The European Parliament,

–  having regard to the third EU Annual Report on Human Rights (12141/2001),

–  having regard to Articles 3, 6, 11, 13 and 19 of the Treaty on European Union and Articles 177 and 300 of the Treaty establishing the European Community,

–  having regard to the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights and its optional protocols, the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights, the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women (1979), the Convention on the Rights of the Child (1989), the International Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Racial Discrimination (1966), the UN Standard Rules on the Equalisation of Persons with Disabilities (1993), the International Labour Organisation Convention to eliminate the Worst Forms of Child Labour (1999), the Geneva Convention relative to the Treatment of Prisoners of War (1949), and ILO Convention 169 on Indigenous and Tribal Peoples (1991),

–  having regard to the Charter of Fundamental Rights of the European Union(1),

–  having regard to Council Regulations (EC) No 975/1999 and (EC) No 976/1999 on the development and consolidation of democracy and the rule of law and respect for human rights and fundamental freedoms(2);

–  having regard to its previous resolutions on human rights in the world, adopted on 5 July 2001, 16 March 2000, 17 December 1998, 12 December 1996, 26 April 1995, 12 March 1993, 12 September 1991, 18 January 1989, 12 March 1987, 22 October 1985, 22 May 1984 and 17 May 1983(3),

–  having regard to its previous resolutions on the situation as regards fundamental rights in the European Union, in particular the resolution of 5 July 2001(4),

–  having regard to its resolution of 15 March 2001 on the Commission communication on EU election assistance and observation (COM(2000) 191 - C5-0259/2000)(5) and the Council conclusions of 31 May 2001,

–  having regard to its resolutions of 16 March 2000 on countering racism and xenophobia in the European Union(6) and on the Commission communication: "Countering racism, xenophobia and anti-Semitism in the candidate countries" (COM(1999) 256 – C5-0094/1999)(7), and its resolution of 3 October 2001 on the World Conference against Racism(8),

–  having regard to its resolution of 17 December 1998 on the communication from the Commission to the Council and the European Parliament on "The European Union and the external dimension of human rights policy: from Rome to Maastricht and beyond" (COM(1995) 567 – C4-0568/1995)(9),

–  having regard to its resolution of 19 December 1997 on the report from the Commission on the implementation of measures intended to promote observance of human rights and democratic principles (for 1995) (COM(1996) 672 - C4-0095/1997)(10),

–  having regard to its resolution of 19 December 1997 on setting up a single coordinating structure within the Commission, responsible for human rights and democratisation(11),

–  having regard to its resolution of 20 September 1996 on the communication from the Commission on the inclusion of respect for democratic principles and human rights in agreements between the Community and third countries (COM(1995) 216 – C4-0197/1995)(12),

–  having regard to the results of the United Nations Conference on Human Rights in Vienna in 1993, the conclusions of the United Nations Conference on Women and Development in Beijing in 1994 and the final declaration and action programme of the World Conference against Racism, Racial Discrimination, Xenophobia and Related Intolerance held in Durban in 2001,

–  having regard to the United Nations Millennium Declaration adopted by the General Assembly on 8 September 2000,

–  having regard to UN General Assembly Resolution 53/144 of 9 December 1998, by which the Assembly adopted the Declaration on the Right and Responsibility of Individuals, Groups and Organs of Society to Promote and Protect Universally Recognised Human Rights and Fundamental Freedoms and the nomination of Mrs Hina Jilani as special representative of the Secretary-General for Human Rights Defenders on 18 August 2000,

–  having regard to the award of the Nobel Peace Prize for 2001 to the United Nations and its Secretary-General Kofi Annan,

–  having regard to the results of the 58th session of the UN Human Rights Commission,

–  having regard to its resolution of 5 September 2001 on the enlargement of the European Union(13),

–  having regard to the guidelines to EU policy towards third countries on the death penalty of 29 June 1998, and the Appeal of the First World Congress against the Death Penalty in Strasbourg in June 2001,

–  having regard to the guidelines to EU policy towards third countries on torture and other cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment of 9 April 2001,

–  having regard to the EU Guidelines on human rights dialogues of 13 December 2001,

–  having regard to the Declaration of the third meeting of the Euro-Mediterranean Parliamentary Forum, held in Brussels on 8 November 2001,

–  having regard to Council Regulation (EC) No 381/2001 of 26 February 2001 creating a rapid-reaction mechanism(14) and to its resolution of 13 December 2001 on the communication from the Commission on conflict prevention (COM (2001) 211 - C5-0458/2001)(15),

–  having regard to the communication from the Commission to the Council and the European Parliament on the European Union's role in promoting human rights and democratisation in third countries (COM (2001) 252) and the Council conclusions of 16 June 2001,

–  having regard to its resolution of 14 June 2001 on the communication from the Commission to the Council and the European Parliament on the development of the external service (COM(2000) 456)(16),

–  having regard to the Report from the Commission on the implementation of the European Initiative for Democracy and Human Rights in 2000 (SEC(2001) 801) and to the Commission's Programming Document for the European Initiative for Democracy and Human Rights (2002-2004),

–  having regard to the Commission communication on the reform of the management of external aid (SEC(2000) 814),

–  having regard to Special Report No 12/2000 of the Court of Auditors on the management by the Commission of EU support for the development of human rights and democracy in third countries together with the Commission's replies(17),

–  having regard to the new ACP-EC Partnership Agreement signed in Cotonou on 23 June 2000(18),

–  having regard to the motion for a resolution by Mrs Sartori and Mr Podestà, on the sentencing of Safiya Husseini Tungar-Tudu to death by stoning (B5-0024/2002),

–  having regard to Rule 163 of its Rules of Procedure,

–  having regard to the report of the Committee on Foreign Affairs, Human Rights, Common Security and Defence Policy (A5&nbhy;0106/2002),

A.  whereas one of the main objectives of the European Union must be to uphold the universality and indivisibility of human rights – including civil, political, economic, social and cultural rights - as proclaimed by the 1993 World Conference in Vienna; whereas tolerance, justice and respect for the dignity of the individual are innate in mankind; whereas all human beings are born free and equal in dignity and rights,

B.  whereas the promotion and protection of human rights and the attachment to the principles of democracy and the rule of law represent a key component of the EU's common foreign and security policy and of its development cooperation policy and external relations,

C.  whereas, in this spirit, the EU must continue to work actively towards strengthening human rights and fundamental freedoms, inter alia by emphasising the universal, indivisible, interdependent and interrelated nature of all human rights,

D.  whereas account should be taken of the four generations of human rights and of the various agreements on human rights adopted since the Second World War,

E.  whereas, in a considerable number of States, the gap between the human rights instruments they have signed and ratified and the treatment they inflict upon their citizens is widening,

F.  whereas, recognising the primary responsibility of the United Nations for the maintenance of international peace and security, the EU must work actively to further strengthen its cooperation with the UN and other international organisations in the fields of conflict prevention, crisis management, humanitarian assistance, post-conflict rehabilitation and long-term development,

G.  whereas the number of poor people in the world, who are either not benefiting to the same extent from globalisation or who are even suffering as a result of its economic and social consequences, is steadily rising, and whereas reducing social and economic imbalances and poverty represents a global challenge and requires cooperation at a global level,

H.  whereas the widening inequalities generated by precarious socio-economic circumstances are a breeding ground for acts of violence and human rights abuses,

I.  whereas slavery continues to exist today, affecting every continent and most countries, and whereas tens of millions of men, women and children around the world, who are trafficked and sold like commodities, and are forced to work for little or no pay, are physically constrained and are either owned or controlled by an employer,

J.  whereas some forms of slavery such as trafficking in humans and child prostitution, are rapidly growing problems and means are needed to address this issue,

K.  whereas poverty and illiteracy are major contributing factors, whereas economic and social decline in many developing and transition countries has placed millions below the poverty line, making children and their families more vulnerable to exploitation, and whereas the population explosion has further exacerbated the situation, putting a strain on dwindling natural and economic resources,

L.  whereas the promotion of core labour standards and the improvement of social governance at European and international levels, by actors in both the public and private sectors, constitutes an objective of the Commission's strategy with regard to social and external relations, development and trade policies, as well as that of the revised EU GSP (social incentive) scheme,

M.  whereas more than 300 000 children are working as soldiers both in government and other forces all over the world; whereas child soldiers are often forced to kill their families and peers and are themselves exposed to terrible abuses; whereas as yet only one Member State has yet ratified the voluntary protocol to the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child prohibiting the recruitment of soldiers aged under 18, though a number of candidate countries have done so,

N.  whereas the fight against terrorism should in no way endanger the protection of fundamental human rights and must be based on international human rights standards and international humanitarian law, as stipulated in the UN Universal Declaration of Human Rights, the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, the UN Convention against Torture and Other Forms of Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment and the Geneva Conventions of 1949,

O.  whereas it is an obligation of States under international human rights law to protect their populations from violent criminal acts such as the terrorist attacks on the United States and to prevent, investigate and punish abuses by both State and non-State actors,

P.  whereas President Bush's military order of 13 November 2001 permits the secret trial by a military commission of detainees in Guantánamo Bay, Cuba, in contravention of provisions for a fair trial as guaranteed by the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, to which the US is a party,

Q.  whereas Article 5 of the Geneva Convention of 1949 stipulates that those captured in war are presumed to be prisoners of war until an independent tribunal declares what their true status is, and whereas the same convention and its protocols provide for prisoners of war to be tried by the same courts which try members of the captor's country's forces,

R.  whereas even though the provisions of the Geneva Convention relative to the Treatment of Prisoners of War are not designed to deal with many types of crime and conflict, i.e. acts of international terrorism and civil wars, and whereas an adjustment is urgently needed, the rules of the Convention must be respected,

S.  whereas the definition of terrorism encompasses State terrorism,

T.  whereas on 17 July 1998 the Statute of the International Criminal Court to judge war crimes, genocide and crimes against humanity was adopted in Rome, and as of 26 March 2002, 56 countries had ratified the Rome Statute, 60 ratifications being required for the Statute to enter into force,

U.  whereas the death penalty continues to be used in some countries today; but whereas more and more countries have been introducing moratoria on executions with a view to the subsequent abolition of the death penalty,

A coherent and consistent EU strategy for human rights and democratisation

1.  Underlines that the defence of minority rights within the EU, in candidate countries and in third countries remains a major priority for the EU strategy for human rights and democracy according to Article 13 of the Treaty;

2.  Stresses that the new EU Guidelines on human rights dialogues, provided they are fully applied, will substantially reform the EU approach to breaches of human rights in third countries and will strengthen the coherence and consistency of EU policy on human rights;

3.  Calls on the Council not only to notify the European Parliament of any decision to initiate, terminate or suspend human rights dialogues, but to provide full information on criteria, objectives and issues in the discussions; calls on the High Representative for CFSP/Secretary-General of the Council to report annually to Parliament on the assessment of the human rights dialogues and all political dialogues with emphasis on human rights;

4.  Calls on the Council to establish benchmarks for human rights dialogue to ensure a high degree of coherence, and recommends that flexibility and pragmatism be kept to a minimum when it comes to joint agreements on a case-by-case basis with individual countries;

5.  For the sake of consistency and coherence of EU policy on human rights and democracy, calls on the Member States, when taking over the EU Presidency, to set priorities in their respective programmes and to ensure continuity of action undertaken by previous EU Presidencies;

6.  Calls on the Council to ensure that particular attention is given to those groups of persons most vulnerable to human rights abuses including women, children, older people, disabled people, ethnic and religious minorities and homosexuals;

7.  Calls on the Presidency, with a view to EU action taken at the level of international organisations and bodies, such as the annual session of the UN Commission on Human Rights, to give full consideration to Parliament's priorities, to ensure that the EU position is consistent and to address ways of strengthening its indispensable cooperation with other countries and regional groups;

8.  Notes that the annual session of the UN Commission on Human Rights is to consider the proposal for a UN Convention for Persons with Disabilities and supports this initiative;

9.  Stresses the need for full implementation of human rights conventions as well as effective inspection and control mechanisms; calls upon the Council to ensure that the UNCHR resolutions (sponsored or co-sponsored by the EU) are integrated into EU human rights policy, in particular by regular monitoring of their implementation and by raising the issues in the EU's political dialogue with the countries concerned; stresses that the UNHCR needs more funding to meet all its obligations and hopes that the EU will make a greater contribution to the UNHCR;

10.  Stresses that states which undermine the rule of law and violate the rights of individual citizens become a menace not only to their own people, but also to their neighbours and indeed to the world; considers therefore the promotion and strengthening of legitimate and democratic governance as a global challenge requiring cooperation at the global level;

European Parliament

11.  Reconfirms that the main role of Parliament is - making full use of its global reputation as an energetic democratic platform to mobilise respect for human rights - to hold the Council and the Commission accountable for the implementation of the EU's policies on human rights;

12.  Is strongly convinced that better working methods in the field of human rights are needed to reinforce Parliament's credibility and influence with regard to encouraging the development of a coherent and consistent human rights policy and ensuring such accountability; recalls therefore its decision in its abovementioned resolution of 5 July 2001 to undertake a review of the structures and working methods of its competent bodies dealing with human rights and democracy;

13.  Decides and commits itself to give human rights issues a central place on each agenda of its competent committees and delegations, in particular with a view to debates on human rights during its part-sessions, and to ensure that human rights violations in third countries are systematically followed up;

14.  Recommends that an 'ambassador' for human rights be appointed to represent the European Parliament vis-à-vis third parties, in particular the EU institutions and the international organisations;

Dialogue with civil society

15.  Stresses the important role played by NGOs as a valuable link between civil society and the institutions and encourages them to continue their activities;

16.  Calls on the Council and the Commission and commits itself to increase transparency for the benefit of civil society and to further a culture of consultation and dialogue with non-governmental organisations;

17.  Welcomes the continued operation of the Human Rights Discussion Forum, which is an appropriate platform for dialogue with civil society; recommends that the Presidency invite national parliamentarians to participate in the Discussion Fora;

18.  Expresses its determination to be involved in the preparation, implementation and follow-up of the Human Rights Fora;

19.  Calls for the Forum's effectiveness to be enhanced on the basis of the evaluation currently being undertaken by the Commission, and to be given greater public impact through timely publication of contributions and the results of discussions; reiterates its call to the Presidency for the next Forum to focus on trafficking in human beings;

20.  Recommends that the Commission, in the framework of a revised and extended PRINCE Programme, launch an information campaign on the role of the EU in the world with the aim of raising public awareness of EU policy on promoting human rights and strengthening democratisation, and further develop the EUROPA website on human rights and democratisation so as to make it a real democracy database, which will include analyses, reports and research carried out on key issues;

EU annual report

21.  Emphasises the usefulness of the EU annual report on human rights as a basis for accountability for the EU's human rights policy; recommends to improve the report's structure in order to avoid duplication of information; requests that future reports provide an analysis of the impact of EU activities on the human rights situations addressed and a follow-up of the fulfilment of the clauses in the cooperation agreements;

22.  Welcomes the fact that the third EU annual report provides more extensive information on the content of Parliament's annual reports on human rights; stresses, however, that it still lacks any indication of the follow-up to Parliament's positions and information on human rights activities conducted by individual Member States; calls once again on the Council to respond in writing to Parliament's annual report on human rights;

European Initiative for Democracy and Human Rights (EIDHR)

23.  Expresses its concern at the decrease in resources for the EIDHR in 2002, given that this budget chapter has high priority for Parliament;

24.  Asks the Commission to examine, together with its competent committee and in the context of the reform of the management of the external assistance programme, the Commission's implementation plan for the EIDHR budget and the measures taken to overcome outstanding commitments;

25.  Calls on the Commission to draw up an annually updated overview of total spending by the Community, the Member States and international donors in support of human rights and democracy with a view to improving the efficiency, complementarity and coordination of the Union's external assistance;

26.  Welcomes the programming document for EIDHR priorities in 2002-2004 and looks forward to an extensive exchange of views on this strategic document with the Commission, with a view to both the budgetary procedure for 2003 and the 2004 expiry date of the Council Regulations on human rights and democratisation;

27.  Emphasises the need for concrete action to develop a coherent EU policy in respect of the social responsibility of business, trade unions and other civil society actors in the field of external relations, and therefore calls for appropriate measures to be given consideration as a future priority of the EIDHR;

28.  Calls on the Commission to include an impact assessment of non-structural measures as part of its efforts to incorporate human rights and democracy aspects in EC aid programmes, given their highly important role in post-conflict reconciliation processes;

Modern slavery

29.  Regards all forms of forced work by people of all ages and races, and both sexes, in all its forms, e.g. forced prostitution of children, women and men, forced child labour, child soldiers, slavery-like conditions of work in several continents and the link to trafficking of human beings as slavery and as such as a violation of human rights;

30.  Is convinced that the sexual exploitation of children - including child pornography and child sex tourism, bonded labour and other forms of trafficking and trade in human beings - is a criminal act which must be prosecuted as such;

31.  Calls on Member States to provide for extra-territorial jurisdiction in their penal codes protecting children against sexual abuse;

32.  Calls on the countries concerned to introduce and implement a ban on recruiting children as soldiers in the armed forces and calls on the Member States and all third countries to sign and ratify, without delay, the voluntary protocol to the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child which sets the age limit for recruiting children as members of the armed forces at 18; calls once again on Somalia and the USA to ratify the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child;

33.  Condemns unequivocally the forcible and systematic kidnapping of children under 16 who are pressganged by insurgent and terrorist groups into service as soldiers, and are then often sent on suicide missions, as a heinous crime which merits the urgent attention of the international community;

34.  Calls on the Member States, the candidate countries and all third countries to apply existing international human rights and labour standards and, if they have not done already, to sign and ratify the new UN protocol on trafficking which supplements the UN Convention against transnational organised crime, and the new ILO Worst Forms of Child Labour Convention, 1999;

35.  Calls on the Commission and the Member States to draw up a list of products manufactured by child labour and forced labour, including their countries of origin, and to cooperate with each other with a view to taking a common position within the WTO and the ILO in the fight against child labour and forced labour;

36.  Recalls that the trafficking in women is on the increase and that it occurs in most parts of the world and that the Member States are among the countries of destination for this form of trafficking in human beings; urges the Member States, candidate countries and the third countries which act as countries of origin and transit to ensure that their national legislative provisions guarantee adequate protection, assistance and legal aid to the victims of human trafficking, calls for the inclusion of such measures in the EU's Framework Decision on combating trafficking in human beings;

37.  Urges the Member States, candidate countries and third countries acting as countries of origin or of transit to step up cooperation and the exchange of information between the various police, the judicial and immigration authorities, and between national and international law enforcement agencies (such as Europol and Eurojust), responsible for detecting and intercepting human traffickers and their organised crime networks;

38.  Calls on the Commission and the Council to encourage and support governments in countries of origin in their efforts to draft and enforce relevant domestic legislation and to promote birth registration, so that it becomes possible to establish where children come from, in order to facilitate the return of trafficked children and to establish an age limit to prevent children from being recruited as soldiers;

39.  Calls on the Commission to fund EU action in support of information campaigns with the aim of preventing human trafficking and stepping up public awareness and an awareness on the part of the judicial authorities of the issue in the countries of origin and of transit, in cooperation with local communities and NGOs;

40.  Emphasises the need to combat the root causes of modern slavery, in particular, poverty, illiteracy, views on women and demographic and environmental pressure by investing in education, providing economic incentives, tackling the debt problem and the problem of climate change, and opening Western markets to the products of developing countries;

41.  Calls on the Member States to cooperate with one another, third countries as well as with UN agencies, and national and international NGOs, in the planning and implementation of programmes of action to eliminate the practice of human trafficking and other forms of modern slavery;

Terrorism and Human Rights

42.  Recognises that the events of 11 September 2001 have revealed new types of terrorism with absolutely no concern for innocent human lives on a massive scale;

43.  Calls for clarification of the jurisdiction of the proposed International Criminal Court in relation to terrorist acts by non-state actors;

44.  Calls on the Member States to appeal to all UN Member States, in particular the United States, to ratify or accede to the Rome Statute setting up the International Criminal Court and to enact effective universal jurisdiction legislation;

45.  Calls on the Council to develop a concrete plan of action, for adoption during the Spanish Presidency, in order to promote world-wide the ratification of the Rome Statute or accession to it by a very large number of countries and the effective establishment of the Court, in cooperation with the UN Preparatory Commission for the ICC and the host country;

46.  Calls on the European Council and the Member States to continue to denounce human rights violations in the world, including violations committed in countries which are allies in the war on terrorism;

47.  Calls on the European Council and the Member States to include state terrorism in the definition of terrorism;

48.  Calls upon governments not to use the fight against terrorism as a pretext for human rights abuses at home; underlines the tremendous responsibility of many states in the world which inflict repressive acts upon their citizens by the use of regular armed forces;

49.  Reiterates the call of the High Representative for CFSP to recognise as prisoners of war in line with international law those who are being held in Guantánamo and who are said to have been captured during the war in Afghanistan and demands that a competent tribunal must rule on any dispute about their status according to Article 5 of the third Geneva Convention;

50.  Points out that governments must always protect legal certainty, even for persons accused of terrorism-related offences, and that persons whose assets are frozen but who maintain their innocence should immediately be informed of the evidence against them;

51.  Calls on the United States to honour its obligations under international law and to ensure respect for the human rights of all persons in their custody, regardless of the nature of the crimes they are suspected of having committed, and insists that any detainee who is suspected of a crime, whether or not they are prisoners of war, must be charged with a criminal offence and tried fairly or released;

Recommendations on other issues requiring urgent international action

52.  Sees the need for a thorough examination of the situation of the thousands of people living in refugee camps, which were designed and conceived as temporary solutions but are in fact becoming permanent features;

53.  Calls upon the EU and its Member States to continue advocating religious freedom, especially taking into account the rights of religious minorities;

54.  Reiterates that the imposition of the death penalty to persons under 18 years contravenes customary international law and that international human rights standards ban the use of the death penalty against the insane and recommend its elimination for the mentally disabled or those with extremely limited mental faculties; calls on all states to introduce a moratorium on executions with a view to completely abolishing the death penalty and reiterates its request to the United States, China, Saudi Arabia, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Iran and other states to immediately end all executions;

55.  Condemns the use of stoning under Sharia law and all forms of degrading and cruel punishment, notably as practised in Iran, some states of Nigeria, Saudi Arabia and Sudan;

56.  Calls on all Member States of the United Nations and of the European Union in particular to sign and ratify - 10 years after its entry into force - Convention 169 of the International Labour Organisation concerning Indigenous and Tribal Peoples in Independent Countries;

o
o   o

57.  Instructs its President to forward this resolution to the Council, the Commission, the governments and parliaments of the Member States and the candidate countries, the United Nations, and the governments of the countries referred to in this resolution, as well as the EU offices of the leading non-governmental organisations on human rights.

(1) OJ C 364, 18.12.2000, p. 1. (2) OJ L 120, 8.5.1999, pp. 1 and 8. (3) OJ C 65 E, 14.3.2002, p. 336, OJ C 377, 29.12.2000, p. 336, OJ C 98, 9.4.1999, pp. 267 and 270, OJ C 20, 20.1.1997, p. 161, OJ C 126, 22.5.1995, p. 15, OJ C 115, 26.4.1993, p. 214, OJ C 267, 14.10.1991, p. 165, OJ C 47, 27.2.1989, p. 61, OJ C 99, 13.4.1987, p. 157, OJ C 343, 31.12.1985, p. 29, OJ C 172, 2.7.1984, p. 36, OJ C 161, 20.6.1983, p. 58. (4) OJ C 65 E, 14.3.2002, p. 350. (5) OJ C 343, 5.12.2001, p. 270. (6) OJ C 377, 29.12.2000, p. 366. (7) OJ C 377, 29.12.2000, p. 376. (8) OJ C 87 E, 11.4.2002, p. 149. (9) OJ C 98, 9.4.1999, p. 267. (10) OJ C 14, 19.1.1998, p. 399. (11) OJ C 14, 19.1.1998, p. 402. (12) OJ C 320, 28.10.1996, p. 261. (13) OJ C 72 E, 21.3.2002, p. 160. (14) OJ L 57, 27.2.2001, p. 5. (15) Texts Adopted, Item 15. (16) OJ C 53 E, 28.2.2002, p. 390. (17) OJ C 230, 10.8.2000, p. 1. (18) OJ L 317, 15.12.2000, p. 3.