MOTION FOR A RESOLUTION on Iraq: kidnapping and mistreatment of women

25.11.2014 - (2014/2971(RSP))

with request for inclusion in the agenda for a debate on cases of breaches of human rights, democracy and the rule of law
pursuant to Rule 135 of the Rules of Procedure

Josef Weidenholzer, Victor Boştinaru, Richard Howitt, Ana Gomes, Vilija Blinkevičiūtė, Nicola Caputo, Silvia Costa, Krystyna Łybacka, Edouard Martin, Demetris Papadakis, Liisa Jaakonsaari, Lidia Joanna Geringer de Oedenberg, Andi Cristea, Miroslav Poche, Miriam Dalli, Pier Antonio Panzeri, Marc Tarabella, Hugues Bayet, Doru-Claudian Frunzulică on behalf of the S&D Group

See also joint motion for a resolution RC-B8-0295/2014

B8‑0301/2014

European Parliament resolution on Iraq: kidnapping and mistreatment of women

(2014/2971(RSP))

The European Parliament,

– having regard to its previous resolutions on Iraq,

– having regard to the Partnership and Cooperation Agreement (PCA) between the European Union and its Member States, of the one part, and the Republic of Iraq, of the other part, and to its resolution of 17 January 2013 on the EU-Iraq Partnership and Cooperation Agreement,

-having regard to the UN SC resolution 2106 (2013) of 24 June 2013 on sexual violence in armed conflict and post-conflict situations,

– having regard to the Universal Declaration of Human Rights of 1948,

– having regard to the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights of 1966, to which Iraq is a party,

– having regard to Rule 135 of its Rules of Procedure,

 

A. whereas the so-called Islamic State (IS) has committed numerous atrocities that amount to crimes against humanity, involving mass killings, sexual violence against women and children, enslavement, rape, forced marriages, displacement and abduction, and have caused a catastrophic humanitarian crisis and the displacement of large numbers of people from the areas under their control;

B. whereas members of ethnic and religious minorities, in particular Christians and Yazidis in Mosul and surrounding areas, including Sinjar, Tal Afar and other areas are specifically targeted by the IS;

C. whereas thousands of Yazidi women and children from Iraq are held as captives by the IS; whereas young women and teenage girls are systematically separated from their families, forced to marry IS fighters, enslaved and sexually abused; whereas these actions amount to crimes against humanity;

D. whereas although the vast majority of the IS prisoners are Yazidis, smaller numbers of other religious and ethnic minorities, such as Shia Turkmens and Shabak, have also been captured by the terrorists of the IS;

E. whereas the transnational character of the IS and associated terrorist groups is a matter of global concern;

1. Condemns in the strongest possible terms systematic violations and abuses of human rights and violations of international humanitarian law resulting from the acts committed by the IS and associated terrorist groups, which amount to war crimes and crimes against humanity; strongly condemns in particular all violence against persons based on their religious and ethnic affiliation as well as violence against women and children;

2. Strongly condemns the numerous atrocities committed by the IS targeting specifically women that amount to crimes against humanity, such as abductions, rape and other forms of sexual violence, enslavement, forced marriages and conversions; stresses the need for those responsible for such violations of human rights and international humanitarian law to be held to account;

3. Emphasises that children should be immediately reunited with their families, forced marriages and sexual abuse ended and all civilian detainees retained by the IS released immediately;

4. Calls on the government of Iraq to become a member of the International Criminal Court (ICC) to allow for prosecution of war crimes and crimes against humanity committed by the IS;

5. Calls on the government of Iraq to promote and protect human rights by involving all components of the Iraqi society in a spirit of national unity and reconciliation, by upholding human rights and international humanitarian law in its efforts to confront the IS;

6. Calls upon the international community to assist the Iraqi authorities to ensure protection of, and assistance to, those fleeing the areas affected by the terrorism, in particular people in vulnerable situations, including women and children;

7. Urges the UN, in particular its Special Rapporteur on Violence against women, Rashida Manjoo, to make an utmost effort to investigate and establish the facts and circumstances of abuses and violations against girls and women committed by the IS and associated terrorist groups in Iraq and Syria, with a view of avoiding impunity and ensuring full accountability; supports the work of the UN Special Representative on Sexual Violence in Conflict Zainab Hawa Bangura;

8. Calls on the international humanitarian agencies working in Iraq, including UN agencies, to increase medical and counseling services for displaced people who fled the IS advances, paying special attention to the needs of survivors of sexual violence;

 

9. Expresses strong concern about the global reach of the IS and associated terrorist organisations; calls for closer cooperation between the EU member states in identifying, tracking down, monitoring and arresting those EU citizens and residents who travel to the Middle East with the plan to join the violent jihadist groups like IS or return to the EU member states after having fought for these groups;

 

10. Calls for a concerted international effort, in close cooperation with Muslim countries and organisations, to challenge and discredit the radical Salafi/Wahhabi ideology that underpins the actions of IS and associated terrorist organisations and is becoming a growing security threat for the EU Member States;

 

 

11. Instructs its President to forward this resolution to the Vice-President of the Commission/High Representative of the Union for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy, the Council, the Commission, the EU Special Representative for Human Rights, the governments and parliaments of the Member States, the Government and Council of Representatives of Iraq, the Regional Government of Kurdistan, the Secretary-General of the United Nations and the United Nations Human Rights Council.