Local view for "http://purl.org/linkedpolitics/eu/plenary/2001-09-06-Speech-4-195"
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"en.20010906.9.4-195"2
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".
Mr President, allow me to take up the various points which have been mentioned during this debate, and to let you know the Commission’s position.
Of course, this will not work without preventive measures in the countries and regions of origin. We took a step in the right direction here when the Council adopted a certain number of action plans prepared by the immigration and asylum group. One of these plans is specifically targeted at Afghanistan and neighbouring regions. If it proves to be ineffective, we shall have to look at it again, and we shall rely on Parliament to point us in that direction.
As far as trafficking in human beings is concerned, we need to strengthen the action taken by the Union, especially in cases where the victims are able to benefit from international protection. Here too, the Commission takes the view that a more systematic and coherent approach is needed. We shall shortly be taking action with a view to achieving this, by issuing a communication.
This is all turning into a timetable of action for the Union. Work has started within the Council. To be perfectly honest, we think that things are proceeding very slowly, but this is only to be expected given the sensitive nature of these issues from the point of view of Member States. No doubt we shall need fresh impetus at an appropriately high political level, probably at the European Council in Laeken. At any rate, that is what the Presidency seems to think. It goes without saying that Parliament’s support in this matter will, we are sure, enable us to proceed in the right direction.
Finally, on the subject of the attack on a train in Angola, there is not much that I can add. Much of what has been said we can all agree on anyway. Like you, the Commission is very concerned about the continuation of this war, and deplores the fact that these confrontations are intensifying and that, yet again, several hundred civilians have been killed in various regions of the country over the last few weeks. We are absolutely determined to support the efforts being taken, in accordance with the Union’s common position, to find a political solution to the conflict in Angola. I did not get the impression, from your speeches, that you are seriously critical of that common position. We are therefore working towards implementing it, by supporting any proposal which seeks to support the initiatives being made by the African Union – and there
some – or by African regional organisations such as the Southern Africa Development Community, with a view to developing the systems which have been set up on the initiative of African countries in order to prevent and resolve conflicts. I would remind you that we are continuing our humanitarian aid to Angola, which is substantial, and that we are consequently ready to adjust the nature and the scale of that humanitarian aid.
On the subject of Mauritania, first of all, we share the concerns that have been expressed regarding respect for human rights in Mauritania. In recent years we have observed some progress. This has now come to an end, and we are experiencing a period of sudden backward steps. Like the Members who have spoken during the debate, we believe that the Union cannot remain silent in the face of the imprisonment of the leader of the opposition, Mr Chbih, in the conditions that we are aware of and in particular in the period leading up to the elections. Therefore we, like you, believe that steps should be taken to ask for the release of Mr Chbih while the result of his appeal to the court of cassation is awaited, at the same time using this opportunity to remind the authorities of the principles to which the Union is committed with regard to the electoral process. The release of Mr Chbih and the holding of the elections this coming October are our two priorities.
On the subject of Togo, again we share your concern, both about the imprisonment of a local journalist in May and about the imprisonment of the two leaders of the opposition parties, Mr Olympio in June, and Mr Agboyibo just recently. All these names and all these facts have been mentioned, in particular by Mr Rod. We should like to follow up our approach to the Togolese Minister for Foreign Affairs on 17 August, when once again we expressed our concerns to the Togolese government. At the time, I believe that we got a clear message across, to the effect that, from the point of view of the Union, the political parties and the media must be able to continue their activities without restrictions. So far, our approach has not had any effect. We believe that the statement made in August by the Prime Minister, in which he mentioned the need to postpone the elections and proposed that the electoral code should be amended, which some Members have mentioned, is not good news and does not help to create a climate which is conducive to the conducting of transparent, free and democratic elections. On this subject we have noted with satisfaction the statement made by President Eyadema, in which he said that on this point the Prime Minister’s proposals committed only the Prime Minister himself, whereas he, the President, intended to respect the constitution and abide by the undertakings given under the Lomé Convention.
We are continuing to monitor the political and economic situation and we shall maintain our position, to the effect that we can render assistance to the electoral process by helping the government to create the necessary conditions, notwithstanding the suspension of our cooperation with Togo which, as you know, was decided on under the provisions of the Lomé Convention, which corresponds to what would now be Article 96 of the Cotonou Agreement. From this point of view, Mr Rod, we are already past the Article 96 stage. The Union has also responded positively to the invitation from the Togolese Minister for Foreign Affairs to participate in a mission to observe the elections. If the United Nations decided to take on the task of coordinating such an observer mission, we would not have any objections. However, the conditions for organising and implementing such an observer mission still have to be determined. If it is decided to go ahead with such a mission, obviously Parliament’s participation in that mission would be welcome.
As for human rights in Cambodia, the Commission and the Member States have been officially invited by Cambodia to nominate and dispatch observers to monitor the local elections. With this in mind, we have sent a fact-finding mission. The conclusions and recommendations of that mission will be examined by the Council during September, so as to decide whether or not we should organise a Community observer mission to monitor the local elections. We are also ready to assist in the smooth running of those elections by means of technical assistance projects. On the question of electoral registration, Mrs Maes, the latest figures available to us indicate that the overall rate of registration is just over 80%, which is an improvement on the previous figures, though 100% registration has still not been achieved.
As for the question of how we should deal with the past, which some of you have mentioned, I would remind you that we support without reservation the efforts of the United Nations and of the government of the Kingdom of Cambodia to reach an agreement concerning the court responsible for the Khmer Rouge trials.
On the subject of the Afghan refugees seeking asylum in Australia, we, like Mrs Kinnock, are relieved that a solution has been found which will provide the help and protection needed by those people, men, women and children, who are fleeing from one of the most intolerant of all regimes. If I have understood you correctly, your speeches were not intended to put any particular third country in the dock, but rather to consider whether, in the context of the present system of international governance, there are any remedies that would enable us to handle this type of situation better.
You are right, we cannot remain insensitive. We all know that there are other ships carrying other fugitives from misery, often in the most appalling conditions, and that these ships arrive, some of them off the coasts of Europe. This is not a question of ‘the rest of the world’, from which we can remain detached, any more it is a question of looking at it purely in the light of the problems that it may give rise to elsewhere. There is clearly a growing malaise in the international community with regard to forced migration, whether it is of economic, political or criminal origin, because this is how we must describe the organised networks trafficking in human beings. Mr Medina Ortega, we share the desire which you and other Members have expressed for international instruments to be adopted which will be able to prevent and settle such cases, and also your desire at least to update and amend the 1951 Convention so that it can cope with the present situation, which is not the same as it was in the 1950s. From this point of view, we support the efforts initiated by the High Commissioner for Refugees, which were announced on the occasion of the 50th anniversary of that Convention. The High Commissioner for Refugees played an important role in dealing with the crisis involving the
and I believe that we should all encourage the Commissioner to put this type of problem on the agenda of the consultations which, following the Geneva Conference in December, should enable us to update our rules, because that is what they are, international rules. We must also remember the importance of the protocols on trafficking in human beings which are annexed to the United Nations Convention against Transnational Organized Crime of December 2000. The Community is itself a party to those protocols which, when they come into force, after a certain number of ratifications, will improve the joint framework that we have at our disposal in order to combat such crime.
As far as the Union itself is concerned, and we really
concerned, as I have said, the Treaty of Amsterdam and the conclusions of the Tampere European Council provided the basis for a common policy on asylum and immigration. I believe that the Union, by means of these instruments and various declarations, has repeated its commitment and that of its Member States to a humanitarian tradition which should take the form of the creation of a common asylum regime which provides appropriate protection to any person who needs it, and which guarantees the principle of not turning people away."@en1
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