Joint motion for a resolution - RC-B5-0763/2001Joint motion for a resolution
RC-B5-0763/2001

JOINT MOTION FOR A RESOLUTION

12 December 2001

pursuant to Rule 50(5) of the Rules of Procedure by
replacing the motions by the following groups: on women in Afghanistan

Procedure : 2001/2637(RSP)
Document stages in plenary
Document selected :  
RC-B5-0763/2001
Texts tabled :
RC-B5-0763/2001
Debates :
Votes :
Texts adopted :

European Parliament resolution on women in Afghanistan

The European Parliament,

–  having regard to its previous resolutions on Afghanistan and, in particular, on the situation of Afghan women and the Declaration of the Afghan Women's Summit held in Brussels on 4 and 5 December 2001,

–  having regard to the Universal Declaration of Human Rights,

–  having regard to the measures taken by the Afghanistan Support Group in Bonn on 5 and 6 December 2001 for the coordination of the humanitarian and development efforts for Afghanistan,

A.  stressing that the Taliban regime has perpetrated the most deliberate form of violation of women's rights in recent history, imposing an apartheid based on sex that has denied women's identity itself,

B.  whereas there are almost 5 m Afghan refugees abroad, mostly in Pakistan and Iran; whereas the majority of these refugees are women and children,

C.  having regard to the high mortality rate among women and children,

D.  whereas it is estimated that less than 5% of Afghan women can read and write, while the literacy rate for girls reaching school age during the period of Taliban rule is substantially lower, standing at approximately 1-2%,

1.  Welcomes the agreement reached at the UN talks on Afghanistan in Bonn on 5 December 2001 and the fact that the transitional government thereby created will include, at least for the time being, two women, one of them as deputy prime minister;

2.  Calls for women's rights to be fully guaranteed by the new Constitution;

3.  Warmly welcomes the planned establishment of a Ministry for Women's Affairs within the new Government, as well as the announcement that the special commission provided for under the agreement for the organisation of a Loya Jirga will ensure the presence of a significant number of women at the constituent assembly to be held in six months' time;

4.  Welcomes the request made by the participants in the UN talks on Afghanistan to the UN Security Council to consider authorising the early deployment of a UN-mandated force to Afghanistan, which should assist in the maintenance of security for Kabul and the surrounding areas and could, as appropriate, be progressively expanded to other urban centres and areas of the country;

5.  Suggests that the UN appoint a woman rapporteur for gender equality with the task of supervising compliance with the undertakings entered into concerning women during the transition and reconstruction process in Afghanistan;

6.  Calls on all the political forces to recognise the role of women, in particular by instituting specific programmes encouraging women to take part in political activity, both as voters and as candidates in elections at all levels;

7.  Reiterates its belief that the interim authority and the other bodies set up must make formal provision for the inclusion of local civil organisations, especially women's organisations, and must respect the rights of the person and international humanitarian law;

8.  Calls for girls and women to have full access to programmes for education, health care, jobs and job training and housing, and stresses that these programmes must reach women in disadvantaged rural areas, widows, and women who are disabled, displaced or illiterate;

9.  Calls for the granting of international aid for the reconstruction of Afghanistan to be made conditional on the participation of women in decision-making and in the use of such aid;

10.  Calls on the donor countries and, in particular, the EU to ensure that Afghan women are the direct beneficiaries of between 25% and 30% of the economic aid provided for reconstruction in Afghanistan;

11.  Calls on the Afghan authorities and the international organisations to take rapid steps to set up medical structures which can meet the specific medical needs of women and children in Afghanistan and in the refugee camps;

12.  Calls on the authorities concerned to ensure that widows and single women can benefit from the future programmes for the construction of shelters and housing;

13.  Recommends the establishment of specific programmes for women who have been the victims of violence;

14.  Recommends that the new Afghan authorities consider setting up education programmes for young men who were enlisted in combatant groups at a tender age and have never known family life;

15.  Calls on the neighbouring countries to actively secure the Afghan refugee camps and to isolate and bring to justice the extremists who violate women's fundamental rights;

16.  Insists that the perpetrators of the crimes against humanity which have been committed in Afghanistan, especially against women, have to be brought to justice;

17.  Proposes that International Women's Day 8 March 2002 be declared 'Afghan Women's Day';

18.  Instructs its President to forward this resolution to the Council, the Commission, the Governments and Parliaments of the Member States and the applicant countries, the UN Secretary-General and the interim government of Afghanistan.