Local view for "http://purl.org/linkedpolitics/eu/plenary/2000-01-20-Speech-4-155"
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"en.20000120.9.4-155"2
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"Mr President, the Commission is concerned about the recent outbreaks of violence upon the Christian populations in the Al Kocheh region in Upper Egypt and deplores the loss of a large number of lives. It notes the measures already adopted by the Egyptian government to restore calm to the region and is very pleased about its commitment to bring those responsible to justice. It awaits with interest the preliminary report by the Egyptian public prosecutor, which is due out next week.
In Chad, the operation of the oil project could be a very important factor in the country’s development and in consolidating the rule of law if this revenue is used advisedly. That is why the European Commission is endeavouring to encourage the government to continue the dialogue on the questions raised by the oil project with the country’s main partners, including with itself and to involve the local authorities and the non-governmental organisations closely in the preparatory work. This is so that the progress already made on the most critical aspects of the oil project can be consolidated, if necessary.
From the first signs, the recent incidents would appear to be fundamentally different to those that occurred in August 1998, which were essentially triggered by the violent reaction and the incompetence of the police and not by any sectarian behaviour on their part. The recent events, however, appear to be of a religious nature, although they were set off by a simple trading dispute. In Upper Egypt, as elsewhere, chronic under-development can exacerbate religious tensions dangerously, which is the reason why the measures to restore harmony between the different communities must go hand in hand with socio-economic development.
In the context of its cooperation with Egypt, the Commission is endeavouring primarily to find a balance between measures to modernise the economy and social measures, including measures to combat poverty and to promote a civil society and human rights. Upper Egypt is one of the regions covered by the social measures and measures to combat poverty.
As far as China is concerned, the Commission shares the concerns of Members of Parliament about the human rights situation in China, particularly in Tibet. These matters were discussed at the highest level at the second European Union-China summit on 21 December 1999 in Peking. On 14 January, the Union also made a formal approach to the Chinese Ministry of Foreign Affairs, expressing its serious concerns about the fate of political dissidents, the freedom of worship of members of Christian churches and the treatment meted out to some followers of the Falun Gong movement. These matters, as well as conditions of imprisonment, labour camps, freedom of speech, freedom of association and the rights of women and ethnic minorities will also be on the agenda at the next European Union-China talks on human rights to be held on 25 February in Lisbon.
After this meeting and these talks, and in the light of the results, the position to be adopted by the Union at the next meeting of the United Nations Commission on Human Rights will be defined. The Union considers that the improvement of the human rights situation in China and that country’s negotiations for membership of the WTO are two major issues that should be dealt with separately, using specific instruments and in specific forums. In general, the Commission believes that the opening up of the economy and the liberalisation of trade that will speed up China’s membership of the WTO will, in the long term, favour improvements in human rights, the strengthening of civil society and the formation of the rule of law in China and it will pay special attention to these latter aspects in the context of the World Trade Organisation talks.
The question of Tibet has already been widely discussed through existing channels of communication with the Chinese authorities. Also, the ambassadors of the troika in 1998 sent an observer mission to Tibet and the Commission is committed to continuing along these lines.
With regard to the problem of the Gulf War prisoners in Iraq, the Commission, like Parliament, is concerned about Iraq’s lack of cooperation with regard to the missing Kuwaitis and is aware of the intolerable effect this situation must have on their families. The Commission urges Iraq to respect the United Nations Security Council resolutions in this regard and the International Committee of the Red Cross, as you have emphasised, has been given responsibility for the case of the missing Kuwaitis, in accordance with these United Nations resolutions. Unfortunately, however, Iraq refuses to cooperate, even with the mediation of this international organisation. The Commission supports the efforts of the International Committee of the Red Cross and, as the Commission does not have any contractual relations with Iraq, there is therefore no official dialogue with the Iraqi government.
Furthermore, I should like to assure you that the Commission is fully behind the regime of sanctions imposed by the United Nations, which form a response to the tragic human rights situation in that country. But, and I believe this is also an important point, as some of you have mentioned, despite these infringements of United Nations Security Council resolutions by Iraq, the Commission will continue, through the intermediary of ECHO, to provide humanitarian aid to the Iraqis to alleviate their suffering. The Commission is the main supplier of humanitarian aid to Iraq, to the tune of EUR 240 million since 1991 and, in the context of its programme for the year 2000, ECHO has released EUR 10 million for humanitarian aid for Iraq. We therefore make a clear distinction between the people and the constraints with regard to human rights that are the work of the Iraqi State. The Commission will support all the measures in this regard.
Finally, as far as the human rights violations in Chad and Cameroon are concerned, in conjunction with the current planning of the oil pipeline, the European Commission is closely following this situation with regard to extending the democratic process, the protection of human rights and reinforcement of the rule of law. It is also focusing its attention on the oil project planned in the south of the country which will cross Cameroon. The Commission is not directly involved in financing this project, but it has, on several occasions, shown understanding for Chad’s right to wish to manage its only resource, provided that the necessary precautions are taken with respect to the protection of the environment and the protection of the rights of the local people, on the one hand, and the actual allocation of the future oil revenue to the development of the country, on the other. We shall ensure that the European Investment Bank is informed of these concerns."@en1
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