Local view for "http://purl.org/linkedpolitics/eu/plenary/2007-06-06-Speech-3-115"
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"en.20070606.14.3-115"2
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"Mr President, the results of the work of the UN Human Rights Council in its first year are under scrutiny. The expectations of the international community have not yet been met. The most regrettable example is probably the resolution on the situation in Darfur, whose content was watered down partly as a result of the continuing compromises. The work has, understandably, been hampered by the fact that the operation and practices are still being developed.
Our proposals for a resolution highlights, as it ought, the problem areas in the work of the Human Rights Council. Two matters in particular need to be paid attention to. Firstly, we have to learn from history. The work of the United Nations Commission on Human Rights (UNCHR), as the representative of the Human Rights Council, lost credibility, as sitting on the Council were countries which have glaringly violated human rights. The EU must continue doggedly to push through the condition that membership of the Human Rights Council is based on an objective criterion and that requirements for membership are sufficiently strict. The concept of human rights covers a very wide area. Certain fundamental human rights must be unconditionally incorporated in the conditions of membership. I think that the countries where Sharia courts are part of the judicial system are especially problematic. The EU must fight to ensure that this Human Rights Council does not become a club for abusers of human rights, in the way of the body which precedes it.
The other matter relates to the relationship between the Universal Periodic Review mechanism and the special procedures employed in individual countries. The EU needs to insist strongly that the work of the special experts in individual countries in the UN will in future be kept separate from the UPR and genuinely independent of governments. I regard it as worrying that Member States could use the indirect right of veto in the UPR in connection with a debate on the situation in a country, so that they fail to produce their country-specific report.
I understand the limitations the Human Rights Council assembly puts on the EU’s powers of influence. Just the countries of Africa and Asia together can, with their 29 seats, steer the Council’s work in a direction which differs from the aims of Western countries in the area of human rights. The EU must now demonstrate real leadership and a strong will. We should try and use the talks to break any regional blocs. I wish to thank the German Presidency, which has shown exemplary firmness in its call for prohibiting the death penalty."@en1
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