The Council adopted the
following conclusions on human rights and democratisation in third countries:
- The Council welcomes the
progress made in mainstreaming human rights into all EU policies and
underlines the need to further strengthen these efforts. The Council
underlines the importance of taking human rights aspects into
consideration in all relevant geographical and thematic policies of the
EU and stresses the continuing character of this work;
- The Council emphasises the
need to further strengthen the human rights perspective in the ESDP and
welcomes efforts made in this direction, such as the inclusion of human
rights and gender expertise both in the planning and in the
implementation of all ESDP operations, the compilation of relevant
documents on mainstreaming and the development of a generic pocket card
for ESDP personnel;
- The Council reaffirms its
commitment to improving the coherence and consistency of the EU's human
rights policy in its internal matters as well as in external affairs.
The EU's Fundamental Rights Charter as well as the establishment of a
Fundamental Rights Agency are to be seen as important steps in this
context;
- The Council welcomes measures
taken in the course of 2007 to further strengthen the implementation of
the Guidelines, namely the adoption of a new set of Guidelines on the
Promotion and Protection of the Rights of the Child. The EU has chosen
"All Forms of Violence Against Children" as its first priority
area;
- The EU reiterates its firm
opposition to the death penalty in all cases. The adoption of the
resolution on the moratorium on the use of the death penalty paves the
way for the EU to step up its efforts to encourage retentionist
countries to institute a moratorium as a first step on the way towards
its abolition. Demarches were carried out by the EU in a significant
number of countries. The Council will continue to take action on
individual cases of concern;
- The EU reaffirms its
commitment to the prevention and eradication of all forms of torture and
ill-treatment within the EU and world-wide. The EU continued its global
campaign to support relevant UN instruments, and encourages its partners
to fully cooperate with the UN Special Rapporteur on torture;
- The Council remains deeply
committed to the promotion and protection of the rights of children
affected by armed conflict and welcomes the initiatives undertaken to
promote and strengthen these principles in priority countries through
specific implementation strategies, which will continue to be
implemented;
- The Council will continue to
support the important work of Human Rights Defenders worldwide. The continued
persecution and harassment of Human Rights Defenders in many countries
requires concrete EU action to ensure their safety and protection. In
that respect the Council welcomes the elaboration of local
implementation strategies to support the work of Human Rights Defenders
by EU missions in third countries;
- Human rights dialogues are a
vital instrument of the EU external human rights policy. The Council
notes that the various agreement-based, ad hoc and local human rights
dialogues with third countries are an important channel to promote human
rights, rule of law and democracy and to express concerns. The Council
welcomes efforts aimed at including all relevant human rights issues on
the agendas of the Article 8 dialogue meetings. In this context the Council
welcomes the first round of human rights expert talks with the African
Union, which should pave the way for a regular human rights dialogue;
- The Council reaffirms the
importance it attaches to the EU-China Human Rights Dialogue as a
key instrument to build a mature relationship with China in this field. The two dialogue rounds that took place in May and October of 2007 provided a
platform for a substantive and frank exchange of views between China and the EU on a wide range of human rights issues. The Council acknowledges the
progress made by China in the field of economic, social and cultural
rights, notably the recent adoption of the labour contract law. This
needs to be matched by progress on civil and political rights and the
ratification of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights
remains a key EU demand in this regard. The Council remains seriously
concerned about continued restrictions on freedom of expression, freedom
of religion, minority rights, re-education through labour system,
torture and the extensive use of the death penalty. The EU will continue
to closely monitor the human rights situation in China and to work for positive change through continued and improved dialogue and cooperation;
- The EU remains deeply
concerned with the continuing deterioration of human rights and
fundamental freedoms in Iran. In 2007, the EU expressed on
several occasions its concerns over the extended use of capital
punishment, including the death sentences for juvenile offenders, and
the use of cruel and inhumane punishment such as stoning. The Council is
also seriously concerned by the escalation of restrictions to the rights
to freedom of expression and freedom of the media, the harassment and
persecution of Human Rights Defenders and restrictions on freedom of
religion and belief, including those placed on the Bahá'í. The Council
has repeatedly called on Iran to ensure implementation of its human
rights obligations through statements and demarches. The EU regrets that
Iran has suspended the EU-Iran Human Rights Dialogue and reiterates its
willingness to resume the dialogue with Iran;
- The Council welcomes the
continuation of the human rights consultations with the Russian Federation. The EU, however, remains concerned about certain developments in
Russia in 2007 regarding freedom of expression, assembly and freedom of
the press, especially in the context of parliamentary and presidential
elections. The EU regrets that the electoral campaign for the Duma did
not always meet international standards and commitments voluntarily
assumed by Russia;
- Other issues of concern are
minorities, women's rights (including trafficking), torture and maltreatment,
including abuse of psychiatric detention, the respect for the rule of
law, the effects of the law on NGO activities and of the
counter-extremist law on civil society, instances of racism and
xenophobia, and the situation in northern Caucasus. The Council
welcomes the first round of the human rights dialogue with Uzbekistan in 2007, and calls on Uzbekistan to make further progress on human rights. As regards Turkmenistan, the Council confirms its objective of bringing into line the Ad-hoc Human Rights
Dialogue with Turkmenistan with the structure of other official Human
Rights Dialogues, especially in the light of the Strategy for a new
Partnership with Central Asia. Overall, the Council remains concerned by
the situation of human rights in Central Asia and remains
committed to working for a concrete improvement in the human rights
situation in the five Central Asian Republics;
- The Council underlines the
importance of the European Instrument for Democracy and Human Rights
(EIDHR) and the need for the EU´s continuous support for the promotion
of human rights and democracy worldwide. The Council reiterates the need
to continue to enhance the effectiveness and consistency of EIDHR and
all the financial instruments relevant to the promotion and protection
of human rights and democracy. To this end, the Council encourages the
Commission to further strengthen the coordination of existing mechanisms
within the EU and with other players and donors, making use of their
specific inputs and experiences;
- The Council further welcomes
the ongoing close cooperation with the European Parliament. At
the same time the Council acknowledges the important role of civil
society in promoting and protecting human rights, and will continue to
work closely with the representatives of civil society in achieving the
goals in the fields of human rights. The Council takes note of the
recommendations of the Annual EU Human Rights Forum, held in Lisbon 7-8 December 2007, and underlines the need to continue the existing active
cooperation among the European human rights community.