Activities of Maria ARENA related to 2019/2125(INI)
Plenary speeches (1)
Annual report 2018 on the human rights and democracy in the world and the European Union's policy on the matter (debate)
Amendments (28)
Amendment 9 #
Motion for a resolution
Citation 8 a (new)
Citation 8 a (new)
– having regard to the EU Guidelines to promote and protect the enjoyment of all human rights by lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and intersex (LGBTI) persons, adopted on 24 June 2013,
Amendment 66 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital C
Recital C
C. whereas the EU, through continuous actions at bilateral and multilateral level, contributed to advancing human rights in 2018, in particular by strengthening the political dialogue with non-EU countries, and by establishing new international agreements, inter alia trade and economic partnershipsother regional institutions such as the African Union;
Amendment 85 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital E a (new)
Recital E a (new)
Ea. whereas the protection of the human rights of groups in the most vulnerable situations, such as ethnic, linguistic and religious minorities, people with disabilities, the LGBTI community, women, children, asylum seekers and migrants, deserves special attention;
Amendment 108 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 3
Paragraph 3
3. Highlights the scourge of armed conflicts, which continues to claim civilian lives and causes mass displacement, with states and non-state actors seemingly abdicating their responsibility to abide by international humanitarian law and international human rights law; stresses that regions at war or in conflict situations face grave human rights violations, exceptional in nature and aimed at denying human dignity, which are both devastating for victims and degrading for perpetrators; highlights, as an example, the use of torture and other cruel, inhuman and degrading treatments; enforced disappearances, extra judicial killings and sexual violence as a weapon of war to destroy, destabilise, and demoralise individuals, families, communities and societies;
Amendment 130 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 5 a (new)
Paragraph 5 a (new)
5a. Expresses deep concern that the EU and certain Member States continue to pursue business, military, anti- terrorism and migration interests over human rights and democracy concern; is deeply concerned about the use of repressive cybersecurity and counter- terrorism legislation to crack down on human rights defenders;
Amendment 146 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 7
Paragraph 7
7. Stresses that respecting and promoting the rights of the child, fighting against all manifestations of abuse, neglect, mistreatment, the trafficking and exploitation of children, including the use of child soldiers in armed conflict, and providing children with care and education are crucial to the future of humanity;
Amendment 187 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 12 a (new)
Paragraph 12 a (new)
12a. Underscores the importance of human rights to be promoted and mainstreamed across all external policy of the EU; takes note of the works on such important issues being currently carried out under the status of a subcommittee in Parliament; reiterates its call to upgrade this into a full committee;
Amendment 191 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 12 a (new)
Paragraph 12 a (new)
12a. Calls on the Commission and EU Member States to adopt a new ambitious, comprehensive and binding Action Plan on Human Rights and Democracy for the next five years; its implementation and impact should be assessed through a strong monitoring mechanism;
Amendment 193 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 12 a (new)
Paragraph 12 a (new)
12a. Strongly recommends that the Commission enhances its engagement with Parliament's Subcommittee on Human Rights to enable it to contribute actively to the upcoming EU Action Plan on Human Rights and Democracy;
Amendment 194 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 12 b (new)
Paragraph 12 b (new)
12b. Calls on the EEAS and the Commission to inform, consult and work closely with Parliament's Subcommittee on Human Rights, when revising and/or adopting EU policy documents for the conduct and monitoring of EU human rights foreign policy;
Amendment 197 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 13
Paragraph 13
13. Highlights that trade policies and human rights must reinforce each other, and that the business community has an important role to play in offering positive incentives in terms of promoting human rights, democracy and corporate responsibilityEU and its Member States must regulate the business community in order to prevent any kind of corporate human rights abuses outside the EU; reminds the Commission and the European External Action Service (EEAS) of the need to make effective use of human rights clauses within international agreements, based on political dialogue, the regular assessment of progress and recourse to the consultation procedure upon request from a party; requests that robust implementation and monitoring mechanisms of human rights clauses be put in place, involving Parliament, local civil society and relevant international organisations, as well as establishing an effective and independent complaints mechanism for groups of citizens and stakeholders who are affected by human rights violationtrade and investments agreements or abuses;
Amendment 212 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 14 a (new)
Paragraph 14 a (new)
14a. Strongly encourages the EU to consistently address discrimination making best use of the EU human rights toolbox, including dialogues and condemnations, support to civil society and joint initiatives at UN level, in line with EU newly adopted Guidelines on non-discrimination in external action and UN Guidance tool on descent based discrimination published in 2017;
Amendment 234 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 17
Paragraph 17
17. Stresses the link between the increase in human rights violations and widespread impunity and the lack of accountability in regions and countries devastated by conflicts or marked by politically motivated intimidation, discrimination, harassment and assault, abduction, violent policing, arbitrary arrests and cases of torturerbitrary arrests, cases of torture and killings; calls to support actions aimed at combating impunity and promote accountability especially in those regions where the dynamics of impunity reward those who bear the greatest responsibility and disempower victims;
Amendment 237 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 17
Paragraph 17
17. Stresses the link between the increase in human rights violations and widespread impunity and the lack of accountability in regions and countries devastated by conflicts or marked by politically motivated intimidation, discrimination, harassment and assault, abduction, violent policing, arbitrary arrests and cases of torture; stresses also that in conflicts, minorities and marginalised groups are often particularly severely impacted;
Amendment 253 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 18 a (new)
Paragraph 18 a (new)
18a. Strongly believes that the impunity challenge has clearly emerged as a central issue and calls therefore on the EEAS and the Commission to include an ambitious strategy on that respect within the 3rd EU Action Plan on Human Rights and Democracy; in that spirit, highly recommends the setting up of an European Observatory on Prevention, accountability, and combating impunity that would serve the purpose of connecting existing accountability mechanisms (e.g. EU early warning systems, preventing genocide, implementing the Responsibility to Protect, accountability processes and post- conflict transitional justices), following- up of the resolutions of Parliament on cases of breaches of human rights, democracy and the rule of law (known as urgency resolutions, in accordance with Rule 144, formerly Rule 135, of its Rules of Procedure), raising awareness about unreported situations and human rights violations, including the most sensitive issues (e.g. extrajudicial killings and enforced disappearances), bridging the gap between mechanisms and victims, and contributing to implement Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) 16 on peace, justice and strong institutions and further raise the profile and visibility of the EU engagement on this matter;
Amendment 258 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 18 b (new)
Paragraph 18 b (new)
18b. Recalls that in 2018 the EU supported the resolution on Yemen which denounces the responsibilities of the humanitarian crisis of both Houthi forces and the coalition led by Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates (UAE) particularly in the casualties of hundreds of children in the take of the city of Hodeidah; urges the EU Member States to refrain from selling arms and any military equipment to Saudi Arabia, the UAE and any member of the international coalition, as well as to the Yemeni Government and other parties to the conflict;
Amendment 274 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 20
Paragraph 20
20. Stresses the invaluable and essential role that HRDs play at the risk of their lives, in particular women’s human rights defenders; recommends strengthening cooperation between the EU institutions and the Member States, enabling them to provide continuous support to HRDs; values the ‘ProtectDefenders.eu’ mechanism established to protect HRDs at grave risk; calls on the Council and the Commission to establish a specific coordinated procedure for awarding visas to HRDs; calls on the Commission to make full use of the financial capacand Member States to ensure sufficient funding for the protection of HRDs in the relevant Thematic Programmes of the next NDICI and to ensure its accessibility ofby the European Instrument for Democracy and Human Rights (EIDHR) to support HRDsose most in need who are the most marginalised; calls on the Commission to make full use of this instrument in the future;
Amendment 292 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 20 e (new)
Paragraph 20 e (new)
20e. Highlights that 2018 marked the 20th anniversary of the UN declaration on Human Rights Defenders; welcomes the first ever European Parliament Human Rights Week, which offered a platform for an exchange with HRDs; encourages the EU institutions to retain this practice on a regular basis;
Amendment 298 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 21
Paragraph 21
21. Strongly supports the EU’s strategic engagement for gender equality and its ongoing efforts to improve the human rights situation of women and girls, in line with the 2030 SDGs; calls on the European Commission to prepare and adopt a communication to renew the Gender Action Plan after 2020, as an important EU tool to contribute to women and girls’ rights worldwide; calls on Member States to endorse the Gender Action Plan III in Council conclusions; calls on the Commission and the EEAS to further contribute to gender equality and girls’ and women’s empowerment by working closely with international organisations and non-EU countries, in order to develop and implement new legal frameworks regarding gender equality, and to eradicate harmful practices targeted at women and girls, such as child marriage and female genital mutilation;
Amendment 349 #
Motion for a resolution
Subheading 8 a (new)
Subheading 8 a (new)
Rights of lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and intersex (LGBTI) persons
Amendment 358 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 22 a (new)
Paragraph 22 a (new)
22a. Strongly supports the Commission List of actions to advance LGBTI equality and the Guidelines to promote and protect the enjoyment of all human rights by lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and intersex persons for external action from 2013, as important elements of the EU’s ongoing efforts to improve the human rights of LGBTI people, in line with the 2030 Sustainable Development Goals; calls on the Commission/EEAS to continue the work on protecting and furthering the human rights of LGBTI people, by working closely with international organisations and non-EU countries, in order to combat discrimination and human rights violations, as well as support the development of legislation and policies protecting the human rights of LGBTI people worldwide;
Amendment 385 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 24
Paragraph 24
24. Urges the Commission, the EEAS and the Member States to step up advocacy in relation to FoRB, and to launch interreligiousa dialogue with statchurches and representaligious communitives of civil society and faith groupand associations as well as philosophical and non-confessional organisations in order to prevent all acts of violence and discrimination against persons on the groundstargeting freedom of thought, conscience, religion or belief; calls for the EU to continue to forge alliances and to enhance cooperation with a broad range of countries and regional organisations, in order to deliver positive change in relation to FoRB; reminds the Council and Commission of the need to adequately support the institutional mandate,support, in continuous consultation with religious and philosophical organisations, the capacity and duties of the Special Envoy for the promotion of FoRB outside the EU;
Amendment 417 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 25
Paragraph 25
25. Reaffirms that the activities of all companies, whether operating domestically or across borders, must be in full compliance with international human rights standards; stresses the need to establish an binding instrument to regulate, in international human rights law, the activities of transnational corporations, and other companies; reminds all countries to implement the UN Guiding Principles on Business and Human Rights (UNGPs), and calls on those EU Member States that have not yet adopted National Action Plans on Business Rights to do so as early as possible;
Amendment 427 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 25 a (new)
Paragraph 25 a (new)
25a. Calls on the European Investment Bank and the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development to ensure that promoters fully comply with their stakeholder engagement responsibilities so that meaningful public participation and consultation takes place in planning, appraisal and monitoring processes, and reinforce their monitoring over all the projects it finances, to integrate such costs in the planning of their operations from the beginning of the project cycle, and to include sanctions into client contracts in case of non- compliance or non-respect of such safeguards; calls on the EU to monitor more closely EU funded activities through EIB and EBRD for compliance with human rights and ensure full accountability for violations;
Amendment 432 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 26
Paragraph 26
26. Takes positive note of the GSP+ preference system as a means of stimulating the effective implementation of the 27 core international conventions on human rights and labour standards; acknowledges that global value chains contribute to enhancing international core labour, environmental and social standards, and represent an opportunity in terms of sustainable progress, particularly in developing countrienotes that strengthened and effective monitoring mechanisms could reinforce the leverage potential of trade preference schemes in response to human rights violations; takes the opportunity of the revision of the regulation to better assess the impacts of GSP on human rights and to enhance the link between the granting of trade preference and human rights violations occurring in specific sectors or in parts of supply chains;
Amendment 444 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 27 a (new)
Paragraph 27 a (new)
27a. Calls on the EU and EU Member States to ensure full due human rights diligence and proper vetting of exports of European surveillance technology and technical assistance; calls on the EU and Member States to engage with third country governments to end repressive cybersecurity and counter-terrorism legislation practices and legislation;
Amendment 458 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 28
Paragraph 28
28. Stresses the urgent need to tackle the root causes of migration flows such as wars, conflicts, persecution, networks of illegal migration, trafficking, smuggling and climate change; calls for the external dimension of the refugeeasylum crisis to be addressed, including by finding sustainable solutions to conflicts through building cooperation and partnerships with the third countries concerned; insists that the implementation of the Global Compacts on migration and refugees must therefore go hand in hand with the implementation of the UN’s 2030 Agenda as set out in the Strategic Development Goals, as well as with increased investment in developing countries;
Amendment 462 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 28 a (new)
Paragraph 28 a (new)
28a. Stresses that core international human rights treaties recognise the rights of all human beings, including migrants and refugees, regardless of their legal status, and obligate states to uphold them, including the fundamental principle of non-refoulement; urges Member States and the EU to ensure the respect of human rights in migration management; urges the Commission to develop a human rights-based approach of migration and refine the EU tools in order to ban and discourage prosecution against individuals and civil society organisations assisting migrants for humanitarian reasons;