Activities of Barbara LOCHBIHLER related to 2016/2239(INI)
Plenary speeches (1)
Addressing human rights violations in the context of war crimes, and crimes against humanity, including genocide (short presentation) DE
Shadow reports (1)
REPORT on addressing human rights violations in the context of war crimes, and crimes against humanity, including genocide PDF (481 KB) DOC (79 KB)
Amendments (31)
Amendment 5 #
Motion for a resolution
Citation 12 a (new)
Citation 12 a (new)
– having regard to the Kampala Amendments to the Rome Statute, adopted by the Review Conference in Kampala, Uganda in June 2010,
Amendment 7 #
Motion for a resolution
Citation 14 a (new)
Citation 14 a (new)
– having regard to the EU Guidelines on Promoting Compliance with International Humanitarian Law,
Amendment 8 #
Motion for a resolution
Citation 14 b (new)
Citation 14 b (new)
- having regard to the Strategy of the EU Genocide Network to combat impunity for the crime of genocide, crimes against humanity and war crimes within the European Union and its Member States, adopted on 30 October 2014,
Amendment 11 #
Motion for a resolution
Citation 16 a (new)
Citation 16 a (new)
– having regard to its resolution of 17 July 2014 on the Crime of Aggression,
Amendment 12 #
Motion for a resolution
Citation 16 b (new)
Citation 16 b (new)
– having regard to its resolution of 16 December 2015 on Preparing for the World Humanitarian Summit: Challenges and opportunities for humanitarian assistance
Amendment 14 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital A
Recital A
A. whereas the crime of genocide, crimes against humanity and war crimes, also known as ‘atrocity crimes’, as well as the crime of aggression are the most serious crimes against humankind;
Amendment 23 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital C
Recital C
C. whereas the ICC plays a key role in the fight against impunity and the restoration of peace and providing justice for victims;
Amendment 30 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital E
Recital E
E. whereas, in accordance with the Preamble to the Rome Statute, as well as with the principle of complementarityprinciple of complementarity, as enshrined in the Rome Statute, the ICC only acts in instances where national courts are unable or unwilling to hold trialsgenuinely investigate and prosecute, so that States Parties retain the primary responsibility for prosecuting atrocity crimesbringing to justice the alleged perpetrators of the most serious crimes of international concern;
Amendment 31 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital F
Recital F
F. whereas cooperation among States Parties to the Rome Statute and with regional organisations is of the utmost importance, particularly in situations where the jurisdiction of the ICC is being challenged, such as the EU and the African Union, is of utmost importance;
Amendment 33 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital H
Recital H
H. whereas the EU and its Member States have been staunch allies of the ICC from its inception, offering continued political, diplomatic, financial and logistical support, including the promotion of universality and the defence of the integrity of the Rome Statute system;
Amendment 34 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital H a (new)
Recital H a (new)
Ha. whereas the EU and its Member States have pledged to the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) to strongly support the establishment of an effective mechanism for strengthening compliance with international humanitarian law; whereas the Parliament has requested the VP/HR to report back on the objectives and strategy devised in order to deliver on this pledge;
Amendment 55 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 1
Paragraph 1
1. Recalls the EUʼs commitment to act on the international scene in the name of the principles that inspired its creation, such as democracy, the rule of law and respect for human rights and for the principles of the UN Charter of the United Nations and international law; reaffirms, in this context, that addressing the human rights violations occurring in cases of genocide, crimes against humanity andmost serious violations of human rights arising to the gravity-threshold of crimes against humanity and genocide and the grave breaches of international humanitarian law arising to the level of war crimes should be of the utmostimperative importance for the EU;
Amendment 57 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 2
Paragraph 2
2. Calls for the EU and its Member States to use all their political weight to prevent any act that could be considered a crime of atrocity from taking place, to respond in an efficient and coordinated manner in cases where such crimes occur , including through the exercise of universal jurisdiction, and to mobilise all necessary resources to bring to justice all those responsible, as well as to support the victims and stabilisation and reconciliation processes;
Amendment 80 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 7 a (new)
Paragraph 7 a (new)
7a. Deplores the widespread lack of respect for international humanitarian law and the alarming rate of loss of civilian lives and attacks against civilian infrastructure in armed conflicts around the world; urges the international community to convene an international conference to prepare a new international mechanism for tracking and collecting data, and for publicly reporting on violations in the course of armed conflicts; reiterates its request to the VP/HR to present, on an annual basis, a public list of alleged perpetrators of attacks on schools and hospitals, for the purpose of defining appropriate EU action to halt such attacks;
Amendment 84 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 7 b (new)
Paragraph 7 b (new)
7b. Calls on the Member States to ratify the principal international humanitarian law (IHL) instruments and other relevant legal instruments; acknowledges the importance of the EU Guidelines on promoting compliance with IHL, and reiterates its call on the VP/HR and the EEAS to step up their implementation, notably in relation to war crimes in the Middle East; calls on the EU to support initiatives aiming at spreading knowledge of IHL and good practices in its application, and calls on the EU to seize all bilateral tools at its disposal effectively to promote compliance with IHL by its partners, including through political dialogue;
Amendment 87 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 7 c (new)
Paragraph 7 c (new)
7c. Reiterates its call to the VP/HR to launch an initiative aimed at imposing an EU arms embargo against countries that are accused of serious allegations of breaches of international law, notably with regard to the deliberate targeting of civilian infrastructure; stresses that the continued authorisation of arms sales to such countries represents a breach of the Council Common Position 2008/944/CFSP of 8 December 2008;
Amendment 89 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 7 d (new)
Paragraph 7 d (new)
7d. Calls on the EU to keep victims' rights at the heart of all actions in the fight against impunity and to emphasise and promote the rights of victims under international law to participation, protection and redress;
Amendment 91 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 8
Paragraph 8
8. Reiterates its full support for the ICC, the Rome Statute system, the Office of the Prosecutor, and the Prosecutor’s proprio motu powers and the progress made in initiating new investigations, which is an essential means of fighting impunity for atrocity crimes; also underlines the possibility for the UN Security Council to refer a situation in any country to the ICC Prosecutor under Chapter VII of the UN Charter if it determines that a situation amounts to a threat to international peace and security; in this context, regrets the failure of the UNSC to act, in some cases where there was strong evidence of widespread and serious international crimes; calls on the EU to support the initiatives against the use of the veto in the UNSC in case of mass atrocities, and as mentioned in the EU Global Strategy;
Amendment 93 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 9
Paragraph 9
9. Reaffirms the paramount importance of universal adherence to the Rome Statute of the ICC; calls on the states which have not yet done so to ratify the Rome Statute and the Kampala amendments in order to support accountability and reconciliation, which are key elements in preventing future atrocities; reaffirms, equally, the crucial importance of the integrity of the Rome Statute system;
Amendment 98 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 10
Paragraph 10
10. Notes with regret the recent announcements of withdrawals from the Rome Statute, which represent a challenge, notably in terms of victims’ access to justice; calls on the countries concerned to reconsider their decision; welcomes the fact that one of these has already retracted its withdrawal notificatwelcomes the decision by two of the concerned countries to revoke their decision to withdraw from the ICC; calls on the remaining country concerned to reconsider its decision;
Amendment 107 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 11 a (new)
Paragraph 11 a (new)
11a. Welcomes the invaluable assistance by civil society organisations to the Court; is concerned by reports of threats and intimidation directed at some civil society organisations cooperating with the Court; calls to ensure a safe environment for civil society organisations to operate and cooperate with the Court and to take all necessary action to address threats and intimidation directed at them in that regard;
Amendment 108 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 12
Paragraph 12
12. Takes note of the progress made in the implementation of the Action Plan to follow-up on the Decision on the ICC of 12 July 2011; calls for an evaluation of the implementation of the Action Plan in order to identify possible areas in which the effectiveness of EU action could be improved; underlines, in this context, the important role of parliamentarians in promoting the ICC and the fight against impunity, including through inter- parliamentary cooperation,
Amendment 111 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 13
Paragraph 13
13. Strongly encourages the EU and its Member States to use all thepolitical and diplomatic tools at their disposal to support effective cooperation with the ICC, including in relation to the execution of pending arrest warrants and witness protection programmes; calls on the Commission, the EEAS and the Council to agree on the adoption of concrete measures for responding to non-cooperation with the ICC that could complement political statementsin addition to political statements; underlines the importance of ensuring sufficient financial contributions to the Court for its effective functioning;
Amendment 114 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 13 a (new)
Paragraph 13 a (new)
13a. Strongly encourages all States, including EU Member States, to ratify the Agreement on Privileges and Immunities of the International Criminal Court; and to enter into an agreement with the ICC to relocate witnesses and victims as well as to enforce sentences;
Amendment 116 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 13 b (new)
Paragraph 13 b (new)
13b. Calls on all States, including the EU and its Member States, to make a voluntary contribution to the ICC Trust Fund for Victims in order to support the ICC mandate towards victims of the most heinous crimes:
Amendment 128 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 16
Paragraph 16
16. Calls, furthermore, for the EU and its Member States to support reform processes and national capacity-building efforts aimed at strengthening the independence of the judiciary, the law- enforcement sector and, the penitentiary system and reparation programmes in third countries directly affected by the alleged commission of such crimes, as committed to in the EU Action Plan on Human Rights and Democracy 2015-2019; welcomes, in this context, the EU’s Framework on Support to Transitional Justice 2015 and looks forward to its effective implementation;
Amendment 130 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 17
Paragraph 17
17. Calls on the EU Member States to ensure that coordination and cooperation with the ICC is included in the mandate of relevant regional EU Special Representatives (EUSRs); reiterates its calls on the Vice-President of the Commission / High Representative of the Union for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy (VP/HR) to appoint an EUSR on International Humanitarian Law and International Justice with a mandate to promote, mainstream and represent the EU’s commitment to the fight against impunity and to the ICC across EU foreign policies;
Amendment 157 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 18
Paragraph 18
18. Notes that international criminal law and particularly the mandate of the international criminal tribunals have clearly defined the responsibility of individuals belonging to non- state actors involved in international crimes; stresses that this responsibility not only relates to such individuals that are the direct perpetrators and their commanders/superiors, but also to indirect co-perpetrators who plan, finance, provide logistical and/or ideological support or otherwise aid and abet in the commission of such crimes;
Amendment 160 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 19
Paragraph 19
19. Reaffirms, in this context, its strong condemnation of the heinous crimes and human rights violations committed by ‘ISIS/Daesh’ in Syria and Iraq, including killingsextermination, torture, rape, enslavement including sexual slavery, forced religious conversions and killings (e.g. the systematic murder of religious minorities; believes that the prosecution of the perpetrators should be a priority for the international community); in this context, recalls that sexual violence can, according to the Rome Statute, and judgments of the ICC, amount to a war crime and a crime against humanity; believes that the prosecution of the perpetrators should be a priority for the international community; stresses that extrajudicial killings or other acts of revenge against 'ISIS/Daesh' operatives is being used by this organisation and other extremist groups as a recruitment argument;
Amendment 186 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 23
Paragraph 23
23. Welcomes the Commission of Inquiry on Syria set up by the Human Rights Council and the International, Impartial and Independent Mechanism (IIIM) set up by the UN General Assembly to assist in the investigations of serious crimes committed in Syria - which shall be expanded to crimes committed in Iraq and other territories in which ISIS is active - , and calls on all EU Member States, all parties to the conflict in Syria and Iraq, civil society and the UN system as a whole to cooperate fully with the IIIM and to provide it with any information and documentation they might possess to assist in the delivery of its mandate;
Amendment 192 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 24
Paragraph 24
24. Welcomes the EUʼs efforts to support the work of the Commission for International Justice and AccountabilityNGOs that are documenting atrocity crimes, including under the European Instrument for Democracy and Human Rights; calls for the EU to give direct support to Iraqi and Syrian civil society organizations in gathering, preserving and protecting evidence of crimes committed by ‘ISIS/Daesh’; supports the Uni and other groups, including State actors, that are implicated Kingdom the commission of atrocities; supports the British and Belgian initiative at UN level to gather evidence of the crimes committed by ‘ISIS/Daesh’ in Syria and Iraq in order to facilitate its prosecution internationally;