Local view for "http://purl.org/linkedpolitics/eu/plenary/2003-01-29-Speech-3-085"
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"en.20030129.4.3-085"2
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Mr President, Commissioner, honourable Members of the European Parliament, ladies and gentlemen, I am delighted to have this opportunity to report to you on how the Community is preparing for the forthcoming meeting of the United Nations Commission on Human Rights.
One of the aims of the Greek Presidency is to step up the human rights dialogue between the European Parliament and the Council. The conclusions adopted by the Council on 10 December 2002 contain recommendations on closer cooperation between us, in a bid to bring about a more open and transparent European human rights policy, and I should like to outline the basic principles which underpin this policy and shape the Union’s overall approach to what we all agree is an extremely important and sensitive issue. On 25 June 2001, the Council reaffirmed its commitment to promoting the European human rights policy and the policy of democratisation in third countries and issued a series of basic principles designed to bring about a more creditable, coherent, consistent human rights and democratisation policy. We need consistency between Community action and the common foreign and security policy as well as development policy through close cooperation and coordination between the competent bodies of the European Union. We need to integrate and mainstream human rights and fundamental freedoms into all EU policies and actions. We need openness of our human rights and democratisation policy through a strengthened dialogue with the European Parliament and the civil society and we need regular identification and review of priority actions in the implementation of this policy.
The European Union has a long history and has managed to create an area of legal security and inviolable freedoms of which we are rightly proud. Our aim at the forthcoming Intergovernmental Conference is to incorporate the codified
on human rights and fundamental freedoms, as contained in the European Charter, into the Treaties. We hope that this will respond to our citizens’ expectations and increase their level of protection. The clearer and more unequivocal our absolute respect for human rights inside the Union, the more creditable and persuasive our foreign policy on these issues will be, and we shall be able to demand more effectively that all members of the international community abide, if not by all, then at least by the basic principles and values which give man and society their dignity. As you know, abolishing the death penalty and torture, combating discrimination against women and protecting children from exploitation are our main lines of approach. Respect for these principles must inform all aspects of the Union’s foreign policy, even if there is an economic or political price to pay. This approach will guarantee our credibility.
Ladies and gentlemen, before detailing the preparations we are making for the meeting in Geneva, I should like briefly to recount the results of last year’s meeting, to give you an idea of the challenges facing us in March and April. As you know, last year was a trying time, due in part to the composition of the Commission, some of the members of which have a poor track record in human rights. It was also the first time the United States was absent from the Commission and the Middle East dominated the discussions and overshadowed every other initiative. European motions on Iran, Chechnya and Zimbabwe were thrown out for the first time in the Commission’s history. I should point out that, apart from the return of the United States, the composition of the Commission is more or less the same as last year. I should also like to point out that the way in which the Human Rights Commission functions reflects the complicated and difficult power struggles with which we have to work. This became clear during last year’s elections in the Commission, when the calming and stabilising role of the European Union demonstrated the value of a sober but pragmatic European approach, defusing the tension and circumventing a painful and dangerous impasse. Nor must we forget that this situation may be complicated in the immediate future by the prospect of unilateral intervention in Iraq, the worsening situation in the Middle East and the possible rekindling of terrorism, fed by conflicting arguments from all the forces involved as they try to pass the buck from one side to the other.
Ladies and gentlemen, with this general context in mind, I should like to say a few words about how the Council is currently preparing for this meeting. The COHOM working group organised its first two-day meeting on preparations for the work of the Commission two weeks ago. Delegates from the various geographic working groups were invited to this meeting for a presentation of this year’s priorities. With the help of senior officials, COHOM has already managed to identify which countries are willing to agree on an action package. It has also identified which countries need further discussion, rapprochement and information and has called for reports from the heads of the Community representations in these countries. I must stress that no final decisions – and hence no initiatives – have been taken. The COHOM working group will decide on as many issues as possible at its meeting on 5 February and any particularly thorny issues outstanding will be discussed in the Committee on Foreign Affairs, Human Rights, Common Security and Defence Policy and, where necessary, referred to the Council. This debate has come along at exactly the right time, because the COHOM meeting on 5 February will be able to consider your ideas and comments.
I can, however, report that the working group has already provisionally agreed that the Union will vote in favour of item 9 on the agenda on the five countries of Sudan, the Democratic Republic of Congo, Iraq, Myanmar and the Israeli settlements in the occupied territories. At the same time, the European Union is moving for parts of south-eastern Europe to be transferred from item 9 to item 19 on the agenda, so that they can be provided with consultancy services and technical know-how in the human rights sector.
Ladies and gentlemen, I have deliberately not gone into all the European Union’s actions in this area for the current period. The Union’s traditional report on the human rights situation in various parts of the world will cover the countries which give cause for concern. A draft is already under way and we are endeavouring to give this report weight by covering about twenty or thirty countries. Here too, the views of the European Parliament on the countries which we need to support will be vital. As far as thematic decisions are concerned, the final decisions will again be taken in February. What I can tell you is that motions are already being prepared on the death penalty and children’s rights. Finally, supporting declarations are also being prepared on issues which are major priorities in the European Union, such as racism, sexual discrimination and xenophobia, women’s rights, modern forms of slavery and supporting and encouraging all types of personal and collective initiatives to protect human rights. These are just a few examples but I think I have given you an idea of the European Union’s commitments and expectations for the forthcoming meeting of the United Nations Commission on Human Rights in Geneva.
Before I finish, I should like to comment on one particular issue which is a priority for the Greek Presidency and that is the importance of taking an organised approach to the waves of illegal immigrants flooding into Europe. We believe that this will also help combat serious forms of crime and human rights abuses, such as slavery, prostitution and what is often total disregard for human life. In order to protect the human rights of immigrants and refugees, the presidency considers that, apart from third pillar issues which have to do with this question, we need to do something about the social rights of these people inside the Union.
Finally, I must point out, especially as things stand today, that the Union needs to strike the right balance between security and the unobstructed exercise of people’s rights, between cooperation and pressure, between control and protection, between the demands of others and what applies to our members. It is a difficult path to tread, but it is the only path. Having said which, the Council welcomes the entry into force of the Statute for the International Criminal Court which, we believe, will do a great deal to protect human rights and fundamental freedoms."@en1
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