Activities of Cristian Dan PREDA related to 2018/2098(INI)
Plenary speeches (1)
Annual report on human rights and democracy in the world 2017 and the European Union’s policy on the matter (debate) FR
Shadow reports (1)
REPORT on the Annual report on human rights and democracy in the world 2017 and the European Union’s policy on the matter PDF (1 MB) DOC (124 KB)
Amendments (21)
Amendment 46 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital A
Recital A
A. whereas respect for and the promotion, indivisibility and safeguarding of the universality of human rights, as well as the promotion of democratic principles and values are the cornerstones of the EU’s ethical and legal acquis and its common security and defenceforeign and security policy (CFSP); whereas the EU should continue to strive to be a leading player in the universal promotion and protection of human rights, including at via multilateral levelcooperation, in particular through an active and constructive role in diverse UN bodies;
Amendment 83 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 2
Paragraph 2
2. Stresses the vital and central role played by human rights defenders and NGOs in promoting and supporting the application of the fundamental rights enshrined in the core international human rights treaties; underlines, in this respect, the importance of the EU’s capacity to maintain support, through the European Instrument for Democracy and Human Rights (EIDHR), and European Endowment for Democracy (EED) for human rights defenders and NGOs in situations where they are most at risk, while devoting special attention to the ProtectDefenders.eu mechanism;
Amendment 89 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 3
Paragraph 3
3. Welcomes the EU’s active participation in the UN Human Rights Council (UNHRC), which has seen it sponsor and co-sponsor resolutions, issue statements, intervene in interactive dialogues and debates, and call for special sessions on the situation regarding human rights; recognises the EU’s commitments to addressing country situations in the UNHRC; stresses the importance of the EU’s engagement in dialogues and cooperation on human rights at a multilateral level; fully supports the UNHRC’s activities and engagement when defending human rights worldwide;
Amendment 91 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 4
Paragraph 4
4. Praises the work done by the EU’s Special Representative for Human Rights (EUSR), Stavros Lambrinidis, in increasing the effectiveness, cohesion and visibility of human rights in EU foreign policy and recalls its request for this mandate to be made permanent; welcomes the recent approach on the EU’s Good Human Rights Stories initiative, which focuses on the best practices employed by various countries; calls once more for a revision of the mandate, so as to grant the EUSR own-initiative powers, adequate resources and the ability to speak publicly in order to report on achievements of visits to third countries and to communicate the EU's positions on human rights topics;
Amendment 100 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 5
Paragraph 5
5. Welcomes the EU Annual Report on Human Rights and Democracy in the World 2017 and notes that it was adopted much earlier this year, in line with Parliament’s expectations expressed in the previous reports; asks that the Council continues its efforts to finalise these annual reports earlier in the year; encourages the Council to ensure that the adoption of the next annual report is based on an adequate consultation process; considers the annual report to be an indispensable tool for scrutiny, communication and debate on the EU’s policy on human rights and democracy in the world;
Amendment 105 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 7
Paragraph 7
7. Reiterates the importance of an overview of key positive and negative trends in order to evaluate the efficiency of the EU’s actions; considers, in this sense, that more thorough public reporting, where appropriate, based in particular on the priorities and indicators identified in the EU’s human rights country strategies, inter alia, would encourage greater consistency in implementing human rights conditionality clauses and assessing and adjusting the human rights impact of EU policies;
Amendment 110 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 8
Paragraph 8
8. Acknowledges that the EU Human Rights Dialogues (HRDs) constitute a valuable mixed diplomacy tool for the promotion of human rights and democracy in bilateral relations with third countries; notes, however, the enduring obstacles to the achievement of concrete results via HRDs, such as the prevalence of double standards, a or lack of a unified stance and divergent interests among the Member States; calls on the Commission to seek ways to make human rights dialogues more effective and meaningful and to react swiftlycomplement them when they are not constructive, by utilising political dialogue or public diplomacy, in order to keep human rights concerns high on the political agenda; encourages the Commission to use clear benchmarks for the purposes of evaluating the success of each dialogue; advises the EU institutions, moreover, to provide adequate training on human rights and democracy for EU delegation officials and staff;
Amendment 143 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 13
Paragraph 13
13. Denounces the fact that media freedom had nevers been sovery threatened as it was in 2017; reiterates the importance of freedom of expression, both online and offline, as it fosters a culture of pluralism; strongly condemns the threats, intimidation and attacks against journalists, independent media, bloggers and whistle-blowers, as well as hate speech, defamation laws and incitements to violence occurring mostly in authoritarian and semi-authoritarian regimes, as they constitute a threat to the rule of law and the values embodied by human rights; believes that the free expression of legitimate and peaceful grievances must be allowed;
Amendment 165 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 15
Paragraph 15
15. Acknowledges that the open internet and technological advances have enabled human rights abuses to be reported more swiftly; criticises the attempts by some governments to control mass communication tools; is concerned at the prevalence of fake news and disinformation generated by state and non- state actors in 2017, which may have contributed to the spreading of anti-human rights narratives, limited access to free, accurate and impartial information, incited violence, hatred or discrimination against certain groups or individuals, and affected the outcomes of elections;
Amendment 169 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 16
Paragraph 16
16. Reaffirms that freedom of thought, conscience, religion and belief, and the rights to apostasy and to espouse atheistic views, must be enhanced unconditionally through interreligious and intercultural dialogue; condemns the persecution of and attacks against ethnic and religious groups in 2017; deplores the attempts by state and non-state actors to limit freedom of religion and belief and freedom of expression by adopting and implementing blasphemy laws, among other means; requests that further action be taken to protect religious minorities, non-believers and atheists, including the victims of blasphemy laws, and calls for the EU and its Member States to increase their engagement in political discussions to repeal such laws; supports the EU’s efforts torequests concrete action towards the effective implementation of the EU Guidelines on the promotion and protection of freedom of religion or belief, including by ensuring the systematic and consistent training of EU staff at headquarters and in delegations; supports fully the EU practice of taking the lead on thematic resolutions on freedom of religion and belief at the UN Human Rights Council (UNHRC) and the UN General Assembly (UNGA); supports fully the work of the EU Special Envoy for the Promotion of Freedom of Religion or Belief outside the EU, Mr Ján Figel;
Amendment 188 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 18
Paragraph 18
18. Strongly condemns all heinous crimes and human rights violations committed by state and non-state actors, such as Boko Haram in Nigeria and ISIS/Daesh in Syria and Iraq; is horrified at the vast range of crimes committed, including murder, torture, rape, enslavement and sexual slavery, the recruitment of child soldiers, forced religious conversions and the systematic killing of religious minorities, including Christians, Yazidis and others; urges the EU and its Member States to fight crimes of genocide, crimes against humanity and war crimes, and to ensure that their perpetrators are brought to justice; calls for the EU to provide support for organisations that collect, keep and protect evidence – digital or otherwise – of the crimes committed by any parties to these conflicts, in order to facilitate their prosecution at an international level; supports the key role played by the International Criminal Court (ICC) in cases where the states concerned are unable or unwilling to exercise their jurisdiction; calls on all the signatories of the Rome Statute to coordinate and cooperate with the ICC; reiterates its call for the 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;
Amendment 205 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 19
Paragraph 19
19. Deeply regrets the lack of respect for international humanitarian law (IHL) and expresses its strong condemnation of the deadly attacks that were carried out with such alarming frequency against hospitals, schools and other civilian targets in armed conflicts around the world in 2017; believes that the international condemnation of attacks must be backed up by independent investigations and genuine accountability; commends the work done by aid workers when delivering humanitarian aid; calls on the Member States, the EU institutions and the VP/HR to ensure that EU policies and actions relating to IHL are developed coherently and effectively and to use all the instruments at their disposal to address this matter; concludes that more detailed reporting by the EU and its Member States on the implementation of the Guidelines on Promoting Compliance with International Humanitarian Law in specific conflict situations should have been made available, not least the EU Annual Report on Human Rights and Democracy; calls on the international community to set up instruments to minimise the warning- response gap in order to prevent the emergence, re-emergence and escalation of violent conflict, such as the EU’s early warning system;
Amendment 226 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 21 a (new)
Paragraph 21 a (new)
21 a. Stresses that the EU should continue to actively support democratic and effective human rights institutions and civil society in their efforts to promote democratisation; welcomes, in this context, the European Endowment for Democracy’s consistent efforts to promote democracy and respect for fundamental rights and freedoms in the Eastern and Southern neighbourhoods of the EU;
Amendment 227 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 21 b (new)
Paragraph 21 b (new)
21 b. Recalls that the experience gained and lessons learned from transitions to democracy within the framework of enlargement and neighbourhood policy could contribute positively to the identification of best practices that could be used to support and consolidate other democratisation processes worldwide; expresses its conviction that the revised European neighbourhood policy should continue to have the promotion of human rights and democratic principles at its core; reiterates the fact that the promotion of human rights and democracy are in the interest of both partner countries and the EU;
Amendment 228 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 21 c (new)
Paragraph 21 c (new)
21 c. Considers that development cooperation and the promotion of human rights and democratic principles should go hand in hand;recalls, in this context, that the UN has stated that without a human rights-based approach, development goals cannot be fully achieved; recalls, in addition, that the EU has committed to supporting partner countries, taking into account their development situation and their progress as regards human rights and democracy;
Amendment 265 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 23 a (new)
Paragraph 23 a (new)
23 a. Welcomes the ratification of the UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities; reiterates the importance of its efficient implementation by both the Member States and the EU institutions; stresses, in particular, the need to mainstream credibly the principle of universal accessibility and the rights of persons with disabilities in all relevant EU policies, including in the area of development cooperation, and underlines the prescriptive and horizontal nature of this issue; calls for the EU to incorporate the fight against discrimination on grounds of disability in its external action and development aid policies;
Amendment 281 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 24
Paragraph 24
24. CExpresses profound concern at and solidarity with the large number of refugees and migrants who suffer grave human rights violations as the victims of conflicts, persecution, governance failures and illegal migration, trafficking and smuggling networks; stresses the urgent need to tackle the root causes of migration flows and therefore to address the external dimension of the refugee crisis, including by finding sustainable solutions to conflicts in our neighbourhood by developing cooperation and partnerships with the third countries concerned; calls on the EU and its Member States to establish full transparency as regards the funds allocated to third countries for cooperation on migration and to ensure that such cooperation should not benefit, either directly or indirectly, security, police and justice systems involved in human rights violations; warns against the instrumentalisation of EU foreign policy as ‘migration management’ and emphasises that all attempts to work with third countries on migration must go hand in hand with improving human rights conditions within these countries; calls on the Commission to continue to treat the protection and promotion of the rights of migrants and refugees as aone of its priorityies in its policies; insists on the need to develop and better implement protection frameworks for migrants and refugees; calls for the European Parliament to have oversight of migration agreements;
Amendment 308 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 25 a (new)
Paragraph 25 a (new)
25a. Calls on the Commission to explore ways and means for the EU to accede unilaterally to the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child considering that all EU Member States have ratified the UNCRC and primary and secondary EU law contains substantive provisions regarding the protection of the rights of the child;
Amendment 316 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 26
Paragraph 26
26. Encourages all countries, including the Member States, and the EU toNotes the engagement in the negotiations to adopt a legally binding international human rights instrument for transnational corporations and other companies with respect to human rights, through active participation in the UN- established open-ended intergovernmental working group; welcomes the adoption of the UN Guiding Principles on Business and Human Rights (UNGPs) and calls for their universal application; recognises the major importance of the UN Global Compact and the National Action Plans on Business and Human Rights; encourages companies to exercise due diligence; calls on all countries to swiftly implement the UNGPs and guarantee that businesses in their jurisdictions abide by human rights and social labour standards; encourages all countreaffirms, moreover, the importance of promoting corporate social responsibility and of European enterprises to tackle companies which use raw materials or other commodities originating from conflict zones; reiterates its call to include the rules of corporate liability for human rights violations into trade and investment agreementplaying a leading role in promoting international standards on business and human rights; acknowledges that global value chains contribute to enhancing international core labour, environmental and social standards, and represent an opportunity for sustainable progress, especially in developing countries; encourages all countries to address companies which use raw materials or other commodities originating from conflict zones; emphasises that the victims of business- related human rights abuses should be guaranteed effective access to remedies;
Amendment 326 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 27
Paragraph 27
27. Considers GSP+ trade schemes to be one of the main EU trade policy instruments for promoting democracy, human rights and environmental standards with third countries; calls on the Commission to review and better monitor GSP+ schemes in order to ensure that human rights standards are upheld by beneficiary countries;
Amendment 342 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 29
Paragraph 29
29. Strongly condemns all forms of discrimination, including that carried out on the grounds of race, religion, gender, sexual orientation, disability or any other status; is alarmed by the many manifestations of racism, xenophobia and other forms of intolerance and a lack of political representation for the most vulnerable groups, such as ethnic, linguistic and religious minorities, people with disabilities, the LGBTI community, women and children; calls for the EU to enhance its efforts to eradicate, without distinction, all forms of discrimination and to promote awareness, a culture of tolerance and inclusion, and special protection for the most vulnerable groups by means of human rights and political dialogues, the work of EU delegations and public diplomacy; calls on all countries to ensure that their respective institutions provide effective legal protection within their jurisdictions;