MOTION FOR A RESOLUTION
23.5.2006
pursuant to Rule 103(2) of the Rules of Procedure
by Liz Lynne
on behalf of the ALDE Group
on Guantánamo
B6‑0299/2006
European Parliament resolution on Guantánamo
The European Parliament,
– having regard to its previous resolutions on the rights of detainees at Guantánamo to a fair trial, and, in particular, its resolution of 7 February 2002 on the detainees in Guantánamo Bay[1], its recommendation to the Council of 10 March 2004 on the Guantánamo detainees' right to a fair trial[2], and its resolution of 16 February 2006 on Guantánamo,
- having regard to its resolution of 18 May 2006 on the human rights situation in the world in 2005,
- having regard to the Convention against Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment, adopted by the United Nations General Assembly on 10 December 1984,
- having regard to the EU guidelines on the fight against torture and on the death penalty, and its Guidelines on human rights dialogues with third countries, adopted in 2001,
- having regard to the report drawn up by five experts from the UN Commission on Human Rights on the Guantánamo Bay detention centre,
– having regard to Rule 103(2) of its Rules of Procedure,
A. whereas, according to the NGO Human Rights Watch, Guantánamo currently holds almost 500 detainees, including large numbers from Saudi Arabia, Yemen and Afghanistan,
B. whereas the United States is believed to be holding three dozen or more detainees in long-term incommunicado detention at undisclosed detention facilities outside the United States, in violation of international legal prohibitions against enforced disappearances,
C. whereas abuse of detainees in US custody at Guantánamo Bay has been widespread, and whereas the United States has taken only limited steps to investigate and punish implicated personnel,
D. mindful that the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights provides that no-one should be subjected to arbitrary detention and that deprivation of liberty must be based on grounds and procedures established by law, and urging all parties to apply its provisions,
E. whereas the German Chancellor, the British Prime Minister, and the UN Secretary-General have called for Guantánamo’s closure,
1. Calls on the US Administration to close the Guantánamo Bay detention facility and insists that every prisoner should be treated in accordance with international humanitarian law and tried without delay in a fair and public hearing by a competent, independent, impartial tribunal;
2. Condemns all forms of torture and ill-treatment and reiterates the need to comply with international law;
3. Requests that the United States Government respect the legal rights of the detainees to have their legal status determined by a competent tribunal and to be treated in accordance with their status;
4. Calls on the United States to honour its international law obligation to treat the Guantánamo Bay detainees humanely, and to confirm that it has done so;
5. Reiterates that the fight against terrorism, which is one of the priorities of the Union and a key aspect of its external action, can only be successfully pursued if human rights and civil liberties are fully respected;
6. Draws attention to its undertaking to address the complex issue of upholding human rights alongside the fight against international terrorism; points out that consistency in the EU's approach to different human rights issues is of the utmost importance if the EU wishes to be a credible actor internationally; notes Parliament's decision to set up a Temporary Committee of investigation into allegations of involvement of the CIA and, possibly, EU Member States or accession States in the process of extraordinary rendition, which involves the transfer of detainees to so-called black sites where they may be subjected to torture; looks forward to the report and the conclusions of that committee;
7. Instructs its President to forward this resolution to the Council, the Commission, the High Representative for the CFSP, the parliaments of the Member States, the United Nations Secretary-General and the President and Congress of the United States of America.