Activities of Miapetra KUMPULA-NATRI related to 2020/0157M(NLE)
Shadow reports (1)
REPORT containing a motion for a non-legislative resolution on the draft Council decision on the conclusion of the Voluntary Partnership Agreement between the European Union and the Republic of Honduras on forest law enforcement, governance and trade in timber products to the European Union
Amendments (19)
Amendment 3 #
Motion for a resolution
Citation 17 a (new)
Citation 17 a (new)
- having regard to the declaration by the High Representative on behalf of the EU on the extension of the mandate of the Mission to Support the Fight Against Corruption and Impunity in Honduras (MACCIH) of 6 December 2019;
Amendment 5 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital A
Recital A
A. whereas almost half of the land area in Honduras is covered by forests, half of which is tropical rainforest; whereas Honduras has lost about 12.5 % of its forest area since 2015 due mainly to climate change,a pest infestation, most likely caused by climate change, while some forest area has been lost due to forest fires, deforestation and illegal logging, and suffered a pest infestation in 2016;
Amendment 9 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital C
Recital C
C. whereas the share of the forest sector in Honduras’ economy has decreased over the years owing to stricter requirements on the legality of timber in Honduras’ export markets and to forest destruction; whereas the Voluntary Partnership Agreement (VPA) process, which emphasises legality and good governance, is helping the forest sector to increase its share, provide quality rural jobs and generate income for Hondurans;
Amendment 12 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital E
Recital E
E. whereas Honduras is a lower middle-income country where poverty, inequality, corruption, violence and impunity remain persistent concerns; whereas the EU and its Member States had called the Honduran government to renew the mandate of the Mission to Support the Fight Against Corruption and Impunity in Honduras (MACCIH) for the strengthening of the rule of law in the country;
Amendment 17 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital F
Recital F
F. whereas in 2013, Honduras became the first Latin American country to start negotiations with the EU on a FLEGT VPA, resulting in the initialling of a draft agreement in 2018; whereas Honduras shall ensure that the implementation and monitoring of this agreement involves the relevant stakeholders, irrespective of their gender, age, location, religion or beliefs, ethnic origin, race, language, disability or any other condition, so fostering the participation of the private sector, civil society, local communities, Indigenous and Afro-descendant peoples of Honduras and others dependent on forests1a. _________________ 1a Article 16 of the EU-Honduras FLEGT VPA.
Amendment 23 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital J
Recital J
J. whereas the purpose and expected benefits of FLEGT VPAs go beyond the facilitation of trade in legal timber, as they are also designed to bring about systemic changes in forest governance, law enforcement, transparency, enforcement of labour law, rights of indigenous peoples and the inclusion of various stakeholders in the political decision- making process;
Amendment 26 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital K a (new)
Recital K a (new)
K a. whereas Honduras is not signatory to the Escazú Regional Agreement on Access to Information, Public Participation and Justice in Environmental Matters in Latin America and the Caribbean; whereas it is the only binding agreement stemming from the United Nations Conference on Sustainable Development (Rio+20), the first regional environmental agreement of Latin America and the Caribbean and the first in the world containing specific provisions on environmental human rights defenders: whereas the Agreement will enter into force on 22 April 2021; whereas Honduras holds the highest per capita rate of murder for environmental defenders;
Amendment 28 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital K b (new)
Recital K b (new)
K b. whereas one in four Honduran women has been pregnant at least once before the age of 19; whereas gender equality and the empowerment of all women and girls is not only one of the SDGs but is also critical to achieving all 17 of the goals; whereas reproductive rights are human rights, and gender equality, which depends on women’s ability to fully exercise them, is key to sustainable development;
Amendment 30 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital K c (new)
Recital K c (new)
K c. whereas Honduras has ratified the ILO convention 169 on Indigenous and Tribal Peoples Convention, but has not fully implemented it and has not introduced in its legislation the key principle of Free, Prior and Informed Consent (FPIC) that derives from the UN Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples;
Amendment 41 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 4
Paragraph 4
4. Stresses that the implementation stage requires continued consultations and stakeholder involvement; calls on the Commission and, the EU Delegation in Honduras and Member States to provide sufficient capacity- building and logistical and technical support in the framework of present and future development cooperation instruments in order to enable Honduras to fulfil the commitments for the implementation of its TLAS and related measures;
Amendment 47 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 6
Paragraph 6
6. Stresses that the success of the FLEGT also depends on tackling fraud and corruption throughout the timber supply chain; urges the Government of Honduras to work to stop widespread corruption and address other factors fuelling illegal logging and forest degradation, with particular regard to customs and other authorities, such as the Honduras Forest Authority and the ministries dealing with forests and land rights, that will play a pivotal role in the implementation and enforcement of the VPA; stresses the need to end impunity in the forest sector by ensuring that infractions are prosecuted;
Amendment 49 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 7
Paragraph 7
7. Urges the Government of Honduras to renew the mandate for the Mission to Support the Fight against Corruption and Impunity in Honduras (MACCIH), which ended in January 2020, and to sign the Escazú RegionalAgreement on Access to Information, Public Participation and Justice in Environmental Matters, as this will be critical for raising the level of protection for environmental human rights defenders;
Amendment 51 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 8
Paragraph 8
8. Welcomes the fact that Honduras is the first VPA country that had indigenous peoples as a separate interest group at the negotiating table, and the brave participation of indigenous peoples’ groups, with their particular insights and contributions; calls for the rapid inclusion of free, prior and informed consent (FPIC) in the legality definition and for the adoption of the relevant laws in Hondurasregrets that the relevant laws in Honduras have not been adopted despite the calls of the EU over several years to do so; expects Honduras to make continued and sustained efforts to pass the FPIC legislation in such a form that it meets all the requirements of ILO convention 169;
Amendment 55 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 10
Paragraph 10
10. Is aware of the fact that the crucial property rights and land tenure rights in Honduras need futurimmediate clarification and; stresses that concrete safeguards for local and indigenous communities on land tenure are neededare key in this process; underlines that particular attention should be put on quantitative and qualitative gender-disaggregated analysis of land tenure, ownership of assets and financial inclusion in sectors that have been impacted by trade; calls on the Commission and the Member States to assist in this endeavour with technical and human resources; notes in this respect the crucial importance of Honduras adopting and enforcing the FPIC legislation;
Amendment 63 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 13
Paragraph 13
13. Calls for gender analysis to be mainstreamed into all activities and projects linked to the implementation of the FLEGT VPA; calls for sufficient and adequate gender disaggregated data on the impact of trade to be collected; calls on the EU and its Member States to include ex-ante and ex-post gender sensitive impact assessments and recalls this should be accompanied by measures to prevent or compensate possible negative effects;
Amendment 65 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 14
Paragraph 14
14. Asks the Commission to report to Parliament regularly on the implementation of the agreement, including on the work of the Joint Implementation Committee, and invites the Commission to actively engage with the European Parliament regarding its participation in this committee;
Amendment 75 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 17 a (new)
Paragraph 17 a (new)
17 a. Expresses its deep concern on the amendment of the abortion law in Honduras and in some EU Member States;
Amendment 76 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 17 b (new)
Paragraph 17 b (new)
17 b. Stresses the need to complement the VPA with both a horizontal, and a forest-risk commodity specific EU due diligence regulation; notes the importance of Honduras as a globally significant producer of coffee;
Amendment 77 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 17 c (new)
Paragraph 17 c (new)
17 c. Welcomes that the legality definition includes the requirement on operators to abide by Honduras’ labour legislation; sees the VPA as a tool to promote decent work; calls on the Commission and Member States to initiate development cooperation projects for the promotion of decent work, including with the ILO;