Local view for "http://purl.org/linkedpolitics/eu/plenary/2011-03-09-Speech-3-554-000"
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"en.20110309.23.3-554-000"2
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"Mr President, again, this was a very interesting and full debate, which has raised a large number of issues that honourable Members feel very strongly about.
If I might just finish with this, I was very taken by what Mr Salavrakos said when he said that human rights is a way of life. I think that is probably right. I describe it as being this simple: for human rights to apply to you, you simply have to be here and human. There are no other criteria that should apply. I think that in all that we do, it is really important that we do not forget that very simple basic principle.
Honourable Members, there will be many issues upon which we disagree, many issues which create – as I witnessed – real passion and concern, but the ability to be able to debate those issues and the ability to put our strength of feeling on human rights at the core of what we think is absolutely essential.
Very finally, I have not made any decision about opening a delegation in Iran. That is partly a resources question but, of course, I will keep honourable Members informed about that.
Meanwhile, I would like to thank everyone for this debate and to assure honourable Members that I will do all I can to make the Human Rights Council as effective as possible and – more important even than that – to represent the European Parliament and the European Union on issues of human rights as effectively as I possibly can.
Firstly, I would like to thank all honourable Members for the energy and passion with which they have conducted this debate. I reflect on the fact that it is two years since the publication of Ms Andrikienė’s report on the development of the UN Human Rights Council, including the role of the EU, and on the resolutions that have been passed since that report was produced. I would like to thank her for her comments about the work we are doing in the External Action Service and the beginnings of our work to build the new pieces of work on human rights.
I am also very pleased to see that Ms Hautala will be going to the session of the Council. I think it is extremely important, with her knowledge and expertise, that she is able to participate there. I also hope that she will back up the efforts that we have been making to try to ensure that the work of the Council improves and increases. I hear the criticisms that are made of it. I think we have all been pushing hard with the review to try to make that review as strong as possible. It is certainly not quite where we would have wished it to be, but now that we have seen the transfer to New York of some of the discussions, we can continue to work there as well. This really is an area of work where parliamentarians working with us can make a significant difference. I have full confidence in Ms Hautala’s strength in pushing forward on that.
I want to deal with some of the particular questions that have been asked of me. I will start with Mr Howitt’s, because he said that there were three in particular. Regarding the Democratic Republic of the Congo, we are in favour of a strong resolution and indeed, we have said there ought to be a specific mandate now on this particular situation. On Goldstone, we are trying to engage to find a consensual resolution. That is what we are doing at the present time. In Pakistan, we made a
on 5 March specifically on Article 40, which is the point concerned.
To those honourable Members who specifically talked about freedom of religion and belief, let me first of all say that I do indeed talk about the terrible tragedies for Christian communities anywhere in the world where these terrible tragedies occur. My general point is that we believe in the right of freedom of religion and belief, whatever that religion or belief might be in that context. It is important that we continue to make those statements as clearly as possible, when you see terrorism or attacks on any religions, including Christianity.
My team has just been meeting with a group of MEPs to talk further about what more we should do on this. I have already said that we plan to do something at this session of the Human Rights Council specifically on this because it is so important.
I apologise that I did not answer on Camp Ashraf. I intended to, but I turned the paper over too quickly. I think we have a total of 3 000 people – or perhaps 3 400, the numbers vary – and we are in weekly touch with the UN who, as you know, are visiting the camp. They assure me that the basic needs are being met. There are really difficult issues, as the honourable Member knows very well, in looking at what might be done around Camp Ashraf. I am very conscious of the very different opinions that we hear on this. However, the honourable gentleman is completely right that the significant part of this is to make sure that people’s rights are not violated and that we ensure humanitarian support is given. We do indeed – hence I know about the weekly reports. That is not by accident. It is because we are engaging on this issue and engaging with the government there to try to deal with that in the best possible way that we can.
I also agree that it is now important to get a strong delegation in Geneva. Again, Mrs Hautala raises specifically the fact that we have just appointed a new Head of Delegation. I talked with the team while I was in Geneva. We have split the delegation in two so that one can concentrate on the issues, particularly of the World Trade Organisation, and the other can focus much more on the UN agencies.
In my conversations on this, I am also clear on the need to think better and more creatively about how we operate in Geneva. We need to build alliances on human rights and to have the opportunity to talk with partners across the world where we can make common cause on some of the most important issues that concern us. I hope that we will be able to move forward on that over the coming weeks and months."@en1
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