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Motion for a resolution - B8-0097/2016Motion for a resolution
B8-0097/2016

MOTION FOR A RESOLUTION on North Korea

19.1.2016 - (2016/2521(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

Helmut Scholz, Malin Björk, Stefan Eck, Kostadinka Kuneva, Stelios Kouloglou, Kostas Chrysogonos, Patrick Le Hyaric on behalf of the GUE/NGL Group

NB: This motion for a resolution is available in the original language only.
Procedure : 2016/2521(RSP)
Document stages in plenary
Document selected :  
B8-0097/2016
Texts tabled :
B8-0097/2016
Texts adopted :

B8‑0097/2016

European Parliament resolution on North Korea

(2016/2521(RSP))

The European Parliament,

–  having regard to UN Security Council resolutions 825 (1993), 1540 (2004), 1695 (2006), 1718 (2006), 1874 (2009), 1887 (2009), 2087 (2013, 2094 of 7 March 2013, and 188 of 18 December 2014

–  having regard to the report of the UN Special Rapporteur on the situation of human rights in the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea, Marzuki Darusman, of 8 September 2015 (A/70/362),

–  having regard to Rule 110(2) of its Rules of Procedure,

A.  whereas on 6 January 2015 the DPRK officially reported that it had successfully conducted a hydrogen nuclear test, in flagrant violation of many UN Security Council resolutions;

B.  whereas the DPRK withdrew from the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT) in 2003, has been conducting nuclear tests since 2006 and officially declared in 2009 that it had developed a nuclear weapon;

D.  whereas the Korean Peninsula has faced tensions and military confrontation for decades; whereas currently 28,500 US troops are deployed in South Korea; whereas tensions between North Korea and South Korea again are escalating; whereas the US troops have been put on highest alert; whereas the current dangerous crisis shows that there is an urgent need to overcome the deadlock and to find a sustainable political solution acceptable to all partners concerned;

E.  whereas the DPKR has had an extremely problematic human rights situation for many years: whereas the report of the UN Special rapporteur on the situation of human rights in the DPRK noted that a few positive developments have taken place in the context of the momentum that was created by the commission of inquiry, but grave violations continue to be committed on a large scale and particularly affect the most vulnerable groups, including prisoners, migrant workers and persons with disabilities.

F.  whereas the people of the DPRK are challenged by decades of under-development with poor health care and high levels of maternal and child malnutrition, in a context of political and economic isolation;

1. Condemns in the strongest terms the nuclear test conducted by the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea on 6 January 2016 and demands that it abstains in future from further tests; calls on the DPRK to abide by the Charter of the United Nations, which obliges its Members to refrain from the threat or use of force against any other state;

2. Underlines the need to intensify the efforts to strengthen the Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons; recalls that nuclear disarmament and nuclear non-proliferation are substantively interrelated and mutually reinforcing; urgently calls on the nuclear weapons states to make progress in substantial nuclear disarmament; calls on the EU and its Member States to make nuclear disarmament a priority of the foreign and security policy and to contribute to overcoming the stalemate in the related talks at bilateral and multilateral level;

3. Urges the DPRK to re-establish its pre-existing commitments to a moratorium on missile activities and to sign and ratify the Comprehensive Nuclear Test Ban Treaty (CTBT); calls on the DPRK to return to the NPT and International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) safeguards; underlines the need for all States Parties to the NPT to continue to comply with their Treaty obligations in respect of all its aspects;

4. Expresses its deepest concern at the growing tension on the Korean Peninsula; denounces the military reaction of the United States which further aggravates the dangerous situation; demands that the parties involved, as well as their allies, refrain from any action that might aggravate tensions;

5. Urgently calls on the DPRK to re-engage in a credible and meaningful dialogue with the international community, in particular in the framework of the Six-Party Talks with a view to find a political solution of the problems in the region;

6. Notes the consensus among the members of the UN Security Council reacting to the recent nuclear test of the DPKR and calls on them to undertake joint and coordinated political and diplomatic efforts to end the military confrontation on the Korean Peninsula and to find sustainable political solutions to the problems of this region;

7. Calls on the People’s Republic of China to exert an appropriate positive influence on the DPRK and to attempt to ensure that the situation does not escalate further; calls on the United States and the Republic of Korea to stop their military exercises in the region and to abstain from any steps which could lead to a further aggravation of military tension on the Korean Peninsula;

8. Expresses its deep concern at the human rights situation in the DPRK; supports the work of the UN Commission of Inquiry on the DPRK; calls on the government of the DPRK to follow the recommendations contained in the report of the Special Rapporteur on the situation of human rights in the DPKR and cooperate with the UN with a view to improving the human rights situation of the citizens of the country;

9. Expresses its particular concern about the severity of the food situation the country is facing and its impact on the economic, social and cultural rights of the population; stresses that the primary obligation to feed people lies with the state, which must take all measures necessary to rectify existing flaws in the production and distribution system that have contributed to the shortage of food; calls on the Government of the DPRK to reduce military expenditure and ensure equitable re-allocation of resources to respond effectively to the food crisis and other areas needing development;

10. Calls on the Commission to maintain existing humanitarian aid programs and channels of communication with the DPRK with a view to continuing humanitarian assistance to the people; urges the DPRK to ensure safe and unhindered access for humanitarian assistance that is delivered impartially on the basis of need, in accordance with humanitarian principles;

11. Calls on the DPRK to immediately and permanently stop public executions and abolish the death penalty in the DPRK;

Instructs its President to forward this resolution to the Council, the Commission, and the governments and parliaments of the Member States, the Government of the DPRK, the Government of the Republic of Korea, the governments of the Members of the UN Security Council and the UN Secretary-General