Activities of Miguel URBÁN CRESPO related to 2021/2204(INI)
Plenary speeches (1)
The EU Guidelines on Human Rights Defenders (debate)
Shadow reports (1)
REPORT on the EU Guidelines on Human Rights Defenders
Amendments (36)
Amendment 27 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital I
Recital I
I. whereas there has been a substantial increase in the number, range and severity of attacks on HRDs and their families and lawyers in recent years including killings, death threats, abductions and kidnappings, arbitrary arrest and detention, and other actions of harassment and intimidation, for example through defamation campaigns; whereas the global analysis published by the NGO Front Line Defenders reported that 358 HRDs had been killed across 35 countries in 2021 alone, and since under-reporting is common, the actual figure is likely to be much higher; whereas 227 environmental defenders were killed in 2020, with more than half of those killings occurring in only three countries, Colombia, Mexico and the Philippines, according to the NGO Global Witness; whereas a large number of HRDs are under threat and attack because they raise concerns about the adverse human rights impacts of business operations, often in the context of large development projects that affect access to land and livelihoods;
Amendment 31 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital I a (new)
Recital I a (new)
I a. whereas women human rights defenders (WHRD) face gender-specific threats, needs and challenges; whereas they face gender-based violence and suffer from a lack of access to adequate resources and protection mechanisms; whereas according to UN Annual report on Human rights defenders, the rise in misogynistic, sexist and homophobic speech by political leaders in recent years has normalised violence against women human rights defenders;
Amendment 34 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital I b (new)
Recital I b (new)
I b. whereas other groups and categories of defenders who are particularly exposed to attacks and human rights violations as a result of the work they carry out include defenders working to promote civil and political rights - notably those investigating or defending victims of state crimes, enforced disappearances or torture, as well as economic, social and cultural rights, notably collective rights such as the right to food and access to natural resources, including trade-unionists, and also those working for minorities’ and community rights, children’s rights, indigenous peoples’ rights and LGBTIQ+ rights, and people fighting against corruption;
Amendment 36 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital I c (new)
Recital I c (new)
I c. whereas increasingly sophisticated means are used to persecute human rights defenders, through new technologies, but also through restrictive NGO laws and administrative obstacles severely limiting the space and the possibilities to operate for an independent civil society; whereas human rights defenders are also restricted and sometimes directly targeted by policies, legislation and procedures described as ‘security’ measures, often combined with stigmatisation and accusation of terrorism;
Amendment 38 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital I d (new)
Recital I d (new)
I d. whereas the climate of impunity for violations committed against HRDs is prevailing in numerous countries of the world;
Amendment 43 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 4
Paragraph 4
4. Considers, howevRegrets, however, that due to the voluntary nature of the Guidelines, its implementation depends on political will in the missions and EU delegations and is often not seen as a priority; consider,s that the overall application of the Guidelines by the European External Action Service (EEAS), the Commission and the Member States has been uneven, largely focusing on reactive measures, lacking a consistent overall implementation of the strategy and being characterised by insufficient visibility of EU action and channels of support for HRDs; notes that the implementation of the Guidelines is even more lacking towards human rights defenders from outside capital cities whilst the most vulnerable groups of defenders are in many countries the rural often indigenous defenders of territory and environment;
Amendment 45 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 4 a (new)
Paragraph 4 a (new)
4 a. Considers that the lack of coherence between human rights policy and guidelines implementation with other fields of relations, namely trade, investments and cooperation agreements reduce the impact of the guidelines; condemns that there is a lack of mainstreaming of human rights into trade policy as well as a lack of knowledge of the impacts of trade policy on basic human rights, as well as on security of HRDs;
Amendment 59 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 10
Paragraph 10
10. Regrets, however, the fact that, due to the voluntarist nature of the Guidelines, the intensity and quality of EU delegations’ engagement with and on HRDs vary considerably from country to country and are in practice largely dependent on the local political context or the individual dedication and political will of the specific EU ambassador or staff in question, or of the officials at the EEAS and Commission headquarters; calls for greater consistency and a strategic overall approach in this regard and for a firm personal commitment by the VP/HR to ensuring the consistent implementation of the Guidelines across all delegations, particularly in the countries where HRDs are most at risk; expects all EU and Member States Ambassadors to ensure that their mission effectively integrates the support to HRDs across their daily work and evaluates staff’s work performance accordingly;
Amendment 64 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 10 a (new)
Paragraph 10 a (new)
10 a. Considers necessary to provide more information on protection mechanisms and facilitate access to human rights focal points;
Amendment 66 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 11
Paragraph 11
11. Is encouraged by reports of improved coordination between EU delegations and Member States in the area of HRD protection, particularly through the practice of burden sharing and joint public diplomacy; remains concerned, however, that less than half of the Member States are in practice actively engaged in this area and selective engagement remains the norm; regrets the fact that only a few Member States, such as Ireland and Finland, have adopted their own national HRD guidelines; calls on Member States to step up their efforts to achieve broader and more consistent engagement on the protection of HRDs;
Amendment 77 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 13 a (new)
Paragraph 13 a (new)
13 a. Calls upon the Council and the Commission to raise the climate of impunity for violations committed against HRD in their bilateral contacts, urging all states to ensure that perpetrators, regardless of their position or function, are brought to justice through independent and effective disciplinary and criminal procedures;
Amendment 82 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 15
Paragraph 15
15. Welcomes the EU’s substantial and steadily increasing financial contribution to supporting HRDs worldwide, which makes it the lead donor in this regard, as well as its efforts to heighten flexibility and the development of various programmes to support human rights and HRDs, including when HRDs work in exile; emphasises the unique role of the civil society-run ProtectDefenders.eu mechanism in providing invaluable practical support for HRDs at risk; stresses that the fact that the ProtectDefenders.eu mechanism is managed by civil society does not exempt the EU from its political obligations regarding the protection of HRDs;
Amendment 83 #
15 a. Calls for a qualitative jump to a more holistic approach aiming at the integral security of whole communities mobilised to defend rights; calls on the Commission to fund local and regional networks and gatherings of HRDs where these can share experiences, learn from each other’s strategies, successes and best practices, and build alliances; calls on the Commission to strictly refrain from supporting, including financially, government-organized non-governmental organization (GONGOs);
Amendment 86 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 16 a (new)
Paragraph 16 a (new)
16 a. Highlights the differential impacts suffered by women human rights defenders and the lack of protection mechanisms with a gender perspective; urges EU institutions to guarantee the access of WHRDs to specific protection mechanisms with an intersectional and gender perspective; stresses the need for the EU to politically support, increasingly protect and raise financial allocations for independent civil society organisations that promote the rights of women and girls in all areas as well as for WHRDs;
Amendment 89 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 17 a (new)
Paragraph 17 a (new)
17 a. Asks for a specific budget be assigned for the implementation of the operational actions provided for by the guidelines so that the lack of economic and human resources is not a reason for non-implementation or for its partial implementation as mentioned by some EU delegations;
Amendment 91 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 18 – introductory part
Paragraph 18 – introductory part
18. Underlines the importance of putting the protection ofa policy aimed at prevention and protection from attacks and threats against HRDs at the heart of the EU’s political engagement with third countries by aligning all EU external action in third countries with EU action to protect HRDs and promote their work; calls on the EEAS, the Commission and the Member States to prioritise:
Amendment 92 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 18 – indent 2
Paragraph 18 – indent 2
- increased financial support for the establishment and strengthening of national human rights institutions, particularly as regards their capacity to engage and protect HRDs and act independently; this increased financial support would be subject to monitoring mechanisms to ensure the proper use of funds and tangible results;
Amendment 94 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 18 – indent 3
Paragraph 18 – indent 3
- the strengthening of domestic legislation and policies on HRDs, in line with HRDs´ requests and with the UN framework on HRDs, and legislative and policy frameworks with a view to establishing national protection programmes for HRDs;
Amendment 95 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 18 – indent 4
Paragraph 18 – indent 4
- the promotion of national campaigns, networks and structures to recognize the invaluable contribution human rights defenders make to the protection and promotion of human rights and to effectively support the protection of HRDs;
Amendment 103 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 18 a (new)
Paragraph 18 a (new)
18 a. Reiterates its call on the Commission to refrain strictly from providing budget support to governments from third countries responsible for widespread violations of human rights and the repression of HRDs; conversely, calls on the Commission to step up its assistance to authorities genuinely committed to establishing an enabling environment for HRDs;
Amendment 106 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 18 b (new)
Paragraph 18 b (new)
18 b. Calls on the Commission to ensure that funding via the European Investment Bank, the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development and other development and investment banks and vehicles is only given to entities implementing a sound and strictly monitored human rights policy, and which only funds businesses and operations committed to safeguarding HRDs and taking a zero-tolerance stance on threats or violence against them, identifying and assessing adverse impacts in operations, value chains and business relationships, preventing, mitigating or ceasing adverse impacts, and providing remediation;
Amendment 109 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 19
Paragraph 19
19. Stresses the importance of joining forces with UN agencies and Special Procedures, particularly the UN Special Rapporteur on the situation of HRDs; asks for a greater follow-up to the recommendations made by the EU and its Member States in the framework of the UN Universal Periodic Review (UPR); calls for the EU to provide financial and political support for existing regional protection mechanisms for HRDs, including the UN Economic Commission for Europe’s Special Rapporteur on environmental defenders, the Escazú Agreement and the Inter-American, African and Council of Europe regional mechanisms on HRDs; calls on the EU delegations and Member States’ missions in Geneva and New York to take effective action in response to reprisals by third countries against HRDs for their cooperation with UN bodies and to facilitate HRDs’ accreditation and interaction with multilateral forums; welcomes the practical collaboration on HRD cases between EU delegations, Member States’ missions and like-minded third countries, such as Switzerland, Norway, the United Kingdom, Canada and the USA;
Amendment 117 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 21 a (new)
Paragraph 21 a (new)
21 a. Stresses the European Parliamentary Research Service European Implementation Assessment of the EU Guidelines on Human Rights Defenders which affirms that WHRDs working on SRHR represent one of the most dramatically repressed strands of global activism, and as such calls on the EU and its Member States to publicly and privately condemn attacks and threats against human rights defenders working in this area, proactively ensure adequate representation of SRHR defenders in consultations, and financially support their work;
Amendment 126 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 24
Paragraph 24
24. Calls on the EEAS, the Commission and the Member States to address the threats against and attacks on HRDs by non-governmental actors, including criminal groups and local communitiend non- governmental actors, as well as threats in conflict and transition settings; urges the EU to integrate violence against HRDs into its crisis management policy and provide an effective protection response to HRDs in need of relocation in crisis situations;
Amendment 128 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 24 a (new)
Paragraph 24 a (new)
24 a. Notes that social networks are also being used to attack and/or silence HRDs; calls on the EU to urgently devise a robust regulatory framework in this field to guarantee that the use of these technologies is compliant with international human rights standards;
Amendment 159 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 33 a (new)
Paragraph 33 a (new)
33 a. In cases where a HRD returns to their countries, calls on the Commission and the Member States, to follow up on the return and security situation of the HRDs;
Amendment 177 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 42
Paragraph 42
42. Regrets the lack of an in-depth, specific analysis by the EEAS and the Commission of the implementation of the Guidelines since 2008; calls for a comprehensive assessment of EU action on HRDs in the framework of the mid-term review of the implementation of the action plan on human rights and democracy 2020- 2024, scheduled for June 2023; calls on the Commission to follow and monitor regularly the short- and long term implementation of the EU Guidelines with the participation of civil society in Europe and in third countries;
Amendment 179 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 42 a (new)
Paragraph 42 a (new)
42 a. Affirms that compliance with the Guidelines should not be voluntary but mandatory and that their implementation by EU delegations and Member States' embassies should be the direct responsibility of the Ambassadors, even if their execution depends on other staff;
Amendment 186 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 46 a (new)
Paragraph 46 a (new)
46 a. Emphasises the need for a gender perspective in the implementation of the Guidelines, with targeted actions in favour of women human rights defenders; calls on the EU and the Member States to adopt as an annex to the EU Guidelines on Human Rights Defenders, a toolkit on women human rights defenders that would provide practical steps for the EU to better meet the needs of women human rights defenders worldwide;
Amendment 188 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 47
Paragraph 47
47. Recognises that silent diplomacy may be an effectiveis a tool to improve the situation of some HRDs in third countries; stresses, however, that EU actors need to be vocal about urgent and serious cases and strike an appropriate balance between private and public diplomacy, particularly when silent diplomacy has proven ineffective; asks to make public and strong pronouncements in case of attacks against HRDs mainly when these attacks happen in the context of European investments;
Amendment 191 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 49 a (new)
Paragraph 49 a (new)
49 a. Considers necessary to improve, and systematically follow up on, contacts with independent civil society, as well as access for human rights defenders to EU delegations and missions on the ground;
Amendment 192 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 50
Paragraph 50
50. Calls for systematic and strategic monitoring of trial observation in order to improve the overall visibility and outcomes of trial observation by EU missions, and for alternative courses of action to be adopted to support HRDs on trial where trial observation is not possible; requires the observation of hearings not only of emblematic cases, but also of less visible and less known cases against criminalised human rights defenders, in particular rural and indigenous defenders;
Amendment 193 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 50 a (new)
Paragraph 50 a (new)
50 a. Demands to raise the level of EU ambition to secure the release of long term jailed human rights defenders, including emblematic cases; call on EU Delegations and Member States’ embassies to regularly visit human rights defenders in prison;
Amendment 194 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 50 b (new)
Paragraph 50 b (new)
50 b. Considers that the visits to communities and organizations in the countryside should not be an exception and would be necessary to do more frequently, especially in the context of specific attacks against land and environmental defenders;
Amendment 196 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 52
Paragraph 52
52. Calls on the EEAS and the Commission to systematically consult civil society representatives and HRDs prior to any human rights dialogue, for the consultation to be genuine, and for these interlocutors to be debriefed thereafter; considers that the link between civil society seminars and formal dialogue needs to be strengthened, through publication of the recommendations issued and a better follow-up and feed- back to civil society once a dialogue has taken place; stresses the need to systematically raise the situation of human rights defenders in all political and human rights dialogues; reiterates the need for a systematic and firm EU response to any act of reprisal against HRDs that occurs after they have attended EU events or that is connected to contact with EU interlocutors;
Amendment 198 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 54
Paragraph 54