Local view for "http://purl.org/linkedpolitics/eu/plenary/2003-03-13-Speech-4-147"
| Predicate | Value (sorted: default) |
|---|---|
| rdf:type | |
| dcterms:Date | |
| dcterms:Is Part Of | |
| dcterms:Language | |
| lpv:document identification number |
"en.20030313.7.4-147"2
|
| lpv:hasSubsequent | |
| lpv:speaker | |
| lpv:translated text |
".
Mr President, honourable Members, ladies and gentlemen, the Council's competent working parties are at present working on a new Common Position by the European Union on Burma, as the existing one is due to lapse on 29 April.
As Members of this House will be aware, the Common Position has been reinforced a number of times since 1996. In doing this, the Commission and the Member States have endeavoured to formulate precisely targeted sanctions, which will hit the people we want to hit, and to avoid adverse effects on the innocent citizens of that country. It has also been stipulated that, in the future too, the Council will respond appropriately to favourable as well as to adverse developments in Burma.
Parliament will, I think, understand why the Commission cannot act in advance of the results of the current discussions, but I am able to assure you that, whenever the Common Position is extended, the whole range of courses of action open to us will be re-examined.
As regards humanitarian aid, the Commission and the Community's Member States have already, on a number of occasions, reaffirmed their willingness to provide humanitarian aid to the most needy sections of the Burmese population.
I would like to confirm, as regards forced labour, that the Commission gives unconditional support both to the most recent UN resolution on the human rights situation in Burma and to the ILO's stance in defence of international labour standards. Its explicit statement on the situation in Burma led to the adoption by the International Labour Conference of a resolution on Burma, which is now being implemented.
Turning to the proposal that the issue of forced labour be considered by the WTO, the Commission will be examining this more closely, taking into account, as a matter of priority, the forthcoming discussions in the ILO at the end of this month, and the next International Labour Conference, which is to be held in June. The Commission has no reservations about favouring closer cooperation between the WTO and the ILO and welcomes the informal cooperation that already takes place to some degree. The Commission also favours independent international investigation of the charges laid against the armed forces, namely of sexual violence and other infringements of the civilian population's rights."@en1
|
Named graphs describing this resource:
The resource appears as object in 2 triples