REPORT with a proposal for a European Parliament recommendation to the Council on the 71st session of the United Nations General Assembly

25.4.2016 - (2016/2020(INI))

Committee on Foreign Affairs
Rapporteur: Andrey Kovatchev

PROPOSAL FOR A EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT RECOMMENDATION TO THE COUNCIL

on the 71st session of the United Nations General Assembly

(2016/2020(INI))

The European Parliament,

–  having regard to the proposal for a recommendation to the Council on the 71st session of the United Nations General Assembly by Andrey Kovatchev, on behalf of the PPE Group (B8-1374/2015),

–  having regard to the Treaty on European Union (TEU), in particular Articles 21, 34 and 36 thereof,

–  having regard to the 70th session of the United Nations General Assembly,

–  having regard to the Council conclusions of 22 June 2015 on the EU priorities for the 70th UN General Assembly,

–  having regard to the Charter of the United Nations,

–  having regard to the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and to the UN human rights conventions and the optional protocols thereto,

–  having regard to the resolution of the United Nations General Assembly (UNGA) on the participation of the European Union in the work of the United Nations[1], which grants the EU the right to intervene in the UN General Assembly, to present proposals and amendments orally which will be put to a vote at the request of a Member State, and to exercise the right to reply,

–  having regard to its resolution of 25 November 2010 on the 10th anniversary of UN Security Council Resolution 1325(2000) on Women, Peace and Security[2],

–  having regard to its recommendation to the Council of 18 April 2013 on the UN principle of the 'Responsibility to Protect' (R2P)[3],

–  having regard to its recommendation to the Council of 2 April 2014 on the 69th session of the United Nations General Assembly[4],

–  having regard to its resolution of 24 November 2015 on the role of the EU within the UN – how to better achieve EU foreign policy goals[5],

–  having regard to its resolution of 21 January 2016 on the EU's priorities for the UNHRC sessions in 2016[6] and of 17 July 2014 on the crime of aggression[7],

–  having regard to its resolution of 4 February 2016 on the systematic mass murder of religious minorities by the so-called 'ISIS/Daesh'[8],

–  having regard to its resolution of 8 March 2016 on the situation of women refugees and asylum seekers in the EU[9],

–  having regard to the Paris agreement of 12 December 2015,

–  having regard to the documents of 14 June 2012 'Plan of Action to enhance EU CSDP support to UN peacekeeping' and of 23 March 2015 'Strengthening the UN-EU Strategic Partnership on Peacekeeping and Crisis Management: Priorities 2015-2018'[10],

–  having regard to the 'Oslo' Guidelines on the Use of Foreign Military and Civil Defence Assets in Disaster Relief of November 2007,

–  having regard to the UN Security Council Resolution 1325(2000) and the Security Council's recent Resolution 2242(2015) on Women, Peace and Security,

–  having regard to the UN Evaluation Report of 15 May 2015 on Enforcement and Remedial Assistance Efforts for Sexual Exploitation and Abuse by the United Nations and Related Personnel in Peacekeeping Operations,

–  having regard to the first UN report on antibiotic resistance produced by WHO in April 2014 that qualifies antimicrobial resistance as a 'serious threat' to global public health,

–  having regard to the recent revelations concerning the activities of the Panama-based law firm Mossack Fonseca and to the related initiatives for closer international cooperation to combat tax evasion,

–  having regard to Rules 134(3) and 113 of its Rules of Procedure,

–  having regard to the report of the Committee on Foreign Affairs and the opinion of the Committee on Development (A8-0146/2016),

A.  whereas the EU's commitment to effective multilateralism and good global governance, with the UN at its core, is an integral part of the EU's external policy and is rooted in the conviction that a multilateral system founded on universal rules and values, which must be respected and upheld, is best suited to address global crises, challenges and threats;

B.  whereas the EU should play a proactive part in building a United Nations that can effectively contribute to global solutions, peace and security, development, human rights, democracy and a rule-of-law-based international order;

C.  whereas EU Member States need to make every effort to coordinate their action in the organs and bodies of the United Nations system in accordance with the mandate contained in Article 34(1) TEU;

D.  whereas the global and regional security environment is rapidly deteriorating, becoming more complex, and blurring the lines between internal and external security; whereas the UN retains a key role in ensuring global security and stability;

E.  whereas careful rethinking of the tools of effective multilateralism in the framework of the UN is necessary as a result of shifting global power configuration and diffusion; whereas such tools need to be more inclusive of all stakeholders, state and non-state alike, including in conflict prevention and crisis management processes;

F.  whereas the EU and its Member States are collectively the single largest financial contributor to the UN system, providing about one third of the UN's regular budget, close to two-fifths of the UN's peacekeeping budget and about one half of all contributions to UN funds and programmes;

G.  whereas the EU works for environmental sustainability, especially in the fight against climate change by promoting international measures and actions to preserve and improve the quality of the environment and the sustainable management of natural resources;

H.  whereas the EU is one of the most dedicated defenders and promoters of human rights, fundamental freedoms, cultural values and diversity, democracy and the rule of law;

I.  whereas the EU's security environment is increasingly unstable and volatile owing to a large number of longstanding or newly emerging challenges, including violent conflicts, terrorism, organised crime, unprecedented migration waves and climate change, which are impossible to address at national level and require regional and global responses;

J.  whereas new challenges including hybrid and information warfare, cyber threats, bio-engineering, lethal autonomous systems, nanotechnology, weapon miniaturisation, and the proliferation of dual-use technologies requires the development of multilateral agreements for which the UN framework is the most appropriate;

K.  whereas recent developments in the proliferation of weapons of mass destruction and their vehicles are making arms control and disarmament increasingly difficult and eroding global security and stability; whereas the UN is a suitable framework to promote efforts for a new generation of arms control and disarmament measures alongside like-minded partners;

1.  Addresses the following recommendations to the Council:

Peace and security

(a)  to take active steps to ensure that all parties directly or indirectly involved in armed conflicts and their organisations comply in full with their international obligations and the standards laid down in international law and make efforts to secure peaceful, diplomatic solutions to conflicts of all kinds; to urge that this should also cover the obligation to grant people in need access to humanitarian aid;

(b)  to continue to support multilateral attempts to find lasting political and peaceful solutions to on-going conflicts in the Middle East and North Africa; to continue to support the work of the Special Envoy of the UN Secretary-General for Syria, the Special Representative and Head of the UN Support Mission in Libya, the Special Envoy of the UN Secretary-General for Yemen, the UN Special Coordinator for the Middle East Peace Process and the Special Representative of the UN Secretary-General for Western Sahara; to call for continued humanitarian, financial and political assistance from the international community in order to address the humanitarian situation, and to work towards the immediate cessation of violence; to condemn unilateral, uncoordinated actions in any crisis area;

(c)  to support the Intra-Syrian Talks that are guided by UN Security Council resolution 2254(2015); to support the work of the task forces created by the International Syria Support Group that are overseeing the delivery of much needed humanitarian aid to thousands of Syrians in besieged and other hard-to-reach areas, as well as a cessation of hostilities that was endorsed by UN Security Council resolution 2268 (2016); to strongly condemn the widespread human rights abuses and violations of international humanitarian law in Syria and to support the work of civil society organisations documenting evidence of war crimes, crimes against humanity and other human rights violations; to underline the need to find a political solution to the conflict and to ensure the inclusion of women in the peace talks; to urge all UN Member States to make all necessary financial and human resources available to assist the local population and the refugees;

(d)  to make certain the UN General Assembly provides, in cooperation with the EU and the USA, all instruments to ensure that a two-state solution, on the basis of the 1967 borders, with Jerusalem as the capital of both states and with a secure State of Israel, with secure and recognised borders, and an independent, democratic, contiguous and viable State of Palestine living side by side in peace and security, is sustainable and effective; to act in line with the Council conclusions on the Middle East Peace Process adopted on 18 January 2016, which regard the continuous expansion of settlements as an ongoing obstacle to peace;

(e)  to underline the need for coordinated humanitarian action in Yemen under UN leadership; to urge all parties to allow the entry and delivery of urgently needed food, medicine, fuel and other necessary assistance through UN and international humanitarian channels in order to address the urgent needs of civilians affected by the crisis, in accordance with the principles of impartiality, neutrality and independence; to call for a humanitarian pause to allow life-saving assistance to reach the Yemeni people as a matter of urgency; to call for an impartial and independent investigation into all alleged violations of international human rights law and international humanitarian law, including the latest attacks targeting humanitarian infrastructure and personnel; to call on all parties to respect the human rights and freedoms of all Yemeni citizens, and to stress the importance of improving the security of all those working on peace and humanitarian missions in the country, including aid workers, doctors and journalists; to encourage a policy of rapprochement between Saudi Arabia and Iran in order to defuse regional tensions and as a path towards conflict resolution in Yemen and elsewhere;

(f)  to continue to call for the full respect of internationally-recognised borders and the territorial integrity of Eastern European and South Caucasus countries, including Georgia, Moldova and Ukraine, in light of the violations of international law in these areas, and for their free and sovereign choice to pursue a European path; to support and reinvigorate diplomatic efforts for a peaceful settlement of these on-going and frozen conflicts; to urge the international community to implement fully the policy of non-recognition of the illegal annexation of Crimea; to actively increase pressure on Russia, as a permanent member of the UN Security Council, in order to resolve the conflict in Ukraine;

(g)  to call for increased support for the efforts of the international community and regional organisations to manage security crises on the African continent, in particular in Somalia, Sudan, South Sudan, Central African Republic, Mali, Nigeria, Burundi and the Great Lakes Area in general; to encourage UN Member States to step up support for the increasing role and own capacities of the African Union in mediation and crisis management while striving for complementarities with the efforts of the UN Peace Building Support Office; to support the efforts deployed by the AU, EAC, and the UN to prevent further escalation of the crisis in Burundi and to work towards the promotion of an urgent inter-Burundi inclusive and genuine dialogue between the government and the opposition; to support the deployment of independent international inquiry which has been investigating all alleged violations of human rights and helping those responsible be held accountable and to be brought to justice;

(h)  to support the ongoing comprehensive efforts to strengthen UN peace operations and the organisation's ability to address conflict; to explore new prospects for and encourage strengthened cooperation between the EU and the UN in the context of reshaping their strategic visions on security, through, on the one hand, the new EU Global Strategy on Foreign and Security Policy and, on the other, the UN's revision of its peace operations, peacebuilding architecture, and women, peace and security agenda (Security Council Resolution 1325) and synergies between them; to ensure that the review process of the UN peacebuilding architecture promotes the principle of Responsibility to Protect and the role of women in peacebuilding;

(i)  to welcome the adoption and support the implementation of the UN Security Council's recent Resolution 2242 making women a central component in all efforts to address global challenges and to call for additional efforts to integrate the women, peace and security agenda in all the different dimensions of peacekeeping; to stress the importance of women's equal, full and active participation in the prevention and resolution of conflicts and in the peace negotiation and peacebuilding process; to ensure that all necessary safe medical assistance is provided to female war rape victims;

(j)  to promote a culture of prevention within the UN system in order to improve its capacity to respond more quickly to emerging crises and potential threats to peace and security, in particular through more effective preventive diplomacy, confidence-building and mediation efforts; to strive to enhance early warning systems and early communication and further develop procedures for crisis consultation between the UN, the EU and other regional and sub-regional organisations, which play an increasingly important role in international peace and security, in order to better coordinate their crisis response, avoiding unnecessary duplication; to cooperate with the UN in strengthening the role and capacity of regional and sub-regional organisations in peacekeeping, conflict prevention, civilian and military crisis management, and conflict resolution;

(k)  to increase Member State support for UN peacekeeping and peacebuilding operations that include a human rights component and clear exit strategies, in particular by contributing personnel and equipment, and to enhance the EU's facilitating role in this respect; to further develop procedures for the use of EU Common Security and Defence Policy in support of UN operations, including through the deployment of EU Battlegroups, or through capacity building and Security Sector Reform initiatives, while paying sufficient attention to issues such as human rights, sustainable development and the root causes of mass migration;

(l)  to promote a broad definition of the human security concept, bringing it closer to gender equality and human rights, and the Responsibility to Protect (R2P) principle and to continue to support the efforts to further the operationalisation of R2P; to support the UN in continuing to play a critical role in assisting countries in the implementation of R2P, in order to uphold the rule of law and international humanitarian law; to promote the Code of Conduct regarding Security Council action against genocide, crimes against humanity or war crimes, committing UN Member States to support action by the Security Council aimed at preventing or ending such crimes and not to vote against a corresponding Security Council resolution;

Fight against terrorism

(m)  to reiterate its unequivocal condemnation of terrorism and its full support for actions aimed at the defeat and eradication of terrorist organisations, in particular, the so-called 'ISIS/Daesh', which poses a clear threat to regional and international security, while recalling that these actions should always fully respect international human rights law; to support the promotion of all aspects of Security Council Resolution 2178 (2014) on countering threats posed by foreign terrorist fighters and of the Madrid Guiding Principles on stemming the flow of foreign terrorist fighters;

(n)  to step up efforts to clamp down on recruitment and fight terrorist propaganda, through social media platforms but also through networks of radicalised hate preachers; to support counter-radicalisation and de-radicalisation policies in line with the UN Plan of Action to Prevent Violent Extremism;

(o)  to continue to work with the UN in combating the financing of terrorism, including the use of existing mechanisms to designate terrorist individuals and organisations and strengthen asset-freezing mechanisms worldwide while upholding international standards on due process and the rule of law;

(p)  to provide support to the UN Counter-Terrorism Implementation Task Force in order to ensure coordination and coherence in the implementation of the UN Global Counter-Terrorism Strategy, using the resources and expertise of 25 UN system entities and of Interpol, always recalling that efforts to fight terrorism must not be used as a pretext for repressing internal dissent or violating the rights of the people;

(q)  to promote a coordinated international effort to counter the growing threat posed by Improvised Explosive Devices (IEDs), in particular by developing an understanding of the Counter-IED/Counter-Terrorism nexus, using the resources and expertise of UN system entities and of Interpol in order to enable greater law enforcement and military cooperation;

(r)  to reiterate, in the context, the need for an adequate mix of security, law enforcement, human rights, socio-economic instruments that offers more adequate options for responding to the changing nature of terrorism and violent extremism as posed by Daesh, al-Qaeda, Al-Shabaab, Boko Haram and others;

(s)  to support an enhanced EU contribution to UN capacity building initiatives concerning the fight against foreign terrorist fighters and violent extremism;

Non-proliferation and disarmament

(t)  to support UN efforts to prevent non-state actors and terrorist groups from developing, manufacturing, acquiring or transferring weapons of mass destruction and their delivery systems and to contribute to the comprehensive review of Security Council Resolution 1540 in 2016; to insist on full compliance with the Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons (NPT), the Chemical Weapons Convention and the Biological Weapons Convention, and on finishing the ratification process of the Comprehensive Nuclear Test Ban Treaty; to encourage all UN Member States to sign and ratify the Convention on the Prohibition of the Use, Stockpiling, Production and Transfer of Anti-Personnel Mines and on their Destruction; to welcome the establishment of an Open-Ended Working Group (OEWP), as a subsidiary body of the UN General Assembly, aimed at taking forward multilateral nuclear disarmament negotiations, and for all EU Member States to participate actively in its proceedings; to request UN Members to take active steps towards global disarmament, taking due account of both the security dimension and the humanitarian dimensions of nuclear weapons;

(u)  to promote the full implementation of the Arms Trade Treaty (ATT) and encourage all UN Member States to sign or accede to the ATT;

(v)  to work towards more effective action against the diversion of and illicit trade in weapons and ammunitions, including Small Arms and Light Weapons, in particular by developing a weapons tracking system;

(w)  to promote a policy response at global level on the use of armed drones, aimed at keeping their use strictly within the limits of international human rights and humanitarian law; to promote a ban on the development, production and use of fully autonomous weapons which enable strikes to be carried out without human intervention; to make sure that human rights are part of all dialogues with third countries on counter-terrorism;

(x)  to further support on-going UN efforts at exploring the development of norms for responsible and safe behaviour in cyberspace, including a multilateral framework against cyber-attacks, with a view to ensuring the application of existing international law and human rights law;

Migration

(y)  to promote greater support for the work of UNHCR in implementing its international mandate to protect refugees, paying particular attention to vulnerable groups such as women and children; to stress the high funding gap between UNHCR's budgetary needs and funds received and to demand greater global solidarity; to call for greater UN regular budget funding of the UNHCR core functions in order to safeguard its functioning;

(z)  to recall that enhanced coherence and coordination is required between the external and internal dimensions of migration policy and the development and external affairs agendas;

(aa)  to demand that greater efforts be made to prevent irregular migration and to fight people smuggling and human trafficking, in particular by combating criminal networks through timely and effective exchange of relevant intelligence, while respecting international human rights law; to improve methods to identify and protect victims and to reinforce cooperation with third countries with a view to tracking, seizing and recovering the proceeds of criminal activities in this sector; to insist at the UN level on the importance of the ratification and full implementation of the UN Convention against Transnational Organised Crime and the Protocols thereto against the Smuggling of Migrants by Land, Sea and Air and to Prevent, Suppress and Punish Trafficking in Persons, Especially Women and Children; to support the work of the UN Special Rapporteur on the human rights of migrants;

(ab)  to support the high-level plenary meeting of the UN General Assembly on addressing large movements of refugees and migrants, scheduled for 19 September 2016, and demand that it focus on the root causes of migration, paying due attention to poverty eradication and the realisation of human rights and stability;

Human rights, democracy and the rule of law

(ac)  to reiterate clearly and firmly that all human rights agreed under UN conventions are universal, indivisible, interdependent and interrelated and that respect for these rights must be enforced; to draw attention to human rights violations and abuses worldwide; to call for the defence of the freedoms of opinion and expression; to emphasise the importance of a free press in a healthy society, and the role of every citizen therein, and to defend the freedoms of association and assembly;

(ad)  to continue to advocate for freedom of religion or belief; to urge greater efforts to protect the rights of religious and other minorities; to call for greater protection of religious minorities against persecution and violence; to call for the repeal of laws criminalising blasphemy or apostasy that serve as a pretext for the persecution of religious minorities and non-believers; to support the work of the Special Rapporteur on freedom of religion or belief; to actively work for a UN recognition of the genocide against minorities committed by so-called ISIS/Daesh, and for referral to the ICC of cases of suspected crimes against humanity, war crimes and genocide;

(ae)  to continue to actively promote equality and non-discrimination; to urge the UN to actively support gender mainstreaming initiatives in its activities and programmes and to continue to support the work of UN Women; to support measures strengthening leadership and participation by women at all levels of decision-making; to fight against violence and discrimination against individuals on the basis of their sexual orientation, gender identity or gender expression; to call for the repeal of legislation in UN member states that violates the rights of lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and intersex (LGBTI) persons; to welcome the first ever UN Security Council meeting on LGBTI rights in 2015; to call for the UN member states to implement the recommendations of the UN Special Rapporteur on contemporary forms of racism, racial discrimination, xenophobia and related intolerance;

(af)  to promote children's rights, in particular by contributing to ensuring children's access to water, sanitation, healthcare and education, including in conflict zones and refugee camps, and eliminating child labour, torture, trafficking, child marriage and sexual exploitation; to support and strengthen international efforts through the UN to end the use of children in armed conflict, as well as to address more effectively the impact of conflict and post-conflict situations on women and girls; to support a human-rights-based approach to disability in situations of risk and emergency, in line with the UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities;

(ag)  to urge all States, including the EU Member States to swiftly ratify the Optional Protocol to the International Covenant of Economic Social and Cultural Rights establishing complaint and inquiry mechanisms;

(ah)  to contribute to a successful outcome of the work of the Intergovernmental Working Group on transnational corporations and other business enterprises with respect to human rights; to support further implementation of the UN Guiding Principles on Business and Human Rights by UN member states; to encourage UN member states to develop and implement national action plans; to support the Accountability and Remedy Project of the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights aimed at enhancing domestic law remedies, in particular in cases of gross human rights abuses in the business sector; to call on the UN member states to raise the issue of human rights with international and national sports bodies;

(ai)  to continue to advocate for zero tolerance for the death penalty and to further work towards its universal abolition, leading the way towards the adoption of the next UN General Assembly resolution on a moratorium on the use of the death penalty; to denounce the increase in the handing down of the death sentence for drug-related offences and to call for the exclusion of the use of capital punishment for such offences;

(aj)  to recall the obligation of the General Assembly, when electing the membership of the UN Human Rights Council (UNHRC), to take into account candidates' respect for the promotion and protection of human rights, the rule of law and democracy; to call for the establishment of clear human rights performance based criteria for membership of the UNHRC and, in view of the tenth anniversary of the UNHRC, to call for an assessment of the Council's working methods and impact;

(ak)  to strengthen the work of the International Criminal Court (ICC) in its role of ending impunity for perpetrators of the most serious crimes of concern to the international community and providing justice for the victims of war crimes, crimes against humanity and genocide; to provide political, diplomatic, financial and logistical support to the day-to-day operation of the ICC; to call on all UN member states to join the Court by ratifying the Rome Statute, and to encourage the ratification of the Kampala amendments; to foster strong cooperation with the Court by the UN and its bodies and agencies and the expansion of its relationship with the Security Council; to call for a UN Security Council referral of the situation in the Democratic People's Republic of Korea to the ICC;

(al)  to engage with the public and a comprehensive debate with all members of the UN General Assembly on the importance of respecting constitutional limits in presidential mandates worldwide;

(am)  to call on the UN to address the legal shortfalls in the term 'climate refugee', including its possible international definition;

Development

(an)  to work towards the implementation of the Sustainable Development Goals of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development; to work towards improving the lives of future generations and to encourage and support countries to take ownership and establish national frameworks for the achievement of the 17 goals; to encourage UN member states to meet their commitments on development aid spending and to call for the adoption of a solid framework of indicators and the use of statistical data to monitor progress and ensure the accountability of all; to insist that the High-Level Political Forum (HLPF) on sustainable development should become the main decision-making body competent for ensuring the follow-up and review of the implementation of the SDGs and to present a common EU position on the implementation of Agenda 2030 ahead of the HLPF in 2016;

(ao)  to insist on the need to strengthen policy coherence for development within the UN working structures in order to effectively integrate all dimensions of sustainable development; to highlight the importance of a universal, rule-based, open, transparent, non-discriminatory, inclusive and equitable multilateral trade system and the need to bring about the conclusion of the WTO Doha Development Round; to recall that development is not possible without peace, nor peace without development, stressing the importance of the SDG 16 on peace, justice and governance, which should be one of the priorities in development cooperation financing; to call on the UN to systematically integrate capacity-building and good governance into long-term development strategies;

(ap)  to welcome the UN General Assembly adoption of the landmark resolution 68/304 of 9 September 2014, which recognised 'the sovereign right of any State to restructure its sovereign debt, which should not be frustrated or impeded by any measure emanating from another State', and noted 'with concern that the international financial system does not have a sound legal framework for the orderly and predictable restructuring of sovereign debt' and launched a process to adopt 'a multilateral legal framework for sovereign debt restructuring processes'; to call on the UN system as a whole to fully support this process; calls on the EU and its Member States to actively engage in this process;

(aq)  to develop a much more efficient and strategic approach to the UN agencies in particular regarding programming of the external financial instruments to ensure stronger visibility of EU aid on the ground;

(ar)  to take active steps to improve political oversight in the area of sustainable development, by strengthening the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP), and to take up the proposal to establish an International Criminal Court for environmental crimes with the aim of enforcing environmental law more effectively worldwide;

(as)  to work towards the reinforcement of international fiscal cooperation, supporting the creation of an international tax body within the UN system; to counter tax evasion and money laundering through worldwide automatic exchange of information on tax issues and the creation of a common global black list of tax havens;

(at)  to launch a global plan to fight antimicrobial resistance, in order to prevent the further spreading of resistant superbacteria;

Climate change

(au)  to ensure that the EU remains at the forefront of the fight against climate change and cooperates further with the UN in this area; to ensure swift implementation of the decisions taken at the 2015 UN Climate Change Conference in Paris;

EU and reform of the UN system

(av)  to support a comprehensive reform of the United Nations Security Council on the basis of a broad consensus, in order to better reflect the new world reality and to ensure that the Council is able to deal effectively with threats to international peace and security; to work towards the long-term goal of the EU having a seat in a reformed UN Security Council; to urge Security Council members to refrain from using their right of veto in cases when crimes against humanity are being committed;

(aw)  to promote the revitalisation of the work of the General Assembly, and improved coordination and coherence of the action of all UN institutions, which should enhance the efficiency, effectiveness, legitimacy, transparency, accountability, capacity and representativeness of the system; to support and build on the increased transparency in the process for the selection of the next UN Secretary-General, with candidates' presentations being made in the General Assembly; in the course of the identification and appointment of the best candidate, to promote equal and fair opportunities based on gender and geographical balance and to support the selection of a woman as the next Secretary-General if candidates have similar outstanding qualifications;

(ax)  in view of the 2015 UN report and recent sexual child abuse allegations against French and UN troops in the Central African Republic, to make sure that the UN, EU Member States and the EU's CSDP organs investigate, prosecute and sentence any UN, national and EU personnel who committed acts of sexual violence without delay and with firmest resolve;

(ay)  to invite the European Court of Auditors to strengthen its cooperation with the respective oversight institutions of the United Nations Secretariat, in particular the Office of Internal Oversight Services (OIOS), the Independent Audit Advisory Committee (IAAC) and the Board of Auditors (BoA) with a view of increasing transparency and mutual understanding of funding and functioning;

(az)  to establish an effective system of protection for UN whistle-blowers;

(ba)  in view of the recent case of conflict of interest of the UN Special Representative for Libya to initiate a binding code of conduct that obliges office holders to maintain impartiality as laid down in the UN Guidance on effective mediation;

2.  Instructs its President to forward this recommendation to the Council, the Vice-President of the Commission / High Representative of the Union for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy, the EUs special representative for Human Rights, the European External Action Service, the Commission and, for information, the United Nations General Assembly and the Secretary General of the United Nations.

• [1]  A/RES/65/276 of 3 May 2011.
• [2]  Texts adopted, P7_TA(2010)0439.
• [3]  OJ C 45, 5.2.2016, p. 89.
• [4]  Texts adopted, P7_TA(2014)0259.
• [5]  Texts adopted, P8_TA(2015)0403.
• [6]  Texts adopted, P8_TA(2016)0020.
• [7]  Texts adopted, P8_TA(2014)0013.
• [8]  Texts adopted, P8_TA(2016)0051.
• [9]  Texts adopted, P8_TA(2016)0073.
• [10]  EEAS(2015)458, Council document 7632/15.

PROPOSAL FOR A RECOMMENDATION TO THE COUNCIL B8‑1374/2015 (2.12.2015)

pursuant to Rule 134(1) of the Rules of Procedure

on the 71^st session of the United Nations General Assembly

Andrey Kovatchev

on behalf of the PPE Group

The European Parliament,

–  having regard to the 71^st session of the United Nations General Assembly,

–  having regard to the Council conclusions of 22 June 2015 on the EU priorities for the 70^th UN General Assembly,

–  having regard to its recommendation to the Council of 2 April 2014 on the 69^th session of the United Nations General Assembly[1],

–  having regard to the Charter of the United Nations,

–  having regard to its resolution of 24 November 2015 on the role of the EU within the UN – how to better achieve EU foreign policy goals[2],

–  having regard to Rule 134(1) of its Rules of Procedure,

A.  whereas the EU's commitment to effective multilateralism, with the UN at its core, is an integral part of the EU's external policy and is rooted in the conviction that a multilateral system founded on universal rules and values is best suited to address global crises, challenges and threats;

B.  whereas the EU – as the world's leading donor to the UN budget and one of the most active contributors in the drafting of the Addis Ababa Action Agenda and the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development – is committed to taking this agenda forward, both inside the EU and through the EU's external policies, by supporting implementation efforts in other countries, in particular those most in need;

C.  whereas the EU's security environment is increasingly unstable and volatile owing to the large number of longstanding or newly emerging security challenges;

D.  whereas the EU advocates more transparent, democratic, and effective elections throughout the UN system;

1.  Addresses the following recommendations to the Council:

EU-UN cooperation in shaping new security strategies, peacekeeping and crisis management

(a)  to reiterate that, in the light of the violent conflicts at the EU's doorstep, Europe's growing exposure to hybrid warfare, cyber terrorism, 'foreign fighters', unprecedented waves of migrants and the blurring distinction between external and internal threats, the European security landscape is increasingly complex to navigate for a single country or region on its own; in this connection, (i) to foster the idea that European defence and intelligence cooperation is no longer just a political option but a strategic and economic necessity, and (ii) to strengthen cooperation with the UN in the fields of peace and security, terrorism, organised crime, regional conflicts, state failures and the proliferation of weapons of mass destruction;

(b)  to explore the possible new prospects for strengthened cooperation between the EU and the UN in reshaping their strategic visions on security, through the new European security strategy and the UN's revision of its peace operations and peacebuilding architecture, respectively;

(c)  with a view to equipping the UN with more efficient de-escalation tools, to support peace enforcement and peacekeeping missions by providing, where necessary, increased EU support (technical, financial, equipment or EU forces);

  Situation in Syria

(d)  to reiterate its full support for the stance that the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (Daesh), the Jabhat al-Nusra Front and other terrorist groups, as designated by the UN Security Council, as agreed by the participants in the Vienna talks and endorsed by the UN Security Council, must be defeated;

(e)  (i) to work towards the immediate cessation of violence and the establishment of a transitional government as agreed in the Vienna peace talks, and (ii) to support the start of a political process between Syria's government and opposition leading to credible, inclusive, non-sectarian governance, followed by a new constitution and elections, to be administered under UN supervision; (iii) to help develop among intelligence community and military community representatives a common understanding of groups and individuals with a view to identifying potential terrorists, with the target completion date before the start of the political process under the auspices of the UN;

Fight against terrorism

(f)  to work with the UN General Assembly to combat human trafficking and clamp down on recruitment to and funding for terrorist groups by preventing and suppressing the recruitment, organisation, transit and equipping of terrorist fighters and the financing of their travel and activities;

  Middle East conflict

(g)  to continue multilateral attempts to find solutions to ongoing conflicts in the Middle East, with a particular focus on the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, in which renewed structured and substantial peace efforts are needed;

  Post-2015 Development Agenda and the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development

(h)  to consider that the pursuit of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) within the newly adopted 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development offers the EU an opportunity to turn its commitment to sustainable development into concrete actions, including through the EU's Circular Economy package, the Innovation Union, the Energy Union and the Digital Single Market and at the Paris Climate Change Conference; to recommend that the Commission engage all relevant Commission Directorates-General (DGs) in the integration of the 2030 Agenda in the forthcoming review of the EU 2020 Strategy;

  UN Climate Conference 2015

(i)  to ensure that the EU remains at the forefront of the fight against climate change and cooperates further with the UN in this area; to support the EU and the UN in stepping up their joint efforts towards ensuring that a swift implementation of the COP21 decisions will follow after an ambitious and legally binding agreement has been reached at the UN Climate Change Conference in Paris 2015; to ensure that this agreement sets clear, fair and ambitious targets for all countries, provides for regular reviews and a strengthening of countries' targets in the light of the 'below 2 °C' goal and holds all countries accountable – to each other and to the public – for meeting their targets;

  EU and reform of the UN system

(j)  to support actively a comprehensive reform of the United Nations system, and especially its Security Council, in order to strengthen its legitimacy, regional representation, accountability and effectiveness; to work towards the long-term goal of the EU having a seat in an enlarged UN Security Council;

2.  Instructs its President to forward this recommendation to the Council and, for information, to the Commission.

• [1]  Texts adopted, P7_TA(2014)0259.
• [2]  Texts adopted, P8_TA(2015)0403.

OPINION of the Committee on Development (16.3.2016)

for the Committee on Foreign Affairs

on the Recommendation on the 71^st session of the United Nations General Assembly
(2016/2020(INI))

Rapporteur: Paavo Väyrynen

SUGGESTIONS

The Committee on Development calls on the Committee on Foreign Affairs, as the committee responsible, to incorporate the following suggestions into its motion for a resolution:

1.  Points out that fundamental change is required in order to equip the UN to shape and drive the process of implementing the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development; underlines the need to integrate the three aspects of sustainability more effectively, both at strategic level and locally though practical cooperation between UN institutions;

2.  Welcomes the creation of the High-Level Political Forum (HLPF) on sustainable development; is convinced that the HLPF must become the main decision-making body competent for ensuring the follow-up and review of the implementation of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), thus ensuring a coordinated and efficient assessment of needs and adoption of the roadmaps and decisions needed for the implementation of the 2030 Agenda; calls for a regular dialogue between the HLPF and the Commission on the progress made, in accordance with the principles of transparency and mutual accountability;

3.  Stresses that it is crucial for the EU's credibility and leadership on the global development scene to present a common position on the implementation of the Agenda 2030 ahead of the HLPF in 2016; urges the Commission, in this regard, to issue a communication on the implementation of the Agenda 2030 in time for Parliament to contribute to the Council Conclusions ahead of the HLPF;

4.  Underlines the importance of comprehensive and effective implementation of the Agenda 2030, including through a rights-based approach; urges the UN to ensure that ambitious commitments are made towards achieving the SDGs and to adopt a solid framework of indicators and the use of statistical data to monitor progress and ensure the accountability of all; encourages all countries, both developed and developing, to take ownership and establish national frameworks, including integrated national financial frameworks, for the achievement of the 17 goals;

5.  Insists on the need to strengthen policy coherence for development within the UN working structures in order to effectively integrate all dimensions of sustainable development;

6.  Recognises that there can be no sustainable development or poverty eradication without security and that sustainable development is the condition for security, stability, social justice and democracy; considers that policy making at the international level should better reflect this link between peace, security and development; calls on the UN to systematically integrate capacity-building and good governance into their long-term development strategies;

7.  Recalls that development is not possible without peace, nor peace without development and that neither is possible without ensuring respect for human rights; reiterates, in this regard, the importance of the most innovative goal of the Agenda 2030 – SDG 16 that addresses peace, justice and governance; believes that the implementation of the targets anchored in SDG 16 are of central significance for the overall success of the Agenda 2030;

8.  Highlights the importance of a universal, rule-based, open, transparent, non-discriminatory, inclusive and equitable multilateral trade system and the need to bring about the conclusion of the WTO Doha Development Round, and believes that the UN can use its unique position to ensure that the talks are a success for developing countries;

9.  Welcomes the call for greater support for the work of the UNHCR in implementing its international mandate to protect refugees;

10.  Welcomes the decision on organising a high-level meeting on 19 September 2016 of the plenary of the UN General Assembly to address the issue of large movements of refugees and migrants and considers that it should focus on the root causes of migration, with an emphasis on poverty eradication, social equality, and the realisation of human rights and stability;

11.  Urges the EU to work towards the reinforcement of international fiscal cooperation, supporting the creation of an international tax body within the UN system;

12.  Welcomes the UN General Assembly adoption of the landmark resolution 68/304 of 9 September 2014, which recognised 'the sovereign right of any State to restructure its sovereign debt, which should not be frustrated or impeded by any measure emanating from another State', and noted 'with concern that the international financial system does not have a sound legal framework for the orderly and predictable restructuring of sovereign debt' and launched a process to adopt 'a multilateral legal framework for sovereign debt restructuring processes'; calls on the UN system as a whole to fully support this process; calls on the EU and its Member States to actively engage in this process.

RESULT OF FINAL VOTE IN COMMITTEE ASKED FOR OPINION

Date adopted	15.3.2016
Result of final vote	+: –: 0:	19 3 2
Members present for the final vote	Louis Aliot, Nicolas Bay, Ignazio Corrao, Doru-Claudian Frunzulică, Nathan Gill, Maria Heubuch, Teresa Jiménez-Becerril Barrio, Linda McAvan, Norbert Neuser, Maurice Ponga, Cristian Dan Preda, Lola Sánchez Caldentey, Elly Schlein, Pedro Silva Pereira, Eleni Theocharous, Paavo Väyrynen, Bogdan Brunon Wenta
Substitutes present for the final vote	Juan Fernando López Aguilar, Louis-Joseph Manscour, Paul Rübig, Jan Zahradil, Joachim Zeller
Substitutes under Rule 200(2) present for the final vote	Michèle Rivasi, Estefanía Torres Martínez

RESULT OF FINAL VOTE IN COMMITTEE RESPONSIBLE

Date adopted	19.4.2016
Result of final vote	+: –: 0:	49 11 5
Members present for the final vote	Michèle Alliot-Marie, Francisco Assis, Petras Auštrevičius, Amjad Bashir, Goffredo Maria Bettini, Elmar Brok, Klaus Buchner, James Carver, Fabio Massimo Castaldo, Lorenzo Cesa, Aymeric Chauprade, Javier Couso Permuy, Andi Cristea, Mark Demesmaeker, Georgios Epitideios, Anna Elżbieta Fotyga, Eugen Freund, Iveta Grigule, Richard Howitt, Sandra Kalniete, Tunne Kelam, Afzal Khan, Janusz Korwin-Mikke, Andrey Kovatchev, Ilhan Kyuchyuk, Barbara Lochbihler, Ulrike Lunacek, Andrejs Mamikins, Ramona Nicole Mănescu, Javier Nart, Pier Antonio Panzeri, Demetris Papadakis, Ioan Mircea Paşcu, Vincent Peillon, Alojz Peterle, Tonino Picula, Andrej Plenković, Cristian Dan Preda, Sofia Sakorafa, Charles Tannock, László Tőkés, Geoffrey Van Orden, Boris Zala
Substitutes present for the final vote	Luis de Grandes Pascual, Marielle de Sarnez, Neena Gill, Andrzej Grzyb, András Gyürk, Takis Hadjigeorgiou, Marek Jurek, Javi López, Norica Nicolai, Soraya Post, Jean-Luc Schaffhauser, Helmut Scholz, Traian Ungureanu, Bodil Valero, Janusz Zemke
Substitutes under Rule 200(2) present for the final vote	Doru-Claudian Frunzulică, Monika Hohlmeier, Zdzisław Krasnodębski, Marian-Jean Marinescu, Indrek Tarand, Bogdan Andrzej Zdrojewski, Ivan Štefanec