MOTION FOR A RESOLUTION on Afghanistan, in particular the killings in the province of Zabul

24.11.2015 - (2015/2968(RSP))

with request for inclusion in the agenda for a debate on cases of breaches of human rights, democracy and the rule of law
pursuant to Rule 135 of the Rules of Procedure

Petras Auštrevičius, Marietje Schaake, Dita Charanzová, Izaskun Bilbao Barandica, Filiz Hyusmenova, Maite Pagazaurtundúa Ruiz, Ramon Tremosa i Balcells, Juan Carlos Girauta Vidal, Ilhan Kyuchyuk, Beatriz Becerra Basterrechea, Nedzhmi Ali, Philippe De Backer, Marielle de Sarnez, Martina Dlabajová, Fredrick Federley, Nathalie Griesbeck, Marian Harkin, Ivan Jakovčić, Petr Ježek, Louis Michel, Javier Nart, Urmas Paet, Jozo Radoš, Frédérique Ries, Robert Rochefort, Pavel Telička, Johannes Cornelis van Baalen, Hilde Vautmans, Cecilia Wikström on behalf of the ALDE Group

See also joint motion for a resolution RC-B8-1258/2015

B8‑1270/2015

European Parliament resolution on Afghanistan, in particular the killings in the province of Zabul

(2015/2968(RSP))

The European Parliament,

-having regard to its previous reports and resolutions relating to Afghanistan, in particular its resolutions of 16 December 2010 on a new strategy for Afghanistan[1], of 15 December 2011 on the situation of women in Afghanistan and Pakistan[2] and of 13 June 2013 on the negotiations on an EU-Afghanistan cooperation agreement on partnership and development[3],

 

-having regard to the Universal Declaration of Human Rights of 10 December 1948,

 

-having regard to the 2008 EU Guidelines on Human Rights Defenders,

 

-having regard to Protocols 6 and 13 to the European Convention on Human Rights,

 

-having regard to Article 2 of the Charter of Fundamental Rights of the European Union,

 

-having regard to the EU Guidelines on the Death Penalty,

 

-having regard the joint motion resolution on the death penalty from the 7th of October 2015[4],

 

-having regard to the statement by United Nations Assistance Mission in Afghanistan (UNAMA) on the murders occur in the province of Zabul in Afghanistan,

 

-having regard to the United Nations Security Council resolutions on Afghanistan, including Resolution 2096 of March 2013

 

-having regard the security conditions of all humanitarian Agencies operating in Afghanistan,

 -

-having regard to the Council’s conclusions on a strategy for Afghanistan 2014-16, adopted on 23 June 2014, and to the Council’s conclusions of 20 October 2014,

 

-having regard to the EU Foreign Affairs Ministers’ decision of 27 May 2013 to extend the EU’s police mission in Afghanistan (EUPOL) until 31 December 2014, and having regard to the Council’s decision of 23 June 2014 to agree in principle on an extension of EUPOL until the end of 2016,

 

-having regard to the United Nations Security Council resolutions on Afghanistan, including resolutions 2096 of March 2013, 2120 of October 2013, 2145 of March 2014, 2160 of June 2014 and 2189 of December 2014,

 

-having regard to the Resolute Support Mission (RSM), a NATO follow-up mission in Afghanistan that became operational on 2 January 2015,

 

-having regard to Rule 135 of its Rules of Procedure,

A. whereas anti-government forces continue to undertake a continuous number of attacks on established minorities groups in Afghanistan as it happen in the Province of Zabul;

 

B. whereas the European Union has been an ongoing supporter of the reconstruction and development of Afghanistan since 2002 and continues to be committed to a peaceful, stable and secure Afghanistan;

 

C. whereas women and girls continue to face dramatic domestic violence, trafficking, forced marriages, including child marriages; continue to be victims of human traffic; whereas the judicial system continues to address women’s complaints of abuse, beating, rape and other forms of sexual violence, and those fleeing those hardships may even find themselves in prison; whereas, in most cases, the perpetrators of violence against women remain unpunished;

 

D. whereas the death penalty abolition worldwide is one of the main objectives of the EU’s human rights policy;

 

E. whereas stoning as a method of capital punishment is considered a form of torture; whereas citizens are reported to continue to be sentenced to death by stoning in Afghanistan and whereas hundreds of women have been stoned to death for adultery in recent years; whereas stoning as a method of capital punishment is considered a form of torture; whereas Afghanistan still holds death penalty in their legislation for homosexuality;

 

F. whereas an overwhelming number of staff members working for humanitarian Agencies continue to parish over terrorist attacks, endangering and constraining all aid and humanitarian missions taking place in Afghanistan;

 

G. whereas collateral damage continues to take place originating dramatic numbers of civilian casualties on innocent civils, humanitarian missions personnel and even peace mission troops;

 

 

1. Acknowledges that visible and positive progresses have been accomplished since 2001 in Afghanistan; Stresses the importance of the fight against corruption in all State levels in Afghanistan; Reaffirms the ongoing and committed EU’s support for the construction of an stronger and democratic Afghan state with institutions capable of securing national sovereignty, state unity, territorial integrity and prosperity for all its citizens;

 

2. Reiterates that the roadmap for a successful future of Afghanistan relies on the building of a stable, secure, economically sustainable state, free of terrorism and based on the rule of law, strengthened democratic institutions, respect for the separation of powers, and the guarantee of fundamental rights;

 

3.Deplores the devastating air strike on the Médecins sans Frontières (MSF) hospital in Kunduz, on the 3^rd of October 2015, which resulted in the deaths and injuries of medical personnel, patients and other civilians; urges all national and international arms forces operating in Afghanistan to act only with precise intelligence in order to avoid further dramatic collateral casualties; Acknowledges the ongoing independent investigation in order to obtain an accurate report on the facts occurred;

 

4. Stresses its concern on the enduring violence in Afghanistan, which is results in threats on permanent threats to the local population, including women, children, national security forces, international military, humanitarian missions personnel and civilian personnel;

 

5. Acknowledges that, since the fall of the Taliban regime, positive progress has been achieved as regards to the situation of women in Afghanistan; alerts for the resurgence of some deterioration in women’s conditions and rights in Afghanistan after the departure of allied forces announced for 2014; Calls for focus on the situation of women within areas controlled by the Taliban and anti-Government militias whereas the punishment by stoning or physical disfigurement when accused of violating the repressive Taliban social codes continues to be a reality;

 

6. New. Calls on the Afghan authorities to increase the number of women at all levels of Afghanistan’s judicial and law enforcement institutions, including the Supreme Court, and the security forces, and ensure adequate protection for women in these positions from security threats and sexual harassment;

 

7. Acknowledges that equality for women is a principle that has been enshrined in Afghanistan’s Constitution; Calls on the Afghan Parliament and the Afghan Government to revoke all laws that contain elements of discrimination against women, which are in breach of the International Treaties signed by Afghanistan;

 

8. Urges and condemns the recurrent use of the death penalty in Afghanistan; Calls on a full implementation of the provisions of the National Action Plan to end torture by initiating investigations and prosecutions based on the UNAMA findings, and ratify the Optional Protocol to the Convention Against Torture; stresses that the abolition of the death penalty contributes for human dignity and that the European Union critical purpose is its universal abolition;

 

9. Unreservedly condemns the practice of stoning, which is used in Afghanistan, and urges the government to immediately constrain and control a full ban of such barbaric practice;

 

10. Urges the Afghan authorities for a comprehensive and thorough investigation on the seven civilians killed in the province of Zabul previously abducted in the Arghandab district; Calls on the Afghan Government to act swift and firmly in order break the vicious circle of violence against minorities throughout all Afghanistan provinces undertaken by anti-Government militias;

 

11. Calls the Member States and the European External Action Service (EEAS) to continue its full engagement and to support the Government on the fight against the insurgency; urges the Afghan government to enforce human rights standards in all parts of the country; condemns the use of the death penalty and supports the moratorium as a step towards abolition;

 

12. Instructs its President to forward this resolution to the Vice-President of the Commission / High Representative of the Union for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy, the Council, the Commission, the governments and parliaments of the Member States, the UN Secretary-General, the President of the UN General Assembly and the governments of the UN member states.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

• [1]  OJ C 169 E, 15.6.2012, p. 108.
• [2]  Texts adopted, P7_TA(2011)0591.
• [3]  Texts adopted, P7_TA(2013)0282.
• [4]  Texts adopted, P8_TA(2015)0348