Human rights: Tibet, Guatemala, Uzbekistan

 

In the resolution on Tibet, adopted by 66 votes to 0 with 0 abstentions, Parliament condemns the events of 30 September this year, when more than 70 unarmed Tibetan civilians were fired upon by the Chinese police, killing at least one person.

 

The Tibetans were attempting to cross the Nangpa Pass in the Himalayan region of Tibet, to seek refugee status in Nepal.  The Chinese People’s Armed Police fired upon the Tibetans, who included women and children. Video and photographic evidence shows that the group was moving slowly away from the Chinese forces firing upon them and did not represent a threat.  A seventeen-year-old nun was killed and there are unconfirmed eyewitness accounts of other deaths. A group of Tibetans, including children, were arrested after continuing to flee.

 

The Chinese authorities have thus far not officially recognised that the incident at Nangpa Pass took place or that any individual was killed by Chinese forces.

 

In its resolution, Parliament "condemns the excessive use of force by the Chinese People’s Armed Police in firing upon unarmed Tibetan civilians, including children". It  "strongly condemns the killing of an unarmed civilian who, being under 18 years of age, was also considered a child under international law" and "expresses its dismay at the imprisonment of Tibetan civilians, nine of whom are children".

 

MEPs urge the Chinese authorities "to guarantee that the Tibetans detained during the incident will not be ill-treated in detention and that international human rights and humanitarian law standards are being respected" and "to release immediately all children detained during the incident"

 

The resolution "urges the Chinese authorities to conduct a full investigation into the events at Nangpa Pass and ensure that those responsible for any crimes committed there are brought to justice". 

 

It also calls on the Council and Commission to "make strong representations to the Chinese authorities on this issue within the framework of the EU-China Human Rights Dialogue". 

 

 

 

 

In a resolution on Guatemala, adopted by a show of hands, Parliament calls on the authorities in the country to cooperate in investigations into the actions of seven former dictators, including José Rios Montt, who are accused of genocide and torture.

 

During the armed conflict in Guatemala, 200,000 people are said to have been murdered and 45,000 to have suffered enforced disappearances. In addition, 10% of the population was displaced and entire indigenous communities were eradicated.

 

Those accused of plotting and committing the above crimes have never been brought before a court and some of them continue to hold high political office, says Parliament.

 

In July 2006 a judge at the Spanish Audiencia Nacional issued an international warrant for the arrest of seven former Guatemalan dictators and military officers accused of genocide, torture and illegal detention.  Before issuing the warrant, the judge travelled to Guatemala to carry out investigations which he was unable to conduct following appeals to the Guatemalan Constitutional Court and the Court for Conflicts of Jurisdiction by the accused persons' defence lawyers.

 

In the light of the above, Parliament's resolution "urges the Guatemalan institutions fully to cooperate and do everything in their power to shed light on the human rights violations and to ensure that those responsible are brought to justice and that the findings of the investigations are made public, as called for in the international arrest warrant issued by the Spain Audiencia Nacional on 7 July 2006 against Jose Efraín Rios Montt, Oscar Humberto Mejía Víctores, Angel Anibal Guevara Rodriguez, German Chupina Barahona, Pedro Garcia Arredondo and Benedicto Lucas Garcia, all of whom are accused of crimes of genocide, torture, terrorism and illegal detention".

 

The resolution also asks the governments and banks concerned to cooperate in the seizure of the goods and property of the accused.  It urges Interpol and Europol to assist with any extraditions, if requested. 

MEPs welcome the progress made in the application of the principle of universal jurisdiction in respect of crimes against humanity, genocide and torture, and they consider that, if these proceedings are successful, "the same procedure should be followed under similar circumstances in taking action against dictators and persons responsible for mass human rights violations".

 

 

 

Parliament's resolution on Uzbekistan, adopted by 41 votes to 26 with 4 abstentions, urges the government to observe democracy and human rights, release various detainees imprisoned following the Andijan massacre of 13 May 2005 and allow an enquiry into the incident.

 

MEPs point out that no independent enquiry has been allowed into the massacre, despite repeated demands by international bodies.  Following the events the Uzbek authorities launched a crackdown, putting on trial hundreds of people suspected of involvement. There has been no news of the thousands arrested and those in detention are said to be at serious risk of torture.

 

Parliament insists that EU-Uzbekistan relations "must be based on mutual respect for the principles of democracy, rule of law and human rights, as is clearly laid down in the EU-Uzbekistan Partnership and Cooperation Agreement".

 

It wants Uzbekistan "to cooperate fully with the OSCE and with the UN, especially with regard to the call for a credible and transparent independent enquiry" into the Andijan incident.

 

The EU General Affairs and External Relations Council is expected to consider on 13 November 2006 whether to extend the sanctions adopted last year.  Parliament says the government of Uzbekistan has not addressed the conditions the Council set out when sanctions were applied.

 

The House calls on the Council to renew the existing sanctions policy for an additional 12 months and to expand it by:

	-	including in the EU visa ban the President, Islam Karimov, the Minister for the Interior, Bahodir Matliubov, the Minister for Defence, Ruslan Mirzaev, the Minister for Justice, Buritosh Mustafaev, the Prosecutor-General, Rashid Kodirov, the Head of the National Security Service, Rustam Inoyatov, and the Regional Governor of Andijan, Saidullo Begaliev.
	-	freezing the assets of all individuals subject to the visa ban, making it impossible for them to access any assets they may have in the EU or in any way use the banking system within the EU

 

Parliament also calls on the Council "to take all necessary measures within the UN Human Rights Council to ensure the confidential '1503' procedure does not continue to apply to Uzbekistan and to subject this country to a public mechanism of scrutiny as recommended by Louise Arbour, the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, in her July 2005 report on the Andijan massacre".

 

MEPs urge the Uzbekistan Government "to release all human rights defenders, journalists and political opposition members who are still in detention" and "to put an end to the harassment of NGOs", and they call on it to permit the reopening of the UNHCR Office in Tashkent (which was closed on 17 March 2006).

 

After the events in Andijan hundreds of Uzbek citizens were obliged to flee to the Kyrgyz Republic and other countries but many have been extradited to Uzbekistan.  Parliament appeals to these countries "to fully respect the 1951 UN Convention relating to the Status of Refugees, under which no refugees should be forcibly returned to their country of origin".