Activities of Marie-Christine VERGIAT related to 2018/2103(INI)
Plenary speeches (1)
Situation of fundamental rights in the European Union in 2017 (debate) FR
Shadow reports (1)
REPORT on the situation of fundamental rights in the European Union in 2017 PDF (502 KB) DOC (76 KB)
Amendments (49)
Amendment 14 #
Motion for a resolution
Citation 6
Citation 6
— having regard to the case law of the Court of Justice of the European Union (CJEU) and of the European Court of Human Rights (ECtHR),(Does not affect English version)
Amendment 28 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital A
Recital A
A. whereas the FRA report entitled ‘Violence against women: an EU-wide survey’, published in March 2014, shows that violence against women needs to be tackled in all EU Member States, including those which have not yet ratified the Council of Eurrespect for the rule of law is a prerequisite for the protection of fundamental rights, and whereas Member States must safeguard the human rights of all people Convention on preventing and combating violence against women and domestic violence (Istanbul Convention), given the extent ofby enacting and implementing international human rights treaties and conventions; whereas the rule of law and fundamental rights should be continually consolidated; whereas any attempt to undermine these problem, the severe consequences of violence and the impact it has on women’s lives as well as on societyinciples is to the detriment not only of the Member State concerned but also of the Union as a whole;
Amendment 38 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital B
Recital B
B. whereas women and girls in the EU experience structural gender inequality in a variety of formsin democratic societies, freedom of expression is an essential instrument by which people can participate in the public debate and bring a range of settings – including gender discrimination, gender-based violbout social change; whereas media freedom, pluralism and independence, and misogynistic hate speech – which severely limits their ability to enjoy their rights and to participate on an equal footing in society; whereas in 2017, the #MeToo movement raised awareness of the scale and intensity of the sexual harassment and sexual and gender-based violence women faces well as freedom of association and assembly, are crucial components of the right to freedom of expression and are vital to the democratic functioning of the EU and its Member States; whereas journalists and other media actors in the EU face multiple attacks, threats, pressures and even assassination from state and non-state actors;
Amendment 42 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital C
Recital C
C. whereas in democratic societies, freedom of assembly is one of the instruments by which people can participate in the public debate and bring about social change; whereas media freedom, pluralism and independence are crucial components of the right to freedom of expression and are vital to the democratic funArticle 21 (1) of the Charter of Fundamental Rights of the European Union states that any discrimination based on grounds such as sex, race, colour, ethnic or social origin, genetic features, languages or membership of a national minority shall be prohibited; whereas migrants, descendants of migrants and members of minority socio-cultural groups continue to face widespread discrimination across the EU and in all areas of life; whereas, in spite of numerous pleas to the Commission, only limited steps have been taken to ensure the effective protectioning of the EU and its Member Statminorities; whereas journalracists and other media actors inxenophobic attitudes are being embraced by opinion leaders and politicians across the EU, face multiple attacks, threats and pressures from state and non-state actorostering a social climate that provides fertile ground for the rise of discrimination, racism, xenophobia, hate speech and hate crimes;
Amendment 48 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital D
Recital D
D. whereas Article 21 (1) of the Charter of Fundamental Rights of the European Union states that any discrimination basReturn to the initial text of paragraph A: whereas the European Union Agency for Fundamental Rights’ report entitled ‘Violence against women: an EU-wide survey’, published oin grounds such as sex, race, colour, ethnic or social origin, genetic features, languages or membership of a national minority shall be prohibited; whereas migrants, descendants of migrants and members of minority ethnic groups continue to face widespread discrimination across the EU and in all areas of life; whereas, in spite of numerous calls on the Commission, only limited steps have been taken to ensure the effective protection of minorities; whereas persistent racist and xenophobic attitudes are embraced by opinion leaders and politicians across the EU, fostering a social climate that provides fertile ground for racism, discrimination and hate crimesMarch 2014, shows that violence against women needs to be tackled in all EU Member States, including those which have not yet ratified the Council of Europe Convention on preventing and combating violence against women and domestic violence (Istanbul Convention), given the extent of the problem, the severe consequences of violence and the impact it has on women’s lives as well as on society as a whole;
Amendment 59 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital E
Recital E
E. whereas respect for the rule of law is a prerequisite for the protection of fundamental rights, and whereas Member States have the ultimate responsibility to safeguard the human rights of all people by enacting and implementing international human rights treaties and conventions; whereas the rule of law and fundamental rights should bReturn to the initial text of paragraph B: whereas women and girls in the EU experience structural gender inequality in a variety of forms and in a range of settings – including gender discrimination, gender-based violence and misogynistic hate speech – which severely limits their ability to enjoy their rights and to participate continually consolidated; whereas any attempt to undermine these principles is to the detriment not only of the Member State concerned but also of the Union as a whol an equal footing in society; whereas in 2017, the #MeToo movement raised awareness of the scale and intensity of the sexual harassment and sexual and gender-based violence women face;
Amendment 61 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital E a (new)
Recital E a (new)
Ea. whereas in its international migration report the United Nations recorded some 258 million people living in a country other than their country of birth in 2017; whereas, moreover, 3.4% of the world’s population are international migrants, which represents a slight increase on the 2.8% recorded in 2000, in particular in view of the increase in international travel (over 1.3 billion journeys); whereas more than 60% of international migrants live in Asia (80 million) and Europe (78 million), followed by North America, (58 million), then Africa (25 million), Latin America and the Caribbean (10 million) and Oceania (8 million)[1]; [1]http://www.un.org/en/development/des a/population/migration/publications/migr ationreport/docs/MigrationReport2017_H ighlights.pdf
Amendment 66 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital E b (new)
Recital E b (new)
Eb. whereas the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) estimates that at the end of 2017 some 68.5 million people were displaced, of which 16.2 million had been newly displaced in 2017 alone: 11.8 million displaced within their own country and 4.4 million refugees and asylum seekers; whereas the UNHCR reports an increase of 2.9 million refugees who have fled their countries to escape conflict and persecution compared with 2016, the highest rise ever recorded by UNHCR for a single year, but the bulk of refugee movements are between neighbouring countries and between developing countries;
Amendment 68 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital E c (new)
Recital E c (new)
Ec. whereas the overwhelming majority of migratory movements towards the European Union are made in a lawful manner, as evidenced by the number of residence permits issued in the European Union, which reached record levels in 2016 and 2017;
Amendment 69 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital E d (new)
Recital E d (new)
Ed. whereas it is against the background of these figures that the so- called migratory crisis – which is above all a crisis of refugee reception and the inadequacy of regular migration channels for nationals of southern Mediterranean countries – must be viewed;
Amendment 70 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital E e (new)
Recital E e (new)
Ee. whereas, according to the International Organisation for Migration (IOM), in 2017, only 171 635 migrants and refugees arrived in Europe by sea, compared to 363 401 in 2016 and 1 011 712 in 2015; whereas the IOM reported that there were 3 116 deaths in the Mediterranean in 2017; whereas, deplorably, there has been dramatic increase in the number of deaths in the Mediterranean in proportion to the number of crossings, with one person dying or disappearing at sea for every 18 crossings between January and July 2018, compared to one person in 42 during the same period in 2017.
Amendment 72 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital F
Recital F
F. wWhereas the arrival in Europe of migrants and asylum seekers continued in 2017; whereas this realre was a sharp fall in the number of migrants crossing the Mediterranean and of asylum seekers in Europe in 2017, but borders and ports are increasingly closed and ity requiresmains essential to implement real EU solidarity to put in placand create adequate reception structures, especially for those most in need and most vulnerable; whereas many migrants who seek refuge in Europe place their lives in the hands of smugglers and criminals and are vulnerable to violations of their rights, including by violence, abuse and exploitation; whereas women and children are at higher risk of being trafficked and sexually abused at the hands of traffickers and there is therefore a need to build and strengthen child protection systems to prevent and respond to violence, abuse, neglect and the exploitation of children, in line with the commitments set out in the Valletta Action Plan;
Amendment 75 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital F a (new)
Recital F a (new)
Fa. whereas according to the European Asylum Support Office, 728 470 asylum applications were lodged in the EU in 2017; Whereas this represents a decrease of 44% compared to 2016 and a decrease of 70% in Germany compared to 2016; Sweden continues to be the EU Member State which takes in the greatest number of refugees per head of population;
Amendment 77 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital F b (new)
Recital F b (new)
Fb. whereas the report by the Special Rapporteur of the UN Human Rights Council on the promotion and protection of human rights and fundamental freedoms while countering terrorism (A/71/384 16-15794 2/25) considers that the over-restrictive migration policies put in place as a result of terrorism concerns are not justified and could, in fact, pose risks for the security of States;
Amendment 78 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital F c (new)
Recital F c (new)
Fc. whereas any security and counter- terrorism policy, especially in the case of the interconnection of data systems, must respect the principles of necessity, proportionality and purpose, and in particular not mix up police and border control activities;
Amendment 80 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital G
Recital G
G. whereas the FRA has become a centre of excellence in providing fundamental rights evidence to the EU institutions and Member States regarding violations of fundamental rights;
Amendment 85 #
Motion for a resolution
Subheading 1
Subheading 1
Women’s rights. - chapter to be interchanged with the chapter on the Rule of Law
Amendment 124 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 5
Paragraph 5
5. Encourages EU Member States to take effective steps to respect and protect women’s sexual and reproductive rights, including a range of civil, political, economic, social and cultural rights, including the rights to lifephysical integrity, to health, to be free from torture and ill- treatment, to privacy, equality and non- discrimination; recalls that Member States have the obligation, under international human rights law, to provide all women with accessible, affordable, good quality sexual and reproductive healthcare and services; notes that this should include the elimination of laws, policies and practices that infringe upon these rights as well as the prevention of the erosion of existing protections;
Amendment 152 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 7 a (new)
Paragraph 7 a (new)
7a. Is deeply concerned at the increasing instances of mistreatment by police forces, particularly regarding a disproportionate use of force against peaceful demonstrators, violations of press freedom and the small number of investigations in this area; is alarmed at the increase in the use of non-lethal weapons in the surveillance of demonstrations; recalls that demonstrating is a fundamental right and that the foremost task of police forces is to ensure the security and safety of citizens; calls on the Member States not to adopt measures that call into question or even criminalise the exercise of fundamental rights and freedoms, such as freedom of expression and freedom to demonstrate, to meet, to associate freely or the right to strike; calls on Member States to put an immediate end to police checks based on racial profiling;
Amendment 157 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 7 b (new)
Paragraph 7 b (new)
7b. Takes note of the Commission's proposal for a regulation to prevent the dissemination of terrorist content online; calls on the Council and the Parliament to work on the text so that enterprises are only obliged to permanently remove terrorist content, like any online content, once a judicial decision has been issued in order to ensure the right to freedom of expression, including artistic expression;
Amendment 158 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 7 c (new)
Paragraph 7 c (new)
7c. Stresses that the Internet and the social and other media are great communication tools, especially as a source of information for the public, and calls for the Member States to effectively ensure the right to receive and disseminate information in accordance with Article 11 of the Charter, through a balanced approach in regulating online content; considers that they are also technological tools for controlling civil society, threatening vulnerable population groups, particularly children, but also humiliating women, particularly through stalking, harassment and the publication of sexual or naked photos without consent, which are forms of violence falling within the definition of Article 3a and the Istanbul Convention;
Amendment 159 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 7 d (new)
Paragraph 7 d (new)
7d. whereas the rapid pace of change in the digital world (including increased use of the internet, apps and social networks) necessitates more effective safeguards for personal data and privacy in order to guarantee confidentiality and protection;
Amendment 173 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 10
Paragraph 10
10. Welcomes the Commission’s decision to establish a High Level Expert Group on fake news and online disinformation; eExpresses its concern about the potential threat the notion of fake news could pose to freedom of speech and expression and to the independence of the media, while underlining the negative effects that the spread of false news might have on the quality of political debate and on the well-informed participation of citizens in democratic society; considers that it is above all through the development of education and training in critical thinking that citizens can form their own opinion and that any censorship can be dangerous even if it seems justified and limited in scope;
Amendment 197 #
Motion for a resolution
Subheading 3
Subheading 3
Amendment 207 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 12
Paragraph 12
12. Points out that EU Member States should address adequately discriminatory or violent reactions against the schooling of children from minorities or migrant and refugee children, both through law enforcement and by promoting mutual understanding and social cohesion; calls on Member States to structurally address respect for diversity, intercultural understanding and human rights, including children’s rights, in regular school curricula;
Amendment 225 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 13
Paragraph 13
13. Calls on the Member States to make efforts to systematically record, collect and publish annually comparable data on ethnic discriminationinformation on discrimination based on a person’s origin, religion, sexual orientation or any other status, and hate crime in order to enable them and other key stakeholders to develop effective, evidence-based legal and policy responses to these phenomena; recalls, however, that any data should be collected in accordance with national legal frameworks and EU data protection legislation, and must be totally anonymous in order to rule out any profiling or ‘ethnic’ statistics;
Amendment 260 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 15 a (new)
Paragraph 15 a (new)
15a. Emphasises the need to combat discrimination against religious minorities of whatever kind; is concerned at the rise of anti-Semitism and Islamophobia; calls for action to be taken to combat these backwards steps and tackle discrimination in all areas, including housing, employment and access to public services; emphasises that hate speech and hate crimes must be addressed in order to combat the growing number and radicalisation of racists and xenophobes, and points out that racism and xenophobia are crimes, not opinions;
Amendment 277 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 16
Paragraph 16
16. Affirms that the separation of powers and the independence of the judiciary are essential to ensure the effective functioning of the rule of law in any society; recalls that this concept is enshrined in the 1948 Universal Declaration of Human Rights, in particular in the principles of equality before the law, the presumption of innocence and the right to a fair and public hearing by a competent, independent and impartial tribunal established before the law;
Amendment 283 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 17
Paragraph 17
17. Recalls that the rule of law is part of and a prerequisite for the protection of all values listed in Article 2 of the TEU; calls on all relevant actors at national level, including governments, parliaments and the judiciary, to step up efforts to uphold and reinforce the rule of law; recalls that these actors have the responsibility to address rule of law concerns and that they play an important role in preventing any erosion of the rule of law, which is not a blindn unconditional application of laws that have been passed, but ourthe democratic acceptance of being ruled by law whilst fully upholding international conventions, and in particular the right of democratic opposition and the rights of minorities;
Amendment 293 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 18
Paragraph 18
18. Recalls that the Commission, as guardian of the Treaties, has the legitimacy and authority to ensure that all Member States are upholding the principles of the rule of law and the other values referred to in Article 2 of the TEU; insists that more systematic use should be made of infringement procedures in this area, and that Article 7 of the TEU should be employed if all other remedies have failed;
Amendment 318 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 21 a (new)
Paragraph 21 a (new)
21a. Emphasises that democracy and the rule of law are based on respect for fundamental rights and freedoms and that any steps taken to counter terrorism or organised crime must not undermine fundamental rights in the EU; expresses concern at the developments in this area in the context of cross-border cooperation and the constant creation of new digital databases containing personal data;
Amendment 325 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 21 b (new)
Paragraph 21 b (new)
21b. Is concerned to note that public authorities are more frequently resorting to administrative measures that are incompatible with the principles underpinning the rule of law, and that the policies pursued in this area are being used to address a growing number of crimes and offences, especially in the context of measures taken under the state of emergency, giving rise in particular to an increase in the number of summary proceedings and minimum sentences that must be served in full; deplores the fact that these purely repressive policies are being applied to a growing number of citizens, and not only to those under suspicion or investigation for involvement in wrongdoing, which is to disregard the presumption of innocence, and is concerned, furthermore, at the lack, or even total absence, of independent monitoring mechanisms at national and European level;
Amendment 328 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 21 c (new)
Paragraph 21 c (new)
21c. Calls on the Member States and the European institutions, when adopting and applying anti-terrorism measures, to uphold fundamental rights, which are not obstacles, but rather preconditions for the establishment of an effective framework for combating terrorism; calls on the Member States to ensure that any emergency legislation is consistent with the principles of purpose, proportionality and necessity, and that measures taken in this context are subject to clear time limits and regular democratic scrutiny; stresses the need for the EU’s security and information agencies to uphold fundamental rights;
Amendment 334 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 22
Paragraph 22
22. Expresses concern about persistent fundamental rights challenges in the area of migration,Condemns the abuses and human rights violations suffered by migrants and refugees, in particular with regard to access to territory, reception conditions, asylum procedures, immigration detention and the protection of unaccompanied childrenvulnerable persons, particularly children, especially when they are unaccompanied minors; calls on the Member States to facilitate access to territory by stepping up resettlement and the granting of humanitarian visas, to guarantee access to services and fundamental rights for migrants, regardless of their status, and to take into account the specific needs of those who are most vulnerable, especially children, families, women, disabled people and elderly people;
Amendment 342 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 22 a (new)
Paragraph 22 a (new)
22a. Criticises the growing dichotomy that a number of politicians are creating between ‘good refugees’ and ‘bad economic migrants’ which is not based on any statistics and misconstrues the reality of regular migratory movement to the European Union;
Amendment 344 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 22 b (new)
Paragraph 22 b (new)
22b. Highlights the double discrimination faced by migrant women, as both migrants and women, and the specific circumstances which they may face during their migratory journey, including in detention and reception centres, particularly attacks on their safety, their physical integrity and their privacy, harassment, and their need to access feminine hygiene products and reproductive healthcare; calls for the establishment and strengthening of systems to protect women with a view to preventing and combatting the violence, abuse, neglect and exploitation to which they are subjected, in line with the commitments set out in the Valletta Action Plan;
Amendment 349 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 23
Paragraph 23
23. Calls on Member States to introduce specific safeguards to guarantee thatIs concerned about the misuse of European information systems, which are sometimes diverted from their original purposes and used instead for immigration control or returning ‘irregular’ migrants, and about their tendency to stigmatise migrants; calls on the European Union and its Member States to introduce specific safeguards to prevent violation in any form of migrants’ fundamental rights, including the discriminatory establishment of migratory profiles, resulting from the interoperability of large-scale IT systems does not lead to, particularly adverse effects on the rights of children or vulnerable persons, such as applicants for and beneficiaries of international protection, or to discriminatory profiling; calls on; calls on the Commission and Member States to ensure that the implementation of interoperability aims only at fulfilling a child protection objective, such as identifying missing children and assisting family reunification;
Amendment 353 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 23 a (new)
Paragraph 23 a (new)
23a. Stresses that, statistically, an infinitesimal number of terrorists are found to have been part of a migration movement; the vast majority of terrorists come from or are regular migrants in the European Union and it is therefore essential that irregular immigration and terrorism are not confused and to ensure that anti-terror measures are not misused, becoming tools to repress certain migratory movements;
Amendment 356 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 23 b (new)
Paragraph 23 b (new)
23b. Calls again for the EU and its Member States to ratify the International Convention on the Protection of the Rights of all Migrant Workers and Members of their Families of 18 December 1990;
Amendment 360 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 24
Paragraph 24
24. Emphasises that the EU and the Member States should develop credible and effective systems that would make it unnecessary to detaStresses the primacy of the principle of the best interests of the child into consideration in all aspects concerning children for asylum or return purposes; stresses the importance of taking the principle of; points out that UNICEF has stated many times that confinement will never be in the best interests of the child into considand that alternatives to con fin all aspects concerning children as well as of the practical implementation of the right to be hearement, regardless of whether children are accompanied by their families or not, should be developed; recalls that Article 14 of the EU Charter of Fundamental Rights and Article 28 of the United Nations Conventions on the Rights of the Child guarantee the right to education to every child, including migrant and refugee children regardless of their status, both unaccompanied and accompanied and avoiding separated schooling and segregation; stresses that Member States should ensure that migrant and refugee children are effectively supported through linguistic, social and psychological support based on individual assessment of their needs; considers that migrant children are particularly vulnerable, especially when they are unaccompanied; stresses, moreover, that separation from family members, even in detention, exposes women and children to greater risks;
Amendment 373 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 25
Paragraph 25
25. Stresses that Member States should consider puttingresettlement is one of the preferred options for ensuring safe and legal access to European Union territory; points out, moreover, that humanitarian visas can give persons in need of international protection the option of entering the European Union to seek asylum there; stresses that Member States should put into place a combination of protection-related schemes, such as resettlement and humanitarian admission, and regular mobility schemes to promote legal and safe pathways to the EU for persons in need ofmigrants, including by creating humanitarian corridors, and by making it possible to grant humanitarian visas to persons in third countries in need of international protection; recalls that any action undertaken by a Member State, when acting within the scope of EU law, must respect the rights and principles of the EU Charter of Fundamental Rights; calls on EU Member States to effectively ensure the right to asylum and to accept relocation of refugees from Member States most affected by high numbers of arrivals; also calls on Member States to respect the principle of non-refoulement and introduce adequate procedural safeguards to their asylum and border procedures, including safeguards against collective expulsion;
Amendment 377 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 25 a (new)
Paragraph 25 a (new)
25a. Points out that solidarity must be the principle upon which Union action on migration is based; notes that Member States did not meet their commitments under the EU relocation scheme which was launched in 2015 by the European Commission and came to an end on 26 September 2017; encourages Member States to uphold the right to asylum effectively and to show more solidarity with the Member States with the highest number of arrivals of persons in need of international protection, in particular by continuing with the relocation mechanism; points out that resettlement is a protection tool that does not replace the right to seek asylum in the European Union; encourages Member States to continue their intra-EU resettlement efforts;
Amendment 379 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 25 b (new)
Paragraph 25 b (new)
25b. Notes that, according to the annual report by the European Union Agency for Fundamental Rights, in 2017, reports of abuse increased significantly, particularly on the western Balkans route, including violence by the police or border guards; calls on Member States, in line with the opinion of the Agency, to step up preventive measures to reduce the risk of abusive behaviour at borders by police or border guards;
Amendment 380 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 25 c (new)
Paragraph 25 c (new)
25c. Deplores the fact that some of these people have even been returned to the border or deported to places where their lives were at risk, in breach of international law and in particular the right to asylum; calls on Member States to respect the principle of non-refoulement for migrants, particularly where refoulement would be to countries where their lives or freedom would be under threat, and to introduce the requisite procedural safeguards to their asylum and border procedures, including safeguards against collective expulsion;
Amendment 381 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 25 d (new)
Paragraph 25 d (new)
25d. Calls on the EU and its Member States to ensure full transparency as regards the funds allocated to third countries, particularly for development and cooperation on migration, and to ensure that such funds are not diverted from their original purposes to either directly or indirectly benefit security, police and justice systems involved in human rights violations; condemns the creation and use of the EU Emergency Trust Fund for stability and addressing root causes of irregular migration and displaced persons in Africa, which is largely financed out of the European Development Fund (EDF), and the extension of the Rabat Process to the countries of the Horn of Africa whose governments have been condemned by the ICC or the UN under the Khartoum Process; calls for the assessment and monitoring of these mechanisms and this fund and any similar agreements; also calls on the EU and its Member States not to count in their public development aid any monies spent on receiving refugees or migrants or on controlling or returning migrants; condemns, in particular, the conditions placed on aid to certain countries via readmission agreements and the increase in negotiations to that end; calls for the suspension of all readmission agreements and associated negotiations with countries that do not uphold human rights; rejects any attempts to outsource the EU’s migration policy; rejects any agreement that does not ensure that refugees are protected or that the fundamental rights of migrants are upheld; condemns the EU’s and certain Member States’ agreements with Libya, which is controlled only by armed militias that allow the refoulement of migrants who are arrested at sea to countries where their rights are systematically violated;
Amendment 388 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 26 a (new)
Paragraph 26 a (new)
26a. Recalls that sea rescue is a legal obligation under international law, specifically Article 98 of the UN Convention of the Law of the Sea (ratified by the Union and all its Member States), which makes it obligatory for assistance to be given to any person in distress at sea; strongly stresses that saving lives at sea must be a top priority and calls for the EU and its Member States to allocate enough funds to search and rescue operations in the context of a Europe- wide humanitarian operation; recognises, in that context, the work carried out by different NGOs operating in the Mediterranean in their effort to save lives and provide humanitarian assistance to those in need; is concerned about the practices by some Member States which are seeking to criminalise the provision of assistance to migrants and criticises, in that context, the assaults on the NGOs that provide relief to migrants, have been subjected to campaigns seeking to discredit them and are increasingly seeing their work challenged; calls on Member States to transpose the humanitarian assistance exemption provided for in the Facilitation Directive with the objective of reducing the unintended consequences of the Facilitators’ Package for citizens providing humanitarian assistance to migrants and on the social cohesion of the receiving society;
Amendment 397 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 27
Paragraph 27
27. Acknowledges that before envisaging any kind of migrant integration processin the European Union, it is important to address the vulnerabilities and specific needs of all migrants; and recalls that the assessment of the needs of migrants should happen regularly and as long as it is needed, as their situation and needs might evolve; underlines the fact that reunification with family members is a powerful tool to empower migrants and give them the feeling that and vary significantly depending on they can start settling and integrating in their new host societyountry of origin of the migrants;
Amendment 411 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 28 a (new)
Paragraph 28 a (new)
28a. Notes the opinions of the Fundamental Rights Agency and strongly urges the Member States to take account of and implement the Agency’s recommendations with a view to ensuring that fundamental rights are strictly upheld within the European Union;
Amendment 416 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 31
Paragraph 31
31. Recommends that EU legislators requests independent and external human rights advice from the FRA whenever a legislative file raises serious fundamental rights concerns; calls for the Commission to ensure that the FRA has the requisite mechanisms to enable it to fulfil its mandate;