Activities of Bodil VALERO related to 2015/0302M(NLE)
Shadow reports (1)
REPORT containing a motion for a non-legislative resolution on the draft Council decision on the conclusion, on behalf of the Union, of the Cooperation Agreement on Partnership and Development between the European Union and its Member States, of the one part, and the Islamic Republic of Afghanistan, of the other part PDF (245 KB) DOC (90 KB)
Amendments (40)
Amendment 1 #
Motion for a resolution
Citation 8
Citation 8
– having regard to the Council conclusions of 19 November 2018 and of 16 October 2017 on Afghanistan,
Amendment 3 #
Motion for a resolution
Citation 12 a (new)
Citation 12 a (new)
– having regard to the report of the UN Special Rapporteur on the human rights of internally displaced persons of 12 April 2017 on his mission to Afghanistan,
Amendment 5 #
Motion for a resolution
Citation 12 b (new)
Citation 12 b (new)
– having regard to the request of the ICC Chief Prosecutor Fatou Bensouda of 3 November 2017 to start an investigation on the war crimes and crimes against humanity allegedly committed in Afghanistan since May 2003,
Amendment 6 #
Motion for a resolution
Citation 12 c (new)
Citation 12 c (new)
– having regard to the UN convention on the rights of children,
Amendment 9 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital A
Recital A
A. whereas on 10 November 2011, the Council adopted a decision authorising the European Commission to negotiate a CAPD between the European Union and the Islamic Republic of Afghanistan13 ; whereas the CAPD has been provisionally applied since 1 December 2017, before the European Parliament gave its consent to it; __________________ 13 Council Decisions of 10 November 2011 (16146/11 and 16147/11).
Amendment 14 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital C
Recital C
C. whereas Afghanistan is at a crucial point, meaning that if further efforts are not taken, then all of the effort, progress, and sacrifice so far put into the development of Afghanistan will be losteeded to achieve peace, sustainable development and the respect of human rights and rule of law; whereas according to the United Nations, the number of civilians killed in 2018 has been the highest since 2014;
Amendment 21 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital C a (new)
Recital C a (new)
Ca. whereas according to the UN, corruption in Afghanistan undermines the legitimacy of the state, posing a serious threat to good governance and sustainable development by preventing ‘a real economy from emerging’;
Amendment 23 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital C a (new)
Recital C a (new)
Ca. whereas according to the Global Adaptation Index Afghanistan is one of the world’s most vulnerable countries to climate change;
Amendment 27 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital C c (new)
Recital C c (new)
Cc. whereas according to the European Asylum Support Office only one of the thirty-three provinces of Afghanistan is completely spared from armed conflicts;
Amendment 28 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital C d (new)
Recital C d (new)
Cd. whereas more than 450 000 Afghan people have returned or been deported from Iran since the start of 2018; whereas the Government of Pakistan has announced that the 1.7 million Afghan refugees registered in the country will need to forcibly return to Afghanistan; whereas the United Nations High Commission for Refugees has expressed its concerns about the compulsory repatriation of refugees, which violates the international law principle of non-refoulement;
Amendment 30 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital C e (new)
Recital C e (new)
Ce. whereas there are more than two million internally displaced persons in Afghanistan as a result of the conflict; whereas according to OCHA, more than 301 000 individuals have been internally displaced in 2018 in Afghanistan due to the ongoing conflict in the country; whereas many of these individuals suffer from food insecurity, inadequate shelter, insufficient access to sanitation and health facilities and lack of protection;
Amendment 32 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital C f (new)
Recital C f (new)
Cf. whereas many children and young people have been forcibly sent back to Afghanistan, where they are at a particular vulnerable situation and at risk of being subject to sexual abuse, child labour or potential recruitment from Talibans and other criminal groups;
Amendment 35 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital C g (new)
Recital C g (new)
Cg. whereas an estimated 87% of Afghan women suffer from gender- related violence; whereas Afghanistan ranks 154 out of 159 countries on the UN Gender Inequality Index;
Amendment 36 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital C h (new)
Recital C h (new)
Ch. whereas in 2017 opium cultivation in Afghanistan reached a record high, with a 63% increase in comparison with 2016; whereas illicit trafficking of opiates further fuels instability, insurgency and increases funding to terrorist groups in Afghanistan;
Amendment 53 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 1
Paragraph 1
1. Remains committed to supporting the Afghan Government in its efforts to build a secure and stable future for the people of Afghanistan by undertaking key reforms in order to further improve governance and the rule of law, to build legitimate, democratic institutions, to promotensure the respect of human rights, including women’s rights, to fight corruption, to counter narcotics, to improve fiscal sustainability and to foster inclusive and sustainable economic growth;
Amendment 58 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 2
Paragraph 2
2. Underscores that the long-term development of Afghanistan will depend on good governance, accountability of governance, the sustainable provision of human security and the achievement of human development, the protection of fundamental freedoms and human rights, and the creation by the country’s government of an environment that enables further sustainable foreign investment; stresses the need to conserve and manage in a sustainable manner natural resources and biological diversity;
Amendment 85 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 5
Paragraph 5
5. Recognises that support and positive co-operation from neighbouring countries and regional powers, in particular China, Iran, India, Russia and Pakistan, are essential to the stabilisation and development of Afghanistan; regrets that a stable and successful Afghanistan is not always thestresses that peace and stability in Afghanistan should be an end goal for these regional actors;
Amendment 94 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 7
Paragraph 7
7. Urges the EU to increase its efforts at pressuringnd work together with regional partners to combat drug trafficking, money laundering, terrorist financing and human smuggling;
Amendment 110 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 9
Paragraph 9
9. Emphasises the EU’s continued support for the Afghan-led and Afghan- owned peace process; calls on the Taliban to denounce violence and join the peace process; recognises that a military presence will be required in the long term in order to assist the Afghan security forces in the suppression of violent extremists or terrorist groups that refuse to join the peace process;
Amendment 125 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 10
Paragraph 10
10. Further encourages NATO’s Resolute Support mission to continue its training of the Afghan army with the objective of increasing democratic and civiliand oversight ofand the Afghan army; encourages the Member States to offer civilian crisis management trainingrespect for international human rights law and international humanitarian law; encourages the Member States to offer capacity building in the areas of rule of law and security sector reform to the national and local governments of Afghanistan;
Amendment 130 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 10 a (new)
Paragraph 10 a (new)
10a. Stresses that in the future conflict prevention and addressing security challenges as well as the need of reconciliation, mediation and dialogue initiatives will make it necessary to significantly increase funds available for such initiatives, mainly through the use of the IcSP;
Amendment 133 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 10 b (new)
Paragraph 10 b (new)
10b. Calls on the Government of Afghanistan to fully implement the UN Security Council Resolutions on Women, Peace and Security, and to ensure women´s participation, protection and rights across the conflict cycle, from conflict prevention to post-conflict reconstruction;
Amendment 139 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 11
Paragraph 11
11. EncouragesStresses the need for the Government of Afghanistan and the international community to step up efforts to stamp out corruption in the country and calls on the Afghan Government to enhance national capacity to recover stolen assets through programmes such as the Stolen Asset Recovery Initiative run by the World Bank Group and the UN Office on Drugs and Crime;
Amendment 145 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 12
Paragraph 12
12. Calls for the EU to continue its phasing-out plan following the closure of the EUPOL mission, which includes ensuring a sustainable transition of activities to EUPOL’s local and international partners; urges all parties to continue their efforts to strengthen all law enforcement institutions, with a particular focus on the judicial and penitential systemindependence of the judicial system and on improving the state of Afghan prisons as well as respecting the rights of inmates;
Amendment 154 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 14 a (new)
Paragraph 14 a (new)
14a. Calls on the EU to ensure that EU funds are invested in projects that help the Afghan population and that adequate support is provided to municipalities in their provision of essential services and in building local governance, so as to ensure basic living standards for the population; to ensure coordination between central authorities and local municipalities in order to identify the priorities to invest in; to enhance support to civil society, notably human rights defenders; in particular, to prioritize funding for projects that support actors promoting accountability, human rights and democratic principles and that foster locally embedded dialogue and conflict-resolution mechanisms;
Amendment 157 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 14 b (new)
Paragraph 14 b (new)
14b. Supports the efforts of the ICC to ensure accountability for the war crimes and crimes against humanity allegedly committed since May 2003;
Amendment 159 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 15
Paragraph 15
15. Recalls that the EU is particularly focused on improving the conditions of women, children, poor and disabled persons and people living in poverty, and that these groups are in special need of assistance, including in the areas of health and education;
Amendment 163 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 16
Paragraph 16
16. Welcomes the fact that the EU- Afghanistan CAPD proposes dialogues on human rights issues, including the rights of women and childrenchildren; welcomes the inclusion of gender equality in the CAPD, in particular the focus on women´s access to resources and their full exercise of their fundamental rights; stresses the need to recruit more women as part of Afghanistan's security and judicial systems;
Amendment 168 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 16 a (new)
Paragraph 16 a (new)
16a. Calls on the Afghan authorities to prioritise gender equality and the eradication of all violence and discrimination against women and girls, where important challenges remain, particularly in the field of implementation;
Amendment 169 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 17
Paragraph 17
17. Insists that the EU maintain a strong stance on implementing human rights and that it take punitivestresses that respect for democratic principles, human rights and rule of law are essential elements of the agreement; insists that the EU should take specific measures such as revoking funds if the Government of Afghanistan violates the essential elements of the agreement or if it backtracks on its commitments to human rights in any agreement with the Taliban or any other organisation or government;
Amendment 172 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 17 a (new)
Paragraph 17 a (new)
17a. Regrets the systematic discrimination of minority groups, including the Hazars, and condemns the increasing violence they have suffered during the last years;
Amendment 175 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 17 b (new)
Paragraph 17 b (new)
17b. Calls on the Afghan government to introduce an immediate moratorium on the use of the death penalty as a step towards abolition;
Amendment 185 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 18
Paragraph 18
18. Recognises that the end goal of EU aid to Afghanistan is to help the country’s government and economy develop to a state of independence and growth with internal development and through external trade and investment, as opposed to a reliance on aid that supports the state over the people; stresses that trade and investment should contribute to the social, economic and environmental development of Afghanistan;
Amendment 193 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 19
Paragraph 19
19. Welcomes Afghanistan’s accession to the World Trade Organization (WTO) in 2016 and recognises the added value that trade and foreign direct investment willcould bring to Afghanistan’s future; recognises the positive role that WTO membership could have on the integration of Afghanistan into the world economy;
Amendment 195 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 19 a (new)
Paragraph 19 a (new)
19a. Stresses that Afghan authorities should develop a sustainable economic model with the principle of redistribution at its core; calls on the EU to support Afghanistan in its environmental development and energy transition, since provisions for clean and sustainable energy are essential to accelerate the implementation of the Sustainable Development Goals;
Amendment 200 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 19 b (new)
Paragraph 19 b (new)
19b. Regrets the fact that despite the important injections of foreign aid the impact has been limited; invites the Court of Auditors to draw up a special report on the effectiveness of EU assistance to Afghanistan over the last decade;
Amendment 209 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 21 a (new)
Paragraph 21 a (new)
21a. Regrets the strong focus in the Agreement on the prevention of irregular migration, especially article 28.4, which imposes the obligation to conclude a readmission agreement when one of the parties requests to do so; opposes the Joint Way Forward on migration issues, which contains arrangements on readmission that have not been subject to the EP´s consent; deeply deplores that returns from EU Member States are continuing despite a highly unstable security situation and serious reintegration challenges and urges them to immediately halt returns to Afghanistan;
Amendment 212 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 21 b (new)
Paragraph 21 b (new)
21b. Strongly deplores that EU Member States have not put in place sufficient preventive measures to ensure that people who have forcibly returned to Afghanistan, including children and young people, have not been subject to violence or coercion throughout the return procedures;
Amendment 215 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 21 c (new)
Paragraph 21 c (new)
21c. Stresses that the main focus of action against narcotics should be on supporting income alternatives for farmers; highlights the need for a broader strategy in relation to sustainable rural development and water management;
Amendment 226 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 23 a (new)
Paragraph 23 a (new)
23a. Calls on the High Representative for Foreign and Security Policy and the European Commission to evaluate all EU measures in Afghanistan on a regular basis by using explicit qualitative and quantitative indicators especially with regard to development aid, good governance, including the justice sector, respect for human rights and security; calls in this context also for an evaluation of the relative impact of EU measures on the overall situation in the country and the level of coordination and cooperation between EU actors and other international missions and measures, to publish the findings and recommendations and to report back to the European Parliament;