The European Parliament adopted by 541 votes to 32,
with 119 abstentions, a resolution on addressing human rights
violations in the context of war crimes, and crimes against
humanity, including genocide.
Parliament recalled that the crime of genocide, crimes against
humanity and war crimes, also known as ‘atrocity crimes’,
are the most serious crimes against humankind. It considered
that the international community has the duty to prevent atrocity
crimes from taking place, and it welcomed the fact that the
International Criminal Court is currently conducting investigations
in nine countries (Georgia, Mali, Côte d'Ivoire, Libya, Kenya,
Sudan (Darfur), Uganda, the Democratic Republic of Congo and (two
investigations) the Central African Republic.
On the need to focus on the prevention of atrocity crimes: Parliament recalled the EUʼs commitment to act on the international scene in the name of the principles that inspired its creation: it should be of paramount importance for the EU to address and hold accountable those responsible for severe violations of human rights reaching the gravity threshold of crimes against humanity and genocide and grave breaches of international humanitarian law reaching the level of war crimes.
It stressed the urgent need for the international community to step up its efforts to monitor and respond to any (potential) conflict that may give rise to acts that may be considered as a criminal atrocity.
Parliament called on the EU and its Member States to use all their political weight to prevent any act that could be considered a crime of atrocity from taking place, to respond in an efficient and coordinated manner in cases where such crimes occur and, to mobilise all necessary resources to bring to justice all those responsible, as well as to assist the victims and support stabilisation and reconciliation processes.
It called on the international community to establish instruments that can minimise the warning response gap in order to prevent the emergence, re-emergence and escalation of violent conflict, such as the EU’s early warning system.
Parliament called for the EU to step up its efforts to develop a coherent and efficient approach to identifying and responding in a timely fashion to crisis or conflict situations that might lead to an atrocity crime being committed. It also underlined the need for countries and regions at risk of conflict to have skilled and trustworthy security forces.
Overall, Parliament called for further efforts from the EU and the Member States to develop capacity-building programmes for the security sector
On supporting the investigation and prosecution of genocide, crimes against humanity and war crimes: overall, Parliament reiterated its full support for the ICC, the Rome Statute, the Office of Prosecutor, the Prosecutor’s proprio motu powers, and the progress made in initiating new investigations as an essential means of fighting impunity for atrocity crimes. It reaffirmed that accession to the ICC and Rome Statute is crucial and called on the states which have not yet done so to ratify the Rome Statute, in order to support accountability and reconciliation as key elements in preventing future atrocities.
It also drew attention to the importance of ensuring sufficient financial contributions to the Court for its effective functioning.
Members stressed the essential role of the European Parliament in monitoring EU action in this matter, and encouraged Member States to amend Article 83 of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union in order to add atrocity crimes to the list of crimes for which the EU has competences.
Parliament went on to recall its strong condemnation of the atrocities committed by the Assad regime in Syria, which can be considered as serious war crimes and crimes against humanity, and it deplored the climate of impunity for perpetrators of such crimes in Syria.
Parliament deplored the widespread lack of respect for international humanitarian law and the alarming rate of loss of civilian lives and attacks against civilian infrastructure in armed conflicts around the world. It urged the international community to convene an international conference to prepare a new international mechanism for tracking and collecting data, and for publicly reporting on violations in the course of armed conflicts. It reiterated its request to the VP/HR to present, on an annual basis, a public list of alleged perpetrators of attacks on schools and hospitals, for the purpose of defining appropriate EU action to halt such attacks.
On the fight against impunity of non-state actors: Parliament encouraged the EU and its Member States to fight against impunity and to lend active support to international efforts to bring to justice members of non-state groups such as Boko Haram, ISIS/Daesh and any other actors committing crimes against humanity. It called for the development of a clear approach to the prosecution of ISIS/Daesh fighters and their abettors, including by using the expertise of the EU network for investigation and prosecution of genocide.
The EU and its Member States should support the prosecution of members of non-state groups such as ISIS/Daesh by seeking a consensus within the UN Security Council to confer jurisdiction to the ICC.
Similarly, the EU should explore and support, at international level and through all means, options to investigate and prosecute all crimes committed by all parties to the Syrian conflict, including ISIS/Daesh, such as the establishment of an International Criminal Tribunal for Iraq and Syria. In addition, Members encouraged all necessary actions to effectively sever funding to ISIS/Daesh and urged the EU to impose sanctions on those countries or authorities that directly or indirectly facilitate the flow of resources to ISIS/Daesh.
Gender dimension in addressing human rights violations in the context of war crimes: Parliament highlighted the critical need to eradicate sexual and gender-based violence by addressing their widespread and systematic use as a weapon of war against women and girls. It urged all countries to develop national action programmes (NAPAs) in line with UN Security Council Resolution 1325, together with strategies to combat violence against women, and called for a global commitment to ensure the implementation of the resolution.
Parliament pointed to the need to ensure the safety of women and girls from the outset of each emergency or crisis and in post-conflict situations through all available means, such as access to the full range of sexual and reproductive health services, including legal and safe abortion, for victims of rape in a war context. It called on the Commission, the Member States and the competent international authorities to take appropriate measures on the prohibition of all forms of sexual violence.