Local view for "http://purl.org/linkedpolitics/eu/plenary/2006-01-19-Speech-4-235"
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"en.20060119.30.4-235"2
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".
Mr President, I am glad to have an opportunity to speak and be one of the authors of this resolution, which aims to highlight a tragic and brutal event that occurred in Cairo, Egypt, on 30 December 2005. At least 27 people died: 9 women, 7 men and 11 children, according to the Egyptian authorities. However, certain eye witnesses, NGOs and members of the international press, would claim that the death toll was far higher. This happened when Egyptian security forces evacuated by force about 2500 Sudanese migrants, refugees and asylum seekers who had settled in front of the UNHCR headquarters, requesting to be relocated to third countries.
In the short time available to me, I want to focus on a few points. Firstly, this Parliament has a responsibility to highlight and condemn actions taken by authorities that are a blatant and tragic breach of peoples’ human rights, particularly when these events occur in the EU neighbourhood and with countries that we are working with through cooperation and/or association agreements. In this case, the EU and Egypt have an association agreement that has been in force since June 2004. The Euro-Mediterranean Agreement, to which the EU and Egypt are parties, is also relevant, as is the Barcelona Process. So anyone who suggests that this issue is solely an internal issue for Egypt is wrong. This is our business, in the same way that what happens within the EU is Egypt’s business when it affects the agreements mentioned.
Secondly, I welcome the commitment by the Egyptian authorities to start an investigation into what happened on 30 December. I urge the authorities to ensure that this investigation is absolutely open and transparent and involves UN experts and, if possible, Egyptian human rights organisations. The inquiry or investigation must be credible if we are to learn lessons from what happened.
I hope that the silver lining on this very dark cloud that sits over the event will be a credible assurance from the authorities in Egypt that their security forces will act in compliance with international standards and without a disproportionate use of force in the future.
Finally, this motion supports the UNHCR and calls on the Commission to establish a closer partnership with the UNHCR by offering both political and financial support to assist them in their office in Cairo in order to work more closely with the Egyptian authorities to find lasting solutions to the difficult situation of Sudanese migrants and refugees in Egypt."@en1
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