Local view for "http://purl.org/linkedpolitics/eu/plenary/1999-11-18-Speech-4-259"
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"en.19991118.13.4-259"2
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"Mr President, as regards Pakistan, as you know, the situation was discussed in the General Affairs Council on 15 November. The Union, and I believe this is clear to everyone, is extremely concerned at this
and fervently hopes for the restoration of democracy in the near future. The Council is waiting to see that the assurances given by the interim administration, as it is called, relating to respect for human rights and civil liberties, are respected unconditionally, and that all charges against the deposed Prime Minister, Mr Nawaz Sharif, are heard according to proper legal form in a civilian court open to the public.
As regards the specific points you have raised in the resolutions relating to the Commission’s development aid programmes and projects in Pakistan, it must be stressed that these are directed almost exclusively at the poorest and most disadvantaged levels of the population. Many of these projects are implemented by NGOs and are intended to improve the scope and quality of social sector services, particularly in the fields of primary education and health care.
The commitments for Community projects currently amount to some EUR 180 million in total and the Commission proposes to continue to implement these projects. We feel that suspending aid to underprivileged groups would be an inappropriate sanction upon them. We are perfectly aware of the deplorable situation of a great many children in Pakistan, especially girls, but we feel that the most effective means of improving this situation is to contribute towards ensuring good quality, accessible, universal primary education. We are also participating in a project with the International Labour Organisation for the rehabilitation of children employed in dangerous work in Pakistan.
Work on the new projects to be financed under next year’s budget has currently been suspended, while waiting for developments in the evaluation of the new situation over there. We acknowledge the need to assist the NGOs and civilian sector associations in order to strengthen the democratic institutions of the country, and you doubtless know that the capacity for absorption and the size of the many NGOs in this field in Pakistan are, unfortunately, limited. In addition, we have established contact with several NGOs and associations, but we feel that care must be taken not to overload these organisations with funds and assistance, which may not subsequently be managed in the most efficient way possible.
In order to reply specifically to Mr Duff’s question, following the
the Union cancelled the signing of the new cooperation agreement between the Community and Pakistan, and we suspended our political dialogue so as to send a message, loud and clear, to the new masters in Pakistan regarding our concerns about the
and its consequences.
I believe I have answered your question specifically, Mr Duff."@en1
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