Sous-commission Droits de l'homme (DROI) - Parlement européen

On 30 May DROI will hold a hearing on minorities caught between the Syrian civil war and ISIS in Iraq and Syria. A panel made up of experts including representatives of some of the main minorities in the region, Christian, Turkmen and Yazidi, will provide first hand observations on the general conditions in these two countries.
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Programme
Source : © European Union, 2016 - EP

European Parliament Subcommittee on Human Rights Chair Elena Valenciano (S&D, ES) welcomes the release of the anti-slavery activists Biram Ould Dah Abeid and Brahim Bilal Ramdhane by the Supreme Court of Mauritania. She made the following statement:

"On behalf of the Subcommittee on Human Rights I encourage the government of Mauritania to continue its effort to fulfil its international human rights obligations. While recognising that progress has been made by the government in taking legislative measures aimed at fighting all forms of slavery, the lack of effective implementation contributes to the persistence of such practices. I therefore call on the authorities to enact effectively the anti-slavery laws to eradicate the practice".
Press statement
Source : © European Union, 2016 - EP

On 30 May DROI will hold a hearing on minorities caught between the Syrian civil war and ISIS in Iraq and Syria. A panel made up of experts including representatives of some of the main minorities in the region, Christian, Turkmen and Yazidi, will provide first hand observations on the general conditions in these two countries.
Location : ASP 3G3, Brussels
Programme
Source : © European Union, 2016 - EP

Source : © Union européenne, 2016 - PE

A delegation of the European Parliament's Subcommittee on Human Rights visited Turkey on 16-18 May 2016. The delegation was led by Marietje Schaake (ALDE, NL), accompanied by Arne Lietz (S&D, DE) and Liliana Rodrigues (S&D, PT). Its main focus was the human rights aspects of the EU-Turkey agreement reached on 18 March to better manage migration flows, as well as the general rule of law situation in Turkey, including the conflict in the South East, freedom of expression and of the media.

For full statement see below.

Press statement
Source : © European Union, 2016 - EP

Elena Valenciano, Chair of the Subcommittee on Human Rights in the European Parliament, on the human rights situation of the Crimean Tatars:

"Today, as we commemorate the 1944 deportation of the Crimean Tatars by Stalin's totalitarian Soviet Union, we also acknowledge with concern the current increased persecution of this vulnerable minority. The arbitrary arrests, torture in detention and severe restrictions on the rights to peaceful assembly, freedom of expression, religion and belief must stop.

Full press release below
Press statement
Source : © European Union, 2016 - EP

Human rights: Mejlis ban in Crimea, arrests in The Gambia, elections in Djibouti

Parliament condemns the banning of the Mejlis, the representative body of ethnic Crimean Tatars, urges the immediate release of all protestors arrested in an April electoral reform demonstration in The Gambia, and calls for a thorough investigation into the transparency of the re-election of President Ismaïl Omar Guelleh in Djibouti, in three resolutions voted on Thursday.

Press release
Crimean Tartars
Gambia
Djibouti
Source : © European Union, 2016 - EP

Human rights: Mejlis ban in Crimea, arrests in The Gambia, elections in Djibouti

Parliament condemns the banning of the Mejlis, the representative body of ethnic Crimean Tatars, urges the immediate release of all protestors arrested in an April electoral reform demonstration in The Gambia, and calls for a thorough investigation into the transparency of the re-election of President Ismaïl Omar Guelleh in Djibouti, in three resolutions voted on Thursday.

Further information
Press release
Source : © European Union, 2016 - EP

Source : © Union européenne, 2016 - PE

Workshop on "Human rights in North Korea: accountability vs. engagement?", held on 20 April 2016 in the European Parliament.
Source : © European Union, 2016 - EP

In early research on land grabbing, the initial focus was on foreign companies investing abroad, with a particular focus on those based in countries such as China, Gulf States, South Korea, and India. In recent years, it has become evident that the range of countries land investors originate in is far broader, and includes both North Atlantic - and EU-based actors. In this study, we offer both quantitative and qualitative data illustrating the involvement of EU-based corporate and financial entities in land deals occurring outside of the EU. This study also analyses the global land rush within a human rights framework, examining the implications of particular land deals involving EU-based investors and their impact on communities living in areas where the investments are taking place. The research presented here builds partly on Cotula’s 2014 study on the drivers and human rights implications of land grabbing, but differs in that it focuses explicitly on particular cases of possible, actual or potential human rights abuses and violations, in the context of activities involving European corporate and financial entities. In our conclusions, we offer a series of recommendations on how the EU can more effectively address these issues.
Source : © European Union, 2016 - EP

The present study provides a detailed overview of the actual human rights situation in the frozen conflict regions of EU’s Eastern neighbourhood, namely in Crimea, Transnistria, Abkhazia, South Ossetia and Nagorno-Karabakh. The focus of the analysis is on the access to the justice system, as well as on the abilities of the de jure or de facto authorities to administer justice.
Particular attention is paid to Crimea because the rapidly worsening human rights situation there affects far more people than the population of the other four frozen conflicts combined.
Further information
The frozen conflicts of the EU's Eastern neighbourhood and their impact on the respect of human rights
Source : © European Union, 2016 - EP

The European Parliament’s Subcommittee on Human Rights requested a study that would feed into the debate on the application of the universal jurisdiction principle. The goal of this study is to help the European Parliament form opinions and make decisions in this respect whilst at the same time providing practical recommendations to the European Union (EU) on ways to improve the application of the principle in its Member States and third countries. For the full study please see link below
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The application of universal jurisdiction in the fight against impunity
Source : © European Union, 2016 - EP

The Chair of the European Parliament Subcommittee on Human Rights, Elena VALENCIANO (S&D, ES), and the Chair of the EP Culture and Education Committee, Silvia COSTA (S&D, IT), stress the link between access to information and fundamental freedoms on the occasion of World Press Freedom Day:

"In today's interconnected world, confronted by increasing number of humanitarian, economic and political crises, free access to information is more important than ever. We are therefore most concerned by the constant erosion of press freedom worldwide...."

For full statement see link below

Press statement
Source : © European Union, 2016 - EP

"Mexican Government to go on with the investigation", says DROI Chair

As the Interdisciplinary Group of Independent Experts (GIEI) brought its conclusions regarding the disappearance of the 43 students in Ayotzinapa, the Chair of the European Parliament's Subcommittee on Human Rights (DROI), Elena Valenciano (S&D, ES), made the following statement:

"On behalf of the Subcommittee on Human Rights, I wish to express my concern regarding the findings of the second and final report presented by the Interdisciplinary Group of Independent Experts (GIEI) on the disappearance of the 43 students in Ayotzinapa.

For full statement see link below

Press statement
Source : © European Union, 2016 - EP

Elena Valenciano, Chair of the Subcommittee on Human Rights in the European Parliament, on the attack in Aleppo on the Al Quds hospital, another facility supported by Medecins Sans Frontiers (MSF):

"I express my strongest condemnation of this attack that has caused significant loss of life among patients and doctors, including children, and one of Aleppo's last paediatricians. These intentional attacks on civilian facilities are blatant violations of international humanitarian law and have a brutal impact on the already meagre living conditions of thousands of people.

For the full statement see below

Press statement
Source : © European Union, 2016 - EP

Source : © European Union, 2016 - EP

Links between foreign investment in agricultural land in third countries and the rights of local populations, the need for a multi stakeholders approach and mechanisms to protect indigenous peoples were among the issues raised in the Human Rights Subcommittee's hearing on human rights defenders and land-grabbing issues on Wednesday afternoon, 20 April.
For the full statement please see link below.
Further information
Programme
Press release
Source : © European Union, 2016 - EP

The next meeting of the Subcommittee on Human Rights will take place on Monday, 30 May 2016, from 15.00 - 18.30 in meeting room ASP - A3G-3.

Representatives of NGOs as well as other organisations are requested to accede to the EU Transparency Register and follow the procedures therein for access to the European Parliament.
Further information
Watch the meeting live
Draft agenda and meeting documents
Source : © European Union, 2016 - EP

Human rights: attack in Lahore, murders in Honduras, abductions in Nigeria

Parliament condemns the attack in Gulshani-Iqbal Park in Lahore, Pakistan, on 27 March 2016, which killed more than 73 people and injured at least 300; recent murders of human rights defenders in Honduras, in particular Berta Caceres, Nelson Garcia and Paola Barraza; and worsening security and human rights in Nigeria, in separate resolutions voted on Thursday.
Press release
Pakistan, in particular the attack in Lahore
Honduras: situation of human rights defenders
Nigeria
Source : © European Union, 2016 - EP