Activities of Angelika MLINAR related to 2017/2275(INI)
Shadow opinions (1)
OPINION Towards an EU external strategy against early and forced marriages – next steps
Amendments (22)
Amendment 1 #
Draft opinion
Recital A
Recital A
A. whereas forced marriage is a violation of the human rights enshrined in international conventions such as the Beijing Declaration and Platform of action and International Conference on Population and Development Programme of Action, OHCHR Convention on Consent to Marriage, Minimum Age for Marriage and Registration of Marriages , and which form part of the core principles embodied in the European Union as an area of security, freedom, and justice and human rights, including women’s and girls’ rights;
Amendment 2 #
Draft opinion
Recital A
Recital A
A. whereas forced marriage and early marriage, that is to say ‘marriage entered into without the free and valid consent of one or both spouses, or before the age of 18’1a, is a violation of the human rights enshrined in international conventions, and which form part of the core principles embodied in the European Union as an area of security, freedom, and justice; __________________ 1a United Nations Convention of 7 November 1962 on Consent to Marriage, Minimum Age for Marriage and Registration of Marriages. Resolution 1468 (2005) of the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe on forced marriages and child marriages.
Amendment 7 #
Draft opinion
Recital A a (new)
Recital A a (new)
Aa. whereas, given that a minor aged under 18 cannot validly consent to marriage, child marriages must be regarded as forced marriages; whereas it is regrettable, therefore, that 144 out of 193 countries have no law banning child marriages;
Amendment 10 #
Draft opinion
Recital A b (new)
Recital A b (new)
Ab. whereas according to UN estimates almost 700 million women and 150 million men are in forced marriages which were contracted before they reached majority;
Amendment 13 #
Draft opinion
Recital B a (new)
Recital B a (new)
Ba. whereas early marriages and forced marriages in themselves constitute an obstacle to development, and whereas the fact that such marriages continue to be arranged has held back efforts to achieve goals 1 to 6 of the Millennium Development Goals, in particular in the areas of gender equality and the empowerment of women and girls, poverty reduction, education, maternal and child mortality and health, including sexual and reproductive health3a; __________________ 3aResolution of the General Assembly of the United Nations of 21 November 2014 on the abolition of forced marriage.
Amendment 21 #
Draft opinion
Recital B b (new)
Recital B b (new)
Bb. whereas early marriages and forced marriages pose a serious threat to the physical and mental health of women and girls, and in particular their sexual and reproductive health, by significantly increasing the risk of early, frequent and unwanted pregnancies, maternal and neonatal mortality and morbidity, obstetric fistula and sexually transmitted infections;
Amendment 27 #
Draft opinion
Recital B c (new)
Recital B c (new)
Bc. whereas education is one of the most effective ways of preventing early and forced marriages, of putting an end to these practices and of helping married women and girls make choices in full knowledge of the implications for their lives; whereas it is important to promote and safeguard the right of women and girls to education;
Amendment 42 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 1
Paragraph 1
1. Condemns forced marriage, early marriage and the constraints – in whatever form – imposed on teenage girls and girl children in Europe and the rest of the world, since practices of this kind constitute a serious violation of human rights and, if the victim is under 18, abuse of a minor;
Amendment 43 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 1
Paragraph 1
1. Condemns forced marriage and the constraints – in whatever form – imposed on women and girls, including teenage girls and girl children in Europe and the rest of the world, since practices of this kind constitute a serious violation of human rights;
Amendment 44 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 1 a (new)
Paragraph 1 a (new)
1a. Points out that Article 37 of the Council of Europe’s 2011 Convention on preventing and combating violence against women and domestic violence (Istanbul Convention) stipulates that the State Parties must criminalise ‘the intentional conduct of forcing an adult or a child to enter into a marriage’; deplores the fact, therefore, that only 12 EU Member States have criminalised forced marriage; 2 a __________________ 2a Psaila et al. Forced marriage from a gender perspective. Directorate General for Internal Policies. European Parliament. 2016. http://www.europarl. europa.eu/RegData/etudes/STUD/2016/55 6926/IPOL_STU%282016%29556926_E N.pdf
Amendment 49 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 2 a (new)
Paragraph 2 a (new)
2a. Emphasises the need to promote and safeguard the fundamental rights of all women and girls, in particular the right to express their sexuality and to take decisions relating to their sexuality freely and responsibly, in particular as regards their sexual and reproductive health, without facing constraints, discrimination or violence;
Amendment 57 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 3
Paragraph 3
3. Recognises that the EU should play a major role in fighting these harmful practices and calls on the European External Action Service to put forward a specific strategy with a view to determining what steps need to be taken to combat early, forced and child marriage and other practices harmful to girls and women, such as female genital mutilation, so called honour crimes sex slavery and trafficking, and what objectives should be set and funding earmarked expressly for that purpose in order to achieve the overall aim of eradicating the above forms of exploitative marriage by 2030, in line with the UN Sustainable Development Goals (target 5.3);
Amendment 62 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 3 a (new)
Paragraph 3 a (new)
3a. Calls on those Member States which have not yet done so to criminalise forced and early marriages;
Amendment 65 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 4
Paragraph 4
4. Calls on the Commission to draw up an action plan to help combat child, early, and forced marriage in the context of the EU’s relations with partner and non- member countries, not least by making use of the ‘human rights clause’; calls on the Commission and the EEAS to prioritise these issues in the political dialogue with partner countries and establish concrete measures in collaboration with all key actors including the government, CSOs and other donors to eliminate harmful practices;
Amendment 66 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 4
Paragraph 4
4. Calls on the Commission to draw up an action plan to help combat child, early, and forced marriage in the context of the EU’s relations with non-member countries, not least by making use of the ‘human rights clause’; calls, further, on the Member States to encourage efforts to combat early and forced marriages in their relations with third countries;
Amendment 74 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 5
Paragraph 5
5. Calls on the Commission and the Member States to take integrated, comprehensive and coordinated measures to prevent and combat all forms of violence against women and girls, including child, early, and forced marriage, and, in particular by enhancing child protection mechanisms and facilitating access to justice and exchanging good practices, to offer girls, adolescent girls and women who are already married forms of protection such as safe reception centres;
Amendment 80 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 5 a (new)
Paragraph 5 a (new)
5a. Welcomes the introduction, as part of the Schengen Information System, of a new alert which can be used to protect children at risk of forced marriage;
Amendment 90 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 6
Paragraph 6
6. Calls on the Commission to set up a European database to monitor and report forced marriage and other forms of violations of gender-based human rights, including sexual exploitation.
Amendment 91 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 6 a (new)
Paragraph 6 a (new)
6a. Calls on the EU and Member States to work together with UN Women, UNICEF, UNFPA and other partners, including CSOs, diaspora and migrant associations to bring attention to the issue of CEFM by focusing on women’s empowerment, including through education, economic empowerment and enhanced participation to decision- making, as well as on the protection and promotion of the human rights of all women and girls, including sexual and reproductive health;
Amendment 97 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 6 b (new)
Paragraph 6 b (new)
6c. Calls on the EU and the Member States to ensure facilities and training to health workers to provide confidential and non-judgmental youth-friendly services, information and supplies that fulfil the WHO standards of equitability, accessibility, acceptability, appropriateness and effectiveness;
Amendment 100 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 6 c (new)
Paragraph 6 c (new)
6d. Condemns the reinstatement and expansion of the Global Gag Rule and its impact on women’s and girls’ health; recalls that the populations in vulnerable situations, including those who would normally be unable to access services “due to stigma, poverty, location, violence, or HIV status” are hardest hit;
Amendment 101 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 6 d (new)
Paragraph 6 d (new)
6e. Strongly supports the She Decides initiative and calls on EU and Member States to step up their support to this initiative and other efforts on SRHR;