Local view for "http://purl.org/linkedpolitics/eu/plenary/2012-04-17-Speech-2-082-000"
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"Madam President, the honourable Members have ranged across a whole, important set of issues that fall under the universality of human rights. There are many, many points that we can reflect upon. Let me, in the short time I have, try and pick up on a few of these.
I was very pleased to see that so many people mentioned the issues of women’s rights and the importance of continuing to support women, especially women going through extreme circumstances of horror and terror, but also women trying to engage in the political and economic lives of their countries. Very simplistically, we know that when women are engaged in society, societies are richer in every possible sense: economically, socially and politically, and the issue of forced marriages is one that affects many countries.
When I was a minister for human rights in the country I came from, I did legislation on forced marriages there. This is something we need to take seriously everywhere.
Ms Ludford, I have already said before that we will look into that, but you know that I am deeply concerned about the use of the death penalty everywhere, especially, as I said to you earlier, over the 100 instances of the death penalty in Iran so far this year.
Mr Stevenson, you have been a champion on the issue of Camp Ashraf because of your concern for the people there. We are still in touch with Martin Kobler and are still pushing hard on Member States, and I need the help of MEPs to make sure that we can resettle as many people as possible. This is crucial, but we are also offering to support the UN financially in moving forward on this. So, in a sense, the more I can rely on help from this House, the more I will be able to do. But you know how much I am concerned about this and how engaged we are on this.
In terms of South Africa on the point that was raised, we have agreed to launch a human rights dialogue with South Africa where we can raise a number of different issues.
I agree with what Ms Gomes said about the importance of meeting with human rights activists. I try to do that in every country I visit in order to listen to them and hear from them about the situation on the ground and the realities of the life that they lead. I support fully the rights of lesbian, gay, transsexual and bisexual people, and this should be fully reflected in everything we do on human rights.
Such rights are universal. In terms of how we work with different countries, I have talked before about the spectrum of engagement to isolation and the importance of ensuring that human rights is one of the indicators of how we work with countries. We are often, as the honourable Members know, trying to work with people in countries in order to support them while also trying to isolate and put pressure on their governments. The spectrum really matters in that we do not abandon people who are desperately trying to obtain their rights, but we engage where we can. On that spectrum of engagement to isolation, where engagement can be more effective (and it very often is), we need to make sure that we are there, willing to put the pressure on to try and make the difference.
My final point is a bureaucratic one: benchmarking. We are working now on how to develop the methodology for this. We want to measure the performance, as a number of honourable Members have indicated. There is quite a long way to go, but the action plan may also be an opportunity for us to examine.
My final comment is to thank Richard Howitt again for the work he has done on this very important report. I know his personal conviction and commitment to this, and I pay tribute to that.
First of all, may I say how pleased I am that Mr Sannikov and Mr Bondarenko have been released from prison in Belarus. We are in touch, and I hope that we may be seeing an opportunity with Belarus. This shows the strength of the European Union; it shows the importance of being decisive in what we do, and it shows more than anything that standing together is so important.
A number of honourable Members have rightly raised the importance of faith, belief, conviction; the ability to worship and exercise belief, faith or none. I agree with all the concerns that have been raised about the importance of making sure that this is a core part of the work that we do on human rights. This is why we will dedicate a chapter in the annual report specifically to that, so that it becomes part of our human rights work but is highlighted appropriately.
I hear what a number of colleagues have said about the situation in Egypt, and we will continue to keep a watchful eye on how this is evolving.
Mr Donskis talked about the subtle undermining of human rights. The challenge is to make sure that we focus not just on the most obvious ways, for example, the abolition of the death penalty (which is, as you know, something I consider to be a fundamental part of the work that we do), but also on the ways in which people are prevented from exercising their rights in more subtle ways. These two things are very important. They lead to that lack of dignity and respect that is core and fundamental to how we feel.
Mr Tavares, I just want to say to you that my message on Argentina had nothing to do with this debate. I was asked by Mr Salafranca Sánchez-Neyra if I would say something before the debate began about Argentina because I cannot be here tomorrow.
I agree with you about the terrible situation in Guinea-Bissau. It is why, even before the coup last Thursday, I put out a statement and called on all parties to respect the legitimate government, and I have been very strong in my condemnation of the coup. Those who are in prison should be released immediately, and we have suspended most of our aid to Guinea-Bissau.
We are, of course, looking at how to make sure we can continue to give direct support to the people. But we will not support an illegitimate government, and I completely agree with you on that – but please do not think that I was trying to bring one issue into another. I really was not. It was a separate discussion before the debate.
I agree, too, that honourable Members have been in the forefront of wanting to see a special representative and, as you know, I am currently working on the mandate for that person. We are looking for someone of enormous integrity and with great ability in this field. It will be an important role, and the appointee will need to have a good relationship with this House. This is something we want to continue to discuss."@en1
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