Activities of Baroness Sarah LUDFORD related to 2012/2033(INI)
Plenary speeches (2)
Alleged transportation and illegal detention of prisoners in European countries by the CIA (debate)
Alleged transportation and illegal detention of prisoners in European countries by the CIA (debate)
Amendments (16)
Amendment 7 #
Draft opinion
Recital C a (new)
Recital C a (new)
C a. whereas the UN joint study on global practices in relation to secret detention in the context of countering terrorism prepared by the Special Rapporteur on the promotion and protection of human rights and fundamental freedoms while countering terrorism, the Special Rapporteur on torture and other cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment, the Working Group on Arbitrary Detention and the Working Group on Enforced or Involuntary Disappearances (A/HRC/13/42) detailed the use of secret detention sites on EU Member States' territory as part of the CIA programme, and follow-up letters were sent to Member States requesting additional information as detailed in the Communications Reports of the Special Procedures, including that of 23 February 2012 (A/HRC/19/44);
Amendment 13 #
Draft opinion
Recital D a (new)
Recital D a (new)
D a. whereas on 22 January 2009, President Obama signed three executive orders banning torture during interrogations, establishing an inter- agency task force to systematically review detention policies and procedures, and a review of all individual cases, and ordering the closure of Guantanamo;
Amendment 14 #
Draft opinion
Recital D b (new)
Recital D b (new)
D b. whereas, however, Guantanamo has yet to be closed due to strong opposition from the US Congress; whereas in order to hasten the closure the US has called on EU Member States to host Guantanamo detainees; whereas the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights expressed deep disappointment at the failure to close Guantanamo and at the entrenchment of a system of arbitrary detention;
Amendment 15 #
Draft opinion
Recital D c (new)
Recital D c (new)
D c. whereas Guantanamo detainees are still subjected to military tribunals, notably following the US President's decision of 7 March 2011 to sign the executive order which lifted a two-year freeze on new military trials and the 7 January 2012 law barring transfers of Guantanamo detainees to US for trial, and the NDAA (National Defence Authorisation Act) which codified indefinite military detention without charge or trial into law;
Amendment 16 #
Draft opinion
Recital D d (new)
Recital D d (new)
D d. whereas the European Parliament has repeatedly called for the fight against terrorism to fully respect human dignity, human rights and fundamental freedoms, including in international cooperation in the field, on the basis of the European Convention of Human Rights, the EU Charter of Fundamental Rights and national constitutions and fundamental rights laws, and repeated this call most recently in its report on EU counter- terrorism policy where it also said that respect for human rights is a precondition for ensuring the policy's effectiveness;
Amendment 17 #
Draft opinion
Recital D e (new)
Recital D e (new)
D e. whereas although the EU has demonstrated its commitment to avoiding collusion in torture through Council Regulation (EC) No 1236/2005, most recently amended in December 2011, which prohibits any export or import of goods that have no practical use other than for the purpose of capital punishment, torture and other cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment, more work still needs to be done to ensure comprehensive coverage;
Amendment 18 #
Draft opinion
Recital D f (new)
Recital D f (new)
Amendment 40 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 5
Paragraph 5
5. Urges NATO and United States authorities to conduct their own investigations, collaborate fully with EU and Member State parliamentary or judicial inquiries on these issues1, including by responding promptly to Mutual Legal Assistance requests, disclose information on extraordinary rendition programmes and clarify that all NATO agreements and NATO-EU and other transatlantic arrangements comply with fundamental rights; ______________ 1 See inter alia European Parliament resolution of 9 June 2011 on Guantánamo: imminent death penalty decision (P7_TA(2011)0271).
Amendment 61 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 1
Paragraph 1
1. Considers that Member States have so far not properly fulfilled their positive obligation under international law to investigate serious human rights violations connected with the CIA programme and to afford full redress to victims including apologies and compensation where appropriate;
Amendment 71 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 10 a (new)
Paragraph 10 a (new)
10 a. Calls on the US authorities to repeal the power of indefinite detention without charge or trial under the NDAA and to rule out the imposition of the death penalty on Abd -Rahim al-Nashiri or any other persons;
Amendment 72 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 10 b (new)
Paragraph 10 b (new)
10 b. Calls on the FYROM authorities to clarify responsibility and ensure accountability for the extraordinary rendition and alleged torture, apparently through mistaken identity, of Khaled el- Masri whose case is being heard at the ECHR; deplores the decision of the US authorities not to act on the arrest warrants issued by Germany, and calls the US government to disclose the truth, fully collaborate in enquiries, and lift privilege invoked on the basis of state secrets;
Amendment 73 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 10 c (new)
Paragraph 10 c (new)
10 c. Reiterates its call to the Council to rule out reliance on mere diplomatic assurances from third countries as a basis for extradition or deportation, where there are substantial grounds for believing that individuals would be in danger of being subjected to torture or ill-treatment or would be tried using evidence extracted through torture;
Amendment 74 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 10 d (new)
Paragraph 10 d (new)
10 d. Calls on all EU Member States to sign and ratify the UN Convention for the Protection of All Persons from Enforced Disappearances;
Amendment 74 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 3 a (new)
Paragraph 3 a (new)
3a. Calls on Member States, in the light of the increased cooperation and exchange of information between their secret intelligence and security agencies, to ensure full democratic scrutiny of those agencies and their activities through appropriate internal, executive, judicial and independent parliamentary oversight, preferably through specialised parliamentary committees with extensive remit and powers including to require information, and with sufficient investigative and research resources to be able to examine not only issues such as policy, administration and finances but also the operative work of the agencies;
Amendment 75 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 10 e (new)
Paragraph 10 e (new)
10 e. Pays tribute to the work of UN officials including and notably the 2010 joint study by the UN Special Procedures on global practices in relation to secret detentions1 and urges Member States to fully cooperate with them in the context of countering terrorism, and to respond as a matter of urgency to the outstanding requests for information transmitted to them in the follow-up to the joint study, including by communicating measures taken to address the allegations and to implement the related recommendations;
Amendment 119 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 13
Paragraph 13
13. Calls on the Council to hold hearings with relevant EU security agencies, in particular Europol, Eurojust and the EU Counter-Terrorism Coordinator, in order to clarify their knowledge of Member States‘' involvement in the CIA programme and the EU's response; also calls on the Council to propose safeguards so as to guarantee respect for human rights in intelligence sharing, and a strict delimitation of roles between intelligence and law-enforcement activities so that intelligence agencies are not permitted to assume powers of arrest and detention, and to report to Parliament within a year;