Activities of Michèle RIVASI related to 2020/0157M(NLE)
Shadow opinions (1)
OPINION on a motion for a non-legislative resolution on the draft Council decision on the conclusion of the Voluntary Partnership Agreement between the European Union and the Republic of Honduras on forest law enforcement, governance and trade in timber products to the European Union
Amendments (7)
Amendment 2 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 1
Paragraph 1
1. Strongly supports the conclusion of the negotiations on the Voluntary Partnership Agreement (VPA) between the EU and Honduras, which not onlyshall ensure that only legally logged timber is imported into the EU; promotes sustainable trade in legal timber products, but also aims to address illegal logging and improve forest governance, law enforcementforest management practices and sustainable trade in legally produced timber; improve forest governance, law enforcement (including labour and occupational, health and safety obligations) and transparency;
Amendment 7 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 2
Paragraph 2
2. Welcomes the commitment shown by Honduras and the progress made so far, and is aware that the full implementation of the VPA will be a long-term process entailing the adoption of a whole batch of legislation to establish the Timber Legality Assurance System (TLAS) and to make it operational; stresses that the implementation of the VPA depends upon the maintenance of a strong multi- stakeholder involvement that ensures notably meaningful participation of CSOs, local and Indigenous communities in decision-making, in addition, it will require sustained political will, as well as the dedication of significant human and financial resources to running the TLAS;
Amendment 11 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 3
Paragraph 3
3. Calls on the Commission to allocate substantial funding to accompany the implementation of the VPA as part of the next programming period of the EU bilateral programmes (2021-2027), which should enable the monitoring of progress, in accordance with clear criteria, time- bound objectives and procedures, that enable the verification of compliance with those standards; and calls on the Commission to report periodically on the progress of the FLEGT action plan;
Amendment 13 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 4
Paragraph 4
4. Underlines the importance of ensuring full stakeholder involvement, in particular of keeping up the participation and dialogue with indigenous people, which got off to a promising start, during the implementation and monitoring phase of the VPA; Expresses its deep concern that according to Global Witness, Honduras remains amongst the deadliest countries for land and environmental defenders in the world; expresses concern particularly for those land defenders from the Black indigenous Garifuna and Guapinol communities who recently have been forcibly displaced, criminalized and killed in conflicts with powerful conglomerates over land and water; against this background, underlines the importance of ensuring full stakeholder involvement, in particular of keeping up the participation and dialogue with indigenous people, which got off to a promising start, during the implementation and monitoring phase of the VPA; in addition, insists upon the need to enhance transparency, notably through effective public disclosure of information and the timely sharing of documents with local and indigenous people, and to provide effective access to judicial and administrative proceedings, including redress and remedy;
Amendment 17 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 5
Paragraph 5
5. Welcomes the fact that the VPA’s definition of legality explicitly refers to the rights of Indigenous and Afro-descendant Peoples of Honduras living in forest areas and to the principles of free, prior and informed consent (FPIC); , which shall among others be obtained as a condition of the purchase or the use of customary forest lands, in compliance with international human rights laws, namely the ILO Convention N°169 on Indigenous and Tribal Peoples and the standards set out in the FAO Voluntary Guidelines on the Responsible Governance of Tenure of Land, Fisheries and Forests;
Amendment 19 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 6
Paragraph 6
6. Recalls that land tenureaccess to, use and control over land has been a major source of social conflicts, violence and human rights abuses in Honduras; believes, in this context, that the VPA process could contribute to clarifying land tenure rights; , where business enterprises are often directly or indirectly involved; recalls, in particular, that according to the Office of the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, approximately 80 percent of privately held land on Honduras is either untitled or improperly titled, while it may take years to resolve title disputes, owing to the weakness of the judicial system, believes, in this context, that the VPA process could contribute to clarifying land tenure rights, including through the effective recognition of customary land rights, considering that indigenous communities often hold collective ancestral titles on land;
Amendment 25 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 7
Paragraph 7
7. Emphasises that the success of the Agreement will also depend, inter alia, on tackling fraud, and corruption; at all stages of the timber trade, from the harvesting of timber, its transportation, processing, manufacturing, exporting, importing and selling; to this effect, calls on the EU to strengthen the scope and enforcement of EU Timber Regulation to tackle corruption risks in the EU’s timber supply chain, including through more regular and systematic controls and investigations in EU harbours; in addition, believes that the success of the Agreement equally depend on the creation of a safe and enabling environment for the protection of environmental human right defenders and whistle-blower, which ensure effective remedies for human rights violations and combating impunity; in this respect, stresses that the ratification of the Escazú Agreement would be an excellent opportunity to expand environmental human rights in Honduras; urges the government of Honduras to take steps on this line;