clauses on democracy and human rights in all agreements concluded by the EU with third countries;
Amendment 67 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 1 a (new)
Paragraph 1 a (new)
1a. Stresses the inalienable right of peoples to self-determination without any outside interference in the political, economic and social life of third countries; warns the EU and its Member States once more against any exploitation of the human rights issue, which would undermine its very credibility;
Amendment 74 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 4
Paragraph 4
4. Points out that in addition to human suffering, the EU should also note the material and budgetary costall the consequences of non- observance of human rights where failure to respect human rights and lack of legitimate democratic participation lead to instability, corruption, failed states, humanitarian crises or armed conflicts, phenomena which undermine the EU’s efforts in its development policy, suffering already from a high level of outstanding payments, and to which the EU or its Member States are obliged to react in the security policy domain; welcomes, in this regard, the EU’s recent efforts to include violations of human rights in its early warning matrix linked to crisis prevention; calls, however, for a stronger preventative action, and urges the VP/HR, the Commission and the Member States to develop a human rights- and political dialogue-based crisis prevention element which should be added to the EU Comprehensive Approach to external conflicts and crises;
Amendment 96 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 7
Paragraph 7
7. Maintains the view that the EU institutions should strive together to improve the format of the report with a view to enabling it to fulfil its potential as a communication tool while not losreach a large section of the public while conserving its comprehensiveness as an implementation report on the EU Strategic Framework and the Action Plan on Human Rights and Democracy; reiterates its readiness to be part of an active and constructive cooperation among the EU institutions in the preparation of future reports;
Amendment 105 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 10
Paragraph 10
10. Expresses its particular concern over the implementation of the commitment made in the Strategic Framework to ‘place human rights at the centre of EU relations with all third countries, including its strategic partners’; urges, accordingly, studied attention by the VP/HR and the EEAS to implementing this commitment and to ensuring human rights and democracy mainstreaming in the EU’s relations with its strategic partners in such central contexts as summit meetings and Council conclusions; calls for more stringency in regard to human rights when choosing third countries with which to establish partnerships;
Amendment 120 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 14
Paragraph 14
14. Stresses that EU human rights policy needs to be consistent in complying with the Treaty obligations, ensuring coherence between internal and external policies, and avoiding double standards; calls, therefore, for the adoption of EU Foreign Affairs Council Conclusions on human rights regarding strategic partners; calls, in this context, for the establishment of common thresholstandards for Member States and for EU officials in terms of the human rights concerns so that twhey have to raise, as a minimum,n raising specific cases of human rights violations with their strategic partner counterparts they do so in a coordinated fashion ;
Amendment 123 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 14 a (new)
Paragraph 14 a (new)
14a. Recognises that the current systemic crisis is having a severe social impact on communities within and outside the European Union, notes that the various austerity plans adopted by the EU and other international institutions, such as the IMF, have led to an erosion in civil liberties and social and democratic rights, and a significant deterioration in living conditions, particularly among the weakest and most vulnerable groups;
Amendment 155 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 20 a (new)
Paragraph 20 a (new)
20a. Stresses the importance of providing electoral assistance and observation together with the United Nations; recalls that such missions must only be sent to countries where democratic processes are in play and where opposition rights and pluralism are respected;
Amendment 182 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 25
Paragraph 25
25. Reiterates its call on the EEAS to continue protecting NGOs, human rights defenders and, civil society activists, journalists and lawyers by raising the effectiveness of EU human rights dialogues and by promoting EU thematic priorities and human rights guidelines; in this context, encourages the organisation of campaigns aimed at reaching human rights defenders also in the more remote areas of third countries, in order to help implement EU policy objectives;
Amendment 189 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 26
Paragraph 26
26. Requests that the EEAS and the EU Delegations engage with human rights defenders in a pragmatic political dialogue aimed at finding the best ways to support an enabling environment for their work; requests that the EU enhance its active diplomacy in third countries and strengthen the position of the human rights focal points in order to mainstream human rights in the daily political work of the EU Delegation, by systematically raising the names of political prisoners and, engaging in trial monitoring and visits to prisons, and commencing the monitoring of trials; stresses the need for the EU to use public diplomacy to support human rights defenders and to call for the release of imprisoned human rights activists;
Amendment 201 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 30
Paragraph 30
30. Stresses again the importance of effective coordination and cooperation between the EEAS, the Commission, the European Parliament and EU Member States on human rights issues; encourages the EEAS, in particular through the EU Delegations in New York and Geneva, to increase EU coherence by means of timely and substantive consultation in order to present the EU position with one voice;
Amendment 203 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 31 a (new)
Paragraph 31 a (new)
31a. recalls, furthermore, the importance of the work carried out by the Council of Europe in this area, as well as the need for the European Union to accede swiftly to the European Convention on Human Rights pursuant to the Treaties;
Amendment 229 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 37
Paragraph 37
37. Notes the revived discussion in the United States on the arbitrariness and error-prone nature of capital punishment, the results of the campaign to stop the flow of substances used for execution from Europe to the United States, and the abolition of the death penalty in 2013 by the state of Maryland; encourages the VP/HR, the EUSR and the EEAS to engage with the US federal government and state governments in order to accelerate the demise of the death penalty in the United States, where all 80 death sentences in 2013 originated in only 2 % of the counties in the entire country, and all 39 executions took place in about 1 % of all counties;
Amendment 241 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 40 a (new)
Paragraph 40 a (new)
40a. Condemns the exportation by European companies of products and arms that can be used for the purposes of torture and other punishments or cruel, inhuman and degrading treatment, including as part of crack-downs on protests; gives its support, in this context, to the process of revision of Regulation (EC) No 1236/2005;
Amendment 249 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 41
Paragraph 41
41. Reiterates its call for the systematic inclusion of human rights clauses in the EU’s international agreements, including trade agreements, concluded with third countries, and calls for effective monitoring of their application as well as for reporting back to the relevant commStresses that introducing these democracy/human rights clauses in free- trade agreements signed by the EU with third countries has been a failure, not only since they have barely been taken into account, but also because those free- trade agreements have even resulted in violations of fundamental economic and social rights, in the impoverishment of the communities concerned and in the monopolisation of resources by multinational companies; believes that besides these clauses there is a need to implement new forms of cooperation to facilitatee of Parlia the economic and social development onf the agreements’ human rights aspectird countries based on the needs of their peoples;
Amendment 257 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 41 a (new)
Paragraph 41 a (new)
41a. Sees a need, moreover, for ex ante monitoring mechanisms prior to a framework agreement being concluded and on which such conclusion is made conditional as a fundamental part of the agreement, and for ex post monitoring mechanisms which enable tangible action to be taken in response to infringements of these clauses, including the possible suspension of the agreement;
Amendment 268 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 43
Paragraph 43
43. Requests that the Commission and the EEAS encourage EU Delegations around the world to engage with EU businesses in order to promote respect for human rights, and to ensure that ‘business and human rights’ is included among the focus themes in the local calls for proposals of the European Instrument for Democracy and Human Rights (EIDHR); calls on the Member States to ensure that companies which come under their national law do not disregard human rights and the social, health and environmental standards they are subject to when moving to, or doing business in, a third country;
Amendment 271 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 43 a (new)
Paragraph 43 a (new)
43a. Points out in particular the urgent need to respect freedom of association and the fight against all forms of repression, including the assassination of trade unionists;
Amendment 273 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 44
Paragraph 44
44. Reiterates its call on the Commission to report on a regular basis on the implementation of the UN Guiding Principles on Business and Human Rights by the EU Member States, including their national action plans; regrets the lack of progress made by the Commission in following up Parliament’s request that it propose legislation requiring EU companies to ensure that their purchases transactions do not support perpetrators of conflicts or grave human rights violations;
Amendment 276 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 45
Paragraph 45
45. Calls on the Commission and the EEAS to take strong initiatives to improve access to justice for victims of human rights violations linked to business operations outside the EU, in particular with regard to the environment, land- grabbing and extractions of natural resources; calls on the Commission, inter alia, to take the necessary measures against European companies which do not compensate in a satisfactory manner the victims of accidents for which those companies are directly or indirectly responsible;
Amendment 283 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 46 a (new)
Paragraph 46 a (new)
46a. Notes that the poorly regulated, uncontrolled and opaque arms trade leads to irresponsible trading in weapons, has caused human suffering, fuelled armed conflict, instability and corruption, undermined peace-building processes, good governance and socio-economic development and led to the overthrow of democratically elected governments and the violation of the rule of law, human rights and international humanitarian law; calls on the EU to ensure that European companies do not contribute to this phenomenon;
Amendment 292 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 48
Paragraph 48
48. Expresses its concern at the spread of monitoring and filtering technologies, which represent a growing threat to human rights and democracy activists in autocratic countries and also pose tproubling questionems regarding privacy rights in democratic countries, even when used with the pretext of legitimate aims such as counter-terrorism or law enforcement; notes that these policies are leading to increasing crackdowns on human rights activists, journalists and, more generally, those active in civil society, by the increasingly widespread keeping of files on the population without those policies having been proven effective; deplores the draft EU PNR agreements with third countries which do not comply with EU legislation on the protection of personal data;
Amendment 297 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 48 a (new)
Paragraph 48 a (new)
48a. Considers that the climate of impunity surrounding the CIA programme has allowed the fundamental rights violations committed in the context of the counter-terrorism policies of the EU and the United States to continue, as is evidenced by the mass espionage activities carried out under the US National Security Agency’s surveillance programme; calls for the immediate suspension of negotiations on the Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership with the United States and of all counter-terrorism cooperation agreements with the United States until such time as European citizens’ rights are guaranteed;
Amendment 322 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 54
Paragraph 54
54. Condemns all violence and discrimination on the basis of religion or belief; expresses its serious concern over the continued reports of violence and discrimination against religious minorities around the world; stresses that the right to freedom of thought, conscience, religion or belief, is a fundamental human right, interrelated with other human rights and fundamental freedoms, encompassing the right to have believefs or not to believe, the freedom to practise theistic, non-theistic or atheistic belief alike, and the right to adopt, change and abandon or return to a belief of one’s choicehave them, the right to change religion or belief, freedom of expression, assembly and association and the right of parents to educate their children in accordance with their moral convictions, be they religious or not;
Amendment 345 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 58 a (new)
Paragraph 58 a (new)
58a. Considers that violence towards women is also expressed psychologically by the presence of a relationship of domination in society and by the dissemination of degrading images of women; stresses that the role of the Commission and the Member States in this area, both within and outside the EU, cannot be limited to combating violence towards women in all forms, be it physical, psychological, social or economic, and priority should be given to educating boys and girls from the youngest possible age, in addition to combating stereotypes;
Amendment 346 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 59
Paragraph 59
59. Strongly condemns the use of sexual violence against women as a tactic of war, including crimes such as mass rape, sexual slavery, enforced prostitution, gender- based forms of persecution including female genital mutilation, trafficking, sex tourism, early and forced marriages, honour killings and all other forms of sexual violence of comparable gravity; remains particularly concerned in this regard at the situation in the Great Lakes region of Africa; expresses its support for the work of UN Women, the UN Special Rapporteur on violence against women, its causes and consequences, and the UN Special Representative on Conflict- related Sexual Violence;
Amendment 349 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 59 a (new)
Paragraph 59 a (new)
59a. Expresses alarm concerning the situation of women subjected to forced marriages, the excision of their daughters, threatened honour killings, human trafficking or other forms of violence, and who have not managed to obtain the right to asylum on EU territory and are living with the threat of expulsion; calls on the EU and its Member States to grant protection to women who are victims of violence;
Amendment 355 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 64
Paragraph 64
64. Calls on the Commission to develop innovative financial mechanisms to implement fiscal reforms and strengthen the fight against corruption, illicit financial flows and tax evasion; encourages, in this context, consideration of public-private partnerships, the blending of grants and loans, and helping developing countries to better mobilise their domestic resources; emphasises the importance of making the conclusion by the EU of agreements with third countries contingent on the implementation of effective measures to combat corruption; calls for an international tax on financial transactions that could act as an additional source of funding for development, and reminds the Member States that they have already agreed to introduce a financial transaction tax domestically and undertaken to set aside a share of the funds raised to finance global public assets, including development;
Amendment 435 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 74
Paragraph 74
Amendment 445 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 74 a (new)
Paragraph 74 a (new)
74a. Condemns the inability of the European Union, its Member States and their partner countries to guarantee the right of asylum and organise rescue operations at sea; criticises readmission agreements, in particular on the grounds that they determine the substance of other agreements, including in the area of development, with third countries; considers immigration policies of this kind to be indicative of prejudice towards the inhabitants of the countries of the South; calls for a visa liberalisation policy for nationals of the countries of the South, and in particular countries in transition to democracy, such as Tunisia, and for the implementation of resettlement policies in all the Member States;
Amendment 456 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 75
Paragraph 75
75. Reiterates its view that climate change undermines the most basic human rights, gives rise to displacements of persons and thereby creates a new form of forced migration, which the EU must properly address; requests that the Commission and the EEAS participate actively in the debate on the term ‘climate refugee’, including its possible legal definition in international law or in any legally binding international agreement;
Amendment 471 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 76 a (new)
Paragraph 76 a (new)
76a. Calls on the EU and its Member States to make the Millennium Development Goals the top priority in their internal policies and their relations with third countries; emphasises that the achievement of these goals, and more specifically those concerning the eradication of poverty, universal access to education and gender equality, is contingent on the availability of better, universally accessible public services;