4 Amendments of Michèle RIVASI related to 2018/0358M(NLE)
Amendment 6 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 1 a (new)
Paragraph 1 a (new)
1a. Deplores the fact that no human rights impact assessment was ever carried out prior to the launching of negotiations; recalls that the European Ombudsman, as well as the European Parliament in its urgency resolutions of 9 June 2016, 14 December 2017 and 15 November 2018, notify serious concerns regarding the protection of the human rights in Vietnam especially in relation to freedom of expression, assembly and association, religious freedom, and as regards detention of human rights activists and violence against women; notes with great concern that the human rights situation in Vietnam keeps deteriorating, ever since the implementation of the Partnership and Cooperation Agreement (PCA) in 2012 and since the conclusion of the EVFTA in 2016, notably for human rights defenders in Vietnam;
Amendment 7 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 1 b (new)
Paragraph 1 b (new)
1b. Reaffirms in the strongest terms that the parties to the IPA as well as investors protected by the IPA must respect all international human rights standards and obligations, in addition to those arising from domestic laws; takes the view that tangible improvements on human rights in Vietnam is a key precondition to the ratification of the Investment Protection Agreement and calls for the inclusion of an enforceable Human Right Clause, which include mechanism for redress and accountability in relation to communities affected, considering that the human rights mechanism under the Partnership and Cooperation Agreement (PCA) has proved to be ineffective to address grave and systematic human rights violations;
Amendment 11 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 2
Paragraph 2
2. WelcomesTakes note of the use of the transparency rules of the United Nations Commission on International Trade Law (UNCITRAL) for dispute settlement, but underlines that the use of substantive provisions of foreign investment protection, in particular the principles of ‘indirect expropriation’ and of ‘fair and equitable treatment’, does not weaken the Parties’ right to regulate and pursue legitimate public policy objectives, such as public health, safety and environmental protection; insists on regular monitoring and reporting back to the European Parliament on the use of this provision by European investors;
Amendment 14 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 3
Paragraph 3
3. Notes that protections afforded to investors could possiblyare outpaceing the development of investor responsibilities as the EU- Vietnam Investment Protection Agreement (IPA) guarantees enforceable rights to foreign investors through the arbitration clause, but does not provide a sanction mechanism for non-compliance with social and environmental standards; reiterates the need to ensure a fair balance of investors’ rights and duties, in terms of corporate, social and environmental standards, in the IPA; underlines in this regard the importance of establishing an independent monitoring and complaint mechanism that can be seized by affected populations and that has the authority to make binding rulings with regard to the negative impact that trade and investment agreements may have, including through sanctions; further calls on the EU and Vietnam to take a leading role in addressing this at multilateral level through active participation in negotiations at the UN for a legally binding instrument to regulate, in international human rights law, the activities of transnational corporations and other business enterprises, which ensures access to justice for victims of human rights violations and provide mechanisms for redress and accountability for the communities affected.