Local view for "http://purl.org/linkedpolitics/eu/plenary/2003-01-29-Speech-3-089"
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"en.20030129.4.3-089"2
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"Mr President, ladies and gentlemen, human rights is a topic which unites the political families in Parliament to a substantial extent, so we had no great problem when it came to agreeing on a joint resolution in preparation for the 59th meeting of the UN Commission on Human Rights. In preparing for this 59th meeting, we are, of course, aware of how difficult it is to achieve substantial results within the UN framework, something that the Council and the Commission have already illustrated to some extent.
We should not, though, be creating difficulties about the UNHCR's standing in view of this year's chairmanship having been entrusted to Libya, of all countries. I find it a particular cause of embarrassment that this was made possible by the European Union abstaining when it came to the vote. I know that this was a deal done with the African states, but if a nomination of this sort is to be avoided, we should perhaps be doing more in-depth work with this continent in the area of human rights, rather than only when it comes to haggling for jobs and positions in the corridors of the UN. I have heard what the representative of the Council has said. He quoted the fine declarations that were made in June 2001. At the General Affairs Council this week, we learned how the absence of any agreement has meant that the opposite has been the result, in Zimbabwe for example. Obviously, considerations of human rights were seen as less important than issues of economics.
Apart from that, it strikes me as important that the meeting should be followed – and promptly – by the public debriefing from the Council and the Commission here in Parliament. A review of the last meeting is of little use to me right now; I would have been very keen to hear it once the meeting was over. Parliament and the public have a right to know what the Council and the Commission did at the UNHCR meeting, and why they did it.
I am glad, though, when a dialogue on human rights is got underway with a country, and the Commissioner mentioned Iran as being one of them. As the rapporteur for Iran, that is something that I welcome. Iran should, though, demonstrate the seriousness with which it takes such a dialogue by cooperating with the United Nations. I found a number of positive things in what the Commissioner said, and I hope that we can make them a reality. We have tabled an amendment expressing our wish that a successor for Mr Copithorne should be formally nominated, and I hope that Iran will also be prepared to work together with him.
In this resolution, we have listed a number of countries as illustrations of the indisputable deficits in the area of human rights. We in the PPE-DE Group do take the view, though, that this resolution is not suited to illustrating the dimension of present-day human rights violations in their entirety, by, for example, incorporating a plethora of individual cases under specific headings. We will therefore be rejecting the relevant amendments – not because of their content, but for procedural reasons."@en1
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