Human rights breaches in China, Nicaragua and Georgia

Reports of continued repression of the Uyghur community in China

Parliament strongly condemns the repression of the Uyghur community and other ethnic Turkic people in the Uyghur Autonomous Region of Xinjiang. These minority groups in China are victims of brutal measures such as mass deportation, political indoctrination, and family separation, restrictions of religious freedom, cultural destruction and extensive use of surveillance.

The systematic, brutal and arbitrary repression has been documented in Xinjiang police files, which the International Consortium of Investigative Journalists (ICIJ) was able to examine. MEPs state that evidence of Uyghur children being separated from their families, government-sponsored programmes of mass forced sterilisation and forced labour amount to crimes against humanity and constitute a serious risk of genocide.

Parliament calls upon the EU and its member states to take all necessary steps to end these atrocities, including the adoption of additional sanctions targeting Chinese high-ranking officials identified in the Xinjiang police files and the suspension of the extradition treaties with China and Hong Kong.

Parliament urges the Commission to put forward an import ban on all products produced by forced labour and by Chinese companies listed as exploiting forced labour; it also urges China to engage constructively with the International Labour Organization and to monitor compliance with international standards to overcome forced labour. Finally, MEPs recall that EU companies operating in non-EU countries must be entirely consistent with international human rights standards and call for the introduction of mandatory human rights due diligence legislation to ensure EU companies take action against human rights breaches.

The resolution was adopted by show of hands. For further details, the full version will be available here. (09.06.2022)

The use of the justice system as a repressive tool in Nicaragua

MEPs condemn the abusive detention, the lack of trial guarantees and the illegal convictions

of political prisoners in Nicaragua since 2018. They call for their immediate release and for the safe return of all refugees and exiles to their homes. MEPs denounce all illegitimate judicial rulings that only confirm the repressive drift of the Ortega-Murillo regime.

Parliament urges the EU to hold the Nicaraguan regime accountable, in particular its judges, for being an active part of the repression system in the country. MEPs denounce the death of opposition politician Hugo Torres in detention and the arrest of Father Manuel Salvador García and call for his immediate release.

Finally, Parliament calls on the member states and the UN Security Council to open a formal investigation through the International Criminal Court into Nicaragua and Daniel Ortega for crimes against humanity.

The resolution was adopted by 524 in favour, 17 against and 29 abstentions. For further details, the full version will be available here. (09.06.2022)

Violations of media freedom and safety of journalists in Georgia

Parliament expresses its concern over the substantial deterioration of the media situation and the safety of journalists in Georgia. The country has been downgraded by the World Press Freedom Index from rank 60 to rank 89 in just one year. MEPs call on Georgia to restrict the use of strategic lawsuits against public participation (SLAPPs) that target human rights defenders and media workers and constraint their independent job.

Parliament demands that the prison sentence of Nika Gbaramia, the editor-in-chief of the main pro-opposition broadcaster in the country, who was sentenced to three and a half years in jail last month, be reviewed. MEPs call on the Georgian authorities to refrain from interfering in media freedom or pursuing politically motivated judicial cases against media owners or representatives. In addition, they point to the lack of investigation and prosecution of those responsible for the violence against journalists in the Tsibili Pride march on 5 July 2021, where one journalist died in a violent assault. They also call on the Council and democratic partners to consider imposing personal sanctions on the oligarch Bidzina Ivanishvili for his ties to the Kremlin and his influence in the government to persecute journalists and political opponents.

Finally, MEPs say that Georgia should desist from exploiting the mounting Russian disinformation and propaganda to target their respective political opponents. Georgian authorities should uphold the highest standards of democracy, Rule of Law and fundamental freedoms, such as media freedom. If Georgia fulfils these conditions, Parliament will call on the EU institutions to work towards granting EU candidate status to Georgia.

The resolution was adopted by show of hands. For further details, the full version will be available here. (09.06.2022)