48 Amendments of Charlie WEIMERS related to 2021/2055(INI)
Amendment 6 #
Motion for a resolution
Citation 29 a (new)
Citation 29 a (new)
— having regard to its resolution of 4 July 2017 on addressing human rights violations in the context of war crimes, and crimes against humanity, including genocide,
Amendment 7 #
Motion for a resolution
Citation 29 b (new)
Citation 29 b (new)
— having regard to its resolution of 15 March 2018 on the situation in Syria,
Amendment 8 #
Motion for a resolution
Citation 29 c (new)
Citation 29 c (new)
— having regard to its resolutions of 4 October 2018 on mass arbitrary detention of Uyghurs and Kazakhs in the Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region, 18 April 2019 on China, notably the situation of religious and ethnic minorities, 19 December 2019 on the situation of the Uyghurs in China (China Cables) and 17 December 2020 on forced labour and the situation of the Uyghurs in the Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region,
Amendment 10 #
Motion for a resolution
Citation 29 a (new)
Citation 29 a (new)
— having regard to its resolutions of 18 April 2019, 19 December 2019 and 17 December 2020 on the situation of religious and ethnic minorities in China,
Amendment 14 #
Motion for a resolution
Citation 30 a (new)
Citation 30 a (new)
— having regard to its resolutions of 28 November 2019 and 26 November 2020 on the deteriorating situation of human rights in Algeria,
Amendment 16 #
Motion for a resolution
Citation 31 a (new)
Citation 31 a (new)
— having regard to its resolution of 16 January 2020 on Nigeria, notably the recent terrorist attacks,
Amendment 23 #
Motion for a resolution
Citation 32 a (new)
Citation 32 a (new)
— having regard to its report of 16 April 2021 on EU-India relations,
Amendment 47 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital C a (new)
Recital C a (new)
Ca. whereas not only believers, but also those who support or defend them, such as lawyers, can become targets following social uprising; whereas even the outcome of judicial procedures is no guarantee for safety for believers and those who support or defend them;
Amendment 72 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital E a (new)
Recital E a (new)
Ea. whereas in recent years, several cases based on religion or belief have reached the threshold of international crimes, such as war crimes, crimes against humanity and even genocide, particularly of religious minority groups, including the ISIS/Daesh genocide against Yazidis, Christians and other religious minorities; whereas the Burmese military's actions against Rohingya Muslims in Rakhine state amount to genocide and their policies against Christians in Kachin as crimes against humanity; whereas China's policies against the Uyghurs amount to genocide; whereas the terrorism committed by Boko Haram and the Fulani militia in Nigeria against Christians amount to genocide and crimes against humanity;
Amendment 73 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital E b (new)
Recital E b (new)
Eb. whereas in cases of international crimes based on religion or belief, perpetrators have been enjoying impunity, with some minor exceptions, and therefore, atrocities have been able to continue;
Amendment 74 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital E c (new)
Recital E c (new)
Ec. whereas, in accordance with the 1948 UN Genocide Convention, states and public authorities have the obligation to not only punish the perpetrators of crimes of genocide, but also to prevent such crimes;
Amendment 75 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital E a (new)
Recital E a (new)
Ea. whereas the Commission appointed on 4 May 2021, Mr Christos Stylianides as Special Envoy for the promotion of freedom of religion or belief (FoRB) outside the EU;
Amendment 105 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 4
Paragraph 4
4. Is deeply concerned about the rise over the last decade of violence against people belonging to minorities on the grounds of their belief or religion as a global phenomenon, which is intensifying and affecting more and more countries; notes that it affects many religious communities, namely Christians (including Copts), Jews, Muslims (including Ahmadis and Alevis), Buddhists, Hindus and smaller religious groups, such as Baha’is, Yazidis, Sikhs and Zoroastrians, Falun Gong practitioners, as well as groups of people who are atheists, humanists, agnostics or do not identify with any religion;
Amendment 113 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 5
Paragraph 5
5. Stresses that among believers’ groups, Christians are estimated to constitute the majority of people facing persecution for their faith; underlines that globally around 340 million Christians experience high levels of persecution and discrimination, with over 4 500 Christians killed for their faith, 4 500 churches and other Christian buildings attacked, and over 4 200 believers detained without trial, arrested, sentenced or imprisoned in 2020 alone; is alarmed about the increase in the overall level of discrimination,stresses that these are minimum figures since many incidents go unreported; is alarmed about the increase in the overall level of persecution and discrimination, which increased by 19% between 2019 and 2020; and especially about the sharp 60% increase in the number of faith-related killings compared to 2019;
Amendment 114 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 5
Paragraph 5
5. Stresses that among believers’ groups, Christians are estimated to constitute the majority of people facing persecution for their faith; underlines that globally around 340 million Christians experience high levels of persecution and discrimination, with over 4 500 Christians killed for their faith, 4 500 churches and other Christian buildings attacked, and over 4 200 believers detained without trial, arrested, sentenced or imprisoned in 2020 alone; is alarmed about the increase in the overall level of discrimination, and especially about the sharp increase in the number of killings compared to 2019, which particularly concerns cases where Christians live as numeric minorities;
Amendment 115 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 5 a (new)
Paragraph 5 a (new)
5a. Recognises the positive and enormous contribution by the millenary presence and activities of indigenous Christian communities in their respective countries in the Middle East and North Africa, including in the business communities and serving as elected public officials in government, despite the attacks they have suffered over the past years; strongly commends their efforts to promoting common social bonds, peaceful reconciliation and sustainable peace in the region;
Amendment 124 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 6
Paragraph 6
6. Is concerned about the persecution and serious human rights violations against Muslim minorities, especially in Myanmar and China where Muslim minorities have been subjected to atrocities meeting the legal definition of genocide in Article II of the UN Convention on the Prevention and Punishment of the Crime of Genocide;
Amendment 133 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 8
Paragraph 8
8. Emphasises that the perpetrators of acts of persecution include authoritarian and totalitarian regimes, governments inclined to impose the supremacy of dominant ethnic or religious populations over minorities, atheist States that consider any religion as a public enemy, terrorist organisations, political and religious extremist parties or groups, and also, sometimes, family members, friends and neighbours of victims, for instance when the latter change or abandon their religious allegiance;
Amendment 144 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 9
Paragraph 9
9. Notes with particular concern that persecution of Christians is widespread in the Middle East, at times amounting to genocide, and has prompted an exodus of Christians from the region over the past two decades, resulting in approximately 15 million Christians making up 4 % of the population in the Middle East and North Africa, down from 20 % a century ago; is alarmed by the situation in Iraq, where there were 1.5 million Christians before 2003, a number now reduced by 87% within one generation to approximately 175,000;
Amendment 152 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 10 a (new)
Paragraph 10 a (new)
10a. Notes with deep concern the situation of Christians in Iraq, whose population was reduced by approximately 85% from 1.5 million in 2003 to around 200,000 today;
Amendment 159 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 11
Paragraph 11
11. Recalls the crimes against humanity and war crimes were committed in Iraq and Syria by the so-called ‘ISIS/Daesh’ against Christians, Yazidis, Muslims and other religious and ethnic minorities in the territories under its control during the period 2014-2020; strongly condemns the numerous terror attacks against Christians in Egypt;
Amendment 168 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 13
Paragraph 13
13. Notes with particular concern that the Middle East and North Africa present the highest regional levels of anti-Semitic attitudes, and that Holocaust denial is prevalent among certain segments in society and even at state level, such as in Iran; stresses that Jewish communities are an indigenous people to the Middle East; welcomes that in some countries, notably in Morocco, Tunisia, the UAE and Bahrain, Jewish communities continue to be able to exercise their freedom of worship; welcomes the restorations of the historic Alexandria synagogue in Egypt and the Maghen Abraham synagogue in Lebanon, despite both countries almost having no Jewish community members left; welcomes, furthermore, that in certain countries, notably Morocco and Bahrain, Jewish members have served and continue to serve as elected officials;
Amendment 180 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 15
Paragraph 15
15. Deplores the fact that atheists are still persecuted in almost all of the region and that apostasy carries the death sentence in several countries; expresses its regret that freedom of worship is severely limited in some of the countries in the Middle East, with the notable example of Saudi Arabia, where public practice of any religion other than Islam is strictly prohibited; notes that according to the 2019 Arab Barometer survey, an increasing number of people in the Middle East and North Africa are identifying themselves as not religious, rising from 8% in 2013 to 13% in 2019, with a particular increase among the youth;
Amendment 192 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 16
Paragraph 16
16. Notes that persecution of religious minorities in Asia is commonplace in many countries, especially in those with communist regimes such as China, and that blasphemy laws are of particular concern, particularly in Pakistan;
Amendment 194 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 16 a (new)
Paragraph 16 a (new)
16a. Is alarmed that religious nationalism in countries such as India, Turkey, Bhutan, Malaysia, Laos, Myanmar and Nepal leads to stigmatization of Christians as allies of the West and that 2 out of 5 Christians in Asia experience persecution or discrimination for their faith; draws attention to the worsening situations in China and India in particular;
Amendment 195 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 16 a (new)
Paragraph 16 a (new)
16a. Is gravely concerned about the situation of religious minorities in China, including the situation of Christians and Falun Gong practitioners, and the Chinese government's continued suppression of the right to freedom of religion or belief;
Amendment 200 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 17
Paragraph 17
17. Deplores the crimes against Muslim communities in Asia, including the past and current human rights abuses against the Muslim Rohingya populationcrimes against humanity against the Uyghur people by the Chinese authorities, and past and current human rights abuses against the Muslim Rohingya population, which, according to the Office of the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, amount to genocide; points to the gravity of crimes perpetrated over the last years by the Russian Federation as an occupying force against Crimean Tartars;
Amendment 213 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 18
Paragraph 18
18. Is concerned about the situation of Buddhists, especially their ongoing persecution in China, which is home to half of the world's Buddhist population; takes special note of the difficult situation faced by Buddhists in Vietnam as well as the harassment of Tibetan Buddhists by the Chinese government;
Amendment 238 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 21 a (new)
Paragraph 21 a (new)
21a. Highlights the many consequences that the systematic and bloody unpunished terrorist violence and attacks have in an area populated by more than 1.1 billion people, including destitution, famine, and loss of prospects, including brain drain, for generations to come; stresses the impact of the violence and instability in the creation of favourable conditions for millions of individuals to leave their home countries and look for asylum or better life outside, providing mass movements of people to neighbouring countries or to others, falling many times in the hands of traffickers and smugglers;
Amendment 246 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 22 a (new)
Paragraph 22 a (new)
22a. Particularly underlines the alarming situation in Nigeria, where 3530 Christians were killed in 2020;
Amendment 251 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 22 a (new)
Paragraph 22 a (new)
22a. Stresses, in accordance with the 1948 UN Genocide Convention, the primary responsibility of any state to protect its population against genocide, war crimes, ethnic cleansing and crimes against humanity, including when committed against religious minorities;
Amendment 252 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 22 b (new)
Paragraph 22 b (new)
22b. Emphasises the need to work towards preventing acts of violence based on religion or belief, especially of international crimes, such as war crimes, crimes against humanity and genocide, including by way of implementing the UN Framework of Analysis for Atrocity Crimes;
Amendment 253 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 22 c (new)
Paragraph 22 c (new)
22c. Recommends the Council, the Commission, the EEAS and EU Member States to introduce mechanisms that would enable them to monitor early warning signs and risk factors of international crimes, including as per the UN Framework of Analysis for Atrocity Crimes, analyse them and make relevant determinations and provide comprehensive responses, including in accordance with the duty to prevent and punish the crime of genocide under Article I of the UN Convention on the Prevention and Punishment of the Crime of Genocide;
Amendment 259 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 23 a (new)
Paragraph 23 a (new)
23a. Stresses the need to ensure justice for survivors and families of victims, including by way of ensuring comprehensive investigations of atrocities, the prosecution of perpetrators for their crimes, and providing just reparations for survivors and families of victims;
Amendment 271 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 25
Paragraph 25
25. Is appalled by the exacerbation of persecution against religious minority groups during the COVID-19 pandemic; denounces the fact that persons belonging to religious minorities have been scapegoated, blamed for spreading the COVID-19 virus, and have been denied or faced discrimination in access to public healthcare, food or humanitarian aid, on the basis of religious or belief criteria, as for example concerning Christians in India, who were dismissed from food distribution points, or in North Vietnam, where Christian families were denied coronavirus-related government aid because of their faith;
Amendment 278 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 26 a (new)
Paragraph 26 a (new)
26a. Deplores the atrocities against religious minority women and girls, that include but are not limited to abductions, forced conversions, forced marriages, rape and sexual abuse, forced abortions and forced sterilisations;
Amendment 287 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 27
Paragraph 27
27. Condemns the use by authoritarian regimes of legislation on security, sedition and the fight against terrorism and extremism as an instrument to persecute persons belonging to religious minorities, to outlaw the practise or expression of their religion and gatherings of believers, and to deter the registration of religious associations or finding pretexts for closing churches such as in China and Algeria; calls on the Commission and European External Action Service (EEAS) to monitor carefully the implementation of such legislation, and to consistently raise this issue in bilateral dialogues with the governments concerned; urges EU Member States to reject any request by foreign authorities for judicial and police cooperation in individual judicial cases if they are based on such legislation;
Amendment 292 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 27 a (new)
Paragraph 27 a (new)
27a. Deplores the misuse of Artificial Intelligence (AI) and other highly sophisticated technical tools by totalitarian and authoritarian states to increase the level of surveillance, control and repression on minority religious communities and their members;
Amendment 300 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 28
Paragraph 28
28. Deplores the fact that more than 70 countries in the world enforce criminal laws or seek to introduce new legislation which provide for punishments for blasphemy, apostasy and conversion, including the death sentence; notes that laws already in place are used disproportionately against people belonging to religious minorities, and are thus seen, with good reason, as an instrument of oppression; calls for the EU to intensify its political dialogue with all countries concerned with a view to repeal those laws; underlines that converts leaving a majority faith often experience the most severe violations including imprisonment, forced divorce, abduction, physical violence and murder;
Amendment 317 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 29
Paragraph 29
29. Welcomes the recent appointment of Mr Christos Stylianides as the EU Special Envoy for the promotion of freedom of religion or belief; calls on the Commission to provide adequate resources and to include objectives for the fight against persecution of minorities on the grounds of belief or religion as important parts of his mandate; recommends that the Special Envoy works closely with the EU Special Representative for Human Rights and the Council Working Group on Human Rights (COHOM), and reiterates its calls on the Council and the Commission to adequately support the Special Envoy’s institutional mandate, capacity and duties;
Amendment 318 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 29
Paragraph 29
29. Welcomes the recent appointment of Mr Christos Stylianides as the EU Special Envoy for the promotion of freedom of religion or belief; calls on the Commission to include objectives for the fight against persecution of minorities on the grounds of belief or religion as important part of his mandate; recommends that the Special Envoy works closely with the EU Special Representative for Human Rights and the Council Working Group on Human Rights (COHOM), and reiterates its calls on the Council and the Commission to adequately support the Special Envoy’s institutional mandate, capacity and duties with adequate financial and human resources;
Amendment 321 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 30
Paragraph 30
30. Calls on the Council, the Commission, EEAS and EU Member States to address persecutions based on belief or religion as a priority of EU human rights foreign policy, in line with the EU action plan for human rights and democracy for 2020-2024; stresses that a multi-layered and multi-actor approach is needed to protect and promote freedom of religion or belief, encompassing human rights, conflict resolution and interfaith initiatives that involve multiple state and non-state actors; reiterates its call for a public review of the EU Guidelines on freedom of religion or belief, allowing for the assessment of their implementation and of proposals for their update; also calls for progress reports on the implementation of the Guidelines to be communicated regularly to Parliamentnotes that the EU Guidelines provide for an evaluation of their implementation by COHOM after a period of three years, and that no such evaluation has been communicated or made public; also calls for progress reports on the implementation of the Guidelines to be communicated regularly to Parliament; considers that such evaluation should highlight best practices, identify areas for improvement, and provide concrete recommendations on implementation, in accordance with a specified timeline and milestones and subject to regular annual evaluation; calls for the evaluation to be included in the EU Annual Reports on Human Rights and Democracy in the World;
Amendment 330 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 31
Paragraph 31
31. Urges the EEAS and EU Delegations to include objectives specifically related to the protection of religious minorities for all relevant situations, as part of the human rights and democracy country strategies (HRDCSs) for 2021-2024. and to consistently raise general issues and specific cases relating to the persecution of religious minorities during human rights dialogues with partner countries and during UN Human Rights sessions; reiterates its call for Members of the European Parliament to be given access to the content of HRDCSs;
Amendment 337 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 32 a (new)
Paragraph 32 a (new)
32a. Calls on the Commission to especially review the eligibility of third countries under the generalized scheme of preferences in this regard; advocates a system that gradually grants preferences to a country based on its compliance to human rights commitments, in order to better be able to provide incentives and sanctions;
Amendment 343 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 33
Paragraph 33
33. Recommends strengthening EU multilateral engagement with like-minded states and other actors with a view to promoting and mainstreaming the respect for religious minorities in human rights policies everywhere in the world; calls for the EU and EU Member States to enhance cooperation with the UN, the Council of Europe and the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE), to intensify its dialogues with the African Union and the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation, and to forge alliances with third countries, like the International Religious Freedom or Belief Alliance, in order to provide international responses to human rights issues faced by religious minorities, in particular those who are most vulnerable or targeted in conflict areas; also recommends that the EU continue to be the lead sponsor of resolutions on freedom of thought, conscience, religion or belief in the UN General Assembly and the UN Human Rights Council;
Amendment 344 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 33 a (new)
Paragraph 33 a (new)
33a. Recommends the EU to intensify its open and constructive dialogues with the African Union and the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation on the rights of religious minorities and the need to fully respect their fundamental rights to freedom of thought, conscience and religion in all its dimensions, including private, public, individual, collective and institutional, as well as the right not to believe;
Amendment 346 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 33 a (new)
Paragraph 33 a (new)
33a. Calls on the Council, the Commission and EU Member States to start the procedure to declare and officially designate the 24th of June as the annual European Day on Freedom of Religion or Belief, in order to show true commitment to promoting and protecting Freedom of Religion or Belief, in commemorating the victims of acts of violence based on religion or belief; believes that the 24th of June would be appropriate for such an EU-day, as this date marks the anniversary of the EU Guidelines on the promotion and protection of freedom of religion or belief in 2013;
Amendment 347 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 33 a (new)
Paragraph 33 a (new)
33a. Calls on the European Commission and other EU institutions to establish the 24th of June as the EU Day on Freedom of Religion and Belief;