Motion for a resolution - B6-0650/2006Motion for a resolution
B6-0650/2006

MOTION FOR A RESOLUTION

11.12.2006

to wind up the debate on statements by the Council and Commission
pursuant to Rule 103(2) of the Rules of Procedure
by Edward McMillan-Scott, José Ignacio Salafranca Sánchez-Neyra and Gerardo Galeote
on behalf of the PPE-DE Group
by Pasqualina Napoletano and Véronique De Keyser
on behalf of the PSE Group
by Annemie Neyts-Uttebroeck, Marco Cappato and Marco Pannella
on behalf of the ALDE Group
by Hélène Flautre, Raül Romeva i Rueda, Monica Frassoni and Daniel Cohn-Bendit
on behalf of the Verts/ALE Group
by Vittorio Agnoletto, Gabriele Zimmer, Jens Holm, Erik Meijer, Luisa Morgantini, Esko Seppänen, Inese Vaidere, Michał Tomasz Kamiński, Adam Jerzy Bielan and Ryszard Czarnecki
on behalf of the GUE/NGL Group
on the follow-up to the Sakharov Prize

Document stages in plenary
Document selected :  
B6-0650/2006
Texts tabled :
B6-0650/2006
Votes :
Texts adopted :

B6‑0650/2006

European Parliament resolution on the follow-up to the Sakharov Prize

The European Parliament,

–  having regard to Rule 103(2) of its Rules of Procedure,

A.  whereas the Sakharov prize for freedom of conscience was established in 1988 and whereas this prize is one of the many ways in which the European Parliament supports human rights and the cause of democracy and is a means of acknowledging the contribution of those who fight oppression, intolerance and injustice in the world,

B.  whereas the prize has been won by the following personalities and organisations: Anatoli Marchenk (1989), Aung San Suu Kyi (1990), Adem Demaci (1991), Laz Madres de la Plaza de Mayo (1992), Oslobodjenje (1993), Taslima Nasreen (1994), Leyla Zana (1995), Wei Jingsheng (1996), Salima Ghezali (1997), Ibrahim Rugova (1998), Xanana Gusmão (1999), Basta Ya (2000), Nurit Peled, Izzat Ghazzawi, Dom Zacarias Kamwenho (2001), Oswaldo Payá Sardiñas (2002), Kofi Annan and the United Nations (2003), the Byelorussian Journalists' Association (2004), Damas de Blanco (Cuba), Reporters without Frontiers and Huawa Ibrahim (joint winners) (2005) and Alexandre Milinkievich (2006),

C.  whereas the 1990 prize winner, the Burmese dissident Aung San Suu Kyi who is under house arrest, and the 2005 prize winner, the Cuban collective Damas de Blanco, have not yet been authorised to come to receive the prize,

D.  whereas the Conference of Presidents decided to send two delegations to Cuba and Burma to establish contact with the prize winners in order to check on their personal situation,

E.  whereas the winner of the 1996 Sakharov Prize, Wei Jinsheng, who was still imprisoned at the time, has not yet had the opportunity to address the Plenary and receive the reward linked to this prize,

1.  Deplores the fact that some prize winners have still not been authorised to receive their prize in person, which represents a violation of one of the fundamental rights of each human being, namely the freedom to enter and leave one's own country without hindrance, a right which is specifically recognised by the Universal Declaration of Human Rights;

2.  Demands that, faced with the decision of the Conference of Presidents to send two delegations, one to Burma, the other to Cuba, the authorities of these countries will authorise the journeys of these delegations;

3.  Welcomes the decision by the Conference of Presidents of 16 November to establish a follow-up mechanism for winners of the Sakharov Prize and systematically to send a European Parliament delegation to meet those prize winners who have not been authorised by the authorities of their countries to attend the prize-giving ceremony;

4.  Reiterates its demand that all winners of the Sakharov Prize, and in particular Aung San Suu Kyi, Oswaldo Payá Sardiñas and the Cuban collective, Damas de Blanco, be given access to the European institutions;

5.  Demands that its President take all necessary measures to enable these decisions to be implemented;

6.  Calls on the Conference of Presidents to enter on the agenda of its next meeting the organisation of a ceremony to award the Sakharov Prize to Wei Jinsheng;

7.  Instructs its President to forward this resolution to the Council, the Commission and the Burmese, Chinese and Cuban Governments, the Chinese Parliament, the Burmese Parliament, the National Assembly of People's Power of the Republic of Cuba and the United Nations Human Rights Council.