MOTION FOR A RESOLUTION on Iraq, notably the persecution of minorities and the death penalty
23.11.2010
pursuant to Rule 122 of the Rules of Procedure
Jill Evans, Barbara Lochbihler, Heidi Hautala, Jan Philipp Albrecht, Frieda Brepoels, Raül Romeva i Rueda on behalf of the Verts/ALE Group
See also joint motion for a resolution RC-B7-0629/2010
B7‑0633/2010
European Parliament resolution on Iraq, notably the persecution of minorities and the death penalty
The European Parliament,
– having regard to the July 2009 public inquiry in the UK into the death of the Iraqi civilian Baha Mousa while in British custody,
- having regard to the 2 March 2010 ruling of the European Court of Human Rights, stipulating that the UK violated Article 3 of the European Convention on Human Rights by imposing mental suffering upon two Iraqi detainees whom British troops had rendered to Iraqi security forces,
- having regard to the declaration of 27 October 2010 by the Commissioner for Human Rights Navi Pillay calling for an investigation into files released by whistleblower website WikiLeaks indicating that U.S. authorities knew about widespread torture and ill-treatment of detainees by Iraqi forces,
- having regard to its previous resolutions on the subject,
- having regard to Rule 122 of its Rules of Procedure,
A. whereas human rights violations notably against ethnic and religious minorities, women and girls as well as men being suspected to be gay or not sufficiently 'masculine' continue in Iraq at a disturbingly high level,
B. whereas at least five people were killed and 33 wounded when roughly a dozen bombs detonated in Christian suburbs across Bagdad on 10 November 2010,
C. whereas on 31 October five suicide bombers blew themselves up during evening mass at the capital's Syriac Catholic Cathedral killing over 50 worshippers,
E. whereas the militant group Islamic State of Iraq, considered part of the international Al Qaida movement, has claimed responsibility for the killings and has vowed to launch further attacks against Christians,
F. whereas since the US-led invasion of Iraq and the toppling of the Saddam Hussein Government in 2003, persecution of Christians has become a common feature in Iraq and whereas their numbers have according to estimates halved to some 600000 today;
G. whereas persecution of Christians have been common in Mossul over the past years which forced many families to flee to Bagdad, the attacks are unprecedented in the capital,
H. whereas Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki visited the attacked cathedral and appealed to Iraqi's Christians to stay in the country
I. whereas 200 Iraqis represented by their lawyer allege having been tortured by British soldiers in a secret detention centre near Bagram and call for a public investigation,
J. whereas former Vice-President Tareq Aziz, last surviving high ranking member of the Hussein government has been sentenced to death by the Iraqi supreme court on 16 October 2010,
K. whereas according to documents which have been published by the Internet portal Wikileaks in recent weeks, Iraqi prisoners security forces have abused, tortured and killed thousands of Iraqi prisoners under active cooperation of the American forces,
L. whereas the British government has announced on 16 November 2010 that it will pay compensation to 16 British citizens and former detainees who have been imprisoned and tortured on terrorism charges, eventually ending up in Guantanamo with collusion of the British secret service,
1. Welcomes the formation of the new Iraqi Government which will hopefully bring an end to the months-long political deadlock,
2. Is gravely concerned about the continuing violent conflicts between Shiite and Sunni groups and militias,
3. Strongly criticises the unlawful killings, summary executions, torture and other serious human rights abuses by Iraqi and US forces which have been publically revealed by the Wikileaks documentation,
4. Supports the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights' declaration on the maltreatment of Iraqi civilians and prisoners and calls on the Iraqi and US governments to thoroughly inquire into the documented allegations of torture and murder in Iraqi prisons,
5. Expresses its grave concern over the recent attacks against the Christian minority in Iraq, some of the most ancient Christian communities in the world who were allowed to thrive for almost two thousand years until recently thanks to a tolerant cultural environment,
6. Calls on the Iraqi authorities to drastically increase their efforts for the protection of vulnerable minorities, to enhance action against interethnic violence and to do their utmost to bring the perpetrators of the crimes to justice,
7. Reiterates its general opposition to the death penalty as a cruel, unnecessary and flawed form of punishment and deeply regrets that the government of Iraq has resumed executions in 2009 (with at least 120 documented cases) after they had been suspended since 2007,
8. Values President Talabani's critical position towards capital punishment and appeals to him not to sign any more execution orders and notably to block the execution of Tareq Aziz,
9. Calls on the Government and the Parliament of Iraq to establish a moratorium on the death penalty death penalty which has seen such abuse under the Saddam regime, aiming for its eventual abolition and to sign and ratify the UN Convention Against Torture,
10. Commends the UK government for initiating an independent inquiry into accusations that its secret services colluded in the rendition and torture of terrorism suspects held in foreign prisons and for offering compensation to ex-Guantanamo-inmates,
11. Calls on the UK government to extend the inquiry to the army and the police forces and to bring the violators to justice and to device measures to avoid such crimes in the future,
12. Urges all member states to adopt scrutiny measures in order to assess explicit or implicit involvement of state-employed security forces in human rights violations abroad,
13. Calls on the European Commission to inquire into possible breaches of the obligations by Member States under the European Convention on Human Rights in the deployment of their security forces in the various combat theatres,
14. Instructs its President to forward this resolution to the Council, the Commission, the Government of Iraq and the United States, the EU High Representative of Foreign and Security Policy, the Governments and Parliaments of the Member States, the UN Human Rights Council and the UN Commissioner for Human Rights,