Local view for "http://purl.org/linkedpolitics/eu/plenary/2010-06-16-Speech-3-413"
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"en.20100616.28.3-413"2
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"Baroness Ashton, ladies and gentlemen, on behalf of Parliament’s Committee on International Trade, I have the task of justifying the oral question we are asking jointly with the Committee on Foreign Affairs on the implementation of the regulation that prohibits or controls international trade in goods or instruments that are designed to be, or could be, used for capital punishment, torture or other cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment.
Ladies and gentlemen, this regulation is proof that the protection of human rights may require the prohibition or restriction of trade in certain products. Free trade is certainly not acceptable for instruments of death or torture. We must therefore seriously put this regulation into practice so that it can be the model that it was intended to be for the Union and also for other countries outside the European Union.
In fact, in 2001, responding to concerns raised by governments and non-governmental organisations about the use of police and security equipment for torture, Parliament adopted a resolution urging the Commission to submit a proposal for European legislation regulating the trade in such items.
The Commission submitted its proposal the following year, and it was adopted in 2005 as Regulation (EC) No 1236/2005 of 27 June that year. The regulation introduces binding control for the first time on various types of equipment commonly used in serious violations of human rights but which have not been included on lists of Member States’ dual-use military equipment or strategic exports.
It prohibits the export and import of products intended for that purpose that can only have that use and requires authorisations for the export and import of products that can have that use. The regulation requires Member States to provide information and produce reports on the application of its rules. As has been said, the 2005 regulation represents a notable advance in the defence of the most essential human rights, namely, the rights to life and to integrity of the person, which lie at the heart of the Charter of Fundamental Rights of the European Union as well as international human rights instruments and conventions, including those of the United Nations and the Council of Europe.
The regulation’s entry into force was applauded by human rights organisations and, as has already been mentioned, the United Nations Special Rapporteur on torture welcomed the regulation as an important turning point in the fight against torture and a model to be followed by countries in other regions.
However, ladies and gentlemen, what use is a regulation of this kind if it is not properly implemented? Moreover, how can we even find out whether it is being properly implemented if the Member States, which are responsible for implementing it, do not report their results, as required by the regulation?
In fact, it is deeply frustrating to learn that only seven countries have provided information on their decisions to grant authorisations for the items covered, and even some of the reports contain insufficient information to allow the situation to be properly analysed. We cannot go on accepting that EU Member States continue to consent or turn a blind eye to the manufacture of, and international trade in, items prohibited or controlled by the regulation.
First of all, the Member States must be explicitly urged to fully comply with their obligations, as laid down in the regulation, and to present annual public activity reports promptly, in which they provide detailed information allowing for appropriate public scrutiny. These reports must include the following details as the bare minimum: the number of applications for export or import authorisations received, the items included and the destination countries for each application, as well as the decisions made in each case, or a report of non-activity if that is the case.
It would also be interesting to know more about what measures have been taken or are laid down for breaches of the regulation by commercial operators, because if there is no suitable punishment, there will obviously be non-compliance with the regulation. Lastly, there are grounds for updating and introducing more regular procedures for reviewing the regulation itself and its annexes in particular."@en1
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