Fullständigt förhandlingsreferat

Torsdagen den 15 december 2016 - Strasbourg

4.3. Massgravar i Irak

  Presidente. – L'ordine del giorno reca la discussione su sette proposte di risoluzione su Fosse comuni in Iraq1 (2016/3028(RSP)).

1Vedasi processo verbale.

  Charles Tannock, author. – Madam President, many of us have used the term ‘shocking’ to describe the discovery of mass graves in Iraq, but tragically their discovery only confirms our worst fears: ISIS has carried out the most horrendous crimes against humanity, in a campaign that bears all the hallmarks of a genocide, particularly for Yazidis.

In order to at least attempt to achieve justice for the victims and their families, it will be important to secure the sites as much as possible. Although we must be mindful of the limited resources and difficult circumstances that those on the ground militarily face in trying to do this. Such crimes and atrocities, unfortunately, are not unique to either Iraq or to ISIS. As the Syrian Army concludes its campaign to retake Aleppo, harrowing accounts of summary executions against innocent civilians are already beginning to surface. As the battle for Mosul continues, particularly as it reaches its most difficult stages of street-to-street combat, I fear that such atrocities will become only too familiar in the Middle East.

  Heidi Hautala, author. – Mr President, the European Union and its Member States must immediately define the atrocities against Yazidis as genocide and the EU must bring the Daesh criminals to justice, possibly applying the principle of universal jurisdiction. Daesh crimes are appalling and target not only, but especially, Yazidi women and girls in Iraq. They are victims of torture and sexual slavery. We heard a first-hand testimony in this Parliament when the Sakharov Prize was awarded to Lamiya Aji Bashar and Nadia Murad.

The UN Secretary-General has found out that Daesh has raped women in pursuit a plan of self-perpetuation, and that women’s bodies are being used as biological weapons to alter the demography of the region. These women, wounded and sick in battle, need a full range of options for medical care to be provided to them, in accordance with international humanitarian law. Our partners working on the ground need to know that we stand firmly behind our position and that international humanitarian law has to be fully respected.

  Javier Couso Permuy, autor. – Señor Presidente, apoyamos sin reservas la investigación y persecución de los terribles crímenes cometidos por los terroristas del Dáesh en Irak. Siempre hemos apoyado la persecución de los crímenes de guerra, especialmente tras la invasión ilegal de Irak en 2003, cuya destrucción del Estado iraquí fue el abono perfecto para la irrupción del extremismo terrorista. Por eso es importante aprender de los errores.

Hemos añadido dos enmiendas para mejorar esta Resolución: una que condena las intervenciones militares de los últimos años en Oriente Medio, como garantía de no repetición, y otra que recuerda que el mejor apoyo al pueblo de Irak para combatir el terrorismo es ahogar su financiación, detener el contrabando de petróleo que sigue saliendo por Turquía, dejar de armar a los países de la zona. Armas que, curiosamente, luego aparecen en manos de terroristas. Y advertir a los Estados que dejen de usar la carta terrorista como forma de injerencia y desestabilización.

  Tunne Kelam, author. – Mr President, Commissioner, Daesh has systematically murdered thousands of civilians and with the Iraqi advances towards Mosul, more and more mass graves are being discovered. They testify that crimes against humanity and war crimes are an essential part of radical Islam. We appeal to the UN Security Council and international organisations to consider Daesh-caused mass graves as additional evidence of genocide. It is urgent to refer Daesh, as a criminal organisation, to the International Criminal Court.

It is important that these graves be preserved and that analyses be conducted to identify victims as well as perpetrators. The EU should also provide the expertise, means and assistance to do this. In the meantime, the Iraqi authorities have a responsibility to protect civilians during the anti-Daesh campaign, to avoid further human rights violations and vengeance.

  Gérard Deprez, auteur. – Monsieur le Président, Daech est un monstre, un monstre criminel, personne n'en doute. En plus des témoignages des victimes encore vivantes, les fosses communes que l'on découvre tous les jours en Syrie et en Iraq en témoignent de manière tragique.

Daech est un monstre criminel, coupable de génocide, coupable de toute la panoplie des crimes contre l'humanité, dont les initiateurs, les responsables, les financiers, les complices et les exécutants devront rendre des comptes devant la justice internationale.

Mais les monstres criminels ont aussi d'autres visages. Comment nommer autrement ceux qui, aujourd'hui, écrasent sous les bombes les femmes et les enfants d'Alep? Comment appeler autrement ceux qui, aujourd'hui, affament leur population et bombardent les hôpitaux, au mépris de toutes les lois de la guerre?

Devant de telles atrocités, les déclarations ne suffisent pas. Je demande au Conseil européen, réuni aujourd'hui, de ne pas se contenter de communiqués de presse, mais de prendre des décisions, de faire enfin comprendre à Vladimir Poutine qu'il a dépassé les bornes et que l'Union européenne n'en supportera pas plus.

Je suis fier d'être européen, je ne veux pas commencer à en avoir honte.

  Pier Antonio Panzeri, autore. – Signor Presidente, onorevoli colleghi, Daesh è da tempo protagonista di atroci crimini contro l'umanità. Le immagini di violenza e di sopraffazione delle minoranze, nonché la distruzione di luoghi sacri, sedi di patrimonio culturale di inestimabile valore sono il simbolo della cieca rabbia di questi terroristi che vogliono cancellare tutto ciò che si discosta dal loro dettame integralista.

La popolazione yazida è tra le principali vittime della strategia di pulizia etnica che abbiamo il dovere di classificare con il termine di genocidio. Quando, nel 2014, Daesh ha conquistato la regione di Sinjar, tra Mosul e la frontiera siriana, ha dimezzato la minoranza yazida, uccidendo gli uomini e violentando e vendendo come schiave le loro donne. Sono settantadue le fosse comuni scoperte nella regione e sono circa 15 000 i corpi ritrovati.

Martedì, il Parlamento europeo ha assegnato e consegnato alle due giovani donne yazide il premio Sacharov perché possano portare avanti e vincere la battaglia a difesa del loro popolo. Noi dobbiamo essere in campo con questa risoluzione per garantire il rispetto dei diritti umani e portare a giudizio, nel quadro della Corte penale internazionale, i responsabili di tali crimini contro l'umanità.

  Jonathan Arnott, author. – Mr President, these mass graves tell a powerful tale of unspeakable cruelty, a barbarism of the type which we thought and had hoped had been wiped from the face of the earth last century with the total and utter collapse of the ideologies of those such as Stalin and Hitler. Every single person who is tortured to death in custody, every rape, every murder, every unspeakable act of brutality, puts our world to shame. Every genocidal act seems to drive the innocent Yazidis from the face of this earth and seeks to murder those of so many religions.

Even as ISIS is being driven from Mosul in Iraq, even as that scourge is being removed, supposedly never to return, we see a chilling reminder that many of those same people who terrorised Mosul have gone to Palmyra in Syria, which was supposedly liberated just months ago, to force the same unspeakable horrors upon that ancient city once again.

In Iraq, there may be glimmers of hope; we may speak of war crimes and justice, of a response to the utter inhumanity of what happened and to what is happening there still. Those who are dead may never be brought back to life, but what we can do is seek justice and seek a world in which these things never happen again. Yet we see that however bad the situation in Mosul, the situation in Syria is even worse.

The international community simply must work together. We must drive this scourge and the barbarous ideology from our planet. It is so sad that every day that this continues, yet more lives are being lost, more people are being tortured, and more people are being murdered. We must do whatever we can to stop these barbaric acts.

  Pavel Svoboda, za skupinu PPE. – Pane předsedající, pane komisaři, je zřejmé, že takzvaný Islámský stát prováděl a provádí zločin genocidy. Pokouší se systematicky likvidovat příslušníky náboženských menšin, které na různých místech Iráku nebo Sýrie žily po staletí nebo tisíciletí. Vedle likvidace ISIS a humanitární pomoci obětem je třeba zajistit, aby tyto zločiny nezůstaly nepotrestány.

Myslím, že je zde prostor pro Evropskou unii, která bohužel zatím není dostatečně vojensky akceschopná, ale může zásadním dílem přispět k tomu, aby bylo shromážděno maximální množství důkazů o zločinech ISIS, aby byla zachována pravidla mezinárodního humanitárního práva na osvobozených územích a aby se navracejícím se obyvatelům dostalo všech jejich práv tak, aby mohli znovu plnohodnotně obnovit svoji existenci.

  Josef Weidenholzer, im Namen der S&D-Fraktion. – Herr Präsident! Ich werde diesen Moment nie vergessen, im Juni dieses Jahres im Sindschar-Gebirge. Meine jesidischen Freunde hatten mich an einen Ort abseits einer Hauptstraße geführt. Dort waren die Überreste von mehreren hundert Menschen verscharrt. Niemand weiß, warum sie hier getötet wurden. Sie waren auf der Flucht, und sie standen Daesh im Weg. Das ist einer von vielen Orten im Irak und in Syrien. Noch sind es namenlose Orte – Orte, die einen Namen bekommen müssen und einen Namen bekommen werden, wenn die Geschehnisse aufgeklärt und die Beweise sichergestellt sind, so wie in Katyn, Babi Jar, Lidice und Oradour.

Über die Verbrechen darf kein Gras wachsen, es müssen Stätten der Erinnerung werden. Das sind wir den Menschen schuldig, die hier ermordet wurden. Und das ist notwendig, damit die Menschen ein neues Leben in der Region führen können. Und – geschätzte Kolleginnen und Kollegen – es ist ein Menschenrecht, würdevoll bestattet zu werden.

  Bas Belder, namens de ECR-Fractie. – Huiveringwekkend én alarmerend is het gegeven dat Irak waarschijnlijk het enige land ter wereld is met een officiële “Society for the Preservation of Mass Graves”. Dat brengt ons bij het schrikbarende gegeven dat de massagraven van IS een voortzetting zijn van een bestaande moorddadige praktijk: de massagraven uit het tijdperk-Saddam Hoessein en daarna van Al-Qaida. Maar ook het sjiitische kamp in Irak heeft oorlogsmisdaden en massagraven op zijn geweten in de inter-islamitische tweestrijd met de soennieten. Dat geldt zowel voor de Iraakse leger- en politietroepen als voor hun sjiitische bondgenoten, de moord- en roofzuchtige milities van het “Volksfront”. Met deze situatie voor ogen - een algemene wraaksfeer - houd je je hart vast voor nieuwe massagraven in Irak na de bevrijding van Mosul. Dat is de realiteit.

  Petras Auštrevičius, on behalf of the ALDE Group. – Mr President, the mass graves in Iraq hint at the true scale of the inhuman atrocities committed by so-called ISIS and Daesh criminals against civilians in the Middle East. I strongly condemn these murderous acts. Allow me to express my most sincere condolences to the families of the victims. We need to stop impunity and ensure accountability as the new graves are being discovered.

A transparent and impartial investigation against war crimes and crimes against humanity should be started. I call on the Iraqi Government to ratify the Rome Statute and to extend its cooperation with the International Criminal Court. An international criminal tribunal should be established by the United Nations and all possible assistance from the EU guaranteed. I think those atrocities which have been committed cannot be forgotten, indeed all colleagues who have spoken before emphasised this.

  Jean-Luc Schaffhauser, au nom du groupe ENF. – Monsieur le Président, chers collègues, évidemment, ce qui se passe vis-à-vis des chrétiens, des Yézidis, est absolument abominable.

Je tiens simplement à rappeler que, sous Saddam Hussein ou même sous Assad, la minorité chrétienne – je la connais bien – vivait en paix. Faut-il rappeler que, depuis 1991, trois millions de morts en Iraq sont dues à l'intervention occidentale? Faut-il rappeler également que, depuis le 11 septembre, deux millions de personnes ont trouvé la mort, dont 1,7 million en raison de nos sanctions?

Alors, je veux bien ces larmes, et moi je souffre avec les chrétiens puisque, plus particulièrement, j'avais un hôpital dans ce secteur, mais je veux souligner l'hypocrisie de certaines larmes, car n'oublions pas que ces pays ont été déstabilisés par nos interventions et que la démocratie n'a été qu'un prétexte.

  Bruno Gollnisch (NI). – Monsieur le Président, c'est en effet tout le problème de cette résolution commune, qui contient d'excellentes dispositions et qui, à juste titre, constate l'horreur de la situation en Iraq, dans la plaine de Mossoul, le génocide contre les Yézidis, le génocide contre les chrétiens d'Orient, qui sont les plus anciens habitants de cette région, et ceci sans aucune cause apparente.

Mais – et c'est la faiblesse de cette résolution –, elle ne s'adresse précisément qu'aux symptômes – les symptômes, aujourd'hui, ce sont les charniers – et elle remonte beaucoup moins aux causes. Comme l'a dit l'orateur précédent, il faut tout de même souligner que la cause principale de cette situation a été le chaos qui est résulté des interventions occidentales en général, américaines et anglo-saxonnes en particulier, contre des régimes, certes, autoritaires, mais qui avaient au moins le mérite de maintenir, dans cette zone, un relatif équilibre. On a voulu s'en prendre à ces régimes autoritaires et on a détruit, ce faisant, la seule force politique qui pouvait s'opposer à l'islamisme, à savoir le nationalisme arabe. La situation qui en résulte, c'est le chaos, c'est la haine contre le monde occidental, et nous en sommes, il faut bien le dire, en partie responsable.

  Andrea Cozzolino (S&D). – Signor Presidente, onorevoli colleghi, sono atrocemente noti i crimini di Daesh soprattutto contro yazidi e minoranze etniche in Iraq.

Perché le nostre parole non restino vuote, occorre garantire l'accesso e il lavoro di esperti internazionali, che raccolgano prove e dati sui crimini che possono celarsi nelle fosse comuni irachene. Il rischio da scongiurare è la cancellazione di prove cruciali per un futuro processo, oltre all'impossibilità di identificare i corpi delle vittime.

Nella nostra storia recente abbiamo vissuto genocidi e in tempi recenti, vent'anni fa, siamo rimasti inermi di fronte a crimini commessi alle nostre porte e ora viviamo con troppa indifferenza il dramma di Aleppo. Ieri abbiamo applaudito il coraggio di due ragazze. Da oggi abbiamo il dovere di rendere loro e al loro popolo giustizia, per questo è molto importante il dibattito e il confronto che stiamo sviluppando oggi.

  Branislav Škripek (ECR). – Mr President, the Yazidi military forces recently discovered another mass grave that was not yet listed as it was in an active battle zone. It showed that this horrifying story is not yet at an end. At the same time, Human Rights Watch reported that aid for these same Yazidis in the southern part of Sinjar is blocked by the Peshmerga of the KRG of President Masoud Barzani. This is consistent with what we have heard from the Yazidis ourselves. I have seen myself that so many Yazidis are in refugee camps in Iraq and they need aid.

Can the Commission put serious pressure on the KDP in order to end the blocking of aid to Sinjar and to Syria? That is my question. Furthermore the continuous plundering of Isis recently hit the graveyards of the Chaldean Syriac Assyrians in Iraq. Desecration of the final resting place of human beings is widely seen as a crime. Plundering graveyards has a huge impact on living relatives, as it violates their integrity and honour. Therefore I call on the Commission to put the restoration of the graveyards into the EU aid programme after the liberation of Mosul.

Procedura catch-the-eye

  Jiří Pospíšil (PPE). – Pane předsedající, já podporuji toto usnesení, a to zvláště v těch částech, které upravují v zásadě právní otázky následného postupu při snaze odsoudit válečné zločiny Islámského státu.

Myslím si, že je velmi dobře, že v usnesení jsou takové teze, jako to, že by mezinárodní společenství mělo vyslat do Iráku forensní experty, kteří budou pomáhat při exhumaci masových hrobů a budou přispívat k tomu, aby se zajistily důkazy pro následné soudní řízení proti těm, kteří tyto zločiny proti lidskosti spáchali. Stejně tak důležité jsou ty části usnesení, které vyzývají Irák, aby se připojil k Mezinárodnímu trestnímu tribunálu, aby se stal signatářem této mezinárodní organizace, protože to je velmi důležité pro to, abychom opravdu mohli efektivně zločiny proti lidskosti, které páchají členové Islámského státu, odsoudit. Stejně tak důležitá je všeobecná výzva pro mezinárodní společenství soudit tyto zločiny všude ve světě podle principu univerzality trestního práva.

  Νότης Μαριάς ( ECR). – Κυρία Πρόεδρε, στους δώδεκα μαζικούς τάφους που ανακαλύφθηκαν στην περιοχή Τιγκρίτ του Ιράκ πιστεύεται ότι βρίσκονται θαμμένα περισσότερα από χίλια εφτακόσια θύματα των τζιχαντιστών. Υπολογίζεται ότι υπάρχουν εκατοντάδες ακόμη μαζικοί τάφοι στις περιοχές που βρίσκονται υπό τον έλεγχο του ISIS. Ο αριθμός των επιβεβαιωμένων θυμάτων που μπορεί να βρίσκονται σε αυτούς τους τάφους είναι σοκαριστικός, καθώς ξεπερνάει τα δεκαπέντε χιλιάδες θύματα. Το ISIS δεν έχει κάνει καμιά προσπάθεια να κρύψει τις σφαγές που έχει διαπράξει. Το αντίθετο, προσπαθεί διαρκώς να φοβίσει τον κόσμο δημοσιοποιώντας βίντεο με αποκεφαλισμούς και βασανιστήρια, εξαπολύοντας ταυτόχρονα απειλές προς τη Δύση. Η απειλή των τρομοκρατών πρέπει να σταματήσει. Η Ευρωπαϊκή Ένωση χρειάζεται να λάβει μέτρα και κατά των αραβικών χωρών που στηρίζουν το Νταές στη Συρία και κατά της Τουρκίας, η οποία επίσης στηρίζει το Νταές και βοηθάει τους τζιχαντιστές λαθρεμπόρους πετρελαίου. Η ειρήνη και η κοινωνική δικαιοσύνη πρέπει να εδραιωθούν στη Μέση Ανατολή. Είναι ζήτημα που μας αφορά όλους.

  Seán Kelly (PPE). – Mr President, I am distressed to learn of ongoing discoveries of new mass graves in Iraq and Syria, which provide only an indication of the terror committed by ISIS/Daesh. I wish to use this opportunity to express my condolences to all those in Iraq who have lost relatives and to those who are still suffering as a result of the crimes against humanity and war crimes committed by ISIS/Daesh and its affiliates. I am particularly alarmed at the situation of women and children in this conflict, and I urge all international bodies to act to provide for their release and safety.

The protection, preservation and analysis of all mass graves in Iraq, as well as in Syria, are essential for the preservation and gathering of evidence of war crimes, crimes against humanity and genocide committed by ISIS/Daesh, and to hold the perpetrators of the crimes to account. Thus we must ensure that we protect said gravesites in order to prove accountability at a later date. As an EPP Christian Democrat, I want to condemn the continuous targeting, torture and murder of Christians around the world. I stand with them and it must cease.

(Fine della procedura catch-the-eye)

  Vytenis Povilas Andriukaitis, Member of the Commission. – Mr President, honourable Members, Daesh has committed unspeakable crimes and egregious violations of human rights in Iraq. As the Iraqi security forces advance in their operation to liberate Mosul, the true scale of Daesh atrocities is becoming apparent, with the troubling discovery of new mass graves. Daesh crimes have affected all Iraqis; however, some minorities have been particularly targeted, among them the Yazidi community. We all remember those horrific moments in August 2014 with the shocking exodus of the Yazidi population from Sinjar. Nadia Murad, the United Nations Office for Drugs and Crimes Goodwill Ambassador for the dignity of survivors of human trafficking, together with Lamiya Aji Bashar, winner of the Sakharov Prize 2016, have become the voice for the voiceless victims of human trafficking not just in Iraq, but around the world. We deeply admire their courage and strong determination.

Nadia and Lamiya can count on our full support in fulfilling their tasks as peace builders and as role models for women and girls. In the EU regional strategy for Syria and Iraq as well as the ISIL—Daesh threat of 16 March 2015, we put special emphasis on sexual and gender-based violence. The EU has been at the forefront of calling for the respect of the rule of law and human rights in Iraq, in particular the fundamental rights of minorities. We believe that the preservation of a multi-ethnic and multi-confessional Iraqi society is the only way to put an end to the vicious circle of violence and to promote reconciliation. It is essential to bring people to account for committing atrocities such as those that befell communities in Iraq at the hands of Daesh.

In this regard, the EU is willing to support a global campaign to bring Daesh to justice, as suggested by the UK, Belgium and Iraq, and the idea of the independent investigative commission on Daesh crimes. As we speak, reports are appearing of reprisals and executions carried out against civilians and even humanitarian workers in eastern Aleppo, by forces who claim they are fighting terrorism but are themselves spreading terror among communities they are attacking. We want to underline here that those responsible will be held accountable for their actions. Such war crimes will not be left unrecorded or unpunished and the perpetrators need to be aware of that now.

  Presidente. – La discussione è chiusa.

La votazione si svolgerà giovedì 15 dicembre 2016.

Dichiarazioni scritte (articolo 162)

  Илхан Кючюк (ALDE), в писмена форма. – За съжаление екстремистката групировка ДАЕШ продължава системно да нарушава международното хуманитарно право и да извършва тежки престъпления срещу човечеството. ДАЕШ носи пряка отговорност за сексуалното заробване на жени на териториите под неин контрол, използването на невинни хора като жив щит, употребата на химическо оръжие срещу цивилното население, масовото избиване на християни, язиди и други религиозни групи и етнически малцинства. Доказателства за извършените от ДАЕШ зверства са продължаващите открития на масови гробове на териториите, които доскоро групировката контролираше в Ирак и Сирия. В тази връзка, призовавам ЕС да съдейства на иракските власти, за да насърчат членството на страната в Международния наказателен съд. Необходимо е също така да съдействаме с анализ и събиране на доказателства на всички масови гробове в Ирак. Това ще даде възможност да се търси наказателна отговорност на ДАЕШ за извършените престъпления срещу човечеството.

  Jiří Maštálka (GUE/NGL), písemně. – Dnes jsme se zabývali společným návrhem rezoluce o masových hrobech v Iráku. V rezoluci upozorňujeme na obtížnou situaci na území Iráku, kde se tzv. Islámský stát dopouští válečných zločinů a zločinů proti lidskosti, o čemž svědčí i nálezy několika masových hrobů. Upozorňujeme i na bezprecedentní únosy žen a mladých dívek a jejich zneužívání stejně jako na nutnost pomoci všem rodinným příslušníkům obětí včetně logistické a psychické podpory. V rezoluci vyjadřujeme přesvědčení, že je třeba všechny pachatele těchto nejtěžších možných zločinů postavit před mezinárodní trestní soud. Bezvýhradně odsuzuji takovéto porušování mezinárodního humanitárního práva a mezinárodních předpisů, takže mi nezbývá než s předloženou rezolucí plně souhlasit.

(La seduta è sospesa fino al turno di votazioni alle ore 12)

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