Local view for "http://purl.org/linkedpolitics/eu/plenary/2001-02-15-Speech-4-198"
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"en.20010215.8.4-198"2
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"Mr President, with regard to China, I would point out that the European Union is steadfastly determined to promote respect for human rights in this area, as in other parts of the world, and that we share Parliament’s concern about religious freedom in that country.
Some of you have asked what we are going to do about these matters. I can certainly assure you that the Commission will specifically use the EU-ASEAN meetings as a bilateral context in which to raise all these problems. These meetings will take place in Brussels in the first six months of this year, and we shall be talking about everything I have just mentioned and also about the separate and specific problems you have raised about actual cases of political prisoners.
With regard to Guinea, I should like to point out that we are concerned about the situation in that country, and especially about the ongoing deterioration in the human rights situation as a result of the attacks suffered by the United Revolutionary Front. We fully support CEDEAO’s attempts at mediation. You raised the problem of refugees. The Commission believes that absolute priority should be given to rehousing them in the camps farthest away from the border, that is to say as far away as possible from the combat zones. As matters stand at present, repatriating them to Sierra Leone is unthinkable because two other objectives have priority: reinforcing the camps around Kissidougou, north of Gueckedou, and adapting the access roads to these camps. The Commission is pursuing a two-pronged strategy through ECHO, on the one hand in the framework of the year 2000 intervention plan for Sierra Leone’s refugees through which an amount of more than EUR 2.5 million has already been allocated to the operations in Guinea and, on the other hand, in the framework of the contracts which have been entered into with the associated NGOs and which are being modified to take account of recent events. ECHO is also preparing two funding decisions for 2001: one in favour of Sierra Leone, for EUR 11 million; and the other in favour of Guinea, for between EUR 3 and 6 million.
Two additional topics commented on during the debate were the responsibilities of Liberia – what can be done? – and the problems in Guinea. With regard to Liberia, I should like to point out that, as you have indicated, the experts’ report from the United Nations on arms and diamonds in Sierra Leone makes it crystal clear what Liberia’s responsibilities are in the conflict. At present, possible courses of action to be taken against Charles Taylor are being debated. What can the Commission do in the meantime? We can use the tools available to us and, with that in view, the possibility is being examined of instituting a consultancy procedure with regard to Liberia in application of Article 96 of the Cotonou Agreement. With regard to Guinea, the situation has indeed deteriorated. Recently, the death penalty was imposed upon five people and, as a number of you also pointed out, the subject of Alpha Condé has not been clarified. The Commission passed on the concerns that are felt about this specific matter to a Guinean delegation headed by the Foreign Affairs Minister, which visited Brussels at the end of January.
With regard to Nigeria, I should like to point out that the Commission condemns the flagellation of an adolescent in accordance with Islamic law and is concerned specifically about the application of the
in some areas of Nigeria. The Commission is aware – as I believe you too are – of the fact that the situation in Nigeria is politically very sensitive and that the new, democratically elected government is endeavouring to improve respect for human rights in Nigeria. The Commission and the Member States will be meeting in March to try to reach some common position on Nigeria. The meeting will consider what is the best way to deal with these various topics. In the meantime, you ask what we are able to do. A mission from Brussels is discussing, in Nigeria, how the future programme for that country is to be implemented. The issues of democracy, the constitutional state and respect for human rights will be dealt with as a priority with a view to the decisions that have to be made regarding them.
The final subject you raised with me was the subject of Pakistan. In accordance with the resolutions you tabled concerning freedom of expression in Pakistan, the Commission acknowledges that the incident which recently occurred at the border post of Peshawar is cause for alarm and especially regrettable in view of the fact that, to date, Pakistan has generally respected the freedom of the press, especially since the military coup of October 1999. It is true that, compared with other countries in southern Asia, its attitude is, or has been, relatively commendable. However, the incident makes it clear that the European Union should remain alert to the issue of freedom of expression in general and freedom of the press in particular. There is the fear that the existence of an independent and diverse press, permitted until now by Pakistan – one of the most liberal of Islamic countries – may be compromised. In spite of the public apologies offered by the editors of the newspaper
there is indeed no guarantee that no action will be taken against them. If action is, in fact, taken against them, it will undoubtedly help create an atmosphere hostile to the press in general. We therefore believe it is vital to carry out a very detailed investigation of the incident in order to determine whether possible interests that have not been clearly defined have led to the paper’s being closed down. Apart from all this, the legitimate concern for the safety of the newspaper’s staff is, as a number of you have pointed out, connected with the application of the law on blasphemy.
The Commission believes that the military government should make a major effort to control religious intolerance in Pakistan and regrets that earlier initiatives to change the blasphemy law were blocked. In the specific political discussions with the Pakistani Government in November 2000, the troika, while congratulating the government on its commitment to respecting human rights and media freedom, indicated that there were still problems in a number of areas, particularly when it came to judicial practices and the restrictions upon the activities of political parties. The troika also took the opportunity to indicate its concern about the concessions being made to a number of groups advocating intolerance. There is no doubt at all that, in the absence of a democratic counterweight, the influence of such groups can increase. That, then, is what the Commission is doing to improve the human rights situation.
The Commission is prepared to support any actions taken by civil organisations in Pakistan, with such actions to be funded through the European initiative in favour of democracy and human rights. It is also examining the possibility of supporting means to improve public administration in Pakistan, which would be to everyone’s advantage.
It is true that the living standards of the majority of the Chinese population appear to have improved during the last twenty years. Thanks to the economic reforms and to liberalisation, there have been increases in freedom and personal autonomy. It is true, however, that there is still a big gap between the international commitments made by China and the human rights situation in practice. In 1996, a human rights dialogue between the European Union and China was established and, within this framework, we are maintaining a frank debate on these matters.
A key topic is religious freedom, about which the European Union repeatedly expresses its concern faced with Chinese repression of religious and other types of activity to which you have referred. We are talking not only about the Catholic and Protestant Churches, but also about any other type of faith. Later, I shall be talking a little about Falun Gong.
Other topics raised with China are the repression of political dissent, the arbitrary conditions of detention, the frequent recourse to the death penalty and the repression of ethnic minorities. We are also urging China quickly and without reservations to ratify the United Nations’ International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights and the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights which we consider to be key factors for improving individual rights. The human rights field is one of the priority areas of our work, in which I believe we can improve our relations with China.
As we very well know, dialogue is only an option, the purpose of which is to produce results. There is no justification at all for maintaining the dialogue if no progress is being made. The European Union’s General Affairs Council openly expressed this point of view in its conclusions concerning the human rights dialogue between China and the European Union, published on 22 January.
You referred specifically in your speeches to three topics which I think are of interest. Firstly, I should like to point out that, where Falun Gong is concerned, the Commission is especially concerned about the reports we are receiving about torture and ill-treatment inflicted upon followers of the movement, as well as about the severity of the sentences imposed upon some of its members. The Commission has therefore repeatedly urged China to review these sentences. We think that all the safeguards need to be fully respected in fair trials in which adequate defences are mounted.
As you may know, a decision has not yet been made about the European Union’s position on the Geneva resolution on China. The debate we have held today in this House will, without a doubt, be fundamental to the decision we take.
As for action in connection with Tibet, we are indeed still concerned about the ethnic minorities there. I should also like to point out, regarding this matter, that China has been urged to make further progress towards fully respecting the cultural, linguistic and religious identity of the Tibetan people and to enter into an open dialogue with the Dalai Lama.
Regarding the situation in Laos, I should like to assure you that the Commission fully shares your concern about protecting human rights in the Lao People's Democratic Republic. It is true that, in the last year, some positive signs have been visible, for example the signing of the two United Nations covenants on human rights: the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights and the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights. The problem now is for the National Assembly to lose no time in ratifying these covenants and putting them into effect, and the Commission is waiting for this to happen. Even if this step is successfully taken, however, there still remains a lot of work to be done. A cause of special concern for everyone is the intolerance of, for example, political opposition, as demonstrated by the detention of a number of people in October and November 1999 for demonstrating against the government. You refer in your report to the situation of former civil servants, such as Mr Latsamy Kamphoui and Mr Sackchittaphong, prisoners of conscience who are still being detained and whom the European Union has repeatedly called upon the government to release on humanitarian grounds."@en1
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