23 Amendments of Baroness Sarah LUDFORD related to 2009/2161(INI)
Amendment 7 #
Motion for a resolution
Citation 6
Citation 6
– having regard to all the related conventions, recommendations, reports and activities of the Council of Europe and the United Nations, including specialised monitoring bodies and human rights commissioners, in the area of fundamental rights,
Amendment 11 #
Motion for a resolution
Citation 12 a (new)
Citation 12 a (new)
– having regard to the reports and works by NGOs in the field of human rights,
Amendment 26 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 1
Paragraph 1
1. Draws attention to its resolutions, as well as its oral questions with debates, and findings from missions and country visits in 2009 and 2010 on specificconcrete cases of fundamental rights threats, such as on privacy, personal dignity and data protection, on freedom of thought, conscience and religion, on freedom of expression and information, press freedom, on non-discrimination and, on the usetreatment of minority languagesies including Roma, on Rhoma issues,ophobia and on discrimination against same-sex marriages, and on the illegal detention of prisonerscivil partnerships and marriages, on protection of asylum seekers and migrants, on the respect of non- refoulement, on prison conditions including immigration-related detention; and on complicity in the CIA extraordinary rendition programme involving kidnapping, illegal and secret detention, torture and ill-treatment; stresses that all these resolutions reflect the spirit of the Charter, show its clear commitment to the everyday protection of fundamental rights of all individuals living in the EU, and sends political messages towards European citizens, Member States and the EU institutions;
Amendment 42 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 1 a (new)
Paragraph 1 a (new)
1a. Notes that extraordinary rendition, which has regrettably become a common practice in international intelligence cooperation, thoroughly undermines the EU's human rights framework; regrets that the Council and Commission have not followed up any of the recommendations contained in the European Parliament's 2007 report on the alleged use of European countries by the CIA for the transportation and illegal detention of prisoners1 nor shared with the European Parliament information on EU-US discussions on this topic; deplores the avoidance of accountability for complicity in illegal CIA rendition and secret detention in most EU Member States against whom credible allegations exist, since both complicity and lack of accountability undermines the EU's moral authority; strongly welcomes in the context the independent judge-led inquiry into complicity in torture set up by the government of the United Kingdom; 1 P6_TA(2007)0032.
Amendment 45 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 2 a (new)
Paragraph 2 a (new)
2a. Calls on all EU institutions and Member State governments and parliaments to build within the new institutional and legal framework created by the Lisbon Treaty an ambitious and comprehensive internal human rights policy for the EU and its member States that incorporates effective accountability mechanisms at both national and EU level to address human rights violations;
Amendment 46 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 2 b (new)
Paragraph 2 b (new)
2b. Calls on the Commission to follow up its recent communication on the Strategy for the effective implementation of the Charter of Fundamental Rights by the European Union1 by updating its 2003 communication on Article 7 of the Treaty on European Union2 and elaborating what instruments are needed and available to ensure respect for human rights; 1 COM(2010)0573. 2 COM(2003)0606.
Amendment 57 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 5
Paragraph 5
5. Stresses that the incorporation of the Charter into primary EU law, while not extending the Union's competences, creates new responsibilities for the decision- making and implementing institutions, as well as for Member States when implementing EU legislation domestically, and that the Charter's provisions have thus become directly enforceable by European and national courts; calls on the EU institutions and Member States to increase coherence among their various bodies responsible for monitoring and implementation, with a view to effective application of the established comprehensive framework; and to reinforce a cross-EU monitoring mechanism, as well as an early warning system through the Fundamental Rights Agency, civil society and UN mechanisms;
Amendment 74 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 9
Paragraph 9
9. Calls on the Commission and the Member States to raise awareness of the benefits of accession to the ECHR and of the requirements to be fulfilled, by developing guidelines on the adequate application and the effects of this additional mechanism so that excessive expectations on the part of EU citizens can be avoido ensure that citizens can have their fundamental rights protected and that violations are sanctioned;
Amendment 89 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 11
Paragraph 11
11. Calls for full and consistent implementation in compliance with international and European human rights law of the Stockholm Programme, which converts the obligations and principles deriving from the Treaty into practice by setting the strategic guidelines for the AFSJ;
Amendment 91 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 12
Paragraph 12
12. Considers that the European institutions have often acted in parallel in the field of protection of fundamental rights and therefore calls for reflection on actions taken and for enhanced cooperation among these institutions; calls for the establishment of an interinstitutional structured procedure for the annual monitoring of the situation of human rights in the EU, involving the FRA, the Commission, the Council and the European Parliament, defining contents and a timetable for the respective reports, so that each institution can build upon other institutions' reports;
Amendment 106 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 16
Paragraph 16
16. Reminds the Commission to undertake objective investigations and start infringement proceeding if there are good grounds for doing so, thus avoiding double standards, whenever a Member State, in implementing EU legislation, violates the rights enshrined in the Charter; further reminds the Commission to requo Member Statest that Member States provide reliable data and facton the basis of the principle of loyal cooperation they have a duty to provide to the Commission reliable data and facts; calls on the Commission to collect directly from NGOs, or via the FRA or human rights bodies, information to evaluate the situation, including through on the spot missions;
Amendment 127 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 19 a (new)
Paragraph 19 a (new)
19a. Highlights that also the European Parliament should strengthen its autonomous impact assessment on fundamental rights in relation to legislative proposals and amendments under examination in the legislative process to make it more systematic, notably by enlarging the possibilities currently foreseen by Rule 36 of the Parliament's Rules of Procedure on the respect for the Charter of Fundamental Rights of the European Union and to ask to the Legal Service opinions on legal issues in relation to fundamental rights issues in the EU; recalls the importance of delegation visits to collect on the spot information from authorities, NGOs and citizens and believes that such practice should be strengthened and enlarged notably in relation to possible human rights violations; calls for a more structured cooperation with the FRA and NGOs dealing with human rights issues, as well as with the Council of Europe and the Commissioner for Human Rights, that should be involved systematically when discussions take place on issues relating to human rights, for instance by inviting them to committee meetings;
Amendment 133 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 20
Paragraph 20
20. Calls on the Council to adapt to the changes required by the Treaty and to comply with the Charter when legislating; therefore welcomes the establishment of a standing Working Party on Fundamental Rights, Citizens Rights and Free Movement of Persons and hopes that this new body will work transparently and efficiently; calls on the Council to ensure that the Working Party has a broad mandate to include any issue in relation to fundamental rights of EU and Member States' relevance, adhesion, ratification and compliance with international conventions related to fundamental rights, etc.;
Amendment 147 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 23
Paragraph 23
23. Emphasises that the FRA is charged with the constitutes a guarantee of the ongoingnuous monitoring of the effective protection of fundamental rights within the Union and that it should therefore have adequate resources for its increased tasks following the implementation of the Charter; points out that its monitoring role should extend at least to the acceding countries; consequently calls on the Commission to issue a proposal in 2011 to strengthen and review the mandate and independence of the FRA so to align it as a minimum with the new Lisbon Treaty and Charter of Fundamental Rights competences, i.e. the respect of fundamental rights by the EU and by each Member State when implementing EU law and policies; reiterates its request to be fully associated in revising the multi-annual programme of the FRA;
Amendment 159 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 26
Paragraph 26
26. Underlines the fact that the EU and the Member States share competenceobligations in the field of the implementation and/or enforcement of human and fundamental rights, in their respective spheres of responsibility, in accordance with the principle of subsidiarity, and that this shared responsibility and competence represents both an opportunity and a right, as well as an obligation on the part of the Member States and of EU institutions; highlights the enhanced role of the national parliaments provided by the Treaty of Lisbon and supports the establishment of a formal ongoing dialogue between the European Parliament and national parliaments;
Amendment 165 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 27 a (new)
Paragraph 27 a (new)
27a. Believes that EU action should not only address violations of fundamental rights after they have happened, but should also seek to prevent them; consequently calls for a reflection on mechanisms for early detection of potential violations of fundamental rights in the EU and in its Member States, temporary freezing of the measures which constitute such violations, accelerated legal procedures for determining if a measure is contrary to EU fundamental rights and for sanctions in the event that these measures are nonetheless implemented contrary to EU law;
Amendment 195 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 35 – indent 1
Paragraph 35 – indent 1
– protecting the four fundamental freedoms as the basic EU achievements; notes as highlighted in the Commission's EU Citizenship Report 2010 the major problems still encountered by EU citizens in securing rights and redress as consumers, tourists, workers, residents or legally-bound couples in a Member State other than their own; urges the Commission to speedily present the actions mentioned in this report with a view to improving the daily life of EU citizens,
Amendment 199 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 35 – indent 2
Paragraph 35 – indent 2
– protecting data and privacy, including transfer and storage of financial and personal data, and promoting the right balance between individual freedoms and collective security challenged by new forms of terrorism,by developing a comprehensive instrument which would apply to data processing in all sectors and policies of the Union, including police and judicial cooperation in criminal matters; recalls the growing practice of both the private and public sector using new technologies to accumulate information on individuals without proper tests of necessity and proportionality and often in breach of data protection laws; calls on the Commission to examine how compliance with those laws and with principles of transparency can be secured in line with the findings of its review of the current EU legal framework;
Amendment 205 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 35 – indent 2 a (new)
Paragraph 35 – indent 2 a (new)
– ensuring that the demands of collective security in the context of terrorism do not displace respect for justice and individual freedom which are fundamental in democratic societies; considers that the growing tendency to store large amounts of data on individuals in the cause of fighting crime and terrorism must be judged against the fundamental right to privacy,
Amendment 207 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 35 – indent 3
Paragraph 35 – indent 3
– combating trafficking of human beings – especially women and children – which constitutes an intolerable form of slavery; notes that despite EU and national legislation and policy commitments over many years, several hundred thousand people are estimated to be trafficked into the EU or within the EU area annually and highlights the need for greater urgency in tackling this crime, including through the new proposed EU Directive which includes the suggested appointment of national rapporteurs to monitor the implementation of anti-trafficking policy at the national level,
Amendment 212 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 35 – indent 4
Paragraph 35 – indent 4
– protecting the rights of victims, an area in which EU-wide legislation is required; highlights the EU public consultation on improving rights of victims of crime and violence launched in early 2010 and looks forward to the Commission's follow-up proposal of practical measures to support victims throughout the justice process; recalls the Member State initiative for a European protection order with a view to increasing the protection granted to victims who move between EU Member States but urges legal clarification of its provisions,
Amendment 215 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 35 – indent 5
Paragraph 35 – indent 5
– developing EU strategy on the rights of the child through practical measures to combat child abuse, sexual exploitation and child pornography, to promote safer use of the internet and to eliminate child labour and child poverty, bearing in mind the estimate that 10-20% of children in Europe will be sexually assaulted during their childhood, that research shows child victims portrayed in pornography are getting younger and that current global economic circumstances threaten to push more children into the workforce and/or poverty,
Amendment 219 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 35 – indent 6
Paragraph 35 – indent 6
– prohibiting and eliminating all forms of discrimination against a large number of minorities,on any of the grounds referred to in Article 21 of the Charter, such as sex, race, colour, ethnic or social origin, genetic features, language, religion or belief, political or any other opinion, membership of a national minority, property, birth, disability, age, sexual orientation and nationality, notably by adopting the directive on the application of the principle of equality outside of employment, by ensuring that Directive 2004/38/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council of 29 April 2004 on the right of citizens of the Union and their family members to move and reside freely within the territory of the Member States1 is applied without discriminations and by ensuring the free circulation and mutual recognition of civil status documents, 1 OJ L 158, 30.4.2004, p. 77.