Doslovný zápis z rozpráv

Streda, 28. februára 2018 - Brusel

20. Priority EÚ na zasadnutia Rady OSN pre ľudské práva v roku 2018 (rozprava)

  Der Präsident. – Als nächster Punkt der Tagesordnung folgt die Aussprache über die Erklärung der Vizepräsidentin der Kommission und Hohen Vertreterin der Union für Außen- und Sicherheitspolitik zu den Prioritäten der EU für die Tagungen des Menschenrechtsrats der Vereinten Nationen im Jahr 2018 (2018/2603(RSP)).

  Phil Hogan, Member of the Commission, on behalf of the Vice-President of the Commission / High Representative of the Union for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy. – Mr President, I am taking this point on behalf of my colleague, Ms Mogherini, who unfortunately cannot be here this evening.

These are challenging times for human rights all around the world. The space for civil society continues to shrink in several countries, and human rights defenders are too often a target of violence and intimidation. There is a growing belief that national laws can disregard universal human rights. The International Criminal Court and the very idea of international justice have too often been questioned and it is against this background that we Europeans have an even stronger duty to invest in the United Nations and in the protection of human rights through the UN system.

This is why the European Union continues actively to engage in the UN human rights forums. Earlier this week, the Foreign Affairs Council adopted new conclusions on the political priorities for the European Union in the human rights forums in 2018. When human rights come under threat, we must mobilise all of our tools to protect the people in need and improve the situation. This means that our action on the ground, where the violations are happening, must always be backed by diplomatic action at all levels. That includes multilateral action within the United Nations system, particularly in dedicated forums such as the Human Rights Council and the General Assembly’s Third Committee.

We want the UN Human Rights Council to be a strong and effective forum to protect and advance human rights worldwide. For that reason, we also support reforms that would make the Council as effective and as accountable as possible to the citizens of all of our countries. The Council’s ability to address country situations must be preserved and, at the same time, the Council must adapt to a more challenging global environment. A more effective UN system is a stronger UN system and, for this reason, we support the United Nations Secretary—General’s ambitious reform agenda.

During the ongoing session of the Human Rights Council, the EU will play a leadership role on the matter of country-specific and thematic initiatives. We remain deeply concerned about the continuing grave and systematic violations of human rights by North Korea. Together with Japan, the European Union will table an initiative to address the human rights situation in the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea (DPRK). We will also present a resolution on the human rights situation in Myanmar. In light of the violence suffered by minorities in Myanmar, and particularly by the Rohingya people, we will propose to renew the mandate of the Special Rapporteur and we will confirm our support for the Independent International Fact—Finding Mission.

The European Union, together with partners from all over the world, will also continue to build on its initiative on freedom of religion or belief and, together with the Group of Latin America and Caribbean Countries (GRULAC), on the rights of the child, focusing on the protection of children in all humanitarian situations.

Just a few hours ago, this House discussed the situation in Eastern Ghouta in Syria. The suffering of Syrian children is a stark reminder of how crucial is our work to protect children in crisis. We will also continue to bring human rights in Syria to the attention of the Human Rights Council. The fight for accountability and against impunity is not just a matter of moral justice but is also essential to the perspective of national reconciliation. So we will keep on working to allow access for the commission of inquiry, ensure unhindered humanitarian access, call for the release of detainees, and demand the full application of humanitarian law by all sides.

It is sad that so many human rights violations are taking place in this very year, as we celebrate the 70th anniversary of the UN Declaration of Human Rights, but we should not lose sight of important good news coming from all around the world. Support and awareness of human rights is increasing throughout the global population and this is thanks to social media, to the use of major sports events, to the power of youth movements, to more responsible businesses and corporations, and to celebrities and influencers who use their voices to advocate. This also demonstrates that every person can contribute in a positive way and stand up for human rights.

Likewise, together with the EU Special Representative, Stavros Lambrinidis, we have been working on the good human rights stories, with a view to the upcoming General Assembly. This initiative aspires to promote a fresh, positive narrative on human rights in the world. Its central focus will be on promoting good human rights stories by identifying, sharing and showcasing the implementation of human-rights-based policies in all fields through positive examples. We believe this can be a powerful source of inspiration for people all over the world. In times when human rights defenders are under attack and human rights are too often violated, it is easy to fall into cynicism and despair. As we work to find practical solutions to protect people and their rights, we must also focus on all the progress we have achieved together and try to keep the hope alive.

  Andrzej Grzyb, w imieniu grupy PPE. – Panie Przewodniczący! Panie Komisarzu! Dziękuję za to wprowadzenie. W przyszłym tygodniu 37. sesja Rady Praw Człowieka w Genewie, która ma bardzo napiętą agendę. Ale napiętą agendę będzie też miała delegacja Parlamentu Europejskiego, która będzie w tej sesji uczestniczyła, wspierając z jednej strony priorytety przyjęte przez Radę w konkluzjach z 26 lutego, a z drugiej strony obierając za nasz, parlamentarny punkt wyjścia do tych debat ostatnie roczne sprawozdanie o prawach człowieka i demokracji na świecie, przyjęte przez Parlament Europejski w grudniu 2017 r.

Wiele priorytetów ujętych w sprawozdaniu jest aktualne w kontekście agendy, która została przyjęta na doroczną sesję Rady Praw Człowieka. Po pierwsze, wiemy, że w dalszym ciągu stosowana jest kara śmierci. Wyroków kary śmierci wykonuje się niestety coraz więcej. W niektórych krajach, które mają umowę GSP+ z Unią Europejską w sprawie uprzywilejowanej współpracy, też przywrócono karę śmierci. Po drugie, prawo do pokoju i do życia w pokoju. Przykładem jest Syria i inne obszary konfliktu, gdzie w szczególności trzeba zwrócić uwagę – i tu się w pełni zgadzam – na cierpienia dzieci na obszarach konfliktu i ochronę dzieci na obszarach konfliktu, nie tylko przed bezpośrednim zagrożeniem, ale i wtórnymi zagrożeniami, które się z tym wiążą. I wreszcie wolność religii i wyznania. Wydaje mi się, że tu w pełni należy poprzeć naszą inicjatywę dotyczącą zgłoszenia rezolucji o wolności religii i wyznania w ramach Rady Praw Człowieka Organizacji Narodów Zjednoczonych.

Ostatnia sprawa, na którą chciałbym zwrócić uwagę, to biznes i prawa człowieka, czyli odpowiedzialność społeczna przedsiębiorstw. Leży ona również w interesie przedsiębiorstw europejskich, bowiem te elementy, które są tutaj źle prezentowane, w innych krajach niestety wpływają też na konkurencyjność gospodarki.

  Pier Antonio Panzeri, a nome del gruppo S&D. – Signor Presidente, onorevoli colleghi, la prossima settimana ci recheremo a Ginevra alla 37a sessione del Consiglio dei diritti umani, e come Lei ha detto, Commissario, quest'anno si celebra anche il 70o anniversario della Dichiarazione universale dei diritti umani.

Sempre più spesso i diritti umani sono oggetto di attacchi crescenti in tutto il mondo e la politica, oggi, sembra voler derubricare questo tema a tema secondario, sacrificandolo sull'altare della realpolitik. Ma bisogna essere consapevoli che, così facendo, quelle società che contraggono lo spazio dei diritti favoriscono il declino della democrazia e si autoannientano. Stupisce la scarsa lungimiranza politica di tanti, che sembrano non vedere questa deriva pericolosa. Insomma, abbassare l'asticella dei diritti è un lusso che una società che vuole definirsi democratica non può permettersi. Per questo, mi auguro che a partire da questa tornata vi sia davvero un'inversione di marcia sul tema dei diritti umani.

  Petras Auštrevičius, on behalf of the ALDE Group. – Mr President, the very idea of the European Union is built on democracy, common values and human rights. Moreover, as a leading global player, we have a clear-cut responsibility to never compromise on the protection of basic rights and freedoms worldwide. Voicing resolute declarations, this is what we are good at. However, let us admit that we often get confused when our economic interests are at stake. Take Turkey or Russia, Saudi Arabia or Cambodia, or many other places around the globe, this space of freedom is shrinking. Future generations will judge us according to the extent to which we are standing for each and every human rights defender at this very moment, here and now. Furthermore, we should do our utmost in order to strengthen our engagement in stopping the ongoing atrocities in such countries as Syria, Yemen, Myanmar, Congo and others. We have the means and the ways. What we miss is political will. Finally, there are undoubtedly very visible cases of a positive change in our close neighbourhood in particular. They must be saluted and acknowledged as a solid basis to further enhance our relations with these partners.

  Javier Couso Permuy, en nombre del Grupo GUE/NGL. – Señor presidente, estos últimos años han sido particularmente dramáticos para el devenir de los derechos humanos, como consecuencia de la acción de dos dinámicas diferentes: el incremento de la xenofobia y el racismo y las políticas de austeridad. Hay muchos lugares en el mundo en que ambos factores, juntos o por separado, han golpeado la vida cotidiana de millones de personas, y Europa ocupa un lugar destacado.

La xenofobia se ha convertido en política oficial en algunos países, que hacen de la defensa de una supuesta identidad un recurso para la represión y la exclusión de refugiados e inmigrantes. La austeridad y las políticas neoliberales son también una cuestión de derechos humanos: las consecuencias de las políticas «austericidas» puestas en marcha por la mayoría de los países dejan un saldo devastador.

Así que aconsejamos y sugerimos que la UE lleve a los foros de Naciones Unidas sobre derechos humanos dos compromisos: el primero sobre las acciones emprendidas para luchar contra la xenofobia y el racismo y, en segundo lugar, los compromisos adquiridos para devolver a millones de europeos y europeas los derechos humanos arrebatados por la lógica socialmente suicida de las políticas de austeridad.

  Barbara Lochbihler, on behalf of the Verts/ALE Group. – Mr President, it is positive that the EU delegation in Geneva will give major priority to defending the universality of human rights against efforts from several countries to undermine this concept. Even from some EU Member States, we hear voices who prefer to hold back criticism on human rights violations elsewhere, among other reasons, in an attempt to distract from their own attacks on fundamental rights. More than ever, it is crucial that the EU supports the UN Human Rights Council financially and politically to ensure that it can continue to work independently. The Council conclusions on the EU priorities in the UN human rights fora are generally supportable. However, I deeply regret that the Council did not include a reference to the UN binding treaty on business and human rights, the single most important normative process currently going on. I deplore that the EU has not been constructive in the process and hope that the EU will listen to the requests by the European Parliament and give its full and unconditional support to the UN binding treaty process.

  Cristian Dan Preda (PPE). – Monsieur le Président, je salue l’adoption des priorités de l’Union européenne pour la 37e session du Conseil pour les droits de l’homme de l’ONU. Je crois qu’il est important qu’au cours des travaux de cette session, la voix de l’Union soit unie et cohérente, et que nous construisions des alliances élargies sur des questions importantes.

L’une de ces questions est notre engagement contre le génocide, les crimes de guerre et les crimes contre l’humanité, sujet sur lequel j’ai présenté un rapport qui a été voté par cette plénière il y a quelques mois.

Nous devons, je crois, contribuer à la prévention de toute situation qui pourrait conduire à un génocide et œuvrer en faveur de la résolution des conflits qui en sont la cause, mais aussi nous battre pour le respect du droit humanitaire.

Je pense tout particulièrement à la situation tragique des Syriens, ainsi qu’au massacre des Rohingyas.

Les violations des droits de l’homme en Iran requièrent aussi notre attention. En ce qui concerne la peine de mort, l’Iran est en tête du classement du nombre d’exécutions par habitant. Selon nos informations, des exécutions ont eu lieu même pendant la visite, la semaine dernière, d’une délégation de ce Parlement, à laquelle j’ai participé.

  Liliana Rodrigues (S&D). – Senhor Presidente, Senhor Comissário, das prioridades da União Europeia para o Conselho dos Direitos Humanos das Nações Unidas, gostaria de destacar a ideia de que todos os membros deste Conselho da ONU devem manter os mais altos padrões na promoção e proteção dos direitos humanos. Mas também não posso deixar de referir que as Nações Unidas continuam amarradas a países que claramente violam os direitos humanos.

Apesar de todo o importante trabalho humanitário feito, a força que se espera das Nações Unidas é agora outra. É urgente a reforma das Nações Unidas. Alguma da sua dificuldade de ação, muito por culpa do direito de veto no Conselho de Segurança, revela-se inadequada perante a nova ordem mundial. Longe de promover a resolução dos conflitos, o direito de veto tem servido para permitir a violação dos direitos fundamentais, como é o caso da Síria.

Como podem as Nações Unidas aceitar que membros do seu próprio Conselho persistam na violação dos direitos humanos? Como podem as Nações Unidas assistir ao definhar de, por exemplo, a própria Venezuela? Como podem as Nações Unidas ficar neste silêncio?

  Francis Zammit Dimech (PPE). – Sur President, huwa b’interess kbir li fil-bidu tal-ġimgħa d-dieħla ser inkun qed nipparteċipa fis-37 sessjoni tal-Kunsill dwar id-Drittijiet tal-Bniedem ġewwa Ġinevra.

Qed niċċelebraw f’ċertu sens is-70 anniversarju mid-Dikjarazzjoni dwar id-Drittijiet tal-Bniedem. Sfortunatament m’iniex daqshekk ċert però li l-kelma ċelebrazzjoni hija dejjem korretta għaliex 70 sena wara qed nitkellmu dwar daqshekk ksur tad-drittijiet tal-bniedem u allura dik hija dikjarazzjoni li tibqa’ rilevanti. Jien ninnota b’sodisfazzjon li meta nħarsu lejn il-konklużjonijiet tal-Kunsill dwar dak li rridu nagħtu prijorità, insibu wkoll enfażi dwar il-midja.

Nafu li l-qtil tal-ġurnalisti, kellna fil-każ ta’ Malta l-qtil tal-ġurnalista Daphne Caruana Galizia, qed nitkellmu fil-ġranet ilu dwar il-qtil tal-ġurnalist investigattiv Slovakk li wkoll ifakkarna f’punt fundamentali dwar dan id-dritt fundamentali li meta l-ġurnalisti, u hemm pajjiżi li qed jissemmew, jiġu mhedda, jiġu mqiegħda f’sitwazzjoni li ma jistgħux jaqdu d-drittijiet tagħhom, dak huwa dritt imċaħħad lill-poplu kollu li ma jkollux iktar aċċess għall-informazzjoni li jrid.

Spontane Wortmeldungen

  Doru-Claudian Frunzulică (S&D). – Mr President, respect for human rights is a founding value of the European Union. Commitment to human rights, democracy and the rule of law is a central pillar of our external action. For us, the United Nations system regarding the promotion and protection of human rights is very important as well. Peace and security and human rights and development are inseparable and mutually reinforcing. The international community must never accept impunity when genocide, criminality against humanity, war crimes or violations and abuses of international human rights law happen.

I will continue to support a stronger system for the protection of human rights on the European continent. Moreover, it is of paramount importance that we maintain an increasing focus on the protection and promotion of economic, social and cultural rights and that we protect human rights effectively, paying particular attention to the specific rights of those in vulnerable situations.

  Seán Kelly (PPE). – Mr President, every Thursday in Strasbourg we have urgent discussions on the abuse of human rights right round the world, and rightly so. Sometimes there are sensitivities because we have a close trading relationship with some of these countries, but that should never stop us from condemning and decrying abuses of human rights. My colleague Cristian Preda referred to Syria, the death penalty in Iran, not just Iran but many more countries as well. We have to constantly try and bring these countries along the path of respecting the human rights of all.

The United Nations has been mentioned, and the veto. I suppose the best example, in some respects, of the ineffectiveness of the international community is when we learn that 100 girls were taken by Boko Haram and there is little we seem to be able to do about it. We haven’t made much progress, in that sense, if such a thing can happen and the international community can do little about it.

  Jean-Paul Denanot (S&D). – Monsieur le Président, la démocratie et le respect des droits de l’homme sont inscrits dans l’ADN de l’Union européenne. Partout en Europe, mais aussi dans le monde, notre Union européenne doit rester vigilante: la Commission, le Conseil et le Parlement européen doivent mener ensemble ce combat aux côtés des Nations unies.

Les atrocités de la guerre sont à l’évidence des violations des droits de l’homme, et ce qui se passe un Syrie n’est pas supportable. Les images que l’on peut voir à la télévision nous font honte et nous ne pouvons passer sous silence l’intervention hors de proportion de la Turquie. Quand on pense qu’il a fallu négocier âprement pour obtenir cinq heures de cessez-le-feu à des fins humanitaires! Par ailleurs, comme cela a été dit, la peine de mort existe encore malheureusement dans de nombreux pays. Il est donc temps de proposer des solutions contraignantes. Que l’humanité soit enfin humaine!

Les propositions faites par le commissaire Hogan vont dans le bon sens. Il incombe à nous tous, groupés, de faire des droits de l’homme notre combat prioritaire.

  Νότης Μαριάς (ECR). – Κύριε Πρόεδρε, συζητούμε τις προτεραιότητες της Ευρωπαϊκής Ένωσης, τις οποίες θα αναπτύξει, σε σχέση με τα ανθρώπινα δικαιώματα, στις συνόδους του Συμβουλίου Ανθρωπίνων Δικαιωμάτων του ΟΗΕ, στο Συμβούλιο αυτό όπου συμμετέχει η Σαουδική Αραβία. Μια χώρα η οποία δεν τηρεί τα ανθρώπινα δικαιώματα! Μια χώρα η οποία επιβάλλει τη θανατική ποινή! Μια χώρα στην οποία δεν υπάρχουν δικαιώματα των γυναικών! Μια χώρα η οποία, πραγματικά κάθε μέρα, επιτίθεται στην Υεμένη και εμείς συζητούμε τι θα πει η Ευρωπαϊκή Ένωση στο πλαίσιο του Συμβουλίου Ανθρωπίνων Δικαιωμάτων του ΟΗΕ όπου είναι η Σαουδική Αραβία! Τρομερή διγλωσσία. Κάποιος πρέπει να το καταγγείλει αυτό. Φυσικά πρέπει να καταγγελθούν οι παραβιάσεις ανθρωπίνων δικαιωμάτων στην Τουρκία όπου ο Erdoğan, ως νέος σουλτάνος, έχει διαλύσει κάθε έννοια Δημοκρατίας, κάθε έννοια προστασίας ανθρωπίνων δικαιωμάτων και φυσικά απειλεί, παράνομα, και την Ελλάδα και την Κύπρο. Μέτρα λοιπόν εναντίον όλων όσων παραβιάζουν τα ανθρώπινα δικαιώματα!

  Κώστας Μαυρίδης (S&D). – Κύριε Πρόεδρε, συζητάμε για τις προτεραιότητες των ανθρωπίνων δικαιωμάτων και είμαι βέβαιος ότι πάρα πολλοί μας παρακολουθούν από πολλά κράτη εκτός Ευρωπαϊκής Ένωσης. Για να μην είμαστε υποκριτές και θεωρητικολογούμε, σας λέω το εξής απλό πράγμα: το βράδυ του Σαββάτου, το Συμβούλιο Ασφαλείας του ΟΗΕ ομόφωνα αποφάσισε και ζήτησε τον τερματισμό όλων των στρατιωτικών επιχειρήσεων στη Συρία για 30 τουλάχιστον μέρες, συμπεριλαμβάνοντας και το Afrin. Ποια ήταν η απάντηση των εμπλεκομένων μερών; Συνεχίζουν να βομβαρδίζουν. Το χείριστο βεβαίως είναι η στάση της Τουρκίας, επί της οποίας έχουμε δυνατότητες επιρροής γιατί, αυτή τη στιγμή που μιλάμε, βρίσκεται επίσημα σε ενταξιακό καθεστώς. Και τι είπε η Τουρκία; Λέει ότι θα συνεχίσει τις επιχειρήσεις της παραγνωρίζοντας την απόφαση του Συμβουλίου Ασφαλείας. Φυσικά θα μπορούσε να μιλώ για ώρες για τις παραβιάσεις εκ μέρους της Τουρκίας αλλά μια μόνο φράση αρκεί: από το 1974 κατέχει μέρος της Ευρωπαϊκής Ένωσης στην Κύπρο.

(Ende der spontanen Wortmeldungen)

  Phil Hogan, Member of the Commission, on behalf of the Vice-President of the Commission / High Representative of the Union for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy. – Mr President, I would like to thank the honourable Members for their comments. From this debate I think we can conclude that we all share a common interest in the promotion and protection of human rights in the multilateral forums. Of course there is room for improvement and room to further improve their effectiveness in terms of organisation as well, but is equally essential not to underestimate their importance. Multilateral engagement remains a vital component of an effective and strong EU policy in the field of human rights and beyond.

Since the adoption of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights 70 years ago, the international human rights system has continued to show great resilience and it remains the single most effective framework through which we can address concerns and aspire to build a better world in the future for all of us, which should be our duty and our calling. So once again, Mr President, I want to signal our appreciation of Parliament in its role in keeping this important issue on the international agenda.

  Der Präsident. – Die Aussprache ist geschlossen.

Schriftliche Erklärungen (Artikel 162 GO)

  Ignazio Corrao (EFDD), per iscritto. – A Ginevra, la 37a sessione del Consiglio dei diritti umani, quest'anno è ancor più significativa, perché si celebra anche il 70° anniversario della Dichiarazione universale dei diritti umani. Richiamo l'attenzione sulla grave situazione in cui operano giornalisti ed attivisti dei diritti umani nelle varie parti del mondo. È inaccettabile la serie di aggressioni, violenze e omicidi troppo spesso dimenticati. Mi associo al rammarico di alcuni miei colleghi per il fatto che il Consiglio non abbia previsto un riferimento al trattato vincolante delle Nazioni Unite sulle imprese e sui diritti umani, un importantissimo processo normativo attualmente in corso.