Changes from plenary report to adopted text

Right to a clean, healthy and sustainable environment

68. Highlights that the climate crisis and its impact on the environment and biodiversity has direct effects on the effective enjoyment of all human rights and that these issues are interlinked and interdependent; calls for the swift adoption of policies to enhance international cooperation and strengthen capacity-building in this regard, as laid out in Resolution 76/300 of the UN General Assembly; recognises the critically important work of CSOs, environmental human rights defenders and indigenous activists for the preservation and protection of the environment and biodiversity; deplores the risk and condemns all forms of violence that environmental human rights defenders face and calls for their effective protection to be guaranteed; stresses the need to effectively address the displacement of people caused by environmental destruction and climate change, which increases the risk of human rights violations and vulnerabilities to different forms of exploitation; calls for the EU and the Member States to step up their efforts to support regional mechanisms such as the UN Special Rapporteur on environmental defenders and the Escazú Agreement;

69. Urges the EU, the UN and regional human rights mechanisms to assume a larger role in protecting global ecosystems and environmental defenders, in particular where climate change has a severe impact on indigenous and local communities; calls for the EU to promote a UN-level initiative for international observers to monitor serious environmental damage or crises, or situations where environmental rights defenders are most at risk, and to engage with and assist the authorities in establishing protective conditions for these defenders;

70. Encourages the EU and the Member States to promote the recognition of ecocide as an international crime under the Rome Statute of the ICC;

71. Recalls that the transition to clean energy must be just and respect everyone’s fundamental rights; highlights that the design and implementation of energy transition policies and projects should be conducted in a way that does not exacerbate human rights violations and damage the environment;

Human rights and digital technologies

72. Is concerned by the threat that artificial intelligence (AI) can pose to democracies and human rights, especially if it is not duly regulated; welcomes the Council conclusions of 26 June 2023 to strengthen the EU’s role and leadership in global digital governance, in particular its position as a shaper of the global digital rulebook, and in this sense welcomes the proposal for a regulation to harmonise the rules on AI which need to protect human rights, particularly the right to private life and to non-discrimination, and the advantages that AI can offer for human well-being; highlights that new and emergent technologies such as spyware need urgent oversight, robust transparency and appropriate safeguards; stresses the importance of a human rights-based approach towards these technologies; condemns the use of new and emerging technologies as coercive instruments in order to increase the harassment, intimidation and persecution of HRDs, activists, journalists, lawyers and minorities; takes the firm position that the export of spyware from the Union to third countries where such tools are used against human rights activists, journalists and government critics, is a severe violation of the fundamental rights enshrined in the Charter and a gross violation of Union export rules;

73. Deplores practices by authoritarian and totalitarian regimes that limit citizens’ access to the internet, including internet blackouts during public assemblies and protests, among others; insists on the importance of an open, free, stable and secure cyberspace that upholds the core values of democracy, human rights and the rule of law; stresses the importance for the EU’s Digital Diplomacy to advance a human rights-based approach to digital technologies;

74. Is worried about the use of cyberattacks, considered to be hybrid threats, often used against services and infrastructure critical to the civilian population; expresses concern at the rise of this phenomenon, as it can also lead to violations of people’s digital rights and aggravate offline violence;

75. Calls on the Commission and the EEAS to promote the adoption of disinformation and hate speech legislation in non-EU countries, to explicitly prohibit and punish speech inciting discrimination, hatred or violence on the basis of race, ethnicity, nationality, social class, disability, caste, religion, belief, age, sexual orientation and sex or gender identity, and to press tech corporations and social media platforms to foster a human rights-sensitive online environment;

Strengthening the EU’s toolbox for the promotion and protection of human rights and democracy around the world

EU action plan on human rights and democracy

76. Observes that the implementation so far of the EU action plan on human rights and democracy by the EU and its Member States, although substantial, is still lagging and remains difficult to assess in the absence of time-bound and tangible objectives; notes the observation in the mid-term review of the action plan about the unprecedented challenges the world has experienced since its adoption, and the general setback in human rights protection in recent years, yet underscores that this should lead to the enhancement of the implementation of the action plan for its remaining period, with a view to maximising the synergies and complementarity between human rights and democracy at local, national and global levels; welcomes the assessment of the EU’s action on HRDs within the framework of the revision; calls for the next EU action plan to integrate the defence and promotion of the universality of human rights within its pillars, paying special attention to the narratives and tools employed by authoritarian and illiberal regimes in their attacks in this regard; highlights the need to bridge the gap between the strategic vision and objectives of the action plan and its operational dimension; stresses the importance of Member States taking ownership of the EU action plan on human rights and democracy and publicly reporting on their action under this strategic document; encourages national and regional parliaments, national human rights institutions and local CSOs to engage with their authorities at Member State level on their contribution to the conduct of the EU’s external human rights policy;

EU Special Representative (EUSR) for Human Rights

77. Fully supports the work of the EUSR for Human Rights in contributing to the visibility and coherence of the EU’s human rights actions in the EU’s external relations; calls on the EEAS to strengthen their role and increase their visibility in the promotion and protection of human rights when engaging with third countries and like-minded partners and in guiding the implementation of the action plan on human rights and democracy; calls for greater accountability, transparency and visibility of the work of the mandate, including by public reporting on country visits, the work programme and priorities; considers that the scope of the mandate warrants the appointment of a full-time mandate-holder; insists that the appointment of the next EUSR only be confirmed after a positive evaluation by Parliament’s Committee on Foreign Affairs and its Subcommittee on Human Rights and that the EUSR report back to Parliament regularly;

Neighbourhood, Development and International Cooperation Instrument – Global Europe and the human rights and democracy thematic programme

78. Recalls the fundamental role the NDICI – Global Europe, including its thematic programme on human rights and democracy, plays as an EU flagship instrument in promoting and protecting human rights and democracy around the world; reiterates its calls for support to CSOs, pro-democracy activists and media organisations, including via the European Endowment for Democracy, to be stepped up in the light of the current regressive global trends; highlights the need to engage with civil society and other local partners in all the EU’s relevant external activities; reiterates the importance of streamlining a human rights-based approach in the EU’s external action instruments;

79. Reiterates its call for greater transparency regarding human rights-related provisions in financing agreements under the NDICI and a clarification of the mechanism and criteria for the suspension of such agreements in the event of a breach of human rights, democratic principles and the rule of law; highlights that the EU should strictly refrain from budget support as a means of providing assistance to regimes that grossly fail to meet international standards in the field of human rights, democracy and the fight against corruption; stresses that the support should in such cases be channelled through civil society instead; calls for the EU to take particular care to assess and prevent any violation linked to the Union’s own policies, projects and funding in third countries, including by creating a complaints mechanism for individuals or groups whose rights may have been violated by EU activities in these countries;

80. Recalls that the EU has declared its commitment to supporting the transition from institutional to family and community-based care in its external action in the NDICI; urges, therefore, the EU institutions to exclude funding to institutions, including for refurbishing, building or renovating, if it is not part of a deinstitutionalisation process;

EU international agreements

81. Stresses that human rights clauses should apply in a coherent manner to all EU international agreements with third countries, including sectoral and investment agreements, and that these should be monitored closely and backed by a clear set of benchmarks and procedures to be followed in the event of human rights violations, and provide a basis for engaging with a third country on human rights in a practical and flexible manner; notes that until 2014 the EU formally activated the human rights clauses on two dozen occasions and since then it has only adopted ‘appropriate measures’ under these clauses on one occasion; reiterates that in the face of serious and persistent breaches of human rights clauses by its partner countries the EU should react swiftly and decisively, and as an ultimate course of action, by suspending the relevant agreements if other options prove ineffective;

82. Calls for the implementation of the EU Ombudsman’s recommendation concerning the creation of a complaint-handling portal, within the framework of EU trade and financial instruments, and for the adaptation of the Commission’s Single Entry Point to allow for the submission of complaints regarding the failure to comply with human rights clauses, which should be accessible, citizen-friendly and transparent; encourages the EU institutions and the Member States to further engage with the Ombudsman in developing new strategies and tools for protecting and promoting human rights through trade; calls on the Commission to improve its communication towards Parliament on its considerations and decisions regarding the enforcement of human rights clauses in international agreements;

EU human rights dialogues

83. Stresses the important role of human rights dialogues within the EU’s human rights toolbox and as a key vehicle for the implementation of the EU action plan on human rights and democracy; highlights that these dialogues should address the situation of all human rights and democracy with the relevant countries; stresses the role of independent CSOs and the need to ensure their legitimate participation through the preparation and follow-up to these dialogues; stresses that there can be no discrimination in respect of the participation of civil society in this regard; notes that human rights dialogues should be seen as a key element of sustained EU engagement and not as a box-ticking exercise or a free-standing instrument; recalls that these dialogues need to be used in conjunction and synergy with other instruments, and should be carried out in a result-oriented manner and be regularly reviewed; stresses that failure to achieve concrete results should have consequences for the wider conduct of bilateral relations; reiterates the need to raise individual cases, including those highlighted by Parliament in its resolutions and the Sakharov Prize winners – and finalists – and ensure adequate follow-up; calls on the EEAS and EU Delegations to increase the visibility of these dialogues and their outcomes, including through the publication of a joint press statement and to conduct suitable follow-up action to them;

EU Global Human Rights Sanctions Regime (GHRSR – The EU Magnitsky Act)

84. Notes the limited use so far of the EU GHRSR (the EU Magnitsky Act) as a key political tool in the EU’s defence of human rights and democracy across the world; notes, however, the challenges that the requirement of unanimity poses in their adoption and reiterates its call for the introduction of qualified majority voting for decisions on the GHRSR; calls for a more dynamic and consistent use of this tool, including in cooperation with like-minded partners; calls on the Council to act on the requests for sanctions made by Parliament via its resolutions; fully supports the possibility of imposing targeted anti-corruption sanctions in relation to severe human rights violations, which has been a long-standing priority of Parliament, and welcomes the Commission proposal in this regard and calls for its swift adoption by the Council, whether through its inclusion in the GHRSR or with a different regime;

85. Highlights that the consistent and uniform application of sanctions by all Member States has consequences for the credibility and effectiveness of the EU’s external action; stresses the need for the complete enforcement of sanctions and calls for breaches and circumventions to be tackled in an effective manner;

Democracy support activities

86. Reiterates its concern regarding the increasing attacks by authoritarian, totalitarian and illiberal regimes on democratic institutions and standards and civil society, and attempts to rewrite international norms; stresses that the defence and support of democracy around the world is increasingly becoming of geopolitical and strategic interest; considers the need to increase efforts in raising awareness of the undermining of democratic culture in third countries and reiterates the necessity to strengthen it; reiterates the importance of EU election observation missions and Parliament’s contribution to developing and enhancing their methodology; calls for third countries to implement the recommendations made by the EU’s election observation missions – and other recognised international bodies – to improve their future electoral processes and thus help increase their transparency and legality with a view to strengthening the democratic standards of the states concerned; welcomes the work of the European Endowment for Democracy and reiterates the need to keep strengthening its activities and resources;

EU support to human rights defenders and civil society organisations

87. Is extremely concerned by the attacks on and harassment of HRDs, as well as their families, communities and lawyers, and finds the increasingly sophisticated means used to persecute them particularly concerning; strongly condemns laws, including counter-terrorism laws, national security laws and anti-defamation laws, used to target HRDs and non-governmental organisations (NGOs), criminalise their work, and stigmatise them; deplores the harassment of NGOs through legislative provisions in third countries, such as foreign agents laws and similar, and other restrictions they face in their legitimate work; supports, praises and thanks wholeheartedly HRDs for the courageous and crucial work they perform and the EU action to ensure their protection worldwide; calls for the complete and consistent application of the EU Guidelines on human rights defenders by the EU and its Member States, thereby fostering a proactive, holistic and long-term approach towards the protection of HRDs that anticipates and mitigates serious problems, such as assaults and threats, targeting HRDs with often a heavy personal cost for them, their families and communities; underscores the pressing need for a comprehensive and timely revision of the Guidelines on human rights defenders, with a view to addressing the emerging challenges and threats, and to ensuring their applicability and effectiveness in the protection of HRDs globally, while integrating gender-sensitive and intersectional approaches in the updated Guidelines, reflecting the diverse backgrounds and experiences of HRDs, and taking into account the specific vulnerabilities they may face;

88. Highlights the increasing phenomenon worldwide of transnational threats against HRDs by their national authorities or proxies; calls on the Commission and the Member States to identify and tackle these threats within the EU as a priority and as an integral aspect of the EU Guidelines on human rights defenders; encourages the Commission and the Member States to provide foreign HRDs residing in the EU with appropriate financial and other means in order to enable them to continue their human rights work remotely and without fear of retaliation; underlines that officials and agents of third countries harassing HRDs in the EU, as well as local enablers, either individuals or entities, should be held accountable; highlights the importance of training and resources to be provided to law enforcement authorities to tackle these transnational attacks;

89. Insists that the EEAS, the Commission and the EU Delegations pay particular attention to the situation of the Sakharov Prize laureates and finalists at risk and take resolute action, in coordination with the Member States and Parliament, to ensure their well-being, safety or liberation;

90. Calls for efforts to strengthen the visibility of EU actions and channels for the protection and support of HRDs; urges the Member States to lead by example and develop robust and effective national HRD guidelines and laws, serving as a model for other nations to follow; recognises the collective responsibility of the EEAS, the Commission, and the Member States in ensuring the effective implementation of the EU Guidelines on human rights defenders and calls for the EU to implement a genuine Team Europe approach to HRDs; fully supports the ProtectDefenders.eu mechanisms and calls for the EU and its Member States to foster the creation of similar mechanisms in like-minded countries, as well as joint activities between the EU, its Member States and third countries addressed to the protection of HRDs; underlines the importance of EU Special Representatives engaging with national authorities on the protection of human rights and individual cases; reiterates its call for the Commission to take a proactive role in the establishment of an EU-wide multi-entry visa scheme for HRDs at risk; hereby urges the Member States to undertake procedural enhancements within their diplomatic missions, ensuring expeditious, comprehensible, accessible and attainable visa application processes; further calls on the Member States to collaboratively establish and integrate a dedicated category within the EU Visa Code, thereby streamlining visa procedures and promoting uniformity in the EU’s visa application process; calls on the Vice-President of the Commission / High Representative of the Union for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy, in collaboration with the Member States and Parliament, to establish an annual list of countries of serious HRD concern, allowing for a coordinated Team Europe response, access to resources, enhanced monitoring, dedicated strategies and increased support at all levels; encourages the transparent presentation and review of this list in Parliament to uphold accountability;

91. Deplores that women human rights defenders face gender-based violence and suffer from a lack of access to adequate resources and protection mechanisms; condemns the continuing attacks against women human rights defenders, including sexual assault, threats, intimidation, criminalisation and killings; affirms that the rise in misogynistic, sexist and homophobic speech by political leaders in recent years has normalised violence against women human rights defenders in particular against defenders working on SRHR; stresses the need for the EU to continue supporting CSOs that promote the rights of women and girls politically and financially;

Combating impunity and corruption

92. Stresses that corruption facilitates, perpetuates and institutionalises violations of human rights, undermines democratic institutions and disproportionately affects the most vulnerable and marginalised individuals and groups in society; calls for the fight against corruption to be a part of all of the EU’s efforts and policies to promote human rights and democracy; welcomes the anti-corruption actions in EU external policies, including the possibility of imposing targeted anti-corruption sanctions in the joint communication of the Commission and the High Representative of the Union for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy of 3 May 2023 on the fight against corruption (JOIN(2023)0012); calls for the EU and its Member States to increase their efforts in justice reforms, fighting impunity, the improvement of transparency and anti-corruption institutions in third countries and addressing the role of certain EU-based actors in this regard; supports the anti-corruption provisions included in the EU trade agreements with non-EU countries; underlines the utmost importance for the EU and its Member States to lead by example by applying the highest transparency standards to their external funding and by stepping up their support for CSOs, activists and investigative journalists engaged in the fight against corruption and impunity, as well as by promoting the establishment of effective global anti-corruption measures and robust regulatory frameworks, as well as addressing secrecy jurisdictions and tax havens; calls for cooperation to be strengthened with key international actors in this regard, such as the Group of States against Corruption (GRECO), the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) and the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC), in order to improve synergies and the exchange of best practices concerning anti-corruption measures;

EU actions at multilateral forums

93. Reiterates the need for the EU and its Member States to speak with one voice at the UN and in other multilateral forums; is extremely concerned by the increasing attacks on multilateral institutions, such as UN Bodies and in particular the UN Human Rights Council, by authoritarian and illiberal regimes in an attempt to undermine their work and legitimacy; welcomes the continued support of the EU and its Member States to the UN and other multilateral institutions, as well as the continued and growing strategic dialogue and cooperation with the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights; strongly supports the sponsoring of UN resolutions by the EU on human rights and democracy; calls for the EU and its Member States to take concrete steps to enhance the strength and resilience of the international human rights architecture and the consistent implementation of international human rights obligations and instruments; calls for the EU and its Member States to advocate for an own and permanent seat for the Union in multilateral forums and to ensure greater coordination, including the UN Security Council, in addition to the existing one allocated to EU Member States; calls for EU delegations to play a stronger role in multilateral forums, for which they should have appropriate resources available;

94. Stresses that the effective protection of human rights worldwide requires international collaboration at multilateral level; underlines the particularly important role of the UN and its bodies as the main forum which must be able to effectively advance the efforts for peace, security, sustainable development and respect for human rights and international law; recalls the obligations of all UN member states to promote and protect all human rights and fundamental freedoms, as enshrined in the Founding Charter of the United Nations and UN General Assembly Resolution 60/251; stresses the responsibility of the UN Human Rights Council to address all grave violations of human rights around the world; regrets the fact that several members of the UN Human Rights Council have records of serious human rights violations and disregard for their human rights obligations; calls for a better application of the criteria for membership of the UN Human Rights Council; calls on the EEAS to initiate and spearhead an effort towards a coordinated EU and Member State position on UN Human Rights Council membership, which would promote greater transparency and merit-based competition in the election process; calls for the EU institutions, including itself, to further strengthen relations and close cooperation with these UN bodies;

95. Highlights the work of UN commissions of inquiry and fact-finding missions, which are increasingly used to respond to situations involving serious violations of international humanitarian law and international human rights law, and to combat impunity; calls for the EU and its Member States to continue supporting the work of the UN, both politically and financially, including Special Procedures and treaty bodies; strongly condemns all attacks against UN Special Procedure mandate holders and against the independence of their mandates; calls on the EU Member States and the EU’s democratic partners to decisively counter these attempts and to take all possible measures to help provide safe and open spaces for interaction by individuals and CSOs with the United Nations, its representatives and mechanisms;

96. Calls for the EU and the Member States to support the strengthening of regional human rights systems, including through financial assistance and cross-regional experience sharing; highlights in particular the critical role of the monitoring bodies and judicial mechanisms established under these regional systems and their complementarity with the UN human rights system;

97. Welcomes the political and financial support the EU has given to the ICC, including the office of the Prosecutor of the ICC; asks the EU and its Member States to keep supporting the ICC with the necessary means and resources, both human and financial, and to use all instruments at its disposal to strengthen the fight against impunity worldwide; welcomes the contributions of the ICC to fight impunity around the world; supports the EU’s contributions in the investigation of war crimes and crimes against humanity within the framework of the ICC; condemns the attempts to undermine the work of the ICC and its legitimacy; calls for the EU and its Member States to encourage their partners to ratify the Rome Statute and its amendments and thus expand the Court’s jurisdiction;

Team Europe approach

98. Regrets the cases of different approaches to human rights protection and promotion in non-EU countries seen in Member States’ embassies and EU Delegations; underlines that Member States’ embassies should make promoting and protecting human rights a priority, while also supporting civil society in non-EU countries: notes that this responsibility should not fall entirely on the EU Delegations; call for the EU and the Member States to effectively place human rights as a central part of all EU policies and tools; urges the EU and its Member States to intensify their efforts to promote and protect human rights and democracy worldwide; underlines the need for the EU and its Member States to act in a united manner with a single voice and effectively in tackling global human rights and democracy challenges in multilateral forums; calls for full coordination in third countries between all Member States Delegations and the EU Delegations on human rights issues; calls on the EU Delegations and EU Member States’ diplomatic missions to adopt a more proactive approach in human rights promotion and defence;

99. Highlights the importance of addressing the continued segmentation in the conduct of EU external relations in relation to human rights; calls for improved coordination on human rights matters between the Commission’s Directorate-General for International Partnerships and the EEAS with other relevant Directorates-General, including the Directorate-General for Trade and the Directorate-General for Migration and Home Affairs, as well as with the relevant EU agencies, such as Frontex and EASO; welcomes the increased coordination between the EU Delegations and the EEAS headquarters and the Directorate-General for International Partnerships in relation to urgent HRD cases;

100. Calls on all EU Delegations in third countries to increase their support to HRDs, in line with the EU guidelines in this area, as well as to visit members of the democratic opposition, activists and members of civil society imprisoned in those countries, to monitor their situation, to attend trials and to raise their cases in EU human rights dialogues with the countries in question;

101. Highlights the important role of the EU’s public and cultural diplomacy, as well as international cultural relations, in the promotion of human rights and calls for the Strategic Communication and Foresight division of the EEAS to increase its efforts in this regard, for which it should count on the appropriate resources; stresses the need to fully communicate in third countries on EU-funded or supported human rights programmes; considers it to be of the utmost importance to fully implement the EU Human Rights Guidelines in EU Delegations and Member States’ diplomatic missions;

102. Calls on the Commission, the EEAS and the Member States to adopt a true ‘Team Europe’ approach, which consists in regularly engaging with and involving Parliament in a meaningful way, whenever meetings, visits or other official and unofficial events take place, in line with the role of the European Parliament as the only directly elected body of the EU, representing EU citizens;

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103. Instructs its President to forward this resolution to the Council, the Commission, the Vice-President of the Commission / High Representative of the Union for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy, the European Union Special Representative for Human Rights, the governments and parliaments of the Member States, the United Nations Security Council, the United Nations Secretary-General, the President of the 77th session of the United Nations General Assembly, the President of the United Nations Human Rights Council, the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights and the European Union Heads of Delegation.