Local view for "http://purl.org/linkedpolitics/eu/plenary/1999-12-16-Speech-4-173"
Predicate | Value (sorted: default) |
---|---|
rdf:type | |
dcterms:Date | |
dcterms:Is Part Of | |
dcterms:Language | |
lpv:document identification number |
"en.19991216.7.4-173"2
|
lpv:hasSubsequent | |
lpv:speaker | |
lpv:translated text |
"Mr President, this debate on human rights highlights yet again the need for us in the European Union to remain vigilant on this issue. All the individual cases discussed here this afternoon point to fundamental human rights violations. In the case of the death penalty in the USA and Yemen, the issue is the basic right to life. In the case of discrimination against women in Kuwait and Afghanistan, it is the right to civil equality. In the case of Djibouti, it is the right to freedom of opinion and freedom of political activity. In the case of Nicaragua – and here I differ with some speakers here today – it is clearly about the rule of law as such and the fact that people must be protected under the rule of law from arbitrary acts by the supreme state powers.
The Djibouti government must know that there will be consequences if, as a participant in the Lomé Convention, it fails to respect human rights. Cooperation between the European Union and Djibouti cannot remain divorced from this. We shall therefore support any initiatives designed to encourage the Djibouti government to take a stance in line with respect for human rights and fundamental freedoms.
My final point concerns Nicaragua. The Commission has followed the events leading up to the arrest of the comptroller-general of Nicaragua, Mr Jarquín, with mounting concern and we endorsed the initiative taken by the Troika of the European Union on this issue on 18 November. I should like to say quite clearly with reference to the discussion held here, the political background to which I do, of course, fully understand, that even if the actions of the comptroller-general were politically motivated, that was no excuse to put him in prison. I think we are all in agreement on that. Our concern is that a political argument, irrespective of whether or not it was justified, and I do not want to go into that here, has been countered by the supreme power in the country by throwing the head comptroller of the country into prison. In the Commission’s view, the European Parliament should not remain silent on this.
I should like to point out that the European Union has been a donor of non-repayable aid to Central America in general, and Nicaragua in particular, for many years. Following the new form of cooperation between the EU and central America decided at the San José Conference in Florence in 1996, and the strategy paper for cooperation between the EU and Nicaragua adopted in 1999, I must point out that the European Union in particular has been concentrating mainly in development cooperation with Nicaragua on strengthening the rule of law and supporting a fair social policy.
If this cooperation is to be able to have full effect and the objectives are to be attained, we
agree to abide by democratic rules of play and common values and this necessarily includes respect for independent institutions, as provided for in the constitution. The Commission is confident that the Nicaraguan authorities will take account of the considerations voiced by the European Union and other members of the international community and that the measures taken against the Bureau of the Comptroller-General and the comptroller himself will be reversed.
Given the time available, I should just like to make a few comments on these individual issues from the Commission’s point of view. As far as the death penalty is concerned, we all agree that it is incompatible with our European standards and must be vehemently condemned. The carrying out of a death sentence is an inhumane act which has no place in a civilised society.
So we know how we must react when death sentences are imposed or executed in individual countries. We must then examine what we can do in each individual case to prevent the death sentence from actually being imposed or executed. That applies to the cases referred to here. The European Union has set itself clear rules on how to proceed when not even minimum standards are respected. In such cases, the European Union must intervene.
I would like to mention two of these minimum standards, namely when the death penalty is imposed against people who were not even 18 years old at the time of the offence, and when the death penalty is imposed on people who are mentally handicapped.
Allow me to say briefly on the question of women in Kuwait that, like the Members of the European Parliament, the Commission is very disappointed at the result of the vote in Kuwait on 30 November. Nonetheless, we can say, and this point was raised here that, with a directly elected Parliament, Kuwait is still one of the most democratic countries in the Gulf. That does not alter the fact that this vote contradicts the UN convention on the elimination of all forms of discrimination and the international pact on civil and political rights. Both pacts have been signed by Kuwait. The Commission is very worried that Kuwait is not complying with this internationally ratified convention.
We must say that this development is particularly alarming in the light of the fact that it was the Emir of Kuwait, the head of state, who took the courageous decision, which the EU also welcomed, to grant women active and passive voting rights. This is an unusual case in which an authoritarian head of state is more progressive that the elected representatives of the people. The European Union will do its best to help achieve a breakthrough on this issue in Kuwait.
As far as Afghanistan is concerned, the position has been clear for a long time. The European Union set out its point of view on Afghanistan in a common position on 25 January 1999 in which it said quite unequivocally and clearly that we demanded respect for human rights in Afghanistan and that, in particular, we defended the rights of Afghan women. This common position was shared by all the political groups in Afghanistan. The European Union has consistently repeated its rejection of the gender policy of the Taliban movement.
We really must say that the most regrettable aspect of the Taliban regime is the way in which women are treated. Not only is the entire female population denied access to education, but women are not allowed to take up independent work. In all the contacts which we have been able to make with the Taliban – and as you know, they have been quite limited – we have never left them in any doubt as to the fact that we condemn this behaviour and shall continue to do so in the future.
The Commission is following the human rights situation in Djibouti very closely and with great concern. We have noted that the fundamental freedoms of those opposing the present regime in Djibouti are being violated time and time again. The Commission will do its utmost to ensure that the Djibouti authorities respect the fundamental rights of prisoners. We have expressed our point of view with regard to respect for the fundamental freedoms of man in contacts with the authorities in Djibouti time and again. Respect for human rights is one of the fundamental facets of our cooperation with Djibouti within the framework of the Lomé Convention."@en1
|
lpv:unclassifiedMetadata |
Named graphs describing this resource:
The resource appears as object in 2 triples