MOTION FOR A RESOLUTION

29.5.2006

to wind up the debate on statements by the Council and Commission
pursuant to Rule 103(2) of the Rules of Procedure
by Daniel Marc Cohn-Bendit, Monica Frassoni, Jean Lambert, Gisela Kallenbach and Elisabeth Schroedter
on behalf of the Verts/ALE Group
on racist and homophobic violence

B6‑0332/2006

European Parliament resolution on racist and homophobic violence

The European Parliament,

–  having regard to Articles 2, 6, 7 and 29 of the Treaty on European Union and Article 13 of the EC Treaty, which commit the Member States to upholding the highest standards of human rights and non-discrimination, and to the Charter of Fundamental Rights of the European Union,

–  having regard to the International Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Racial Discrimination (CERD) signed by all the EU Member States and several non-EU member countries,

–  having regard to its previous resolution on remembrance of the Holocaust, anti-Semitism and racism (P6_TA(2005)0018),

–  having regard to its previous written declaration on racism in football (P6_TA-PROV(2006)0080),

–  having regard to its previous resolution on the situation of the Roma in the European Union (P6_TA(2005)0151),

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

A.  whereas racism and xenophobia are motivated by irrational reasons linked to social marginalisation and exclusion, poverty, unemployment and lack of education, and by the refusal to conceive of our societies as multicultural and to perceive difference as a form of richness,

B.  whereas homophobic bias is based on prejudice similar to racism, xenophobia and anti-Semitism,

C.  whereas several European countries, among them Belgium, France, Germany, Poland and Russia, have in recent months seen violence and killings motivated by racist, xenophobic, homophobic and anti-Semitic hatred, and whereas other direct and indirect forms of racism, xenophobia, homophobia and anti-Semitism persist inside and outside the EU,

D.  whereas violence is only one racist phenomenon and the different kind of daily racism and daily violation of the dignity of persons is broader in scope; whereas studies have established that it is rooted in broad sections of society; and whereas the acceptance of so-called ‘no-go areas’ for potential victims of racism by the majority of society will make peaceful coexistence in a common society impossible,

E.  whereas in some regions racist actions to ruin small businesses with foreign owners or owners from a minority are increasingly destroying the positive business climate,

F.  whereas politically in relation to racism and xenophobia there has been a rise in extremist positions which have resulted in hatred, fear and xenophobic campaigns in several Member States,

G.  shocked that openly racist parties benefit from public funding,

H.  whereas in Belgium the Centre for Equal Opportunities receives an average of 1000 complaints a year concerning racist acts,

I.  whereas statistics are lacking, and whereas definitions of racist and xenophobic violence are inadequate and, in some Member States, non-existent,

J.  whereas Poland has seen a resurgence in anti-Semitism among the population, as also reflected in some statements by politicians and journalists,

K.  whereas the media plays an important and significant role in the public perception of racist violence and in some Member States tends to use one-dimensional and biased descriptions of violence, thus bearing responsibility for spreading misinformation on racism and xenophobia,

L.  whereas civil society strongly demands that the democratically-elected politicians responsible and local and regional authorities should maintain proper standards and should help youth programmes, inter alia, by financing them, in particular in rural areas and disadvantaged regions, thus safeguarding the leading role of democratic youth education and preventing racist parties and organisations from exploiting these public administration shortcomings to secure social and cultural aid to help them promote their ideologies,

M.  whereas the police and the judicial systems in Member States play a crucial role in the prosecution and prevention of racist violence, but sometimes fail to meet their responsibility to protect citizens against racist violence,

N.  whereas the existence of a large number of Internet homepages which provide the main source of information about racist groups and groups which incite hatred raises concerns as to how to counteract this problem without violating freedom of expression,

O.  whereas every attempt by the Council to adopt the draft framework decision of 2001 on the fight against racism and xenophobia has thus far failed,

1.  Strongly condemns the premeditated murder of a black woman of Malian nationality and the Belgian child whose nurse she was, perpetrated in Antwerp on 12 May 2006 by Hans Van Themsche, a young man with extreme right-wing views who, only a few moments previously, had seriously wounded a woman of Turkish origin whilst trying to kill her;

2.  Expresses shock at the rape, torture and murder of Ilan Halimi in February 2005 in France, and is particularly worried about the anti-Semitic dimension of such crimes;

3.  Deeply concerned at the brutal assault on a German citizen of Ethiopian origin, Kevin K., in the village of Poemmelte, Saxony-Anhalt, on 9 January 2006, in particular because of its racial motive;

4.  Affirms that the Vlaams Belang, which incites people to racial hatred, is at least morally responsible for the racist murders in Antwerp;

5.  States that only those political parties which fully respect the European Convention on Human Rights (ECHR) should have the right to benefit from public funding;

6.  Expresses indignation at the calls for open violence against gays emanating from a member of a Polish governing party in relation to the plans to hold a gay rights march in Warsaw in June 2006;

7.  Strongly condemns the ban on the first Gay Pride parade in Moscow and the violent dispersal of the peaceful demonstration held in support of lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) rights on 27 May 2006; expresses its solidarity with all those who suffered the consequences of the violent riots and arrests and supports them, their families and their friends in further peaceful efforts to promote and defend LGBT rights in Russia;

8.  Expresses deep concern at the role Russian politicians and faith organisations have played in inciting violence and hatred towards LGBT people, and reminds the Russian authorities that freedom of assembly is a basic human right guaranteed by Article 31 of the Constitution of the Russian Federation; expresses its hope that similar events will not occur in the future and encourages the Russian authorities to allow the Gay Pride parade in 2007 and to ensure the safety of its participants;

9.  Regrets the fact that several Member States have witnessed rising support for right-wing parties and groups with a clear xenophobic and racist agenda, and stresses the need to address this development, also as part of the fight against social exclusion, not least among young people;

10.  Calls on the Polish Government to take up a strong stance against any anti-Semitic statement and to take the necessary action to combat the climate of anti-Semitism;

11.  Stresses the need to support anti-racism and anti-xenophobic initiatives in relation to the forthcoming World Cup in Germany, and calls on the authorities to closely monitor, prosecute and sentence those responsible for racist acts;

12.  Recalls the need for sound and clear definitions of and statistics on racist violence as a means of effectively combating racism and xenophobia, as already highlighted in the 2005 annual report from the EUMC, which stresses the lack of statistical records of racist violence, e.g. in Italy, Portugal and Greece;

13.  Points out the need for a broader active society, including NGOs helping victims of racism; therefore calls on all Member States to ensure that the active society has enough financial, human and material resources to enable it to fulfil its tasks;

14.  Calls on the Member States to give proper attention to the fight against racism, xenophobia, homophobia and anti-Semitism both in their relations with each other and in their bilateral relations with third countries;

15.  Urgently calls on the Council to start work again on the draft framework decision of 2001 on the fight against racism and xenophobia providing for a harmonised definition and approximation of the criminal penalties;

16.  Instructs its President to forward this resolution to the Council, the Commission and the Russian Federation.