Local view for "http://purl.org/linkedpolitics/eu/plenary/1999-12-01-Speech-3-112"
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"en.19991201.9.3-112"2
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"Mr President, this Council report deserves credit and there is every reason to compliment the Finnish Presidency on its commitment, although I have to add that I deplore the fact that the Finnish presidency delegation has just left the Chamber.
There are mainly three reasons why I welcome the publication of this report. Firstly, it is based on a coherent vision, a vision which rejects a hierarchy of types of human rights, but which emphasises their very interdependence. The report also makes a first attempt to create coherence between the external and internal human rights policy of the European Union, especially the latter being a real innovative step. It has to be said that, compared to Parliament, the Council appears to be leading the way.
Secondly, the report does not fall into the trap of presenting human rights as a European achievement but presupposes universality and adopts a global approach with a great deal of attention being paid to the EU’s action within the scope of the United Nations.
Thirdly, the report is the product of an organised dialogue with the social organisations involved in human rights issues. The forum held here in Brussels over the past couple of days deserves a regular spot in the Union’s consultative network.
There are, however, also a few minus points to be noted. The attempt within the EU to include self-evident human rights issues in the report is very biased to say the least. Why does discrimination on account of race or ethnic origin receive preferential treatment over, for example, discrimination against women and homosexuals, which does not feature or hardly features as an issue at all? Could this be a taste of how the Council will handle the package of anti-discriminatory measures which the Commission proposed last week? Why is no attention being given to other human rights issues prevalent within the Union, such as abuse in prisons or at police stations, killings by armed political groupings and the situation of conscientious objectors, to name only the most obvious issues?
The Council needs to summon up the political courage to spend more time on the internal human rights situation within the EU in the next annual report. In this context, the proposal for a so-called “observation centre” must also be kept on the agenda. After all, experience has taught us that collecting and analysing information is a prerequisite to achieving a sound human rights policy."@en1
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