26 Amendments of Dennis de JONG related to 2018/2155(INI)
Amendment 14 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital A
Recital A
A. whereas the right to freedom of religion or belief (FoRB) is a human right inherent to all human beings and a fundamental right of individuals which should be subjected to no kind of discrimination, as enshrined by international and European founding texts, including the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, the European Convention on Human Rights and the Charter of Fundamental Rights of the European Union;
Amendment 20 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital B
Recital B
Amendment 28 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital C
Recital C
C. whereas FoRB isall human rights and fundamental freedoms are indivisible, is interdependent on and interrelated to fundamental freedoms , and freedom to manifest one’s religion or belief includes and is dependent on elements of mandy other human rights, and is a cornerstonefundamental freedoms, such as freedom of expression, and freedom of assembly and association and should be considered a basic human right that protects the core of human dignitying one’s fundamental outlook on life;
Amendment 35 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital D
Recital D
D. whereas respect for FoRB directly contributes to democracy, development, the rule of law, peace and stability; whereas violations of FoRB are increasingly widespread, affect people in all parts of the world and may exacerbate intolerance, often constituting early indicators of potential violence and conflicts;
Amendment 44 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital G
Recital G
G. whereas the EU has promoted FoRB, at international level and through multilateral fora, in particular by taking the lead on thematic resolutions on FoRB at the UN General Assembly (UNGA) and the UN Human Rights Council (UNHRC) and supporting the mandate of and engaging with the UN Special Rapporteur on FoRB, but also through cooperation with those third countries that have similar FoRB guidelines and special envoys, such as the United Statlike-minded third countries;
Amendment 45 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital H
Recital H
H. whereas the promotion of FoRBfreedom of thought, conscience and religion , including through civil society support for the protection of the rights of believers and non-believers, individuals belonging to religious and belief minorities in particular, support for human rights defenders (HRDs) and the fight against discrimination on grounds ofsuch as religion and belief , as well as the promotion of intercultural and interreligious dialogue, is a funding priority under the 2014-2020 European Instrument for Democracy and Human Rights (EIDHR); whereas the European Development Fund (EDF) and EU financial instruments such as the Development Cooperation Instrument (DCI), the European Neighbourhood Instrument (ENI), the Instrument contributing to Stability and Peace (IcSP) and the Instrument for Pre-Accession Assistance (IPA) have also supported projects that are conducive to improving the environment for FoRBfreedom of thought, conscience and religion ;
Amendment 48 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 1
Paragraph 1
1. Stresses that religion or belief is an important undeniable pillar of human identity, greatly impacting individuals and societies, and is therefore a reality thatfor anyone who professes either, is one of the fundamental elements in one conception of life and must not be neglected or denied in policies but requires proper recognition and addressing;
Amendment 66 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 3
Paragraph 3
3. Expresses its deep concern at the fact that recent years have seen a dramatic rise in violations of FoRBfreedom of thought, conscience and religion worldwide, including persecution based on religion or belief; condemns the exploitation of religious issues for political ends in numerous countries in recent years; stresses that these violations are frequently at the root of or increasingly exacerbate wars or other forms of armed conflict, resulting in violations of humanitarian law, including mass murders or genocide; stresses that violations of FoRBfreedom of thought, conscience and religion undermine democracy, impede development, and negatively affect the enjoyment of other fundamental freedoms and rights; emphasises that this obligates the international community, the EU and its Member States to reaffirm their determination and strengthen their actions in promoting FoRB;
Amendment 71 #
4. Stresses that, in accordance with Article 21 TEU, the EU and its Member States have pledged to enhance respect for human rights, as a principle guiding EU foreign policy; strongly welcomes the fact that the 2013 EU Guidelines mainstream this fundamental freedome promotion and protection of FoRB into EU foreign policy and external actions, and in this regard calls for its further strengthening activities aimed at awareness raising and implementation of the Guidelines;
Amendment 76 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 5
Paragraph 5
5. Stresses that, in accordance with Article 17 TEU, the EU is committed to maintaining open, transparent and regular dialogues with churches and religious, philosophical and non-confessional organisations; highlights the supporting effect of these dialogues for respect for other human rights, equal rights for women, children’s rights, as well as for democracy, development, the rule of law, good governance, peace and stability, and environmental and labour standards; stresses that such interreligious and intercultural dialogues are often met by greater openness by some EU international partners and create a starting-point for progress in other areas;
Amendment 83 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 6
Paragraph 6
6. Welcomes the enhancement of the promotion of FoRB in EU foreign policy and external actions over recent years, in particular through the EU Global Strategy for foreign policy and security and the 2015-2019 EU Action Plan on Human Rights and Democracy; welcomes the fact that this enhancement is being met with an increased commitment on the part of many partner countries to comply with the respective Articles 18 of the UDHR and ICCPRrefers in this respect to the activities of the EU Special Representative for Human Rights who consistently raised FoRB, inter alia, during High Level Human Rights Dialogues with third countries;
Amendment 88 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 8
Paragraph 8
8. Stresses the importance of linking up efforts to promote FoRB and inter- and intra-religious dialogues withwith religious and belief literacy in general; recognises in this respect the positive role religious and belief communities and their organisations can play for the prevenomotion of violent extremism on a complementary and mutually reinforcing basis, in particular within neighbouring and other countries with which the EU has special relationsdevelopment, good governance, humanitarian aid and peace-keeping through reconciliation activities; is convinced of the usefulness of inter- and intra-religious and belief dialogues for the prevention of violent extremism;
Amendment 102 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 9
Paragraph 9
9. Deplores the fact that some countries have, enforce or seek to introduce penal laws providing punishment for blasphemy, conversion or apostasy, including the death penalty; also draws attention to the situation of some other countries facing or being at risk of conflicts of ain which religious dimensionissues are most frequently exploited; calls for the EU to prioritise in its foreign policy efforts towards all the countries concerned with a view to the repeal of such discriminatory laws;
Amendment 110 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 10
Paragraph 10
10. Welcomes the fact that the Special Envoy has developed effective working networks within the Commission, as well as with the Council, and the European Parliament, as well as withnd other stakeholders; deploregrets, however, the fact that the Special Envoy’s mandate was not established and consolidated with sufficientat due to his place within the Commission, and despite attempts to come to informal arrangements, co-operation between the Special Envoy and the EEAS was not optimal and made it difficult for the Special Envoy to draw upon the EEAS’ human and financial resources;
Amendment 114 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 11
Paragraph 11
Amendment 126 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 12 – introductory part
Paragraph 12 – introductory part
12. Calls on the Council and the Commission to creflect on creating the EU Special Representative for FoRBate, beginning during the new legislative term a post for a truly EU Special Envoy on Religion or Belief and Society, working closely together with the EU Special Representative for Human Rights and acting as Special Advisor and in this capacity reporting directly to the High Representative/Vice-President; considers that the competences and mandate of this Special RepresentativeEnvoy should include:
Amendment 136 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 12 – point e a (new)
Paragraph 12 – point e a (new)
(ea) acting as focal point for all issues relating to religion or belief and society insofar as these emerge in the relations with third countries;
Amendment 137 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 12 – point e b (new)
Paragraph 12 – point e b (new)
(eb) organising training and awareness-raising activities on religious and belief literacy for staff in the EEAS, including the EU Delegations, and in the Member States’ Ministries of Foreign Affairs, including their embassies;
Amendment 148 #
Amendment 155 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 15
Paragraph 15
15. Recommends the setting up of a regular advisory working group of Member States’ FoRB institutions and European Parliament representatives together with experts, scholars, and representatives of civil society, including churches and other faith-based organisations, providing advice on FoRB issues to assist the Special Envoy;
Amendment 160 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 16
Paragraph 16
16. Recommends that the Special Envoy further develops cooperation with counterparts outside the EU, in particular by working in close cooperation with the UN Special Rapporteur on FoRB, as well as exploring the possibility of EU-UN joint annual reporting on discrimination against religious minorities, also formulating common proposals on how to put an end to such acts;
Amendment 178 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 19
Paragraph 19
19. Commends, in this respect, the efforts made to date by the EEAS and the Commission to provide training on religious and belief literacy to EU officials and national diplomats; stresses, however, the need for broader and more systematic training programmes which would raise awareness of and increase the use of the EU Guidelines among the EU’s and Member States’ officials and diplomats and strengthen cooperation with the Special Envoy; asks for churches and religious communities and associationorganisations based on religions or beliefs to be involved in this training process; calls on the Commission and the Council to earmark resources for establishing such training programmes;
Amendment 182 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 20
Paragraph 20
20. Calls on the Commission and the EEAS to produce EU Annual RepoHR/VP to submit annual progress reports in respect of the implementation of the EU Guidelines, as parts on FoRB in the world, to be communicaf the general human rights report , to be submitted to the European Parliament and the Council; notes that the EU Guidelines provide for an evaluation of their implementation by COHOM after a period of three years, and that no such evaluation has been communicated or made public; calls for the evaluation to be made public without delay; considers that the evaluation should highlight best practices, identify areas for improvement, and provide concrete recommendations on implementation in accordance with a specified timeline and milestones subject to regular annual evaluation; calls for the evaluation to be includsubmitted into the EU Annual Reports on FoRB in the worlduropean Parliament and the Council;
Amendment 189 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 21
Paragraph 21
21. Underlines the responsibilities fulfilled by human rights focal points within all EU Delegations and CSDP Missions; calls for the designating of FoRB-specific focal points for freedom of thought, conscience and religion in every EU Delegation and CSDP Mission; calls for more resources to be allocated to EU Delegations and CSDP Missions so as to allow them to carry out their work of promoting FoRBfreedom of thought, conscience and religion, including non-belief;
Amendment 203 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 23 a (new)
Paragraph 23 a (new)
23a. Recommends the EU Special Representative for Human Rights and the Special Envoy to pursue their efforts to bring forward the Istanbul Process on promoting tolerance and inclusion, ending violence and discrimination based on religion or belief, following the UN Rabat Plan of Action and to offer hosting the next round of this process; welcomes the ‘Faith for Rights’ initiative of March 2017 of the OHCHR, that led to the adoption by religious leaders and civil society actors of the Beirut Declaration and its eighteen commitments; recommends the EU institutions to support and mobilise all the actors of the ‘Faith for Rights’ initiative to promote the universal and uniform goals of the Declaration, across the world;
Amendment 214 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 25
Paragraph 25
25. Stresses that the EU’s policies in the fields of peace, security and conflict prevention and development and cooperation face challenges, for which solutions can be devised with the participation of churches, religious leaders, academics, religious communities and associations or faith-based organisreligious and belief communities and their associations that are a critical part of civil society; acknowledges the importance of being mindful of the diversity of churches, religiousreligious and belief communities and associations and faith-based organisations which perform actual development and humanitarian work for and with communities; calls on the Council and the Commission to incorporate, where relevant, objectives and activities relating to the promotion and protection of FoRB into the programming of funding instruments linked to those policies, namely the EDF, the DCI, the ENI, the IcSP and the IPA;