Activities of Konrad SZYMAŃSKI related to 2011/2185(INI)
Plenary speeches (1)
Human rights in the world and the European Union's policy on the matter (debate)
Shadow reports (1)
REPORT on the Annual Report on Human Rights in the World and the European Union’s policy on the matter, including implications for the EU’s strategic human rights policy PDF (418 KB) DOC (261 KB)
Amendments (23)
Amendment 2 #
Motion for a resolution
Citation 2 a (new)
Citation 2 a (new)
- having regard to the Council conclusions of 21 February 2011 on intolerance, discrimination and violence on the basis of freedom of religion or belief,
Amendment 9 #
Motion for a resolution
Citation 25 a (new)
Citation 25 a (new)
- having regard to United Nations General Assembly resolution 66/167 on Elimination of all forms of intolerance and of discrimination based on religion or belief,
Amendment 18 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital A
Recital A
A. whereas the founding Treaties commit the Union to having its external actions guided by the principles of democracy, the rule of law, the universality and indivisibility of human rights and fundamental freedoms, respect for human dignity and the rights of minorities, the principles of equality and solidarity, and respect for the principles of the United Nations Charter and international law;
Amendment 20 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital C
Recital C
C. whereas democracy with the rule of law is the best safeguard of human rights, tolerance and equality;
Amendment 26 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital E a (new)
Recital E a (new)
E a. whereas freedom of religion or belief continues to be under growing threat in many parts of the world by governmental and societal restrictions alike, resulting in discrimination, intolerance and violence against individuals and religious communities, including religious minority representatives;
Amendment 38 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 2
Paragraph 2
2. Stresses, too, that the Union's policies must not only be consistent, but also exemplary, in order to maximise its moral authority globally; insists that a clear indication that the recommendations made in the 2007 Fava report on the transportation and illegal detention of prisoners will be implemented, and welcomes the initiative to draw up a follow-up Parliamentary report;
Amendment 43 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 3
Paragraph 3
3. Believes that the recast of the asylum directives should put an end to continuing concerns about human rights breaches, as well as allegations of double standards by EU Member States in this area; maintains that the Member States should provide correlation tables for the pertinent provisions of the directives, in order to allow for proper scrutiny of their implementation; stresses that the difficult exercise of developing a common policy presents an opportunity to build on best practice; underlines the role to be played by the European Asylum Support Office (EASO);
Amendment 51 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 4
Paragraph 4
4. Encourages the negotiations on the EU's accession to the European Convention on Human Rights, and deplores the obstructionist attitude of some EU Member States, notably France and the United Kingdom;
Amendment 79 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 11
Paragraph 11
11. Warmly welcomes the HR/VP's statement to Parliament on 13 December 2011 following up on Parliament's long- standing call for the creation of an EU Special Representative on Human Rights; endorses her view that this would ‘act as a catalyst and raise our profile internationally’, and urges the creation of this function forthwith; calls for the post- holder to be an internationally renowned expert in, and represent the HR/VP in relation to, human rights and international humanitarian law and international justice;
Amendment 88 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 13
Paragraph 13
13. Recommends that, to move beyond general ideas of human rights mainstreaming, a set of practical measures be drawn up which must be binding on all EU officials working externally; stresses that training on human rights must be compulsory across the EEAS and relevant parts of the Commission; recommends that tasks pertaining to mainstreaming be incorporated into officials' job descriptions as part of the yearly staff evaluationnd taken into account in regular evaluations of staff performance;
Amendment 102 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 15
Paragraph 15
15. Welcomes the adoption by the UN General Assembly of resolution 65/276 on the participation of the EU in the work of the UN as a modest start to a greater endeavour to upgrade the EU role in the human rights work of the organisation; stresses that speaking with one voice should not come at the expense of human rights concerns and, on the contrary, considers that the EU must now vigorously insist on exercising its rights and put its enhanced status to work in order to pursue an ambitious human rights strategy;
Amendment 105 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 16
Paragraph 16
16. Welcomes the constructive role played by the EU in the reform of the Human Rights Council (HRC), in particular its total support for the independence of the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights, its defence of the role of Special Procedures, country mandates and the indivisibility of all human rights; recommends that the EU and its Member States state their clear opposition to the practice of regional groups putting forward ‘clean slates’ for elections to the HRC; welcomes the first complete cycle of the Universal Periodic Review (UPR), and recommends that EU Member States lead by example, building on from the first round input following consultations at national level; endorses the inclusion of follow-up to the UPR on the agenda of EU human rights dialogues with third countries and in Country Strategy Papers; recommends that the EU encourage joint action at the HRC on Eritrea's domestic human rights situation, and encourages member states of the HRC to seek a Special Procedures mandate to monitor the situation in Eritrea on an on-going basis;
Amendment 129 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 22
Paragraph 22
22. Reiterates its conviction that all EU external actions must combine a development dimension which focuses on socio-economic progress for all based on sustainable development, and a political dimension which supports pluralism, democracy and respect for human rights and fundamental freedoms;
Amendment 181 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 38 a (new)
Paragraph 38 a (new)
38 a. Stresses the need to also support young democracies and democratic movements in the Eastern Neighbourhood; continues to be concerned in particular about the situation in Belarus, and urges the EEAS and EU Member States to continue to support civil society activists in the country;
Amendment 250 #
Motion for a resolution
Subheading 18
Subheading 18
Amendment 255 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 63
Paragraph 63
63. Urges the Council and Commission to develop a toolkit on the advancement of the right to freedom of religion or belief in the EU's external policy, including mechanisms to identify and address infringements, and to involve the European Parliament, civil society organisations in its preparand academics in its preparation, use and evaluation; welcomes the EU's action in various UN forums against intolerance and discrimination based on religion or belief and its unwavering and principled stance against the resolutions on combating defamation of religions; stresses in particular the importance of engaging in a constructive dialogue with the Organisation of the Islamic Conference (OIC) on this issue;
Amendment 259 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 63 a (new)
Paragraph 63 a (new)
63 a. Restates its concern regarding the full and effective respect of the right to freedom of religion for all religious minorities in a number of third countries; in this context stresses the fact that freedom of worship is but one aspect of the right to freedom of religion, as the latter includes the freedom to change one's religion and to also manifest it in teaching, practice and observance, at the individual, collective, private, public and institutional level; in this context stresses that the public element is central to religious freedom, and that to prevent Christian believers from expressing their faith publicly, while reducing their religion to a private phenomenon, gravely violates their right to religious freedom;
Amendment 260 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 63 a (new)
Paragraph 63 a (new)
63 a. In the light of recent events in countries such as Nigeria, Egypt and Indonesia, urges the EEAS and the EU Member States to put in place concrete actions to help prevent the emergence of a cycle of violence; recognises the growing need for conflict transformation and reconciliatory efforts including inter-faith dialogue at various levels and urges the EU to address discriminatory and inflammatory content in education material and in the media in its dialogues with third countries;
Amendment 262 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 63 b (new)
Paragraph 63 b (new)
63 b. Underlines the fact that obstacles still exist in many parts of the world that impede the free profession of faith, and calls on HR/VP Ashton and on the European Commission to insist on such issues in the context of its relevant initiatives concerning human rights;
Amendment 263 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 63 b (new)
Paragraph 63 b (new)
63 b. Maintains that freedom of assembly is a vital aspect of the right to freedom of religion or belief and strongly regrets that in many countries around the world religious communities are denied the right to meet together; stresses that registration of religious groups should not be an essential requirement in order to practice a religion; is concerned about the existing obligation in many Central Asian countries and in Vietnam for religious groups to be obliged to register with a state-sanctioned system tightly controlled by the government;
Amendment 266 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 63 c (new)
Paragraph 63 c (new)
63 c. Invites the EEAS and other EU institutions to combat unacceptable practices such as forced conversions and the criminalization/punishment for cases of so-called 'apostasy', applying pressure on third countries, such as Pakistan, Iran and Saudi Arabia that still carry out such practices, so that these practices are eliminated; calls for an equally firm stance against the instrumentalisation of blasphemy laws for the purpose of persecuting members of religious minorities;
Amendment 268 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 63 d (new)
Paragraph 63 d (new)
63 d. Considers that in third countries where religious minorities, including Christians, are faced with violations of their rights, such problems cannot be solved by protecting and isolating Christians "from" the surrounding societies and thus creating 'parallel societies', be it by the State or by any religious community, but in 'common citizenship': this means that every citizen in the areas under consideration must have equal protection and equal rights;
Amendment 331 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 90
Paragraph 90
90. Supports the EU concept of ‘deep democracy’ developed by the High Representative; regrets that discrimination and gender equality criteria are not included within this concept; urges the EEAS to fully integrate anti- discrimination/Vice-President which should fully integrate measures and benchmarks in order to ensure that there is a clear focus on the issue offollowing freedoms and issues, namely, freedom of conscience, religion and thought, freedom of expression, freedom of assembly, women's rights and equal political participation;