2020/0157M(NLE) EU/Honduras Voluntary Partnership Agreement: forest law enforcement, governance and trade in timber products to the EU
Lead committee dossier:
Progress: Procedure completed
| Role | Committee | Rapporteur | Shadows |
|---|---|---|---|
| Lead | INTA |
KARLSBRO Karin ( Renew)
|
WARBORN Jörgen ( EPP),
KUMPULA-NATRI Miapetra ( S&D),
HAUTALA Heidi ( Verts/ALE),
TARCZYŃSKI Dominik ( ECR),
MAUREL Emmanuel ( GUE/NGL)
|
| Committee Opinion | DEVE |
BENTELE Hildegard ( EPP)
|
Ryszard CZARNECKI ( ECR),
Michèle RIVASI ( Verts/ALE),
Patrizia TOIA ( S&D),
Miguel URBÁN CRESPO ( GUE/NGL)
|
Lead committee dossier:
Legal Basis:
RoP 105-p2
Legal Basis:
RoP 105-p2Subjects
Events
2021/08/18
EC - Commission response to text adopted in plenary
Documents
2021/04/27
EP - Results of vote in Parliament
Documents
2021/04/27
EP - Decision by Parliament
Details
The European Parliament adopted by 576 votes to 54, with 69 abstentions, a non-legislative resolution on the draft Council decision on the conclusion of the Voluntary Partnership Agreement between the European Union and the Republic of Honduras on forest law enforcement, governance and trade in timber products to the European Union.
The EU published its Forest Law Enforcement, Governance and Trade (FLEGT) Action Plan in 2003. The plan aims to combat illegal logging around the world.
Almost half of the land area in Honduras is covered by forests, half of which is tropical rainforest. Honduras has lost about 12.5 % of its forest area since 2015 due mainly to a pest infestation, most likely caused by climate change, while some forest area has been lost due to fires, deforestation and illegal logging.
Voluntary Partnership Agreement (VPA)
Parliament welcomed the conclusion of negotiations on the EU-Honduras Voluntary Partnership Agreement (VPA) which will:
- ensure that only legally logged timber is imported into the EU from Honduras;
- promote sustainable forest management practices and sustainable trade in legally produced timber;
- improve forest governance, law enforcement (including labour and occupational, health and safety obligations), human rights, transparency, accountability and institutional resilience in Honduras taking into account that forests are important for the Honduran economy.
Members welcomed Honduras' success in ensuring the participation of government institutions, civil society, the private sector, indigenous peoples and people of African descent, academia and communities in the development of the VPA.
Ensuring the implementation of the VPA
Parliament called for the swift ratification of the VPA by both sides so it can enter into force in 2021 and pave the way for the subsequent important steps in terms of implementation, including the setting up of licensing.
Members recognised that the full implementation of the VPA will be a long-term process which will require the adoption of a whole set of legislation and adequate administrative capacity and expertise for its implementation and enforcement. They recalled that FLEGT licencing can only begin once Honduras has demonstrated the readiness of its timber legality assurance system (TLAS).
Implementation requires genuine and continued consultations and substantial multistakeholder involvement so as to guarantee the principle of free, prior and informed consent.
Around 80% of private land in Honduras is untitled. Members are aware of the need for concrete safeguards for local and indigenous communities regarding land ownership. They stressed the importance of land use in forest governance and the need for a strategic vision in this area in view of the hazards of climate change.
They stressed that the fight against fraud and corruption along the timber supply chain must be constant, calling on the EU to strengthen the scope and enforcement of the EU Timber Regulation, including through more regular and systematic checks and investigations in EU ports.
The resolution called for supply chain management to be rolled out in the animal husbandry, coffee and palm oil sectors, as this is essential to address the root causes of deforestation.
Furthermore, the importance of forestry and rural employment in the Honduran economy should be taken into account in the implementation of the VPA.
EU responsibility
Members believe that the EU has a very important and responsible role to play and obligation to abide by in improving both the supply and the demand side of timber in order to reject illegally produced timber and assist exporting countries in their efforts to combat illegal logging and corruption, which results in the destruction of their forests, climate change and human rights violations.
The resolution stressed the need to complement this work with a forthcoming due diligence and forest-risk commodity.
The Commission and the Member States are invited to fully integrate the FLEGT agenda into the new strategic framework of the European Green Deal by encouraging its promotion at global and regional level and further strengthening international cooperation between producing and importing countries.
Documents
2021/03/24
EP - Committee report tabled for plenary
Details
The Committee on International Trade adopted the report by Karin KARLSBRO (Renew, SE) containing a motion for a non-legislative resolution on the draft Council decision on the conclusion of the Voluntary Partnership Agreement between the European Union and the Republic of Honduras on forest law enforcement, governance and trade in timber products to the European Union.
The EU published its Forest Law Enforcement, Governance and Trade (FLEGT) Action Plan in 2003. The plan aims to combat illegal logging around the world.
Forests are important to the Honduran economy. Almost half of Honduras' land area is covered by forests, half of which is still tropical rainforest. The problem of deforestation in Honduras needs to be addressed effectively.
Voluntary Partnership Agreement (VPA)
The report welcomed the conclusion of negotiations on the EU-Honduras Voluntary Partnership Agreement (VPA) which will: (i) ensure that only legally logged timber is imported into the EU from Honduras; (ii) promote sustainable forest management practices and sustainable trade in legally produced timber; (iii) improve forest governance, law enforcement (including labour and occupational, health and safety obligations), human rights, transparency, accountability and institutional resilience in Honduras.
Members welcomed the fact that Honduras is the first country seeking to conclude a VPA that has included indigenous peoples as a separate interest group at the negotiating table.
Ensuring the implementation of the VPA
The report called for the swift ratification of the VPA by both sides so it can enter into force in 2021 and pave the way for the subsequent important steps in terms of implementation, including the setting up of licensing.
Members recognised that the full implementation of the VPA will be a long-term process which will require the adoption of a whole set of legislation and adequate administrative capacity and expertise for its implementation and enforcement. They recalled that FLEGT licencing can only begin once Honduras has demonstrated the readiness of its timber legality assurance system (TLAS).
Implementation requires genuine and continued consultations and substantial multistakeholder involvement, including the meaningful participation of civil society organisations and local and indigenous communities in decision-making so as to guarantee the principle of free, prior and informed consent.
Members are aware that concrete safeguards are needed for local and indigenous communities with regard to land ownership. They stressed the importance of land use in forest governance and the need for a strategic vision on land use in the light of climate change issues. They stressed that the fight against fraud and corruption along the timber supply chain must be constant.
Furthermore, the importance of forestry and rural employment in the Honduran economy should be taken into account in the implementation of the VPA.
EU responsibility
Members believe that the EU has a very important and responsible role to play and obligation to abide by in improving both the supply and the demand side of timber in order to reject illegally produced timber and assist exporting countries in their efforts to combat illegal logging and corruption, which results in the destruction of their forests, climate change and human rights violations.
The report stressed the need to complement this work with a forthcoming due diligence and forest-risk commodity.
The Commission and the Member States are invited to fully integrate the FLEGT agenda into the new strategic framework of the European Green Deal by encouraging its promotion at global and regional level and further strengthening international cooperation between producing and importing countries.
Documents
2021/03/18
EP - Vote in committee
2021/02/11
EP - Amendments tabled in committee
Documents
2021/01/27
EP - Committee opinion
Documents
2020/12/16
EP - Committee draft report
Documents
2020/11/26
EP - Committee referral announced in Parliament
2020/11/23
EP - BENTELE Hildegard (EPP) appointed as rapporteur in DEVE
2020/09/10
EP - KARLSBRO Karin (Renew) appointed as rapporteur in INTA
Documents
- Commission response to text adopted in plenary: SP(2021)414
- Results of vote in Parliament: Results of vote in Parliament
- Decision by Parliament: T9-0129/2021
- Committee report tabled for plenary: A9-0054/2021
- Amendments tabled in committee: PE681.010
- Committee opinion: PE661.868
- Committee draft report: PE660.067
- Committee draft report: PE660.067
- Committee opinion: PE661.868
- Amendments tabled in committee: PE681.010
- Commission response to text adopted in plenary: SP(2021)414
Votes
Accord de partenariat volontaire Union/Honduras (résolution) - EU/Honduras Voluntary Partnership Agreement (Resolution) - Freiwilliges Partnerschaftsabkommen EU/Honduras (Entschließung) - A9-0054/2021 - Karin Karlsbro - Am 1S #
2021/04/26 Outcome: -: 475, +: 133, 0: 60
ID
NI
The Left
PPEAccord de partenariat volontaire Union/Honduras (résolution) - EU/Honduras Voluntary Partnership Agreement (Resolution) - Freiwilliges Partnerschaftsabkommen EU/Honduras (Entschließung) - A9-0054/2021 - Karin Karlsbro - Proposition de résolution #
2021/04/27 Outcome: +: 576, 0: 69, -: 54
| Amendments | Dossier |
| 108 |
2020/0157M(NLE)
2020/12/17
DEVE
31 amendments...
Amendment 1 #
Draft opinion Paragraph 1 1.
Amendment 10 #
Draft opinion Paragraph 2 a (new) 2 a. Is concerned that timber products can be imported into Honduras as long as those products were produced in accordance with the laws of the country where the trees were harvested because of the lower due diligence standards that can exist in those countries and the ulterior incorporation of these products into goods subsequently exported to the EU internal market;
Amendment 11 #
Draft opinion Paragraph 3 3. Calls on the Commission to allocate substantial funding to accompany the implementation of the VPA as part of the next programming period of the EU bilateral programmes (2021-2027), which should enable the monitoring of progress, in accordance with clear criteria, time- bound objectives and procedures, that enable the verification of compliance with those standards; and calls on the Commission to report periodically on the progress of the FLEGT action plan;
Amendment 12 #
Draft opinion Paragraph 3 3. Calls on the Commission to allocate funding to accompany the implementation of the VPA as part of the next programming period of the EU bilateral programmes (2021-2027), especially with regard to the assistance for establishing a truly independent FLEGT licensing authority entrusted by the EU;
Amendment 13 #
Draft opinion Paragraph 4 4.
Amendment 14 #
Draft opinion Paragraph 4 4. Underlines the importance of ensuring full stakeholder involvement, in particular of keeping up the participation and dialogue with indigenous people, which got off to a promising start, during the implementation and monitoring phase of the VPA, in order to adequately address their needs and foster effective cooperation;
Amendment 15 #
Draft opinion Paragraph 4 a (new) 4 a. Denounces the increased number of attacks and persecutions against environmental activists in Honduras and the killing of Guapinol environmental activists; Stresses that according to the UN special rapporteur Honduras is one of the most dangerous countries in Latin America for human rights defenders;
Amendment 16 #
Draft opinion Paragraph 4 b (new) 4 b. Strongly condemns the criminalization of environmental activists and defenders by the Honduran authorities: Calls the Honduras government to put an end to impunity for crimes and human rights abuses, to act to stop the recurring attacks, harassment and intimidation of human rights defenders, trade unionists and indigenous communities;
Amendment 17 #
Draft opinion Paragraph 5 5. Welcomes the fact that the VPA’s definition of legality explicitly refers to the rights of Indigenous and Afro-descendant Peoples of Honduras living in forest areas and to the principles of free, prior and informed consent (FPIC)
Amendment 18 #
Draft opinion Paragraph 5 5. Welcomes the fact that the VPA’s definition of legality explicitly refers to the rights of Indigenous and Afro-descendant Peoples of Honduras living in forest areas and to the principles of free, prior and informed consent (FPIC); welcomes that the rights of forestry sector workers are also recognized in the VPA's definition of legality, and believes that ensuring full alignment of Honduran law with ILO standars and effective respect of labour rights should be a priority of the Honduras-EU Joint Implementation Committee;
Amendment 19 #
Draft opinion Paragraph 6 6. Recalls that
Amendment 2 #
Draft opinion Paragraph 1 1. Strongly supports the conclusion of the negotiations on the Voluntary Partnership Agreement (VPA) between the EU and Honduras, which
Amendment 20 #
Draft opinion Paragraph 6 6. Recalls that land tenure has been a major source of violence and human rights abuses in Honduras; believes, in this context, that the VPA process could contribute to
Amendment 21 #
Draft opinion Paragraph 6 6. Recalls that land tenure has been a major source of violence and human rights abuses in Honduras; believes, in this
Amendment 22 #
Draft opinion Paragraph 6 6. Recalls that land tenure has been a major source of violence and human rights abuses in Honduras; believes, in this context, that the VPA process could contribute to clarifying land tenure rights as a question of social justice;
Amendment 23 #
Draft opinion Paragraph 6 a (new) 6 a. Is fully aware of the grave situation that land and environmental defenders face in the country and strongly condemns any attack, killing, threat or intimidation against them; reiterates its call for immediate and independent investigation to be carried out in order to bring those responsible of these hideous crimes to justice; wishes to this end that VPA could be an opportunity to promote a more robust legality framework in the timber sector to safeguard the rights of local populations, indigeneous communities and environmental defenders; supports therefore the collaboration among different stakeholders, which is key towards a more socially inclusive and fairer society, whilst ensuring transparency and involvement of citizens and civil society organizations in the process;
Amendment 24 #
Draft opinion Paragraph 7 7. Emphasises that the success of the Agreement will
Amendment 25 #
Draft opinion Paragraph 7 7. Emphasises that the success of the Agreement will also depend, inter alia, on tackling fraud, and corruption
Amendment 26 #
Draft opinion Paragraph 7 7. Emphasises that the success of the Agreement will also depend, inter alia, on tackling fraud and corruption; underlines that the VPA should not be considered as a mere trade agreement but as a tool to improve rule of law and human rights enforcement in Honduras; calls on the Commission to ensure that Honduras’s National Commission on Human Rights (CONADEH) duly monitors and assesses human rights violations; considers that independent civil society organisations should be involved from the very beginning in the monitoring of human rights and institutional resilience;
Amendment 27 #
Draft opinion Paragraph 7 7. Emphasises that the success of the Agreement will also depend, inter alia, on tackling fraud
Amendment 28 #
Draft opinion Paragraph 7 7. Emphasises that the success of the Agreement will also depend, inter alia, on tackling fraud and corruption, as well as on the well-developed framework of monitoring and evaluation of the Agreement and its economic, social and environmental impacts;
Amendment 29 #
Draft opinion Paragraph 8 8. Calls for the EU to ensure the coherence of the VPA agreement with all of its policies
Amendment 3 #
Draft opinion Paragraph 1 1. Strongly supports the conclusion of the negotiations on the Voluntary Partnership Agreement (VPA) between the EU and Honduras, which not only promotes sustainable trade in legal timber products, but also aims to address illegal logging and improve forest governance, law enforcement
Amendment 30 #
Draft opinion Paragraph 8 8. Calls for the EU to ensure the coherence of the VPA agreement with all of its policies, notably in the fields of development, environment, agriculture and trade, while ensuring complementary with EU commitments to environmental and climate protection.
Amendment 31 #
Draft opinion Paragraph 8 a (new) 8 a. Reminds that the current VPA builds upon the association agreement signed by the Union with Central America’s countries in 2012, entering into force in 2013, and whose legal dispositions already foresee comprehensive sustainable development criteria but only a mention on human rights in its preamble; calls on the Commission to increase mentions on human rights defence and guarantees in all free trade agreements (FTAs) and association agreements (AA) with third countries.
Amendment 4 #
Draft opinion Paragraph 1 1. Strongly supports the conclusion of the negotiations on the Voluntary Partnership Agreement (VPA) between the EU and Honduras, which not only promotes sustainable trade in legal timber products, but also aims to address illegal logging and improve forest governance, law enforcement and transparency, taking into consideration the fact that forests are important for Honduran economy, and the problem of deforestation in this country should be addressed more effectively;
Amendment 5 #
Draft opinion Paragraph 1 a (new) 1 a. Highlights that VPAs are part and parcel of the EU efforts to achieve the targets set by the Paris Agreement and the UN Agenda 2030, notably the SDGs; invites the Commission and its Member States to fully integrate the FLEGT agenda into the new strategic framework of the European Green Deal, by encouraging its promotion at global and regional level and further strengthening the international cooperation between producing and importing countries;
Amendment 6 #
Draft opinion Paragraph 2 2.
Amendment 7 #
Draft opinion Paragraph 2 2. Welcomes the commitment shown by Honduras and the progress made so far, and is aware that the full implementation of the VPA will be a long-term process entailing the adoption of a whole batch of legislation to establish the Timber Legality Assurance System (TLAS) and to make it operational; stresses that the implementation of the VPA depends upon the maintenance of a strong multi- stakeholder involvement that ensures notably meaningful participation of CSOs, local and Indigenous communities in decision-making, in addition, it will require sustained political will, as well as the dedication of significant human and financial resources to running the TLAS;
Amendment 8 #
Draft opinion Paragraph 2 2. Welcomes the commitment shown by Honduras and the progress made so far, and is aware that the full implementation of the VPA will be a long-term process entailing the adoption of a whole batch of legislation to establish the Timber Legality Assurance System (TLAS) and to make it operational; stresses that the implementation of the VPA will require sustained political will, as well as the dedication of significant human and
Amendment 9 #
Draft opinion Paragraph 2 2. Welcomes the commitment shown by Honduras and the progress made so far, and is aware that the full implementation of the VPA will be a long-term process entailing the adoption of a whole batch of legislation to establish the Timber Legality Assurance System (TLAS) and to make it operational; stresses that the implementation of the VPA will require sustained political will, as well as the dedication of significant human and financial resources to running the TLAS; urges therefore the Commission to assist Honduras all along the process of issuing FLEGT licences and provide the necessary technical support to ensure the full implementation and correct operationalisation of TLAS; recalls to this end that monitoring, follow-up and assessment arrangements are integral part of a sound and effective agreement;
source: 661.869
2021/02/11
INTA
77 amendments...
Amendment 1 #
Motion for a resolution Citation 5 a (new) - having regard to the Paris Climate Agreement;
Amendment 10 #
Motion for a resolution Recital D D. whereas the volume of timber
Amendment 11 #
Motion for a resolution Recital E E. whereas Honduras is a lower- middle
Amendment 12 #
Motion for a resolution Recital E E. whereas Honduras is a lower middle-income country where poverty,
Amendment 13 #
Motion for a resolution Recital E E. whereas Honduras is a lower middle-income country
Amendment 14 #
Motion for a resolution Recital E E. whereas Honduras is a lower middle-income country where poverty, inequality, corruption, violence and impunity remain persistent concerns; whereas according to Global Witness, Honduras remains amongst the deadliest countries for land and environmental defenders in the world;
Amendment 15 #
Motion for a resolution Recital E E. whereas Honduras is a lower middle-income country where poverty, inequality, corruption, violence, in particular against human rights and environmental defenders, and impunity remain persistent concerns;
Amendment 16 #
Motion for a resolution Recital E a (new) E a. whereas despite the fact that the Honduran Government has made positive commitments and initiated legislation to protect human rights defenders, it remains one of the most dangerous countries in the region for human and indigenous rights defenders and environmental activists who continue to be subject to abuses, violence, arbitrary detentions, threats and killings;
Amendment 17 #
Motion for a resolution Recital F F. whereas in 2013, Honduras became the first Latin American country to start negotiations with the EU on a FLEGT VPA, resulting in the initialling of a draft agreement in 2018; whereas Honduras shall ensure that the implementation and monitoring of this agreement involves the relevant stakeholders, irrespective of their gender, age, location, religion or beliefs, ethnic origin, race, language, disability or any other condition, so fostering the participation of the private sector, civil society, local communities, Indigenous and Afro-descendant peoples of Honduras and others dependent on forests1a. _________________ 1a Article 16 of the EU-Honduras FLEGT VPA.
Amendment 18 #
Motion for a resolution Recital F a (new) F a. whereas the mandate of the Mission to Support the Fight against Corruption and Impunity in Honduras (MACCIH) ended in January 2020 and was not renewed;
Amendment 19 #
Motion for a resolution Recital G a (new) G a. whereas the EU-Central America Association Agreement was concluded in 2012, and the trade part provisionally applied since 1st of August 2013;
Amendment 2 #
Motion for a resolution Citation 5 b (new) - having regard to the UN Sustainable Development Goals;
Amendment 20 #
Motion for a resolution Recital G b (new) G b. whereas VPAs provides for a Joint Implementation Committee, responsible for its implementation and monitoring;
Amendment 21 #
Motion for a resolution Recital J J. whereas the purpose and expected benefits of FLEGT VPAs go beyond the facilitation of trade in legal timber, as they are also designed to bring about systemic changes in forest governance, law
Amendment 22 #
Motion for a resolution Recital J J. whereas the purpose and expected benefits of FLEGT VPAs go beyond the facilitation of trade in legal timber, as they are also designed to bring about systemic changes in forest governance, law enforcement,
Amendment 23 #
Motion for a resolution Recital J J. whereas the purpose and expected benefits of FLEGT VPAs go beyond the facilitation of trade in legal timber, as they are also designed to bring about systemic changes in forest governance, law enforcement, transparency, enforcement of labour law, rights of indigenous peoples and the inclusion of various stakeholders in the political decision- making process;
Amendment 24 #
Motion for a resolution Recital J J. whereas the purpose and expected benefits of FLEGT VPAs go beyond the facilitation of trade in legal timber, as they are also designed to bring about systemic changes in forest governance, law enforcement, transparency and the inclusion of various stakeholders in the political decision-making process; in particular CSOs and indigenous communities;
Amendment 25 #
Motion for a resolution Recital J a (new) J a. whereas the negotiations leading to the conclusion of this VPA have created a cooperative space among different stakeholders to discuss environmental, human rights, social and economic issues;
Amendment 26 #
Motion for a resolution Recital K a (new) K a. whereas Honduras is not signatory to the Escazú Regional Agreement on Access to Information, Public Participation and Justice in Environmental Matters in Latin America and the Caribbean; whereas it is the only binding agreement stemming from the United Nations Conference on Sustainable Development (Rio+20), the first regional environmental agreement of Latin America and the Caribbean and the first in the world containing specific provisions on environmental human rights defenders: whereas the Agreement will enter into force on 22 April 2021; whereas Honduras holds the highest per capita rate of murder for environmental defenders;
Amendment 27 #
Motion for a resolution Recital K a (new) K a. whereas a good forest management requires sustainable land tenure, respect of the environmental needs and human rights, transparency, legal security, trust and long-term investments;
Amendment 28 #
Motion for a resolution Recital K b (new) K b. whereas one in four Honduran women has been pregnant at least once before the age of 19; whereas gender equality and the empowerment of all women and girls is not only one of the SDGs but is also critical to achieving all 17 of the goals; whereas reproductive rights are human rights, and gender equality, which depends on women’s ability to fully exercise them, is key to sustainable development;
Amendment 29 #
Motion for a resolution Recital K b (new) K b. whereas general elections will take place in Honduras before the end of 2021;
Amendment 3 #
Motion for a resolution Citation 17 a (new) - having regard to the declaration by the High Representative on behalf of the EU on the extension of the mandate of the Mission to Support the Fight Against Corruption and Impunity in Honduras (MACCIH) of 6 December 2019;
Amendment 30 #
Motion for a resolution Recital K c (new) K c. whereas Honduras has ratified the ILO convention 169 on Indigenous and Tribal Peoples Convention, but has not fully implemented it and has not introduced in its legislation the key principle of Free, Prior and Informed Consent (FPIC) that derives from the UN Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples;
Amendment 31 #
Motion for a resolution Paragraph 1 1. Welcomes the conclusion of negotiations on the VPA between the EU and Honduras and calls for its swift ratification by both sides so it can enter into force in 2021, thus allowing for the important next steps in terms of implementation, including setting up the licencing;
Amendment 32 #
Motion for a resolution Paragraph 1 a (new) 1 a. Considers it necessary to allocate funding to accompany the VPA's implementation as part of the next programming period of the EU bilateral programmes (2021-2027), especially with regard to the assistance for establishing a truly independent FLEGT-issuing authority entrusted by the EU;
Amendment 33 #
Motion for a resolution Paragraph 1 a (new) 1a. Points out that sustainable, inclusive forest management and governance are crucial for the achievement of the sustainable development goals set out in the 2030 Agenda;
Amendment 34 #
Motion for a resolution Paragraph 2 2. Expresses its solidarity with Honduras, which recently suffered two hurricanes that brought severe consequences in addition to the COVID-19 pandemic, which has also hit the country very hard; stresses the need to tackle urgently and globally the root causes of such extreme weather phenomena and zoonosis, which are linked to climate change, deforestation and biodiversity loss
Amendment 35 #
Motion for a resolution Paragraph 2 a (new) 2 a. Underlines that the VPA should not be considered as a mere trade agreement but as a tool to improve rule of law and human rights enforcement in Honduras; calls on the Commission to ensure that Honduras’s National Commission on Human Rights(CONADEH) duly monitors and assesses human rights violations; considers that independent civil society organisations should be involved from the very beginning in the monitoring of human rights and institutional resilience;
Amendment 36 #
Motion for a resolution Paragraph 2 a (new) 2 a. Believes that the EU has a very important role and an obligation in improving both the supply and the demand side of timber, in order to responsibly reject illegally produced timber and to reinforce exporting countries in their efforts to combat illegal logging and corruption that results in destruction of their forests, climate change, and violation of human rights;
Amendment 37 #
Motion for a resolution Paragraph 3 3. Recognises that the full implementation of the VPA at national and regional level will be a long-
Amendment 38 #
Motion for a resolution Paragraph 3 a (new) 3a. Emphasises that Honduras has made substantial efforts to solve the problem of illegal logging, adopted a new forestry law that entered into force in 2007, and in 2010 also adopted a national strategy to monitor the illegal felling and transport of forest products; recognises the commitments the Honduran timber industry has made to eliminate illegal timber from supply chains and raise awareness of the issue; emphasises, however, that it is vital that attitudes in the industry change, and that there is strong enforcement;
Amendment 39 #
Motion for a resolution Paragraph 4 4. Stresses that the implementation stage requires continued consultations and stakeholder involvement; calls on the Commission and the EU Delegation in Honduras to provide sufficient capacity- building and logistical and technical support in the framework of present and future development cooperation instruments in order to enable Honduras to fulfil the commitments for the implementation of its TLAS and related measures; stresses that EU delegations should play a key role in overseeing that Honduran authorities effectively include all the relevant stakeholders in the process towards the establishment of a fully operational TLAS; believes that parliamentary oversight of the implementation process of the VPA is critical;
Amendment 4 #
Motion for a resolution Recital A A. whereas almost half of the land area in Honduras is covered by forests, half of which is tropical rainforest; whereas there is still a huge resource of unclassified trees and species; whereas Honduras has lost about 12.5 % of its forest area since 2015 due mainly to climate change, forest fires, deforestation and illegal logging, and suffered a pest infestation in 2016;
Amendment 40 #
Motion for a resolution Paragraph 4 4. Stresses that the implementation stage requires continued genuine consultations and strong multistakeholder involvement, and a meaningful participation of CSOs, local and Indigenous communities in decision making, guaranteeing the Free, Prior and Informed Consent; recalls the need to enhance transparency, effective public disclosure of information and the timely sharing of documents with local and indigenous people; calls on the Commission and the EU Delegation in Honduras to ensure and provide su
Amendment 41 #
Motion for a resolution Paragraph 4 4. Stresses that the implementation stage requires continued consultations and stakeholder involvement; calls on the Commission
Amendment 42 #
Motion for a resolution Paragraph 5 a (new) 5 a. Believes that the success of the Agreement will depend to a large extent on the creation of a safe and enabling environment for the protection of environmental human right defenders and whistle-blowers, ensuring effective remedies for human rights violations and combating impunity; in this respect, stresses that the ratification of the Escazú Agreement would be significant step in the right direction; urges the government of Honduras to take steps on this line;
Amendment 43 #
Motion for a resolution Paragraph 5 a (new) 5a. Calls for the EU to ensure that the VPA is consistent with all its policies, including in the fields of trade, development, agriculture and the environment;
Amendment 44 #
Motion for a resolution Paragraph 6 6. Stresses that the success of the FLEGT also depends on tackling fraud and corruption throughout the timber supply chain; urges the Government of Honduras to
Amendment 45 #
Motion for a resolution Paragraph 6 6. Stresses that the success of the FLEGT also depends on tackling fraud and corruption throughout the timber supply chain; to this effect, calls on the EU to strengthen the scope and enforcement of EU Timber Regulation to tackle corruption risks in the EU’s timber supply chain, including through more regular and systematic controls and investigations in EU harbours; urges the Government of Honduras to work to stop widespread corruption and address other factors fuelling illegal logging and forest degradation, with particular regard to customs and other authorities that will play a pivotal role in the implementation and enforcement of the VPA; stresses the need to end impunity in the forest sector by ensuring that infractions are prosecuted;
Amendment 46 #
Motion for a resolution Paragraph 6 6.
Amendment 47 #
Motion for a resolution Paragraph 6 6. Stresses that the success of the FLEGT also depends on tackling fraud and corruption throughout the timber supply chain; urges the Government of Honduras to work to stop widespread corruption and address other factors fuelling illegal logging and forest degradation, with particular regard to customs and other authorities, such as the Honduras Forest Authority and the ministries dealing with forests and land rights, that will play a pivotal role in the implementation and enforcement of the
Amendment 48 #
Motion for a resolution Paragraph 6 a (new) 6 a. Is concerned that timber products can be imported into Honduras from a third country as long as those products were produced in accordance with the laws of the country where the trees were harvested because of the lower due diligence standards that can exist in those countries and the ulterior incorporation of these products into goods subsequently exported to the EU internal market;
Amendment 49 #
Motion for a resolution Paragraph 7 7. Urges the Government of Honduras to renew the mandate for the Mission to Support the Fight against Corruption and Impunity in Honduras (MACCIH), which ended in January 2020, and to sign the Escazú RegionalAgreement on Access to Information, Public Participation and Justice in Environmental Matters, as this will be critical for raising the level of protection for environmental human rights defenders;
Amendment 5 #
Motion for a resolution Recital A A. whereas almost half of the land area in Honduras is covered by forests, half of which is tropical rainforest; whereas Honduras has lost about 12.5 % of its forest area since 2015 due mainly to
Amendment 50 #
Motion for a resolution Paragraph 7 a (new) 7a. Is alarmed at the fact that since July 2018, when the Voluntary Partnership Agreement was signed, more than 20 activists for environmental protection and the rights of indigenous peoples have been killed;
Amendment 51 #
Motion for a resolution Paragraph 8 8. Welcomes the fact that Honduras is the first VPA country that had indigenous peoples as a separate interest group at the negotiating table, and the brave participation of indigenous peoples’ groups, with their particular insights and contributions; calls for the rapid inclusion of free, prior and informed consent (FPIC) in the legality definition and
Amendment 52 #
Motion for a resolution Paragraph 8 a (new) 8 a. Highly appreciates that Honduras has managed to ensure involvement of government institutions, civil society, private sector, indigenous and afro- descendant people of Honduras, academia and communities, who accepted and contributed to the process to drafting the VPA; welcomes the fact that all these sectors agreed to be present around the same negotiating table and the achievement of the feeling of inclusiveness and the possibility to contribute;
Amendment 53 #
Motion for a resolution Paragraph 9 a (new) 9 a. Believes that the fight against corruption needs to be constant, in every part of the world; welcomes that transparency has proven useful in the process to concluding this VPA, and cannot be enough stressed in the forthcoming process of implementation;
Amendment 54 #
Motion for a resolution Paragraph 10 Amendment 55 #
Motion for a resolution Paragraph 10 10. Is aware of the fact that the crucial property rights and land tenure rights in Honduras need
Amendment 56 #
Motion for a resolution Paragraph 10 10. Is aware of the fact that the crucial land tenure rights in Honduras need future clarification and that concrete safeguards for local and indigenous communities on land tenure are needed; calls on the Government of Honduras to allocate more resources and to strengthen the coordination of the public institutions involved in order to make more significant progress in the forest land regularisation process;
Amendment 57 #
Motion for a resolution Paragraph 10 10. Is aware of the fact that the crucial land tenure rights in Honduras need future clarification and that concrete safeguards for local and indigenous communities on land tenure are needed; urges the Honduran government to make use of the VPA process to contribute to clarifying land tenure rights, including the recognition of customary land rights;
Amendment 58 #
Motion for a resolution Paragraph 10 a (new) 10 a. Calls for the EU to ensure the coherence of the VPA agreement with all of its policies, especially with regard to the establishment of a robust compulsory due diligence framework for European companies operating in third countries that makes those companies liable for damages linked to their activity in these countries and the effective enforcement of human rights clauses in trade agreements;
Amendment 59 #
Motion for a resolution Paragraph 12 12. Calls on the Government of Honduras to strengthen vigilance and forest fire protection zones
Amendment 6 #
A a. whereas the current VPA builds upon the Association Agreement signed by the Union with Central America’s countries in 2012, entering into force in 2013, and whose legal dispositions already foresee comprehensive sustainable development criteria but only a mention on human rights in its preamble;
Amendment 60 #
Motion for a resolution Paragraph 12 a (new) 12a. Recalls the urgent need to protect the habitats of indigenous peoples, particularly the Tolupan people, whose living areas have been destroyed, forcing them to migrate with terrible humanitarian consequences;
Amendment 61 #
Motion for a resolution Paragraph 12 a (new) 12 a. Believes that the successful negotiations of this VPA also proves the importance of the Union’s Delegations to third countries;
Amendment 62 #
Motion for a resolution Paragraph 13 Amendment 63 #
Motion for a resolution Paragraph 13 13. Calls for gender analysis to be mainstreamed into all activities and projects linked to the implementation of the FLEGT VPA; calls for sufficient and adequate gender disaggregated data on the impact of trade to be collected; calls on the EU and its Member States to include ex-ante and ex-post gender sensitive impact assessments and recalls this should be accompanied by measures to prevent or compensate possible negative effects;
Amendment 64 #
Motion for a resolution Paragraph 13 a (new) 13a. Recalls the crucial role of whistleblower protection in protecting the environment and combating deforestation;
Amendment 65 #
Motion for a resolution Paragraph 14 14. Asks the Commission to report to
Amendment 66 #
Motion for a resolution Paragraph 14 14. Asks the Commission to report to Parliament regularly on the implementation of the agreement, including on the work of the Joint Implementation Committee
Amendment 67 #
Motion for a resolution Paragraph 15 15. Calls on the EU Member States to fully comply with
Amendment 68 #
Motion for a resolution Paragraph 15 a (new) 15 a. Asks the Commission to annually report on the implementation of the EU- Honduras FLEGT VPA to Parliament, including on the work of the Joint Implementation Committee, calls on the Commission to consider improving the regulation on FLEGT licencing at the next review exercise in order to enable it to respond quickly to cases of significant infringements of VPA commitments;
Amendment 69 #
Motion for a resolution Paragraph 16 a (new) 16 a. Deplores that human rights violations and attacks on human rights defenders, including enforced disappearances and murders, are recurrent and many times go unpunished; believes that the EU should help to improve the operational capacity of the Honduran protection mechanism for human rights defenders;
Amendment 7 #
Motion for a resolution Recital B B. whereas Honduras passed its Climate Change Law in 2014 and was the first state to publish its first nationally determined contribution (NDC) in the framework of the Paris Agreement the following year, of which one commitment is to restore one million hectares of forests;
Amendment 70 #
Motion for a resolution Paragraph 16 a (new) 16 a. Underlines that VPAs provide an important legal framework for both the EU and its partner countries, made possible with the good cooperation and engagement by the countries concerned; stresses therefore that new VPAs with additional partners should be promoted;
Amendment 71 #
Motion for a resolution Paragraph 16 b (new) 16 b. Recognises that the VPA with Honduras as well as those with other countries prove that trade agreements can work without threatening the imposition of sanctions, by including different means of control and cooperation;
Amendment 72 #
Motion for a resolution Paragraph 16 b (new) 16 b. Calls on the Commission to increase mentions on human rights defence and guarantees in all free trade agreements (FTAs) and association agreements (AA) with third countries;
Amendment 73 #
Motion for a resolution Paragraph 16 c (new) 16 c. Stresses the importance of forest jobs and rural employment in the economy of Honduras that should be taken into account in the implementation of the agreement; in this respect considers that the Commission and the Honduran authorities should conduct an exhaustive assessment on the impact of the VPA on the workers and small producers of the sector who could be affected by the increased logging controls; asks the Commission to promote and support programmes for the reconversion of those workers and producers into other activities;
Amendment 74 #
Motion for a resolution Paragraph 17 a (new) 17 a. Supports the European Commission in finding additional potential partners for future voluntary partnership agreements under FLEGT;
Amendment 75 #
Motion for a resolution Paragraph 17 a (new) 17 a. Expresses its deep concern on the amendment of the abortion law in Honduras and in some EU Member States;
Amendment 76 #
Motion for a resolution Paragraph 17 b (new) 17 b. Stresses the need to complement the VPA with both a horizontal, and a forest-risk commodity specific EU due diligence regulation; notes the importance of Honduras as a globally significant producer of coffee;
Amendment 77 #
Motion for a resolution Paragraph 17 c (new) 17 c. Welcomes that the legality definition includes the requirement on operators to abide by Honduras’ labour legislation; sees the VPA as a tool to promote decent work; calls on the Commission and Member States to initiate development cooperation projects for the promotion of decent work, including with the ILO;
Amendment 8 #
Motion for a resolution Recital C C. whereas the share of the forest sector in Honduras’ economy has decreased over the years representing around 3,6% of the GNP in the last 16 years owing to stricter requirements on the legality of timber in Honduras’ export markets and to forest destruction; whereas the Voluntary Partnership Agreement (VPA) process, which emphasises legality and good governance, is helping the forest sector to increase its share, provide rural jobs and generate income for Hondurans;
Amendment 9 #
Motion for a resolution Recital C C. whereas the share of the forest sector in Honduras’ economy has decreased over the years owing to stricter requirements on the legality of timber in Honduras’ export markets and to forest destruction; whereas the Voluntary Partnership Agreement (VPA) process, which emphasises legality and good governance, is helping the forest sector to increase its share, provide quality rural jobs and generate income for Hondurans;
source: 681.010
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