Activities of Miguel URBÁN CRESPO related to 2022/2049(INI)
Plenary speeches (1)
Human rights and democracy in the world and the European Union’s policy on the matter - annual report 2022 (debate)
Shadow reports (1)
REPORT on human rights and democracy in the world and the European Union’s policy on the matter – annual report 2022
Amendments (51)
Amendment 1 #
Motion for a resolution
Citation 6
Citation 6
— having regard to the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, and the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights,
Amendment 10 #
Motion for a resolution
Citation 12 a (new)
Citation 12 a (new)
— having regard to the UN Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples, adopted on 13 September 2007 and the International Labour Organization (ILO) Indigenous and Tribal Peoples Convention, of 1989 (No. 169),
Amendment 16 #
Motion for a resolution
Citation 20
Citation 20
Amendment 33 #
Motion for a resolution
Citation 50 a (new)
Citation 50 a (new)
— having regard to its resolution of 9 June 2022 on global threats to abortion rights: the possible overturning of abortion rights in the US by the Supreme Court and its resolution of 7 July 2022 on the US Supreme Court decision to overturn abortion rights in the United States and the need to safeguard abortion rights and women’s heath in the EU,
Amendment 45 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital C a (new)
Recital C a (new)
C a. whereas certain so-called 'structural' economic reforms and in particular the accompanying budget cuts at the request of international institutions, have a negative impact on human rights, in particular on economic and social rights and on living conditions populations, and can lead to increase unemployment, poverty, inequality and precarious work, the decline in the quality of basic public services and the restriction of access to them; whereas without an adequate social protection system, there is a risk that these measures will involve a violation of the human rights obligations of governments;
Amendment 57 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital E a (new)
Recital E a (new)
Amendment 62 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital F
Recital F
F. whereas violations of the rights to freedom of thought, conscience and religion, including the right to believe or not to believe, to espouse theistic, non- theistic, agnostic or atheistic views, and the right to apostasy, give rise to situations of oppression, conflict and war around the world;
Amendment 87 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 5
Paragraph 5
5. Condemns in the strongest possible terms Russia’s unjustified and unprovoked war of aggression against Ukraine; expresses, in this regard, its deep grief at the human suffering and serious human rights violations caused by the Russian armed forces at the EU’s borders; welcomes the joint efforts of the EU and its Member States in response to the war; welcomes, moreover, the solidarity shown by a great number of countries towards Ukraine, as highlighted by their stance during the sessions and votes of the UN General Assembly on the crisis in Ukraine; calls for the EU and its Member States to give the Ukrainian people the support they need to defend democracy, human rights and international law; welcomes the unprecedented ambition of the sanctions imposed in the context of the war and calls for the EU and its Member States to continue to use all of the instruments at their disposal to support the Ukrainian people in their fight to free Ukraine from its occupiers;
Amendment 98 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 6
Paragraph 6
Amendment 103 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 7
Paragraph 7
7. UrgesExpresses deep concern that the EU and itscertain Member States to intensify their efforts all over the world to support democracy and human rights; calls on the EU and its Member States, in this regard, both individually and in cooperation with like-minded international partners, to thwart unacceptable attempts to weaken democratic institutions and universal human rights, especially those that present authoritarian regimes as superior tocontinue to pursue business, military, antiterrorism and migration interests over human rights and democracy concern; urges the EU and its Member States to intensify their genuine efforts all over the world to support democraciesy and diminish the space for humand role of civil societyights;
Amendment 153 #
11 a. Stresses the importance of consulting civil society and human rights at all stages of policy-making; in this regard, calls on EU institutions to systematically and meaningfully consult Brussels- and country-based civil society and human rights defenders ahead of any bilateral contacts with partner countries, including at high-level such as ministerial meetings or summits; is alarmed by reports that open civil society consultations are not always organised ahead of such meetings, or that consultations are held very late in the process, when the EU position is already formed, and without giving proper notice to civil society organisations;
Amendment 163 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 12
Paragraph 12
12. Welcomes the fact that the EU Global Human Rights Sanctions Regime has been increasingly used as an essential tool that strengthens the EU’s role as a global human rights actor through the use of targeted sanctions by the Council; calls for the restrictive measures that have already been adopted to be implemented effectively and in full, and for the adoption of additional measures if necessary; reiterates its request for a legislative proposal to extend the scope of the GHRSR to include acts of corruption or, alternatively, for a proposal for a new thematic sanctions regime against serious acts of corruption in order to effectively target the economic and financial enablers of human rights abusers; reiterates its call for the introduction of qualified majority voting for the Council’s decisions and implementation of sanctions under the GHRSR; reiterates its call on the Commission and the Council to strive to incorporate Parliament’s recommendations for future targeted sanctions, as stipulated in its resolutions and elsewhereConsiders that all kind of sanctions have a dramatic impact on the population, especially in some sectors such as health and small businesses; calls for sanctions that have a direct effect on the population to be lifted, in particular those aimed at promoting political change in countries or responding to human rights violations, to avoid increasing the suffering of the peoples;
Amendment 188 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 14
Paragraph 14
14. RStresses the failure of the introduction of human rights clauses in free trade agreements with third countries, as such agreements have even led to the violation of basic economic and social rights, including the impoverishment of the populations concerned and the hoarding of resources by transnational companies; reiterates its call to include robust clauses on human rights in agreements between the EU and third countries, supported by a clear set of benchmarks and procedures to be followed in the event of violations, including the suspension; calls on the Commission and the EEAS to actively reflect on how to ensure that the human rights clauses in existing international agreements are effectively enforced; stresses that the EU should react swiftly and decisively to persistent breaches of human rights clauses by third countries, including by suspending the relevant agreements if other options prove ineffective;
Amendment 231 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 19
Paragraph 19
19. Strongly condemns and is deeply concerned by the serious violations of international humanitarian law by Russian armed forcin Ukraine, Yemen, Pales tin Russia’s war of aggression against Ukrainee and Western Sahara among other conflicts;
Amendment 235 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 20
Paragraph 20
20. Strongly welcomes the continuous contribution of the International Criminal Court (ICC) to the fight against impunity; calls for the EU and its Member States to provide the ICC with sufficient support to enable it to carry out its work; reiterates its condemnation of continuous efforts to undermine the legitimacy and work of the ICC by authoritarian and illiberal regimes and calls for the EU and its Member States to continue their efforts to counter them; welcomes the fact that the EU has provided support for the very first time to the ICC’s investigation capacitiesEU and EU Member States unprecedented support for the role of the ICC and calls on EU Member States to match this commitment to thelp it scale up its investigations into war crimes committed by Russian armed forces in Ukraine sustainable funding needed to deliver justice in all situations that come before the Court;
Amendment 249 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 21
Paragraph 21
21. Reiterates its call on the Commission to develop a comprehensive EU action plan on fighting impunity, which should include a chapter on Ukraineimportant role of civil society organisations in struggle against impunity and need for their protection, on all situations that require it and on measures to fight impunity for gender-based and sexual and reproductive rights violations in conflict settings; calls for the EU and its international partners to make full use of all relevant instruments to fight impunity, including support for universal jurisdiction at national level, special tribunals at a national and international level including for the crime of aggression, as well as establishing flexible cooperation and funding mechanisms to swiftly collect and analyse evidence of crimes; calls on the Commission to ensure that these instruments are applied in a coordinated and complementary manner with other relevant EU and Member State instruments; reiterates its commitment to providing all possible assistance to ensure accountability for atrocities committed by Russian armed forces in Ukraine and provide effective remedies for the damages suffered by Ukrainian civilians;
Amendment 276 #
Motion for a resolution
Subheading 17
Subheading 17
Women’s rights including sexual and reproductive health and rights, women’s empowerment and gender equality
Amendment 278 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 25
Paragraph 25
25. Calls for the EU and its international partners to strengthen their efforts to ensure full enjoyment of human rights by women and theigender equal treatment with menity; underlines that women continue to be the main victims in violent crises and that sexual and, gender-based and reproductive violence has continued in many places around the world, notably being used in armed conflicts as a weapon of war; calls for more concerted efforts to eliminate the use of sexual violence as a weapon of war and fight impunity of the perpetrators of such violence; stresses the need to pursue efforts to fully eradicate the practice of female genital mutilation; stresses that women human rights defenders, activists, journalists and lawyers have been particularly targeted, with online harassment and intimidation increasing rapidly and ongoing threats and attacks; highlights the increase in domesticgender-based violence and setbacks to sexual and reproductive health and rights (SRHR) in both developing and developed countries and calls for the EU and its Member States to fully support the right of women to bodily integrity, dignity and autonomous decision-making; reiterates the need for robust action to ensure the full implementation of GAP III and recalls that GAP III specify that 85 % of official development assistance (ODA) should go to programmes that have gender equality as a significant or principal objective and calls, for a substantial amount of ODA to be allocated to programmes with gender equality, including SRHR, as a principal objective;
Amendment 289 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 25 a (new)
Paragraph 25 a (new)
25 a. Notes that no country in the world has achieved gender equality yet; condemns the ongoing backlash on gender equality and women’s rights, including all attempts to roll back existing entitlements and protections as well as legislation, policies and practices that continue to deny or restrict these rights in many countries including in the U.S. and in some EU Member States; highlights, the use of sexual violence targeting women because of their opinions, sexual orientation, gender identity, race, disability, ethnicity, faith, philosophical orientation or their activism in defence of human rights; condemns governments and authorities worldwide, that are opposing or fanning a negative backlash against women’s demands for equal rights;
Amendment 291 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 25 b (new)
Paragraph 25 b (new)
25 b. Stresses the persistence of widespread gender-based violence and intersecting discrimination in every region of the world, which often arises from patriarchal cultural norms, societal structures and discriminatory legal systems that legitimate and normalize power relations between genders as well as structural exclusion of women; condemns all forms of gender-based, physical, sexual and psychological violence and exploitation, including sexual exploitation and reproductive exploitation; calls on the EU and all its Member States which have not yet done so to ratify and implement the Istanbul Convention as soon as possible; urges countries to step up their legislation in order to tackle these issues; calls on the EU to work with other countries to step up their actions in the fields of education, healthcare and social services, data collection, funding and programming, to better prevent and respond to sexual and gender-based violence worldwide;
Amendment 301 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 25 c (new)
Paragraph 25 c (new)
Amendment 305 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 25 d (new)
Paragraph 25 d (new)
25 d. Recalls that universal access to healthcare is a human right which can only be guaranteed through a system which is universal, public and free at the point of use; urges countries to accelerate progress towards universal health coverage as an essential priority for international development; is further concerned about delays and barriers in access to sexual and reproductive health services and the increase in unintended pregnancies, sexual and gender-based violence, unsafe abortions, and maternal and neonatal deaths;
Amendment 306 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 25 e (new)
Paragraph 25 e (new)
25 e. Stresses the European Parliamentary Research Service European Implementation Assessment of the EU Guidelines on Human Rights Defenders which affirms that women human rights defenders 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; calls for the EU and its Member States to fully support and promote SRHR, including access to abortion, in multilateral and bilateral relations in accordance with international human rights law and standards;
Amendment 325 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 28
Paragraph 28
28. Calls for the EU and its Member States to develop new avenues to strengthen the rights of elderly people; underlines the challenges to the full enjoyment of all human rights by the elderly, including age-based discrimination, poverty, violence, a lack of social protection, healthcare and other essential services as well as barriers to employment; reminds that the gender pay gap and its causes have exponentially damaging consequences for women throughout the lifecycle; calls to implement specific measures to combat the risk of poverty for older women, by the increase of pensions but also by social support; underlines the work of the UN Open-ended Working Group on Ageing on a legally binding instrument to strengthen the protection of the human rights of older people and calls for the EU and its Member States to consider providing active support to that work;
Amendment 337 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 30
Paragraph 30
30. Underlines its opposition to and condemnation of intolerance, xenophobia and discrimination on the basis of race, ethnicity, nationality, social class, disability, caste, religion, belief, age, sexual orientation or gender identity, which in many of the world’s regions leads to killings and persecution; stresses that racism, discrimination, xenophobia and related intolerance continue to be a major problem worldwide and have been further exacerbated by the COVID-19 pandemic; in particular reiterates its call on Member States to adopt and implement strategies, policies and programmes to advance the sexual and reproductive health and rights of marginalised groups of women and to eradicate the systemic, financial, legal, practical and social barriers they face and to ensure sexual and reproductive health and rights are protected and respected in all Member States; calls for the EU and its Member States to lead the global fight against antisemitism and welcomes the adoption of the EU strategy to this end;
Amendment 342 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 30 a (new)
Paragraph 30 a (new)
30 a. Notes with great concern the scale and consequences of caste-based hierarchies, discrimination and human rights violations, including the denial of access to the legal system or employment, continued segregation, poverty and stigmatisation, and caste-related barriers to the exercise of basic human rights and human development, and regrets the lack of determined action on the part of the Commission and European External Action Service to help eradicate these practices and act on previous Parliament's recommendations, such as developing an EU policy on caste- based discrimination; calls on the EEAS to develop, in collaboration with Member States, specific local strategies to help fight caste-based discrimination in the countries most affected by it, in dialogue with civil society organisations, and to invite these to consultations deriving from EU agreements or instruments:
Amendment 371 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 33 a (new)
Paragraph 33 a (new)
33 a. Expresses concern over the widespread use of SLAPPs (Strategic Lawsuits Against Public Participation) to silence human rights defenders, journalists, activists, trade unionists and workers worldwide; underlines this practice further restricts space for civil society and human rights defenders across the globe, in a context where civic space has been continuously shrinking for several years, with increasing attacks against the rights to freedom of expression, freedom of expression, and freedom of association and assembly perpetrated by public authorities as well as by private actors;
Amendment 374 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 34 a (new)
Paragraph 34 a (new)
34 a. Rejects that the right to demonstrate peacefully has been denied in many countries, with legal, administrative and other measures such as the suppression of demonstrations through the use of force, harassment and arbitrary detention; stresses that hundreds of peaceful demonstrators have been arrested, many of whom have been subjected to ill-treatment and arbitrary detentions and have had to pay heavy fines in trials where minimum procedural standards were not guaranteed; demands respect for the rights to freedom of assembly, association and expression guaranteed by international standards and UN treaties and calls on governments not to use force against peaceful protesters;
Amendment 382 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 35
Paragraph 35
35. Notes that 2021 marked the 40th anniversary of the UN Declaration on the Elimination of All Forms of Intolerance and of Discrimination Based on Religion or Belief; notes with grave concern that the right to freedom of thought, conscience and religion, to hold a belief, or not to believe, to espouse theistic, non-theistic, agnostic or atheistic views, and the right to apostasy is still violated in many countries around the world; stresses the negative impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, as some governments still use it as a pretext for further discriminatory practices including violence against and scapegoating religious minorities; calls for the EU and its Member States to step up their efforts to protect the right to freedom of thought, conscience, religion or belief, to raise these issues at UN human rights forums and to work with the relevant UN mechanisms and committees;
Amendment 393 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 35 a (new)
Paragraph 35 a (new)
35 a. Further expresses concern about the misuse and instrumentalization of religion to foment intolerance or undermine human rights, such as the rights of LGBTQI+ persons and women´s rights, namely SRHR, as well as children´s rights to freedom of thought, conscience and religion;
Amendment 404 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 36
Paragraph 36
36. Strongly supports the work of human rights defenders and highlights the risks they face in their endeavours to protect human rights, including threats against them and their families, harassment and violence; condemns the fact that hundreds of human rights defenders have been killed for their work, the majority of whom were environmental defenders; welcomes the EU’s efforts to support human rights defenders in their work, including the ProtectDefenders.eu mechanism; calls for such efforts to be intensified in order to mitigate the growing risks faced by human rights defenders around the world; calls for the EU and its Member States, to actively support the development and implementation of appropriate and effective protection systems for HRDs at risk or in vulnerable situations, including through meaningful consultation with them and based on comprehensive, qualitative risk analyses, ensuring that such mechanisms are holistic, appropriately resourced, assess and manage the risks from a preventive approach and build protection plans which truly respond to the protection needs of individuals, collectives and communities; calls for the EU and its Member States to address actively legislative or administrative attempts to close down the space for the defence of human rights; calls for the EU and its Member States to actively promote and support, in particular the EUSR for Human Rights and EU ambassadors, to be more active in the publication of public statements in support of human rights activists and defenders at risk and those imprisoned for long periods, as well as helping to conduct prison visits for the latter and facilitating external visits to their families; calls on the EU and its Member States to raise the ambition level to secure the release of jailed human rights defenders;
Amendment 410 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 36 a (new)
Paragraph 36 a (new)
36 a. Notes that women human rights defenders (WHRDs) face gender-based violence and suffer from a lack of access to adequate resources and protection mechanisms; rejects that women human rights defenders and women’s rights activists continue to be sexually assaulted, threatened, intimidated, criminalized and even killed; affirms that the rise in misogynistic, sexist and homophobic speech by political leaders in recent years has normalised violence against women human rights defenders; 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;
Amendment 420 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 37
Paragraph 37
37. Reaffirms the inalienable human rights of migrants, refugees and forcibly displaced persons, which must be reflectedthe core in the EU’s migration policy and in its cooperation with third countries in this area; denounces the deaths in Sea and rejects human rights abuses and violations suffered by refugees and migrants; regrets that some have even been returned to the border or expelled to places where their lives were in danger in defiance of international law, including the right to asylum; stresses that the EU should step up its efforts to acknowledge and develop ways to address the root causes of irregular migration and forced displacement, building the resilience of migrants’ communities of origin and helping them offer their members the possibility to enjoy a decent life in their home country; calls for the EU and its Member States to continue and where possible step up their support for countries hosting most refugees, as well as transit countries; reiterates that close cooperation and engagement with third countries remain key to preventing migrant smuggling; stresses, in this regard,stresses that the dissemination of information and awareness-raising campaigns on the risks of smuggling is crucial; calls for EU- funded humanitarian operations to take into consideration the specific needs and vulnerabilities of children and to ensure their protection while they are displaced; underlines the importance of developing an effective framework of safe and legal pathways to the EU and welcomes, in this regard, the Commission communication on attracting skills and talent to the EU13 , including the development of Talent Partnerships with partner countries; _________________ 13 Commission communication of 27 April 2022 on attracting skills and talent to the EU (COM(2022)0657).calls on the EU and its Member States to ensure that migration-related European funding, training or other forms of support to third countries do not directly or indirectly facilitate the perpetration of human rights violations, nor reinforce and perpetuate impunity for such violations; underlines the importance of developing an effective framework of safe and legal pathways to the EU and the granting of humanitarian visas;
Amendment 432 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 37 a (new)
Paragraph 37 a (new)
37 a. Calls on the EU and its Member States to be fully transparent about the allocation of funds from third countries for cooperation in migration matters, and to ensure that such cooperation does not directly or indirectly benefit the security, police or justice systems involved in human rights violations; calls on the EU and its Member States not to include funds for the reception of refugees or migrants or policies for the control or return of migrants in official development assistance and any conditionality of aid in this area; denounces, in particular, the conditionality of the aid provided to certain countries through readmission agreements and the multiplication of negotiations in this area; calls for the suspension of all agreements and negotiations of readmission agreements with countries that do not respect human rights;
Amendment 435 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 38
Paragraph 38
38. Recalls its commitment to the rights of refugees, as provided by international human rights and refugee laws, in particular the 1951 Convention Relating to the Status of Refugees and the 1967 Protocol thereto; recalls the obligations of states to protect refugees and respect their rights in accordance with the relevant international law; calls to respect the principle of non-refoulement to countries where the life and liberty of people would be threatened; notes with concern that the number of people forcibly displaced worldwide as a result of persecution, conflict, violence, human rights violations or events seriously disturbing public order reached an unprecedented 89 million by the end of 2021, 36.5 million of whom are children; recalls that refugees and migrants, especially undocumented migrants, face barriers in access to healthcare, including sexual and reproductive healthcare around the world, that sexual and gender-based violence is a frequent occurrence during displacements, and that in many settings survivors of sexual and gender-based violence do not receive the essential SRH care they need; stresses, in this context, that international action and cooperation is more essential than ever to ensure protection for refugees;
Amendment 443 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 39
Paragraph 39
39. Notes that 5.3 million Ukrainians have entered the EU since the beginning of Russia’s war of aggression against Ukraine; underlines the importance of a proper and realistic assessment of the time that UkrainiansUnderlines that people who have fled thea war will probably need to stay outside their country, as long-term stays require different kinds of responses and funding from the host countries, including a greater focus on access to education, economic opportunities, housing, healthcare and integration in the host societies;
Amendment 451 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 39 a (new)
Paragraph 39 a (new)
39 a. Recalls that indigenous people play an important role for the sustainable management of natural resources and the conservation of biodiversity; asks the EU and its Member States to recognise and protect indigenous people’s rights to customary ownership and control of their lands and natural resources as set out in the UN Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous People and ILO Convention No 169, and to comply with the principle of free, prior and informed consent; requests that the Member States which have not yet done so ratify ILO Convention No 169 on Indigenous and Tribal Peoples;
Amendment 452 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 40
Paragraph 40
40. Stresses the multitude of threats to human rights caused by modern warfare and conflictIs seriously concerned at the persistence of the scourge of wars, military conflicts and of protracted occupation or annexation of territories; stresses the multitude of threats to human rights caused by modern warfare, military conflicts and of protracted occupation or annexation of territories around the world today; underlines that in addition to the states parties themselves, such conflicts often involve non-state agents including private military and security companies as well as terrorist organisations; stresses the disastrous humanitarian consequences of these conflicts and their devastating impact on civilians, who are directly targeted, have to endure grave human rights violations, and often have no or limited access to justice or legal remedies; calls for the EU to continue developing and implementing tools to enable it to respond swiftly and efficiently to such conflicts, to help put an end to the perpetration of human rights violations, and to provide assistance to the victims; reiterates that humanitarian crises intensify SRHR- related challenges and recalls that in crisis zones, particularly among vulnerable groups such as refugees and migrants, women and girls are particularly exposed to sexual violence, sexually transmitted diseases, sexual exploitation, rape as a weapon of war and unwanted pregnancies; calls on the Commission and Member States to give high priority to gender equality and SRHR in their humanitarian aid response, as well as accountability and access to justice and redress for sexual and reproductive rights violations and gender-based violence, including in terms of training for humanitarian actors and existing and future funding;
Amendment 459 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 40 a (new)
Paragraph 40 a (new)
40 a. Expresses concern over frequent violations of Council Common Position 2008/944/CFSP of 8 December 2008 defining common rules governing control of exports of military technology and equipment; is particularly alarmed by reports of Member States issuing licenses for exports towards the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates, two countries involved in serious violations of human rights and humanitarian law in the context of the war in Yemen; calls on all the Member States to strictly observe the EU Code of Conduct on Arms Exports, and in particular to halt all transfers of weapons, surveillance and intelligence equipment and materials that could be used by governments, terrorist groups or mercenaries to crack down on human rights and a fortiori for the purposes of armed conflict; stresses that some EU Member States are among the largest arms exporters in the world and considers it essential to apply and strengthen international standards on arms sales to prevent any EU Member State or European company from participating directly or indirectly in an escalation of violence or in the financing of armies or groups involved in abuses; calls for these companies to commit to their moral, social and legal responsibilities; is firmly opposed to any reorientation of the CFSP towards greater militarisation focused solely on strengthening NATO and considers that European policies should be solely focused on peace and conflict resolution;
Amendment 464 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 41
Paragraph 41
41. Strongly condemns the grave violations of human rights committed by the Russian armed forces; uUnderlines the utmost importance of ensuring accountability for thes grave violations of human rights and calls for the EU and its Member States to continue to offer their full support for the actors, measures and mechanisms to this end, including the Ukrainian prosecutors, investigators and judiciary, the ICC, the Commission of Inquiry of the UN Human Rights Council, and national investigations under the principle of universal jurisdiction; stresses the importance of swiftly gathering and preserving evidence of war crimes and crimes against humanity and welcomes the efforts of independent civil society to this end; calls on the Commission to provide all the necessary assistance in this process, including additional funding from the NDICI – Global Europe, and urges the Member States to engage in this process themselves whenever they are in a position to do so; welcomes the amended mandate of the EU Advisory Mission to Ukraine and the Commission’s proposal to extend the mandate of Eurojust to support the fight against impunity; calls for an informed decision to be made about the most appropriate solution to hold to account the individuals and entities responsible for enabling Russia’s war of aggression against Ukraine and the war crimes committed on Ukrainian territory, which could include the creation of a special international court or enabling the ICC to deliberate on these crimes;
Amendment 470 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 41 a (new)
Paragraph 41 a (new)
41 a. Deeply deplores the wholesale takeover of Afghanistan by the Talibans, with all this entails for the human rights situation, in particular for women; underlines the disastrous legacy of this illegal twenty year occupation and condemns the NATO interference that has led Afghanistan to its present circumstances; underscores that a sustainable end to the conflicts in Afghanistan can only be achieved through an inclusive, just, durable Afghan-led and Afghan-owned peace and reconciliation process, with the full and meaningful participation of all Afghans, in particular women, persons belonging to ethnic and religious communities, the whole range of civil society and all parties to the conflict; recognizes the role and efforts of the UN and regional partners in facilitating an inclusive peace and reconciliation process in Afghanistan;
Amendment 471 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 41 b (new)
Paragraph 41 b (new)
Amendment 472 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 41 c (new)
Paragraph 41 c (new)
41 c. Calls to pay special attention to the human rights situation in the illegally occupied territories including in cases of protracted occupation such as in Palestine and Western Sahara, and the multiple frozen conflicts, and take effective measures with the aim to prevent grave human rights abuses on the ground, including the violation of right to life, restriction of freedom of movement, and discrimination;
Amendment 473 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 41 d (new)
Paragraph 41 d (new)
41 d. Strongly condemns Israel’s colonial-settlement and its continued expansion, which violates international law and fuels Palestinian resentment; calls to fully end the 55 year-long Israeli occupation of Palestine, including East Jerusalem, thereby to pave the way for peace; notes that according to national and international NGOs, the system of oppression and domination that the Israeli government imposes on the Palestinian population in all areas under its control and on Palestinian refugees, constitutes apartheid and is prohibited by international law;
Amendment 474 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 41 e (new)
Paragraph 41 e (new)
41 e. Deplores the flagrant human rights violations committed in Western Sahara, from the violation of freedom of expression and assembly, the torture and ill-treatment reported by political prisoners, the unfair trials, the repression during demonstrations (including cases of torture and killings), and the prohibition of free entry to the occupied territories for observers and the international press; stresses that Western Sahara is a separate and distinct territory in relation to any State, including Morocco; urges on the EU and the Member States to support the self-determination and decolonization efforts of Sahrawi people by ensuring an urgent, just and lasting solution to the conflict in Western Sahara, based on the right to self-determination of the Saharawi people and in accordance with the relevant UN resolutions;
Amendment 483 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 43
Paragraph 43
43. Underlines that human rights, a healthy environment and combating climate changeemergency are dependent on one another; calls for progress towardwelcomes the recognition of the human right to a clean, healthy and sustainable environment, as laid out in Resolution 48/13A/76/L.75 of the UN Human Rights Council, andGeneral Assembly; stresses its appreciation for the peacefuand protection of the critical work undertaken by environmental human rights defenders including land defenders and their lawyers, as well as indigenous activists, to preserve and safeguard such anthe environment despite the threats of violence against them and the risk to their lives; recognises, moreover, the important role of civil society organisations, including environmental faith-based organisations, as well as indigenous peoples for their invaluable work in the preservation and protection of the environment;
Amendment 491 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 43 a (new)
Paragraph 43 a (new)
43 a. Rejects that some corporations unlawfully exploit natural resources, which not only constitutes a major sustainability and environmental challenge but also results in severe adverse impacts on the social, economic, cultural, civil and political rights of local communities; notes that such business practices violate the fundamental right of peoples to self-determination and the principle of permanent sovereignty, access and control over their natural resources, enshrined in UN General Assembly resolution 1803 (XVII);
Amendment 497 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 44 a (new)
Paragraph 44 a (new)
44 a. Recalls the responsibility of businesses in ensuring that their operations and supply chains are not implicated in human rights abuses, including environmental, indigenous and labour rights as well as threats and attacks on human rights defenders; stresses the essential obligations and responsibilities of States and other decision-makers, including businesses, to mitigate the effects of climate change, prevent their negative impact on human rights and promote appropriate policies in compliance with human rights obligations; stresses that environmental changes undermine the most basic human rights, such as access to water, natural resources and food; considers that the fight against the exploitation and hoarding of resources must be a priority for the European Union and its Member States; draws particular attention to the link between this exploitation of resources and the financing of conflicts, wars and violence, directly or indirectly included by multinational corporations; recognizes that the environmental consequences of climate change may exacerbate forced migration and displacement, and therefore stresses the need to rapidly implement policies to reduce the effects of climate change in line with the Paris Agreement;
Amendment 498 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 45
Paragraph 45
45. Underlines that trade agreements often offer the possibility for the EU to work with third countries to address their domestic situation by providing some conditions that would serve to enhance living standards, arges to create new types of cooperation with third countries on the basis of mutual development and mutually advantageous wrell as allow for some conditionality to improve the human rights situation in those countries; notes, howevations that respond in first hand to the interest of the peoples; consider,s that in some cases there has been little to no improvement in the countries concerned; notes that excessive and exploitative business activities oftentrade and investment protection agreements contribute to unequal distribution of global wealth, often undermine social and economic justice as well as deepen existing inequalities, bringing a heave detrimental effects on human rights in third country toll to marginalized states and communities;;
Amendment 521 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 47 a (new)
Paragraph 47 a (new)
47 a. Highlights that the COVID-19 pandemic exposed the severe power imbalances that exist in global value chains as certain undertakings in the EU shifted negative impacts of the crisis down the value chain onto their suppliers, sub- suppliers and finally to the workers and farmers; points out that in the garment sector alone, research has shown than millions of workers faced declines in earnings and delays in wage payments, with women being disproportionately affected; stresses that these income and livelihoods losses for workers have been coupled by attacks on freedom of association and collective bargaining and in a deterioration of working conditions for many workers, in some cases leading to forced labour; condemns that according to the latest Global Estimates of Modern Slavery, forced labour has increased by 2.7 million between 2016 and 2021, up to 17.3 million in the private sector only;
Amendment 522 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 47 b (new)
Paragraph 47 b (new)
47 b. Stresses the need to establish an international binding instrument to regulate, in international human rights law, the activities of transnational corporations and other companies;