13 Amendments of Louis MICHEL related to 2013/2020(INI)
Amendment 61 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital H
Recital H
H. whereas a ceasefire in Western Sahara between the Moroccan Government and the Polisario Front has been in place since 1991; whereas the UN considers Western Sahara a non-self-governnumber of countries ing territory; whereas no couhe world which currentrly recognises Moroccan sovereignty over Western Sahara; whereas the Sahrawi Arab Democratic Republic is currently recognised by the AU and over 45 UN states, but not the Sahrawi Arab Republic (SADR) is steadily falling; whereas the SADR is not recognised by the UN collectively or by any EU Member State; whereas the UN and EU do not explicitly consider Morocco to be an occupying power; whereas a referendum on the status of Western Sahara, first agreed on principle in 1988, has still not taken placethe UN concluded in 2000 that a referendum could not be held; whereas according to the Secretary-General of the UN, no progress has been made on the fundamental issues of the future status of the territory;
Amendment 71 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital H a (new)
Recital H a (new)
Ha. whereas the various resolutions of the UN Security Council, including Resolution 2099(2013), call on ‘the neighbouring States to cooperate more fully with the United Nations and with each other and to strengthen their involvement to end the current impasse and to achieve progress towards a political solution’;
Amendment 76 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital I
Recital I
I. whereas the refugee camps near Tindouf in Algeria, having first been established thirty-seven years ago, remain the second longest-operating in the world; whereas a political stalemate precludes any realistic prospect of their dissolution, or the resettlement or repatriation of their inhabitants, in the near future; whereas no population register has ever been drawn up of the people in the Tindouf camps, in spite of the numerous calls by the Security Council (including in its recent Resolution 2099 of April 2013) and by the HCR (since 2001) on the host country, Algeria, to comply with its international legal obligations by authorising the HCR to carry out registration and a census of the people in the Tindouf camps, and similar calls on the Polisario Front;
Amendment 82 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital J
Recital J
J. whereas the UN Mission for the Referendum in Western Sahara (MINURSO) is not the only UN mission not to include a human rights dimensioncomponent in its mandate, and offers no mechanism for alleged human rights violations to be reported; whereas both the Moroccan Government and the Polisario Front have been accused of human rights violation; whereas, of the 14 UN missions in the world, only five have a human rights dimension; whereas the MINURSO mission as approved by the Security Council consists of facilitating the political process between the parties, monitoring compliance with the ceasefire and supporting confidence-building measures;
Amendment 252 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 37
Paragraph 37
37. Emphasises the need for human rights in Western Sahara and in the Tindouf camps to be considered without anticipating any final political settlement or expressing a view on such a settlement; reiterates, nevertheless, that self- determination is a fundamental human right, as specified by Article 1 of the UN International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights; moreover, recalls UN Security Council Resolution 1754, urgingwhich, whilst applauding Morocco’s serious and credible efforts to secure a political solution to the dispute concerning the Sahara, urges the parties to enter into negotiations in good faith, without preconditions, 'with a view to achieving a just, lasting and mutually acceptable political solution, which would provide for the self- determination of the people of Western Sahara'; fears that the 25-year delay in arranging a referendum is increasing Sahrawi alienation and the potential for violence, particularly amongst the young in accordance with the relevant Security Council resolutions, pointing out, at the same time, that realism and a spirit of compromise between the parties are fundamental to progress in the negotiations; fears that the 25-year delay in arranging a referendum is increasing the risk of violence, in particular among young people in the Tindouf camps; notes that since 2000 the United Nations has taken the view that a referendum is not feasible on account of the fundamental differences of opinion between the parties concerning the practical arrangements;
Amendment 266 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 38
Paragraph 38
38. Expresses deep concern atNotes the recent report on Morocco from the UNSR on torture, who found evidence that Moroccan officials have detained individuals on political grounds, inflicted torture and rape on Sahrawi inmates, kidnapped and abandoned protesters in the desert to intimidate them, and deliberately and frequently targeted pro-independence advocates, including in their homes; notes further widespread allegations of forced disappearances and unfair trials and other cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment, Juan E. Mendez, which ‘perceives the emergence of a culture of human rights and the political will among the various authorities (...) to build up an institutional culture that prohibits and prevents torture and ill-treatment’ and ‘welcomes the efforts made between 2003 and 2005 by the transitional justice mechanism, the Equity and Reconciliation Commission, to investigate the gross, large-scale and systematic human rights violations that took place in Morocco between 1956 and 1999 (...), including many cases of torture and ill- treatment’; notes that the report also makes reference to ‘credible testimonies of undue physical and mental pressure exerted on detainees in the course of interrogations in ordinary criminal cases and, in particular, cases involving State security’; draws particular attention to the dismantling of the Gdeim Izik protest camp in November 2010, where significant violence claimed the lives of 11 Moroccans and two Sahrawi livess, one of them a child, and the subsequent trial of 25 people from the Saharawis, many of them known human rights activists, in February 2013; notes Morocco's insistence regarding the trial's fairness and due process, and the positive conclusions of some international observers, but also recalls the UNSR's concern at the use of a military court, the allegations of torture, and the Moroccan authorities' failure to investigate them; notes the conclusions by some NGOs and h region in February 2013; notes the recommendations made by the Moroccan parliamentary fact-finding delegation which visited the region following those events and Morocco's insistence regarding the trial's fairness and due process, and the positive conclusions of some international observers and welcomes King Mohammed’s acceptance of the recommendations made by the Morocco’s National Human rRights observers relating to the case's alleged politicised prosecutions, deficient evidence and excessive sentences; calls therefore on the Moroccan authorities to work with civil society and other actors to guarantee the transparency and fairness of its judicial processes, and to investigate and prosecute security officials alleged to have been involved in arbitrary detentions, torture and other abuses of powerCouncil to the effect that civilians involved in military crimes should be brought to trial in civilian courts; calls on all parties to promote a human rights culture;
Amendment 276 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 39
Paragraph 39
39. Reiterates the concerns of the 2006 OHCHR report about restrictions on freedom of speech, assembly and association in Western Sahara; notes Morocco's claim tNotes that Morocco allows sit-ins and other forms of protest; regretnotes Morocco'’s apparent institutional obstruction ofdecision not to authorise NGOs advocating a pro-independence position by preventing their legal registration and recognition; condemns the often severe punishments for 'undermining Moroccan territorial integrity', an item of legislation reportedly used to target Sahrawis peacefully advocating independence; recalls the findings ofrecalls the findings of the UN Independent Expert on cultural rights regarding the new Moroccan constitution, which includes additional references to cultural rights, pointing in particular to the importance of the Saharo-Hassani component of Morocco’s identity, and the fact that the UN Independent Expert on cultural rights that the Moroccan authorities suppress certain aspectswelcomes the work carried out by the Royal Consultative Council ofn Saharawi culturen Affairs, and repeats her call to overturn such measures and promote full cultural diversity;
Amendment 285 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 40
Paragraph 40
Amendment 304 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 42
Paragraph 42
42. Expresses deep concern about the chronic poverty, and lack of basic services and adequate housing in the Polisario Front-administered refugee camps near Tindouf; repeats the recommendations of the UNSR on adequate housing that sufficient international funding be directed for this purpose; notes in this regard the lack of clear documentation about the precise number of inhabitants in Tindouf, and urges the authorities to conduct or facilitate regular censuses or formal registrationscalls on the Algerian authorities to abide by their international obligations and allow the HCR to carry out a census of and formally register the people living in the camps in Tindouf, in line with the calls made by the HCR and the resolutions adopted by the UN Security Council; welcomes the fact that the EU is supplying humanitarian aid to the Tindouf camps through DG ECHO; questions, at the same time, whether all possible steps are being taken to ensure that the aid is reaching the people for whom it is intended;
Amendment 309 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 43
Paragraph 43
43. Expresses concern that the poverty in Tindouf, coupled with an absence of long- term prospects for many refugees, leaves them vulnerable to radicalisation along religious fundamentalist lines; draws attention to the region's porous borders, which risk facilitating deeper infiltration of the camps by jihadi groups from northern Mali and elsewhere; stresses, therefore, the paramount importance of ensuring the safety and security of the camps; voices grave concerns about reports from various sources, including official statements, to the effect that some Polisario members have joined up with terrorist organisations operating in the Sahel region, including the MUJAO; condemns in the strongest possible terms the kidnapping in October 2011 of three EU nationals working for humanitarian NGOs in the Tindouf camps; voices grave concern about the deterioration in the security situation in the region, in particular following the terrorist attack on the In Amenas gas plant, in which dozens of people, including 37 foreign nationals from eight EU and non-EU countries, died;
Amendment 317 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 44
Paragraph 44
44. Notes that while most recent observers, and reports from the OHCHR, the Robert F. Kennedy Center for Justice and Human Rights, and Human Rights Watch, have identified little evidence of systemic and institutional human rights violations in the camps, multiple actors, including the Moroccan Government, Moroccan NGOs and some former inhabitants of Tindouf,as well as a large number of international and Moroccan NGOs, former refugees who fled the Tindouf camps and most of the founding members of the Polisario Front have alleged that the Polisario authorities restrict inhabitants’ freedom of expression and freedom of movement, practise or permit slavery, forcibly marry children, and separate families in order to send children to Cuba for military training; notes Polisario's vigorous denials of these accusations, which it claims are politically motivated; calls therefore on Algeria and the Polisario to allow independent human rights observers full, regular and unfettered access to the camps; amidstdraws attention to the reported evidence of some residual private slavery in both Tindouf and Western Sahara, and calls onfor the Polisario and Moroccan authorities to redouble their eferadication of all fortms to terminate this practice and rehabilitate its victimsof slavery;
Amendment 331 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 46
Paragraph 46
46. Notes, nevertheless, the serious and contested allegations against both the Moroccan and Polisario administrations, and recalls the UN Secretary-General's recent emphasis on 'independent, impartial, comprehensive and sustained monitoring of the human rights situation in both Western Sahara and the camps'; notes, in this regard, that the UN did not upgrade the mandate of MINURSO in April 2013 to incorporate a human rights dimension; encourages the UN to do so, or else, in Resolution 2099 of 29 April 2013, the UN Security Council renewed the mandate of MINURSO and recognised and welcomed the steps taken by Morocco to establish a new, permanent, impartial hrengthen the National Council on Human rRights body for the purpose of supervising and reporting on the overall situation of hcommissions operating in Dakhla and Laayoune and Morocco’s ongoing interaction with Special Procedures of the United Nations Human rRights, and investigating individual complaints; calls on such a body to encompass the Moroccan-controlled section of Western Sahara, the Tindouf camps, Council, including those planned for 2013; calls for better relations between Morocco and Algeria, in the interests of the region and of ther territory controlled by the Polisario Front; international community as a whole;
Amendment 340 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 46 a (new)
Paragraph 46 a (new)
46a. Points to the need for the Western Sahara conflict to be addressed as part of a broader strategy for the Sahel region;