Europees Parlement vraagt aandacht voor overtreding mensenrechten wereldwijd (en)

Met dank overgenomen van Europees Parlement (EP) i, gepubliceerd op donderdag 16 februari 2012.

The European Parliament has a history of calling attention to flagrant violations of human rights across the world at each Strasbourg plenary session. This week for example it will discuss the situation in Belarus, Egypt and Japan. These debates have helped to raise awareness and incite the governments involved to change their act. We find out more about their importance from Barbara Lochbihler, the chair of the sub-committee on human rights.

The debates take place on Thursday afternoons at the end of the plenary and are followed by the adoption of resolutions. Ms Lochbihler, a Green MEP from Germany, said the impact of the resolutions varied depending on the country.

"Sometimes we receive feedback from human rights activists there, or diplomats from the countries concerned respond. These resolutions are always an occasion to denounce violations of human rights. It is a good instrument.

Ms Lochbihler said the Parliament has had some success with its human rights debates and resolutions. It has led to some governments reconsidering a death penalty sentence or a national parliament stopping the process on a particular law.

"The debates on breaches of human rights also raise the awareness of our people on that issue and it helps of course to push and press the relevant government to improve."

Topics for the debates, limited to a maximum of three, are decided between coordinators of the different political groups. "We choose a theme or situation where we think there is a window of opportunity to change it for the better," said Ms Lochbihler who was Amnesty International's secretary-general in Germany.

However, the Parliament is not about to rest on its laurels. Ms Lochbihler said: "There is still more to be done: We need to mainstream human rights policies in our trade policy, in our economic supports, in our foreign relations policies. We can do more but still we have a good record internationally that the EU is concerned about human rights;"

Debates Thursday 16 February from 3pm

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    Death penalty in Belarus (the only country in Europe, which exercises the death penalty and still carries out executions), in particular the case of Dzmitry Kanavalau and Uladzislau Kavalyou
  • - 
    Egypt: recent developments
  • - 
    Death penalty in Japan

The "urgency debates" is one of EP's instruments to defend human rights. Read more about EP's work defending human rights via the links on the right-hand side.

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