Local view for "http://purl.org/linkedpolitics/eu/plenary/2001-01-17-Speech-3-178"
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"en.20010117.5.3-178"2
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"Mr President, ladies and gentlemen, I should first of all like to say thank you for the strong support which I understand that this Assembly and its honourable Members have given to positive action by the European Union in the course of the Commission’s forthcoming meeting in Geneva. I would also thank you for the many practical points of view which have been presented in the debate. Allow me to comment on a few of them.
First of all, Russia and, more specifically, Chechnya. Lord Bethell is right. It was Chechnya and not Russia that I mentioned. I just want to emphasise that it is the Council’s view that the situation in Chechnya is still serious. It cannot perhaps be said to be as urgent as it has been in previous years, but it is our judgement that we ought to follow up the resolution presented and adopted last year because of the serious situation in Chechnya. We have not therefore in any way forgotten this important issue.
A number of speakers discussed the situation in China. I want definitely to repudiate notions to the effect that the European Union is trying to hide behind other countries when it comes to combating violations of human rights in China. At the same time, it is important that, when we do something about the human rights situation in China, we can in actual fact bring together a sufficiently large group of countries in the UN Human Rights Commission in order to achieve some progress. There are problems here, to which many of the Members referred in their speeches.
Right now, we are engaged in a dialogue with China. There will be an opportunity here next month to have a discussion with the Chinese about how the European Union views the situation. However, we also need to conduct further discussions with the incoming administration in the United States because the United States is traditionally the proposer and has been so where this resolution is concerned. I can therefore promise the honourable Members that the European Union is continuing to pay attention to the situation in China.
Mrs Frahm discussed the issue of the death penalty, which is incredibly important. Obviously, the European Union must distance itself from the death penalty wherever it is used – including, of course, in the United States.
I am particularly grateful that Mr Johan Van Hecke and others have discussed the human rights situation in Africa and am only sorry that I myself did not do so in my introductory speech. It is, of course, not only a question of concern about human rights. Rather, we all know that, in many African countries, the problems are more deep-seated. It is not, therefore, only human rights that are the problem. That must not, of course, prevent us from paying attention to the problems that exist. I can promise Mr Johan Van Hecke that the European Union will take careful account of what has been said in this debate where Africa in particular is concerned.
In conclusion, a few words about the situation in Burma/Myanmar. This year too, the European Union is preparing a proposal concerning the situation in Burma/Myanmar, to be presented at the meeting of the Human Rights Commission. It can only be seen as one element in a general strategy for discussing the human rights situation in Burma/Myanmar. For example, Sweden has for many years been responsible for a resolution in the UN’s General Assembly about the situation in Burma/Myanmar, and the European Union as a whole is actively engaged in the discussions in the International Labour Organisation (ILO) when it comes to the fact that forced labour still exists in Burma. A range of measures have been mooted there, which the European Union strongly supports.
I would therefore express my thanks for all the practical points of view and promise to include them in the Council’s continued deliberations prior to the Human Rights Commission’s important meeting in Geneva later this year."@en1
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