Local view for "http://purl.org/linkedpolitics/eu/plenary/2001-11-14-Speech-3-278"
| Predicate | Value (sorted: default) |
|---|---|
| rdf:type | |
| dcterms:Date | |
| dcterms:Is Part Of | |
| dcterms:Language | |
| lpv:document identification number |
"en.20011114.11.3-278"2
|
| lpv:hasSubsequent | |
| lpv:speaker | |
| lpv:translated text |
".
The Council shares your concerns about the citizens of Afghanistan and foreign aid workers who are accused by the Taliban of religion conversion and preaching, and who are therefore facing the very serious threat of the death penalty.
The position of the Council with regard to the death penalty is well known. The promotion and the respect of fundamental human rights, including the freedom of religion and belief, are an essential part of European Union policy on third countries and are, thus, included in the common position of the European Union on Afghanistan. The main international legal instruments ensure that everyone has the right to freedom of thought, conscience and religion. This right covers the freedom to change religion or belief and the freedom to express, alone or collectively, in public or in private, one’s religion or belief.
The European Union has expressed its concerns regarding the human rights situation in Afghanistan on an international stage, particularly to the Third Committee of the United Nations General Assembly, at which all EU Member States supported the draft resolution tabled by Italy on human rights violations in Afghanistan. Given that the EU Member States do not recognise the Taliban government, it is extremely difficult to communicate with them and to gain access to territories under their control. This was also the case before 11 September 2001.
The bilateral diplomatic efforts to protect foreign aid workers, which have been made by diplomats from Germany, the United States and Australia from Islamabad, have not yet had any tangible results. Since military action began in Afghanistan on 7 October, it has become even more difficult, of course, to closely monitor the fate of the 16 Afghan citizens mentioned in the honourable Member’s question and to contribute to a political resolution of this matter. Believe me, this is something I regret, but you will also understand that the situation is now even more difficult to assess than before."@en1
|
Named graphs describing this resource:
The resource appears as object in 2 triples