Activities of Laima Liucija ANDRIKIENĖ related to 2013/2152(INI)
Plenary speeches (1)
Human rights in the world 2012 and EU policy on the matter (debate)
Amendments (18)
Amendment 10 #
Motion for a resolution
Citation 11 a (new)
Citation 11 a (new)
- having regard to the European Union's Guidelines on the promotion and protection of freedom of religion or belief, and the EP Recommendation to the Council on the EU Guidelines on the promotion and protection of freedom of religion or belief adopted on 13 June 2013,
Amendment 33 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital D
Recital D
D. whereas the uprisings in the Arab world prompted the European Union to acknowledge the failure of past policies and to commit to a ‘'more for more’' approach in the Review of the Neighbourhood Policy, based on a commitment to ‘'adapt levels of EU support to partners according to progress on political reforms and building deep democracy’', including free and fair elections, freedom of association, expression and assembly, freedom of thought, conscience and religion or belief, a free press and media, and the rule of law administered by an independent judiciary;
Amendment 88 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 16
Paragraph 16
16. Welcomes the adoption of the EU Guidelines on Freedom of Religion andor Belief, and on LGBTI rights; reminds the EEAS, however, to respect good inter- institutional practice and engage in a timely manner with the proper political bodies within the European Parliament; recalls the EP Recommendation to the Council on the Guidelines on Freedom of Religion or Belief in which the EP has proposed an ambitious set of instruments providing suggestions for the practical implementation of the Guidelines in order to achieve remarkable progress in the protection and promotion of this fundamental and universal freedom; commends the practice adopted by the EEAS and the Council of reviewing and revising older guidelines; encourages the EEAS to adopt a more rigorous review process involving the thorough consultation of stakeholders in order to adapt to changing circumstances;
Amendment 94 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 18
Paragraph 18
18. Notes the continued difficulties in achieving concrete progress in several of the EU human rights dialogues and consultations; encourages the EU to seek new ways of making the dialogues with countries of concern more meaningful; believes that human rights dialogues and consultations should have the primary aim of strengthening and supporting civil society, human rights defenders, trade unions, journalists, lawyers and parliamentarians who stand up and challenge abuses at home and demand that their rights be respected; calls on the EU to ensure that human rights dialogues and consultations are ambitious and accompanied by clear public benchmarks based on which their success can be objectively measured; underlines the need to pursue determined, ambitious, and transparent human rights policy in these dialogues; calls therefore on the EU to draw clear political conclusions when the human rights dialogue is not constructive and, in such cases, to put more emphasis on political dialogue, démarches and public diplomacy; warns furthermore against diverting human rights discussions away from high-level political dialogues;
Amendment 172 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 33
Paragraph 33
33. Notes with concern that respecting the rights of minorities is one of the key challenges identified in the Commission's Enlargement Strategy for 2012-2013; encourages the Member States to launch a general public debate on the acceptance of minorities through education, civil society engagement, and awareness-raising in general; regrets that the Roma community is particularly disadvantaged throughout the Western Balkans; condemns the generally negative societal attitudes towards vulnerable groups such as the LGBT community and people with disabilities, which is a recurring issue in many enlargement countries; expresses its concerns about Turkey's treatment of religious minorities;
Amendment 205 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 40
Paragraph 40
40. Notes with concern instances of selective justice in certain Eastern Neighbourhood countries; recalls that the EU has continually asked for the release of political prisoners, such as Yuliya Tymoshenko in Ukraine, and leader of the opposition, Vano Merabishvili, jailed in pre-trial detention, in Georgia; reiterates that political and criminal responsibility should be clearly separated in countries that are committed to democratic values;
Amendment 207 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 41
Paragraph 41
41. Supports all steps leading to political dialogue, which is essential to move the transition in Egypt forward; expresses its deep concern about recent crises and, including the street battles between the army and Muslim Brotherhood supporters, terrorism and violent clashes in the Sinai and the extremist violence against Coptic Christian communities; calls on all political leaders in the country to find a way to break the dangerous stalemate and agree on implementing tangible confidence-building measures to avoid the risk of more bloodshed and polarisation in the country; urges the Egyptian authorities to advance the work on an inclusive constitution with equal rights for all;
Amendment 213 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 42 a (new)
Paragraph 42 a (new)
42a. Recalls its previous resolutions on the situation in Western Sahara; expresses its concern at the deterioration of human rights in Western Sahara, as reported by, among others, the United Nations Special Rapporteur on torture and other cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment; calls for the fundamental rights of the people of Western Sahara, including freedom of association, freedom of expression and the right to demonstrate, to be respected; demands the release of all Sahrawi political prisoners; demands the opening of the territory to independent observers, NGOs, and the media; reiterates its support for the establishment of an international mechanism to monitor human rights in Western Sahara; supports a fair and lasting settlement of the conflict, on the basis of the right to self-determination of the Sahrawi people, in accordance with the relevant United Nations resolutions;
Amendment 241 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 50
Paragraph 50
50. Expresses its serious concerns about recent repressive laws and their arbitrary enforcement by the Russian authorities, often leading to the harassment of NGOs, civil society activists, human rights defenders and minorities; calls for the release of Mikhail Khodorkovsky and other political prisoners; urges the Russian authorities to impartially investigate and bring to justice those responsible for the deaths of Sergei Magnitsky, Natalia Estemirova, Anna Politkovskaya and Vasily Alexanian; regrets the Council's failure to consider the Parliament's recommendation of 23 October 2012 on the Magnitsky case, considers the recommendation an important tool to address human rights abuses in Russia and other countries, and urges the Council to implement the recommendation without delay;
Amendment 248 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 50 a (new)
Paragraph 50 a (new)
50a. Expresses its concern about increased repression of independent journalists and human rights activists in Cuba; calls attention to the situation of prisoners of conscience in Cuba who continue to be sentenced on trumped-up charges or held in pre-trial detention; calls on the EEAS and the EU High Representative Baroness Ashton to promote in the framework of the United Nations an international and independent enquiry committee with the target to investigate the circumstances in which the Cuban human right defenders and peaceful dissidents, Oswaldo Payá Sardiñas (Sakharov laureate 2002) and Harold Cepero died in July 2012;
Amendment 259 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 52
Paragraph 52
52. Expresses grave concern regarding the steadily deteriorating human rights situation in Iran, the continued repression of reformists, the growing number of political prisoners and prisoners of conscience and faith, the discrimination and persecution of the Baha'i community, the consistently high number of executions, including of minors, the widespread torture, the unfair trials and exorbitant sums demanded for bail, and the heavy restrictions on the freedom of information, expression, assembly, religion, education and movement;
Amendment 287 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 64 a (new)
Paragraph 64 a (new)
64a. Calls on European Foreign Ministers to adopt Foreign Affairs Council conclusions affirming the strong support of the EU and its Member States for the International Criminal Court, taking note of the EU's efforts to continuously review, update, and expand its instruments on the International Criminal Court, and expressing renewed commitment to work towards the universality of the Rome Statute in order to widen access to justice for victims of serious crimes under international law;
Amendment 314 #
Motion for a resolution
Subheading 20 a (new)
Subheading 20 a (new)
Freedom of thought, conscience, religion or belief (This subheading should be place between paragraph 72 and paragraph 73)
Amendment 315 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 73
Paragraph 73
73. Stresses that the right to freedom of thought, conscience, religion or belief, as encapsulated in Article 18 of the Universal Declaration on Human Rights and other international human rights instruments, is a fundamental human right, encompassing the right to believe or not to believe, and the right to adopt, change and abandon a belief of one's choiceinterrelated with other human rights and fundamental freedoms, encompassing the right to believe or not to believe, and the freedom to practise theistic, non-theistic or atheistic belief alike, either in private or public, alone or in a community with others and the right to adopt, change and abandon a belief of one's choice; calls on the EU to promote the right of freedom of religion or belief within international and regional fora and in bilateral relations with third countries;
Amendment 321 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 74
Paragraph 74
74. Condemns in the strongest terms discrimination, intolerance, violence and killings on grounds of religion or belief, wherever and to whomever they occur; is particularly concerned about the threat of increasing sectarianism along religious lines in countries such as Egypt and Syria as an impediment to long-lasting peace and reconciliation; furthermore, is concerned about increasing government and social hostility in many Islamic countries, Central Asia and the deplorable situation in North Korea, countries which continue to deny minority religious or belief groups the freedom to worship or publicly express their religion or belief; social hostility and attacks against religious or belief groups, which have resulted in many deaths and injuries, are on the increase; and impunity and the lack of protection for minority religious or belief communities remains a concern;
Amendment 324 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 74 a (new)
Paragraph 74 a (new)
74a. Opposes any legislation that penalises individuals for changing their religion or belief; expresses deep concern that as a result of such legislation individuals in certain countries face imprisonment or even the death penalty; is also concerned that those who have left or changed their religion are subjected to social hostility such as violence and intimidation; opposes laws that penalise expressions deemed blasphemous, defamatory, or insulting to religion or religious symbols, figures, or feelings; states that these laws do not comply with accepted international human rights standards; condemns Blasphemy law provisions in Afghanistan, Bangladesh, Egypt, Pakistan and Saudi Arabia which allow imprisonment and the death penalty;
Amendment 325 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 74 a (new)
Paragraph 74 a (new)
74a. Welcomes recent EIDHR calls for proposals prioritising and supporting civil society actions combating discrimination on the basis of religion or belief; encourages the EU to support inclusive efforts of intercultural and interfaith dialogue and cooperation at various levels, involving community leaders, women, youth and ethnic minority representatives, and with the aim to promote peace building and societal cohesion calls on the EU and EU member states to develop grant schemes for the protection and promotion of freedom of religion or belief in countries where this right is most at risk;
Amendment 327 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 74 b (new)
Paragraph 74 b (new)
74b. Welcomes the EU's commitment to promoting the right to freedom of religion or belief within international and regional fora including the UN, the Organisation for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE), the Council of Europe (CoE) and other regional mechanisms; encourages the EU to continue tabling its yearly resolution on freedom of religion or belief at the UN General Assembly and supporting the mandate of the UN Special Rapporteur on Freedom of Religion or Belief