Activities of Marietje SCHAAKE related to 2016/2239(INI)
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 (22)
Amendment 2 #
Motion for a resolution
Citation 3 a (new)
Citation 3 a (new)
– having regard to the United Nations General Assembly Resolution A/71/L.48 of December 2016, establishing an International, Impartial and Independent Mechanism to Assist in the Investigation and Prosecution of Those Responsible for the Most Serious Crimes under International Law Committed in the Syrian Arab Republic since March 2011 (IIIM);
Amendment 25 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital D a (new)
Recital D a (new)
Da. Whereas in November 2016, Russia decided to withdraw its signature from the Rome Statute; whereas in October 2016, South Africa, Gambia and Burundi announced their withdrawal from the Rome Statute; whereas 10 February 2017 Gambia notified the annulment of its former decision to withdraw; whereas on 7 March 2017 South Africa also notified its decision to revoke its withdrawal from the Rome Statute;
Amendment 45 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital I a (new)
Recital I a (new)
Ia. Whereas the Report of the Independent International Commission of Inquiry on the Syrian Arab Republic "Special inquiry into the events in Aleppo", published on 1 March 2017, concluded both sides in the conflict committed war crimes during the fight for Aleppo in December 2016;
Amendment 48 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital I b (new)
Recital I b (new)
Ib. Whereas under certain conditions, states can also be held accountable for breaches of obligations under international treaties and conventions over which the International Court of Justice has jurisdiction, including the 1984 Convention against Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment and the 1948 Convention on the Prevention and Punishment of the Crime of Genocide;
Amendment 50 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital I c (new)
Recital I c (new)
Ic. Whereas the International Court of Justice has the ability to establish state liability ;
Amendment 51 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital I d (new)
Recital I d (new)
Id. Whereas Syria has acceded to the Genocide Convention in 1955 and to the Torture Convention in 2004;
Amendment 52 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital I e (new)
Recital I e (new)
Ie. Whereas hundreds of executions in Burundi since April 2015 have led a report by The United Nations Independent Investigation on Burundi to conclude that a number of people in Burundi should be prosecuted for alleged crimes against humanity;
Amendment 53 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital I f (new)
Recital I f (new)
Amendment 54 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital I g (new)
Recital I g (new)
Ig. Whereas accountability, justice, the rule of law and the fight against impunity constitute essential elements underpinning peace and conflict resolution, reconciliation and reconstruction efforts;
Amendment 56 #
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 theand holding accountable those responsible for human rights violations occurring in cases of genocide, crimes against humanity and war crimes should be of the utmost importance for the EU;
Amendment 71 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 4 a (new)
Paragraph 4 a (new)
4a. Highlights the critical need to eradicate sexual and gender-based violence by addressing their widespread and systematic use as a weapon of war;
Amendment 76 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 6 a (new)
Paragraph 6 a (new)
6a. Urges the High Representative to develop cooperation with and training of the staff of the EU delegations and Member States' embassies, as well as of civilian and military missions, in the fields of international human rights, humanitarian law and criminal law, including their capacity to detect potential situations involving war crimes, crimes against humanity, genocide and grave IHL violations, inter alia by regular exchanges with local civil society; to ensure that EU Special Representatives uphold R2P whenever necessary and broaden the mandate of the EU Special Representative on Human Rights to include R2P issues; to identify an EU Focal Point for R2P in the EEAS in the context of the existing structures and resources, to be tasked notably with raising awareness of the implications of R2P and ensuring timely information flows between all concerned actors on situations of concern, while also encouraging the establishment of national focal points for R2P in the Member States; to further professionalise and strengthen preventive diplomacy and mediation;
Amendment 101 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 10 a (new)
Paragraph 10 a (new)
10a. Welcomes in this regard the decision by the High Court of South Africa of 22 February 2017, which considered the decision by the South African government to withdraw from the Rome Statute without consulting Parliament as unconstitutional and invalid;
Amendment 119 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 14 a (new)
Paragraph 14 a (new)
14a. Calls on all EU member states to ensure that crimes against humanity, genocide and war crimes constitute crimes under national law and calls on all EU member states to prosecute such crimes in their national jurisdictions, also when these crimes have been committed in third countries or by third state nationals; welcomes in this regard the decision by Spain to hear a criminal complaint against 9 Syrian intelligence officials for torture and other human rights violations;
Amendment 122 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 14 b (new)
Paragraph 14 b (new)
14b. Reiterates that states, including EU member states, can individually bring proceedings against states to the International Court of Justice over state breaches of obligations arising from international treaties and conventions, including the 1984 Convention against Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment and the 1948 Convention on the Prevention and Punishment of the Crime of Genocide;
Amendment 123 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 14 c (new)
Paragraph 14 c (new)
14c. Encourages all EU member states to use every avenue possible to bring to justice and to hold to account states, non- state actors and individuals responsible for war crimes, crimes against humanity and genocide, using both national and international legal channels and means;
Amendment 135 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 17 a (new)
Paragraph 17 a (new)
17a. Underlines the critical importance of the work of local and international civil society organisations and NGOs in documenting evidence of war crimes, crimes against humanity and other violations;
Amendment 139 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 17 b (new)
Paragraph 17 b (new)
17b. Calls on the EU to adequately fund organisations that work on open source investigation and digital collection of evidence of war crimes and crimes against humanity, in order to ensure accountability and bring perpetrators to justice;
Amendment 143 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 17 c (new)
Paragraph 17 c (new)
17c. Recalls its strong condemnation of the atrocities committed by the Assad regime in Syria, which can be considered as serious war crimes and crimes against humanity and deplores the climate of impunity for perpetrators of such crimes in Syria;
Amendment 146 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 17 d (new)
Paragraph 17 d (new)
17d. Calls for the evidence, digital and otherwise, of these war crimes and crimes against humanity committed by all sides to the conflict to be preserved as a fundamental priority;
Amendment 148 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 17 e (new)
Paragraph 17 e (new)
17e. Deplores the veto by Russia and China as Permanent Members of the UN Security Council against the referral of the situation in Syria to the ICC; calls on the EU and its Member States to take new steps to address this impunity gap, if necessary by setting up a war crimes tribunal;
Amendment 150 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 17 f (new)
Paragraph 17 f (new)
17f. Strongly condemns the veto by Russia and China in the UN Security Council on 28 February 2017 of a measure to punish Syria for using chemical weapons; notes this was the seventh Security Council veto by Russia in defence of the Assad regime;