Activities of Soraya POST related to 2014/2254(INI)
Plenary speeches (1)
Situation of fundamental rights in the EU (2013-2014) (debate) SV
Amendments (74)
Amendment 15 #
Motion for a resolution
Citation 11 a (new)
Citation 11 a (new)
– having regard to the Council Directive 2000/43/EC of June 2000 implementing the principle of equal treatment between persons irrespective of racial or ethnic origin,
Amendment 18 #
Motion for a resolution
Citation 11 b (new)
Citation 11 b (new)
– having regard to the Council Directive 2000/789/EC of 27 November 2000 establishing a general framework for equal treatment in employment and occupation,
Amendment 25 #
Motion for a resolution
Citation 12 b (new)
Citation 12 b (new)
– having regard to the Guidelines to promote and protect the enjoyment of all human rights by lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and intersex (LGBTI) persons, adopted by the Foreign Affairs Council of 24 June 2013,
Amendment 46 #
Motion for a resolution
Citation 20 a (new)
Citation 20 a (new)
– having regard to the package of directives on Procedural Defence Rights in the EU,
Amendment 67 #
Motion for a resolution
Citation 27 a (new)
Citation 27 a (new)
– recalling the Principles relating to the status of National Institutions for the Promotion and Protection of Human Rights (the 'Paris Principles'), annexed to UN General Assembly Resolution 48/134
Amendment 83 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital A a (new)
Recital A a (new)
Aa. whereas, the rule of law is the backbone of European liberal democracy, and is one of the founding principles of the European Union stemming from the common constitutional traditions of all Member States;
Amendment 86 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital A b (new)
Recital A b (new)
Ab. whereas respecting the rule of law is a prerequisite for the protection of fundamental rights and is of particular importance within the EU since it is also a prerequisite for upholding all rights and obligations deriving from the Treaties and from international law.
Amendment 92 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital B
Recital B
B. whereas the way the rule of law is implemented at national level plays a key role in ensuring mutual trust among Member States and their legal systems, hence it is of vital importance to establishing an area of freedom, security and justice as described in Title V of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union (TFEU) requires the EU and each Member State to uphold fundamental rights in full;
Amendment 103 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital C
Recital C
C. whereas the EU is undergoing a period of economic and financial crisis, and whereas the response of the EU and the Member States has seriously compromised the wellbeing of citizens and their fundamental right, including children and young people and the respect of their fundamental rights, and further increased the socio-economic exclusion of citizens in several countries;
Amendment 137 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital G
Recital G
G. whereas many fundamental rights violations still occur in the EU and in Member States, as pointed out in reports by the Commission, the FRA, NGOs, the Council of Europe and the UN; such as the violations of the right to freedom of assembly and expression of civil society organisations, freedom of media, the institutional discrimination of LGBTI persons through marriage bans and anti- propaganda legislation, and the remaining high-levels of discrimination and hate crime and hate speech motivated by racism, xenophobia, religious intolerance, or by bias against a person's disability, sexual orientation or gender identity;
Amendment 143 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital G a (new)
Recital G a (new)
Ga. whereas specific human rights guidelines have been developed in external policies of the EU, this has not been the case in its internal policies, which could lead to allegations of double standards;
Amendment 168 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 1
Paragraph 1
1. Notes that it is essential to guarantee that the common European values listed in Article 2 TEU are upheld in full in both European and national legislation, public policies and their implementation;
Amendment 200 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 4 – point a
Paragraph 4 – point a
(a) make provision for an annual policy cycle that monitors its application, taking account of the results of annual and specific reports from the various parties involved, instituinstitutions of the European Union, like the Commission and FRA, the Council of Europe, the United Nationals and otherwisecivil society organisations, and contribute towards improving coordination between those involved and the drafting of policies on the basis of greater transparency and dialogue;
Amendment 203 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 4 – point a a (new)
Paragraph 4 – point a a (new)
(aa) ensure that the annual policy cycle is based on the compliance with the rule of law as it is a pre-requisite for the protection of fundamental rights
Amendment 219 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 4 – point c
Paragraph 4 – point c
(c) develop, in cooperation with the FRA, a database that collates and publishes data onbe based on a system of annual country assessment, developed by the Commission and the Council, on the compliance with the rule of law and the situation regardingof fundamental rights in the EU and in individual Member States; reiterates, iall Member States of the European Union, based on data of FRA, Council of Europe and its Venice Commission and NGOs. In that connection, the need for the Commission to propose a revision of the FRA Regulation is essential in order to grant the FRA wider powers; in particular in relation to the situation assessment in each Member States and the possibility of the FRA auto-referral as part of an alert mechanism;
Amendment 224 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 4 – point d
Paragraph 4 – point d
(d) bproadenvide clear indicators in order to assess the enforcement and respect of fundamental rights, and to trigger alert mechanisms in the case of violations. Such indicators could take the form of a fundamental rights scoreboard, possibly as an extension of the scope of the EU Justice Scoreboard t, which should also cover the assessment of criminal justice systems and of efforts to uphold fundamental rights and the rule of law; indicators should include clear data collection mechanisms, including equality data collection disaggregated according to the different discrimination grounds;
Amendment 247 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 6 – point -a (new)
Paragraph 6 – point -a (new)
(-a) providing an early warning system on breaches of the fundamental values of the European Union, including cases of systemic discrimination,
Amendment 248 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 6 – point -a (new)
Paragraph 6 – point -a (new)
(-a) providing an annual review of the state of play of the fundamental values of the European Union that subsequently covers all Member States;
Amendment 251 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 6 – point a
Paragraph 6 – point a
(a) making it part of the internal strategy on fundamental rights, as rule of law is a pre-requisite for the protection of fundamental rights in the European Union and its Member States;
Amendment 252 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 6 – point a a (new)
Paragraph 6 – point a a (new)
(aa) finding a way to make better use of the expertise of the Council of Europe and setting up a formal channel of cooperation in matters relating to the rule of law and fundamental rights;
Amendment 256 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 6 – point b
Paragraph 6 – point b
(b) clearly defining the criteria for its application and ensuring that it is implemented swiftly and pro- actively without waiting for fundamental rights violations to materialise;
Amendment 264 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 6 – point c
Paragraph 6 – point c
(c) ensuring the full involvementand guaranteeing the use of all available data, at the launch and dialogue stages, not only of the Commission and the Member State in question, but also of the European Parliament, the Council, national parliaments, the FRA and civil society, and guaranteeing the use of all available data, the Council of Europe, and its Venice Commission and civil society;
Amendment 268 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 6 – point d
Paragraph 6 – point d
(d) ensuring that Article 7 TEU is implemented automatically, should such a mechanism fail, and thatinvestigating the possibility of imposing further penalties in keeping with European law is consideredthat would ensure the effective functioning of the mechanism;
Amendment 270 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 6 – point d
Paragraph 6 – point d
(d) ensuring that Article 7 TEU is implemented automatically by which the possibility of applying double standards can be fully avoided; defining the criteria for "clear risk of breach" and "serious and persistent breach" building inter alia on the case law of European Court of Justice and the European Court of Human Rights, should such a mechanism fail, and that the possibility of imposing further penalties in keeping with European law is considered;
Amendment 273 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 6 a (new)
Paragraph 6 a (new)
6a. Calls on the Member States to establish and strengthen National Human Rights Institutions in line with the 'Paris Principles' to ensure an independent promotion and protection of Human Rights on the national level;
Amendment 277 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 6 a (new)
Paragraph 6 a (new)
6a. Welcomes the fact that the Council will hold debates on the rule of law; considers, however, that such debates are not the most effective ways to resolve any non-compliance with the fundamental values of the European Union; regrets the fact that it is neither informed nor involved into the organisation of these debates; calls on the Council to base its debates on the results of annual and specific reports of the European Commission, the European Parliament, the civil society, the Council of Europe and its Venice Commission and other parties involved, institutional and otherwise;
Amendment 279 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 6 b (new)
Paragraph 6 b (new)
6b. Calls on the Council to push for a more ambitious plan on the rule of law framework that enables the various European institutions to monitor and safeguard Member States' compliance with the rule of law; either in form of a Treaty change, allowing the fundamental values enshrined in Article 2 to be monitored and safeguarded beyond the areas covered by EU law, or in form of a peer review, with the involvement of the European institutions and possibly the Council of Europe and its Venice Commission; considers that such ambitious plan should also foresee a more important role for the European Court of Justice that is not limited to procedural guarantees;
Amendment 281 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 6 c (new)
Paragraph 6 c (new)
6c. Calls on the Council to find a common ground on the precise content of the principles and standards stemming from the rule of law that vary at national level and to consider the already existing definition of the rule of law of the European Court of Justice, as a starting point for debate, that include legality, which implies a transparent, accountable, democratic and pluralistic process for enacting laws; legal certainty; prohibition of arbitrariness of the executive powers; independent and impartial courts; effective judicial review including respect for fundamental rights; and equality before the law;
Amendment 283 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 6 d (new)
Paragraph 6 d (new)
6d. Commends the role of the Court of Auditors in monitoring the spending of structural funds for Roma-related projects; equally commends the commitment of the European Ombudsman in inquiring how the European Commission ensures that fundamental rights are complied with at all stages of the implementation of the EU cohesion policy in the Member States;
Amendment 306 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 7
Paragraph 7
7. Deplores recent instances of anti-Semitic and anti-Islamislamophobic discrimination and violence as well as the increasing tendencies of antigypsyism in Europe that gives raise to violence against Roma that is often not reported or recorded; calls on Member States to protect freedom of religion or belief and to promote tolerance;
Amendment 328 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 7 a (new)
Paragraph 7 a (new)
7a. deplores the fact that violence against women is one of the major security threats that affects half of the EU population in its different forms;
Amendment 338 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 7 a (new)
Paragraph 7 a (new)
7a. Deplores incidents of hate speech and hate crime motivated by racism, xenophobia, religious intolerance, or by bias against a person's disability, sexual orientation or gender identity, which occur in the EU on a daily basis; calls on Member States to protect fundamental rights and to promote tolerance;
Amendment 348 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 7 b (new)
Paragraph 7 b (new)
7b. Calls on the EU and the Member States to combat and prosecute all forms of violence against women; calls on the Commission to propose a legislative initiative to prohibit violence against women in the EU;
Amendment 354 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 7 b (new)
Paragraph 7 b (new)
7b. Urges the EU and the Member States to mainstream social inclusion and non- discrimination measures in future internal security strategies;
Amendment 362 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 7 c (new)
Paragraph 7 c (new)
7c. Urges Member States to safeguard free movement of Roma, and calls on the EU to monitor forced evictions and repatriations;
Amendment 404 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 8
Paragraph 8
8. Deplores the factFinds it unacceptable that even today people belonging to minorities are still victims of discrimin, a large part of which are Roma, are still victims of discrimination throughout the EU despite the fact that this is prohibited in EU legislation;
Amendment 418 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 8 a (new)
Paragraph 8 a (new)
8a. Urges the EU and Member States to include multiple discrimination within equality policies;
Amendment 440 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 9
Paragraph 9
9. Strongly deplores the fact that negotiations withat the Council has still not adopted the 2008 proposal for a Directive on implementing the Council on the proposal for an anti-discrimination directive have stalled, andprinciple of equal treatment between persons irrespective of religion or belief, disability, age or sexual orientation; welcomes the prioritization of this Directive by the European Commission; reiterates its call to the Council to adopt the proposal as soon as possible;
Amendment 444 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 9
Paragraph 9
9. Strongly deplores the fact that negotiations withat Council has still not adopted the 2008 proposal for a Directive on implementing the Council on the proposal for an anti-discrimination directive have stalled,principle of equal treatment between persons irrespective of religion or belief, disability, age or sexual orientation; welcomes the prioritisation of this Directive by the European Commission; and reiterates its call to the Council to adopt the proposal as soon as possible;
Amendment 449 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 9 a (new)
Paragraph 9 a (new)
9a. Calls on the European Commission and the Council to acknowledge the need for reliable and comparable equality data to measure discrimination, disaggregated according to discrimination grounds, in order to inform policy-making, evaluate the implementation of EU anti- discrimination legislation, and better enforce it; calls on both institutions to define consistent equality data collection principles, based on self-identification, EU data protection standards and the consultation of the relevant communities;
Amendment 461 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 10
Paragraph 10
10. Urges the EU and the Member States to ban all discrimination on grounds of gender identity and to combat and prosecute all forms of violence and discrimination against women;
Amendment 466 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 10
Paragraph 10
10. Urges the EU and the Member States to ban all discrimination on grounds of gender identity and to combat and prosecute all forms of violence andEmphasises that regarding article 21 and 22 of the Charter of Fundamental Rights of the EU everyone is equal before the law and that any discrimination, including based on sex, shall be prohibited; urges the Member States to implement that ban on discrimination against womenresolutely;
Amendment 474 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 10 a (new)
Paragraph 10 a (new)
10a. Urges, due to the fact that 33 % of women in the EU since the age of 15 have experienced physical and/or sexual violence and 35 % of women before the age of 15 have experienced physical, sexual or psychological violence, the members states to combat and prosecute all forms of violence against women and girls;
Amendment 481 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 10 b (new)
Paragraph 10 b (new)
10b. Denounces the persistent and widespread discrimination against Roma in all EU Member States as the root cause of the deprived living conditions and socio-economic exclusion in which many of them still live today; urges the European Commission to take action against those Member States that promote or allow institutionalised discrimination and segregation, especially in education and housing; calls the Commission to mainstream the monitoring of discrimination practices in all areas, especially education, employment, housing and healthcare;
Amendment 487 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 10 c (new)
Paragraph 10 c (new)
10c. Deplores that ethnic minorities continue to face widespread discrimination in law enforcement and judicial system as well as over-policing practices such as ethnic profiling and unequal treatment;
Amendment 514 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 11
Paragraph 11
11. Condemns all forms of discrimination and violence on EU territory against lesbian, gay, transsexualgender, bisexual and intersex people (LGBTI), as fostered by laws and policies that restrict the fundamental rights of these persons; calls on the Commission and Member States to adopt laws and policies to combat homophobia and transphobia; calls on the Commission to issue an action plan or strategy against homophobia and for equality on grounds of sexual orientation and gender identity by the end of this year, as repeatedly called for by Parliament and as promised by Commissioner Jourova in the process of the Commission hearings;
Amendment 523 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 11 a (new)
Paragraph 11 a (new)
11a. Calls on the Commission to bring forward a proposal for the full mutual recognition of the effects of all civil status documents across the EU, including legal gender recognition, marriages and registered partnerships, in order to reduce discriminatory legal and administrative barriers for citizens who exercise their right to free movement;
Amendment 525 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 11 b (new)
Paragraph 11 b (new)
11b. Considers that LGBTI people's fundamental rights are more likely to be safeguarded if they have access to legal institutions such as cohabitation, registered partnership or marriage; welcomes the fact that 18 Member States currently offer these options, and calls on other Member States to consider doing so;
Amendment 530 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 11 c (new)
Paragraph 11 c (new)
11c. Recalls its resolution of 4 February 2014 on the EU Roadmap against homophobia and discrimination on grounds of sexual orientation and gender identity and calls upon the European Commission to put forward an EU LGBTI Strategy, comparable to the LGBTI Guidelines adopted by the Foreign Affairs Council of 24 June 2013;
Amendment 548 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 12 a (new)
Paragraph 12 a (new)
12a. Calls on the Member States to collect equality data according to current data protection standards, in consultation with minority representatives, in order to measure inequalities, monitor the impact of EU and Member States policies on them and devise better policies to overcome those inequalities; calls the Commission to address a recommendation to the Member States in order to support equality data collection in the EU;
Amendment 570 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 13
Paragraph 13
13. Expresses its concerns regarding investigations and convictions in connection with hate crimes in the Member States; calls on the EU to make the fight against hate crimes a priority when drawing up European policies against discrimination and in the field of justice; calls for a reviewprompt and effective implementation of the framework decision on racism and xenophobia and a review of the said decision, inter alia to extend its scope to prohibit hate speech and hate crime on the basis of sexual orientation and sexual identity;
Amendment 595 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 13 d (new)
Paragraph 13 d (new)
13d. Condemns all forms of discrimination and violence on EU territory against members of specific ethnic and religious communities; calls on the Commission and the Member States to adopt specific policy commitments to combat all forms of racism, including anti-Semitism, Islamophobia, Afrophobia and anti- Gypsyism;
Amendment 638 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 14 – introductory part
Paragraph 14 – introductory part
14. DUnderlines the fundamental right to seek asylum and deplores the repeated and tragic losses of life in the Mediterranean; reiterates the need to make every possible effort to:
Amendment 683 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 14 a (new)
Paragraph 14 a (new)
14a. Calls on EU institutions to put solidarity and a human rights based approach at the heart of the EU migration policies. Calls on the EU institutions to guarantee that sufficient resources are made available to implement a search and rescue operation in the Mediterranean and promote legal and safe routes for people fleeing wars and seeking for international protection;
Amendment 705 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 15
Paragraph 15
15. Condemns the practice of detaining irregular migrants, including potential asylum seekers and unaccompanied minors, also when this is a prelude to their expulsion; calls on Member States to comply with the provisions of the ‘Return Directive’;
Amendment 718 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 15 a (new)
Paragraph 15 a (new)
15a. Calls on the Commission to monitor closely the implementation of Directive 2013/32/EU on Asylum Qualification, with particular attention to those asylum seekers with special needs;
Amendment 745 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 16 a (new)
Paragraph 16 a (new)
16a. Underlines the importance of respecting the fundamental rights of all migrants disregarding their status and particularly the rights of migrant children; calls on the Member States to ensure that personnel who are responsible for migrants within their territory have the necessary knowledge and resources to make sure that fundamental rights are not breached;
Amendment 760 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 17 a (new)
Paragraph 17 a (new)
17a. Expresses its concern over the particularly severe impact of austerity measures on the rights of those who are already in vulnerable situations; deplores the disproportionate negative impact of the crisis on the right to education for children with disabilities, Roma children and children with a migrant background;
Amendment 770 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 18
Paragraph 18
18. Emphasises that, in Member States subject to economic adjustment programmes, the EU institutions are also responsible for the associated conditions; stresses that the EU institutions are always under an obligation to observe the Charter, even when acting outside the framework of EU law, thus, under no circumstances obligations imposed to Member States by the economic adjustment programmes should lead to restrictions and violations of fundamental rights guaranteed in the EU Charter;
Amendment 780 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 19
Paragraph 19
19. Calls on the EU institutions to look into the impact on fundamental rights of the measures proposed or implemented to deal with the crisis and to take remedial action immediately; ensure, empower and promote the involvement of civil society organization in monitoring applications of fundamental rights in Member States and designing and implementing remedial actions;
Amendment 782 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 19 a (new)
Paragraph 19 a (new)
19a. Calls on the EU institutions and on the Member States to recognise that long- term investment in social inclusion is beneficial as it tackles the high cost of discrimination and inequality; calls on EU institutions and the Member States to ensure that access to justice and redressing discrimination are not put in danger by drastic funding cuts in equality bodies budgets; calls on EU and national institutions not to threaten social inclusion by budgetary measures threatening the survival of community- based organisations working for equality;
Amendment 790 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 20
Paragraph 20
20. Calls on the EU institutions, when adopting and implementing austerity measures, to further strengthen the role of the European Union in the protection and promotion of economic, social and cultural rights and to guarantee that sufficient resources are still made available to ensure the satisfaction of minimum essential levels of economicthis aim, especially when adopting and implementing austerity measures; this should also possibly include the extension of the social rights in the EU Charter to other social rights mentioned in the revised Social Charter of the Council of Europe such as the right to work, the right to fair remuneration, the right to be protected from poverty and social rightsexclusion;
Amendment 830 #
Motion for a resolution
Subheading 6
Subheading 6
Amendment 835 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 21
Paragraph 21
21. Stresses that corruption represents a serious fundamental rights violation; calls on the Member States and institutions to devise effective instruments for combating corruption and to monitor regularly the use of public funds, be they European or national; underlines that increased transparency and access to public documents by citizens and journalists is an efficient way to expose and combat corruption;
Amendment 839 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 21
Paragraph 21
21. Stresses that corruption represents a serious fundamental rights violation; calls on the Member States and institutions to devise effective instruments for combating and sanctioning corruption and to monitor regularly the use of public funds, be they European or national;
Amendment 847 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 21 a (new)
Paragraph 21 a (new)
21a. Notes that the right of citizens to access documents held by public institutions empowers citizens and allows them to scrutinise and evaluate public authorities and hold them to account, while also rendering other rights more effective, particularly the freedom of speech and the right to information; Calls on the Commission and Council to restart the negotiations on the recast of Regulation 1049/2001 on public access to document working on the basis that the EU cannot take any steps backward on transparency;
Amendment 863 #
Motion for a resolution
Subheading 7
Subheading 7
Amendment 867 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 22
Paragraph 22
22. Deplores the conditions in the prisons of numerous Member States and the overuse of detention, in particular of pre- trial detention; regards it as essential that the EU should adopt an instrument which guarantees that the recommendations of the European Committee for the prevention of torture and inhuman or degrading treatment and punishment (CPT) and the judgments of the ECtHR are implemented; and adopts an instrument that addresses the use of detention and the detention conditions;
Amendment 875 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 22 a (new)
Paragraph 22 a (new)
22a. Deplores the lack of access to legal aid in many Member States and the fact that this reduces the right to access a lawyer to those with sufficient financial means; regards it as essential that the EU adopt a strong and comprehensive directive on access to legal aid;
Amendment 885 #
Motion for a resolution
Subheading 7 a (new)
Subheading 7 a (new)
Children’s rights
Amendment 891 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 22 b (new)
Paragraph 22 b (new)
22b. Recognises that the financial and economic crisis has had a serious negative impact on the realisation of children’s rights and well-being;
Amendment 893 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 22 c (new)
Paragraph 22 c (new)
22c. Calls on Member States to step up their efforts on tackling child poverty and social exclusion through effective implementation of the European Commission Recommendation ‘Investing in children: breaking the cycle of disadvantage’ through integrated strategies supporting access to adequate resources, enabling access to affordable quality services and promoting children’s participation in decision making that affects them; calls on the Commission to take further measures for monitoring the implementation of the Recommendation;
Amendment 895 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 22 d (new)
Paragraph 22 d (new)
22d. Invites the European Commission to propose an ambitious and comprehensive successor to the EU Agenda on the Rights of the Child in 2015;
Amendment 897 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 22 e (new)
Paragraph 22 e (new)
22e. Encourages all Member States to make a contribution to the realisation of children’s rights through the ratification of the Third Optional Protocol to the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child on a Communications Procedure;