Local view for "http://purl.org/linkedpolitics/eu/plenary/2005-02-23-Speech-3-047"
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"en.20050223.6.3-047"2
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".
Mr President, the European Union played an active part at the sixtieth session of the Commission on Human Rights in Geneva. As in earlier years, it launched the largest number of initiatives: three initiatives on particular topics and ten initiatives on the human rights situation in various countries. The sixty-first session of the Commission on Human Rights comes in a context that is different in a number of respects.
At EU level, the recent appointment of a personal representative of the Secretary-General and High Representative for Human Rights underlines the importance the EU attaches to strengthening its human rights policy.
In the context of the United Nations, the publication of the High-Level Panel’s report ‘A more secure world: Our shared responsibility’ triggered a wide-ranging debate on the reform of the UN and of the Commission on Human Rights in particular. While the views expressed on the recommendations relating to the Commission on Human Rights differ, everyone is agreed in stressing the need to give it more teeth and, in general, to strengthen the human rights dimension in the United Nations.
In this new context, the momentum created by the debate on the Commission on Human Rights, together with the hope to which the recent developments in the Middle East have given rise, gives us reason to believe that the sixty-first session of the Commission on Human Rights may make a significant contribution to progress in human rights.
The European Union in fact believes that the Commission on Human Rights is the main United Nations forum for promoting and safeguarding human rights in the world, and it intends to continue to play an active part and to cooperate with other regional groups there. Important as the EU’s activities within the Commission on Human Rights may be, this is nevertheless not the only means at its disposal for promoting human rights. Joint positions on human rights, cooperation with other organisations, such as the Council of Europe or the Organisation for Security and Cooperation in Europe, and the human rights dialogues with China and Iran are also ways of promoting human rights.
Talks are still going on about the initiatives to be taken by the European Union at the Commission on Human Rights this year. Some decisions have already been taken. The EU will be presenting thematic resolutions on religious intolerance, the death penalty and the rights of the child. These are three essential subjects. In the face of manifestations of intolerance towards believers of any religion whatsoever, the EU intends to reaffirm its determination to combat every kind of intolerance. On the matter of the death penalty, the EU believes that its abolition will contribute to strengthening human dignity and is working for its universal abolition. It considers the Commission on Human Rights to be an appropriate framework for promoting this objective. The promotion and protection of the rights of the child is an important aspect of European Union human rights policy.
The European Union has decided to present resolutions on the human rights situation in Myanmar, the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea and the Israeli settlements in the occupied territories. Talks on other initiatives to be presented by the EU will continue in the forthcoming meetings of the Working Group on Human Rights, which will be held prior to the session of the Commission on Human Rights.
At its March meeting, the Council will formally define the EU’s priorities for the sixty-first session of the Commission on Human Rights. Apart from its own initiatives, the EU intends to cooperate with any third countries that may launch initiatives for the promotion of human rights, especially in the fight against terrorism or in the context of transnational corporations. As in the past, it will seek to encourage the spirit of dialogue that is essential for seeking joint solutions to common problems.
The European Union hopes it can count on the support of Parliament, whose resolution is far more ambitious than our programme for the sixty-first session of the Commission on Human Rights. The Union shares the concerns expressed by Parliament and I can assure you that the issues you have raised will be taken into account in our discussions and in our decisions. However, as I said earlier, we have other tools besides action in the Commission on Human Rights alone and we try to find the most appropriate and most effective tool for each situation."@en1
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