MOTION FOR A RESOLUTION

13.11.2007

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 Ona Juknevičienė, Marios Matsakis
on behalf of the ALDE Group
on Uzbekistan

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

B6‑0466/2007

European Parliament resolution on Uzbekistan

The European Parliament,

-  having regard to the Partnership and Cooperation Agreementhttp://www.europarl.europa.eu/sides/getDoc.do?pubRef=-//EP//TEXT+TA+P6-TA-2005-0239+0+DOC+XML+V0//EN&language=EN⁽¹⁾ between the European Communities and their Member States and the Republic of Uzbekistan, which entered into force on 1 July 1999,

-  having regard to its earlier resolutions concerning the human rights and democracy situation in Uzbekistan and the countries of Central Asia,

-  having regard to the conclusions of the General Affairs and External Relation Council (GAERC) on 15 and 16 October 2007,

-  having regard to Rule 115(5) of its Rules of Procedure,

A.  whereas the Uzbek Government is persisting in its policy of torture, ill-treatment and serious human rights abuses against detainees, as well as the harsh treatment of human rights activists and political opponents,

B.  whereas President Karimov has been the leader of Uzbekistan since the country gained independence in 1989 and his regime has consolidated his personal power and neglected to implement any political, social and economic reforms,

C.  whereas the General Affairs and External Relation Council (GAERC) meeting on 15 and 16 October 2007 decided not to extend the scope of the EU sanctions policy to Uzbekistan and agreed on the suspension for six months of some of the visa restrictions to top Uzbek officials,

D.  whereas Mark Weil, founder and art director of the independent Ilkhom Theatre was murdered in Tashkent on 9 September 2007, whereas the Ilkhom theatre is one of the very few remaining cultural opposition voices in the country and the murder of its director, who was not robbed of any property, is most likely politically motivated,

E.  whereas Mutabar Tadjibaeva, chairperson of the non-violent human rights organisation "Plammenoe Serdtse", was arrested in Ferghana city on 7 October 2005 and is still being kept in solitary confinement in Tashkent, along with many other human rights defenders, under harsh conditions despite the rapid deterioration of her health,

F.  whereas, following the killing by government troops of several hundreds of civilians in Andijan on 13 May 2005, Uzbek authorities have constantly refused to respond to UN, OSCE, NATO and EU calls for an independent investigation into the causes of the events,

G.  whereas EU experts made a very brief visit to Andijan after the massacre but no proper information was ever communicated about their findings,

H.  whereas civil society in Uzbekistan is demanding a more open society, where individual freedoms and human rights are fully respected, as well a move towards democracy, while the registration and activity of NGOs is being increasingly restricted by the authorities,

I.  concerned by the risk that the EU "NGO Partnership Programme" in Uzbekistan may not meet the conditions for ensuring the independence and positive impact of such a programme and would contribute to supporting the government's direct control over civil society through additional administrative and financial requirements,

1.  Notes that, in spite of several calls from the international community, including OSCE and EU, Uzbekistan is not showing any signs of significant change in its systematic policy of repression of independent organisations, free media, individual rights and today ranks as one of the fiercest authoritarian regimes in Asia;

2.  Calls on the Council and Commission to fully implement the democratic clause included in the Partnership and Cooperation Agreementhttp://www.europarl.europa.eu/sides/getDoc.do?pubRef=-//EP//TEXT+TA+P6-TA-2005-0239+0+DOC+XML+V0//EN&language=EN⁽ between the European Communities and their Member States and the Republic of Uzbekistan and to therefore properly consider the suspension of such an agreement and to extend the visa ban to President Karimov and other top government officials and to freeze their assets in Europe in overseas European banks;

3.  Questions the decision to suspend for six months some of the visa restrictions as part of the EU sanctions to the country; invites the Commission and the Council to proceed, in six months' time, to a serious assessment regarding the impact of such a decision and to revise the overall human rights situation in the country;

4.  Considers that the role played by Uzbekistan in fighting international terrorism is not a justification to oppress the society and neglect human rights and that such a policy can only bring instability and strengthen fundamentalist opposition;

5.  Condemns the killing of theatre director Mark Weil and considers such a murder as a further element of political violence and impunity against anybody who stands against the regime;

6.  Urges the Uzbek authorities to release Mutabar Tadjibaeva and to immediately allow her access to medical treatments, family visits and lawyers;

7.  Reiterates its call on the Government of Uzbekistan to take tangible steps towards economic reforms, the abolition of the death penalty, the independence of the judiciary, to bring national legislation on the mass media into line with international requirements and standards, to end censorship;

8.  Reiterates its call on the Uzbek authorities to immediately stop the persecution and harassment of opposition politicians, human rights defenders, independent journalists and other Uzbek citizens and to allow a genuine process of reform and democratisation; warns the Uzbek authorities and President Karimov that by persisting in such oppressive policy Uzbekistan is ranked as one of the most backward countries in the international community;

9.  Believes that by refusing any actual independent inquiry into the circumstances of the Andijan massacre the Uzbek authorities have aggravated claims of their direct involvement;

10.  Calls on the Commission and the Member States to make public the results of the EU experts' visit to Andijan and to make a public evaluation of their assessment practice of the case;

11.  Calls on the Commission to refrain from implementing any cooperation programme that may have a negative impact on genuine civil society organisations and to be prudent when cooperating with registered NGOs which may actually be under direct or indirect government control;

12.  Urges the Uzbek Government to revise and simplify the process of registration for NGOs, including foreign representations, and to introduce and adopt amendments to reduce the control of the state and the Ministry of Justice over NGO activities;

13.  Instructs its President to forward this resolution to the Council and the Commission, the Secretaries-General of the United Nations and the OSCE, and the Presidents, Governments and Parliaments of Uzbekistan, the Russian Federation, the United States and China.