MOTION FOR A RESOLUTION

4.4.2006

with request for inclusion in the agenda for the debate on cases of breaches of human rights, democracy and the rule of law
pursuant to Rule 115 of the Rules of Procedure
by Emma Nicholson of Winterbourne and Frédérique Ries
on behalf of the ALDE Group
on Egypt

See also joint motion for a resolution RC-B6-0253/2006

NB: This motion for a resolution is available in the original language only.

B6‑0253/2006

European Parliament resolution on Egypt

The European Parliament,

• -having regard to its previous resolutions on human rights in Egypt;
• -having regard to the EU-Egypt Association Agreement signed in Luxembourg on 25 June 2001 and in force since 1 June 2004;
• -having regard to the human rights clause (Art. 2) of the Euro-Mediterranean Agreement to which the EU and Egypt are parties;
• -having regard to the resolution adopted by the Euro-Mediterranean Parliamentary Assembly on 15 March 2005 in Cairo highlighting the importance of human rights;
• -having regard to its resolution on the Barcelona Process revisited adopted on 27 October 2005;
• -having regard to the Barcelona Declaration of 28 November 1995 and the Commission Communication (COM (2005) 139) concerning the 10th anniversary of the Barcelona Process and the objectives for the next 5 years, especially the aim to focus on issues such as the protection of human rights;
• -having regard to its resolution on the European Neighbourhood Policy adopted the 19 January 2006;
• -having regard to Article 11(1) of the Treaty on European Union and Article 177 of the Treaty establishing the European Community which establish the promotion of human rights as an objective of the common foreign and security policy;

A.  whereas human rights violations in Egypt have increased in the past months;

B.  whereas, for instance, the leader of the secular El Ghad Party and former member of Parliament Ayman Nour and other defendants were arrested after the last presidential elections which took place on 7 September 2005;

C.  whereas Ayman Nour, who came second in the last presidential elections, has been sentenced to 5 years' imprisonment for allegedly falsifying some of the 50 signatures needed to register his party;

D.  disturbed by reports that Dr Nour's health has seriously declined due to the hunger strike on which he has embarked in protest at the conditions of his trial and detention;

E.  whereas it has been decided that Dr Nour's appeal will be heard by the court of cassation on 18 May; concerned, however, by the fact that the judge who was chosen to head this tribunal is the same judge that was chosen to question the Egyptian judges who testified against the government and confirmed forgery in the electoral process last November;

F.  whereas negotiations concerning the Egypt Action Plan started in September 2005 with four rounds of negotiations conducted in Cairo and Brussels;

1.  Calls upon the Egyptian authorities to act under the laws of Egypt in the spirit of its professed desire for increased political openness and dialogue within Egyptian society and to release subsequently Dr Nour from detention;

2.  Urges the Egyptian authorities to ensure that Aman Nour is well treated and not subjected to torture or other forms of ill treatment and he is given prompt, regular and unrestricted access to his lawyers, doctors (as he is diabetic) and family;

3.  Calls on the Council and the Commission to devise practical arrangements for regular assessments of compliance with Article 2 by all contracting parties to the Euro-Mediterranean Association Agreement, with a view to bringing about verifiable progress with regard, in particular, to regular and impartial monitoring of development in the field of human rights and the extent to which human rights activists and opposition leaders, such as Dr Ayman Nour are free to act and speak out;

4.  Urges the Commission and the Egyptian government to include in the Action Plan the creation of a specific Sub-Committee on Human Rights in the framework of the EU-Egypt Association Agreement and to establish an efficient monitoring mechanism of the Action Plan once adopted;

5.  Calls  for a strong and systematic involvement of civil society in the implementation and monitoring phases of the EU-Egypt Action Plan;

6.  Instructs its President to forward this resolution to the Commission, the Council and the government and People's Assembly of Egypt.