Local view for "http://purl.org/linkedpolitics/eu/plenary/2002-04-24-Speech-3-096"
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"en.20020424.4.3-096"2
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"Mr President, ladies and gentlemen, on behalf of the Commission and especially of my colleague Mr Patten, who is unable to take part in today's discussion, I wish to thank Mrs Díez González and Mr Van Hecke for their reports, which complement each other well. Mrs Díez González, in your report on the Commission communication on human rights, you call on the institutions to work out a common code of conduct to serve as a basis for the EU's relations with third states. The Commission reaffirms the significance, for the European Union's relations with other states, of a constructive and dynamic concept founded on critical partnership and collaboration. The Council, too, reaffirmed this approach with its guidelines for dialogues on human rights. Such dialogue shows particular promise when respect for human rights and for democratic principles forms an essential component of agreements concluded with third states and when such agreements include a clause on human rights. As has already been mentioned, the Cotonou Agreement was a forward step of this kind. The Commission is prepared to discuss the form this clause should take in future and how it is to be applied efficiently, and, in doing so, will attach great importance to Parliament's conceptions.
In her report, Mrs Díaz González goes on to advocate the establishment of a European Agency for Human Rights and Democracy, which would perform a reporting and advisory role. As stated in its communication, though, the Commission takes the view that the European Union has no lack of either facilities for consultation or sources of information. The European Union can rely on reports by the United Nations, the Council of Europe and, not least, a large number of international non-governmental organisations. The actual challenge for every institution is to make prompt and comprehensive use of the information available and then summon the political will to take difficult decisions. An additional advisory forum would make it impossible to cope with this challenge, and it would, furthermore, be extremely difficult for the Commission to transfer powers to such a body in the sensitive area of human rights.
Mr Van Hecke's report is devoted to two main subjects, one being counter-terrorism and the other the fight against modern forms of slavery. The European Union emphatically condemns slavery in all its forms, including, as the concept does today, alongside traditional slavery and the slave trade, such things as serious violations of the rights of children and of women, the exploitation of certain dependency situations, and apartheid. These continue to afflict millions of people in many parts of the world.
The European Union has only recently made a statement to the Human Rights Committee in which it welcomed the various international instruments, notably those of the ILO, for combating these forms of slavery, and also called for more positive action against trafficking in human beings. As regards basic working norms, the Commission included in last year's communication a comprehensive strategy with the title of ‘Promoting core labour standards and improving social governance in the context of globalisation’ under which countries are to receive incentives and be put in a position to implement core labour standards and adhere to them.
One definite step was the Council's acceptance of a revised generalised scheme of preferences – the social incentive system – which provides for additional preferences for countries which adhere to core labour norms. From now on, in addition, serious contraventions of one of the ILO's fundamental conventions will be among the grounds for temporary withdrawal of generalised preferences. It was above all on these grounds that the EU suspended the Generalised System of Preferences for Burma.
The Commission is now giving increased financial support to projects in many countries against trafficking in human beings, against trafficking in women, against child labour or slavery, for example, projects combating the exploitation of juveniles in Gabon, Benin, Togo, and Nigeria, or projects within the frameworks provided by the STOP or DAPHNE programmes, which are aimed at combating trafficking in human beings and sexual exploitation.
Mr Van Hecke is quite right to emphasise in his report that the events of 11 September manifest new forms of terrorism. It is to that part of the report that I now turn. It is only right that the whole political debate has been permeated by the fight against terrorism. Considerations of human rights have an effect at different levels. The European Union holds fast to the important legal distinction that it is states that can violate human rights, whilst terrorist acts are to be categorised in legal terms as criminality. Despite the urgent need for action, it is most important to counter-terrorism in all its aspects that we ourselves and our allies strictly maintain the values of international human rights and of humanitarian law.
Mr Van Hecke's report furthermore refers to the European Initiative for Democracy and Human Rights. The Commission is actively endeavouring to implement its new strategy, which comprises a longer-term concept providing for the selection of a limited number of subject areas, which it treats as of core importance and in which the Community's contribution can bring about real change. As before, the Commission will continue to involve Parliament in the discussion on how the European Initiative for Democracy and Human Rights is to be implemented.
Let me again congratulate Mrs Díez González and Mr Van Hecke on their reports. The Commission welcomes the collaboration with Parliament in further advancing our common cause of democracy and human rights. The European Union is founded on respect for human rights, and this is true both of internal affairs policy within Europe and of Europe's policy in foreign affairs."@en1
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