Activities of Manu PINEDA related to 2021/2181(INI)
Plenary speeches (1)
Human rights and democracy in the world – annual report 2021 (continuation of debate)
Shadow reports (1)
REPORT on human rights and democracy in the world and the European Union’s policy on the matter – annual report 2021
Amendments (31)
Amendment 35 #
Motion for a resolution
Citation 25
Citation 25
Amendment 40 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital A
Recital A
A. whereas the Union ismust be founded on the values of respect for human dignity, freedom, democracy, equality, the rule of law and respect for human rights, as set out in Article 2 of the TEU;
Amendment 45 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital B a (new)
Recital B a (new)
Ba. whereas in recent years there has been a concerning increase in murders, assaults and other forms of violence against people who defend human rights, the environment and access for peoples to their land and natural resources
Amendment 46 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital B b (new)
Recital B b (new)
Bb. whereas some ‘structural’ economic reforms, and in particular the budget cuts that go with them at the request of international institutions, have a negative impact on human rights, in particular on economic and social rights and on the living conditions of the population, and they can lead to an increase in unemployment, poverty, inequality and job insecurity, a decrease in the quality of basic public services and the restriction of access to those services; whereas governments have obligations with regard to Human Rights and Sustainable Development;
Amendment 48 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital B c (new)
Recital B c (new)
Bc. whereas private military and security companies have been implicated in a number of human rights violations and incidents resulting in loss of lives; whereas in some cases these incidents amount to serious violations of international humanitarian law, including war crimes, and they are implicated in murders, attacks or threats against human rights defenders;
Amendment 54 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 1
Paragraph 1
1. Is extremely concerned by the challenges to human rights and democracy, resulting in the weakening of the protection of democratic institutions and of universal human rights, as well as the shrinking space for civil society, observed around the world; calls for the EU and its Member States to make stronger efforts to address the challenges to human rights, both individually and in cooperation with like- minded international partnerthe United Nations;
Amendment 63 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 3
Paragraph 3
Amendment 88 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 5 a (new)
Paragraph 5 a (new)
5a. Stresses the need for greater transparency and traceability in the use of European funds so that they are not used to violate human rights;
Amendment 100 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 8
Paragraph 8
8. Notes that the visibility of the EUSR’s role should be enhanced in order to have a meaningful impact on human rights; underlines that the EUSR has a flexible mandate which could be adapted to evolving circumstances; is of the opinion that the EUSR’s position could be made more effective by enhancing communication activities and developing a more public profile through, inter alia, the publication of public statements in support of human rights activists at risk, including Sakharov Prize laureates and finalists, and of human rights defenders imprisoned for long periods, thereby helping to protect their physical integrity and their essential work;
Amendment 119 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 13
Paragraph 13
13. Notes that 2020 marked the 75th anniversary of the United Nations, an essential universal forum for international consensus-building on peace and security, sustainable development and respect for human rights and international law; calls for the EU and its Member States to maintain their vital support to the UN and to continue their efforts to speak with one voice in the UN and other multilateral forums; stresses that the challenges to the universal enjoyment of human rights call for even stronger multilateralism and international cooperation; highlights the vital role of UN bodies as the forum for advancing peace, conflict resolution and the protection of human rights, and welcomes the UN Secretary-General’s Call to Action on Human Rights;
Amendment 128 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 14 a (new)
Paragraph 14 a (new)
14 a. Calls for human rights not to be exploited for political ends and for a neutral perspective to be advocated when analysing the human rights situation;
Amendment 138 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 15 a (new)
Paragraph 15 a (new)
15 a. Considers that sanctions have a severe 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 151 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 17
Paragraph 17
17. Highlights the highly negative impact of COVID-19, which has disproportionately affected women, LGBTIQ persons and vulnerable groups, including the poorpeople living in poverty, children, persons with disabilities, migrants, refugees, asylum seekers, minorities, informal workers and persons in prison or detention, among others; stresses that vulnerable groups are also more affected by the negative economic and social consequences of the pandemic, as well as the restrictions in access to healthcare and education; notes with concern the increase in hate speech against certain vulnerable groups, in particular minority groups;
Amendment 157 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 18 a (new)
Paragraph 18 a (new)
18a. Calls on the EU and its Member States to increase the funding for and the provision of basic public services; highlights the importance, in this context, of social protection and the need to support United Nations initiatives to establish ‘universal health coverage’;
Amendment 158 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 18 b (new)
Paragraph 18 b (new)
18b. Appreciates the huge generosity and solidarity of some countries, which in response to the global health crisis decided to share their staff and medical supplies with the countries that needed them most;
Amendment 159 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 18 c (new)
Paragraph 18 c (new)
18c. Calls on the authorities of the global south to demand that their debts be audited and that all illegitimate debts with foreign creditors be cancelled, with a view to entirely eliminating debt and meeting the basic human needs of their populations;
Amendment 160 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 18 d (new)
Paragraph 18 d (new)
Amendment 183 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 21 a (new)
Paragraph 21 a (new)
21a. Rejects the fact that in many countries people are denied the right to protest via legal, administrative and other measures, such as the suppression of protests through the use of force, assault and arbitrary detention; points out that in 2020 and 2021 dozens of protests were suppressed and protesters were even killed; recognises that hundreds of peaceful protesters have been arbitrarily detained, and many of them have been subjected to torture and ill treatment and have had to pay large fines following proceedings in which the minimum procedural standards were not guaranteed; demands respect for the rights to freedom of assembly, association and expression guaranteed by international standards and the United Nations treaties, and calls on governments not to use force against peaceful demonstrators;
Amendment 186 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 21 b (new)
Paragraph 21 b (new)
21b. Rejects the fact that the violations of workers’ and trade union rights continue to take place worldwide and that the freedom of association, the right to bargain collectively, the right to information, consultation and participation and to take collective actions as well as the right to fair remuneration, decent working conditions and health and safety in the workplace are at the core of such violations;
Amendment 199 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 22 a (new)
Paragraph 22 a (new)
22a. Highlights the key obligations and responsibilities of the Member States and other parties with obligations, including businesses, to mitigate the effects of climate change, prevent its negative impacts on human rights and promote adequate political coherence that is sufficiently ambitious, non-discriminatory and in line with human rights obligations; points out that environmental change undermines the most basic human rights, such as access to water, natural resources and food; points out that, since 2008, land grabbing by multinational companies in the agricultural industry has increased exponentially, as according to the FAO, between 50 and 80 million hectares of agricultural land in developing countries are under negotiation for purchase or lease by international investors, two thirds of which are in Sub-Saharan Africa; considers that the fight against the exploitation and hoarding of resources must be a priority for the EU and its Member States; draws particular attention to the link between this exploitation of resources and the financing of conflicts, wars and violence, including, directly or indirectly, by multinational corporations; recognises that the environmental consequences of climate change may exacerbate migration and displacement, and therefore stresses the need to rapidly implement policies to reduce the impacts of climate change in line with the Paris Agreement;
Amendment 212 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 24
Paragraph 24
24. Deplores the fact that women, including in the EU, continue to make up the majority of victims of gender-based violence, such as domestic violence and sexual violence and abuse, including female genital mutilation, and that they face discrimination in political and professional life, as well as in access to education and healthcare; stresses that the provision of care, protection and access to justice for victims of gender- based violence and trafficking has significantly decreased as a result of the pandemic, and calls for the EU to promote the development of emergency assistance plans and protocols both at UN level and in partner countries, with the aim of adapting assistance programmes to the circumstances of the pandemic, its aftermath and future crises;
Amendment 221 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 25
Paragraph 25
25. Regrets the fact that the overall progress in women’s rights is far below the UN countries’ commitments included in the Beijing Convention in 1995 and is concerned at the trend of backsliding in progress achieved; in this regard, is extremely concerned about the deterioration of the right of every individual to have full control over matters related to their sexuality, as well as sexual and reproductive health and rights, without coercion and discrimination, in particular with regard to safe and free access to abortion; calls for the EU and its Member States to promote sexual and reproductive health and rights as part of their international commitments and alignment with the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs); emphasises that access to sexual and reproductive health and rights must be guaranteed for all individuals, including all types of sexuality and relationships, education and information, family planning, modern methods of contraception, safe and legal abortion, and maternity, prenatal and postnatal healthcare; calls for the EU and Member States to reaffirm the inalienable rights of women to bodily integrity, dignity and autonomous decision-making, and to uphold the universality and indivisibility of all human rights in all contexts, and to promote and defend in particular those that are most under threat, such as the rights to sexual and reproductive health;
Amendment 223 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 25 a (new)
Paragraph 25 a (new)
25a. Emphasises that the economic crisis has further exacerbated inequalities and that women are the first to suffer as a result; emphasises, moreover, that the objective of ‘empowering women’ can only be achieved by creating stable, well- paid jobs, instead of the insecure, part- time jobs which are too often so common for women, and by applying genuine salary equality and universal access to public services, especially including access to free, good-quality education
Amendment 302 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 32
Paragraph 32
Amendment 311 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 33
Paragraph 33
Amendment 338 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 35 a (new)
Paragraph 35 a (new)
35a. Rejects any attempt to outsource the EU’s migration policy; rejects any agreement that does not guarantee the protection of refugees and respect for the fundamental rights of migrants; condemns the creation and use of the EU Emergency Trust Fund for stability and addressing root causes of irregular migration and displaced persons in Africa, which is financed to a large extent by the European Development Fund (EDF);
Amendment 341 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 35 b (new)
Paragraph 35 b (new)
35b. Condemns the dramatic number of deaths at sea in the Mediterranean; rejects the human rights abuses and violations suffered by refugees and migrants, particularly at the borders of the EU; regrets that some of these people have even been returned to the border or deported to places where their lives were at risk, in breach of international law and in particular the right to asylum; condemns attacks on NGOs that assist these people but which have been subjected to campaigns seeking to discredit them and which are increasingly seeing their work challenged; calls on the EU and its Member States to be fully transparent about the allocation of funds to 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; warns against the instrumentalisation of the EU’s external policy as ‘migration management’, and stresses that any attempt to collaborate with third countries on migration must be accompanied by an improvement in the human rights situation in those countries; calls for the suspension of all agreements and negotiations concerning readmission agreements with countries that do not respect human rights; insists on the need to establish frameworks for the protection of migrants, in particular through the opening of safe and legal routes for migrants and the granting of humanitarian visas, and to improve their implementation; calls for the European Parliament to have oversight of migration agreements;
Amendment 359 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 39 a (new)
Paragraph 39 a (new)
39a. 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 375 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 41 b (new)
Paragraph 41 b (new)
41b. 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;
Amendment 382 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 42 a (new)
Paragraph 42 a (new)
42a. Stresses 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; believes that there is a need to implement new forms of cooperation to facilitate the economic and social development of third countries, always with a view to benefit for their peoples and not the economic benefit of the companies;
Amendment 407 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 48
Paragraph 48
48. Deplores the fact that torture and inhuman or degrading treatment continue to be widespread in many countries and calls for the EU to strengthen its efforts aimed at eradicating these practices, while supporting victims and promoting mechanisms to hold perpetrators accountable; denounces in the strongest terms the human rights violations reported in prisons, including in EU countries, and calls for all allegations to be investigated.