Recommendation to the Council on the 69th session of the United Nations General Assembly
The European Parliament adopted without voting, in accordance with Rue 97(4) of its Rules of Procedure, a resolution containing recommendation to the Council of 2 April 2014 on the 69th session of the United Nations General Assembly.
Member States were the single largest financial contributor to the UN system (regular budget, programmes and UN funds, and peacekeeping budget). A solid and stable EU-UN partnership was fundamental for peace and security, human rights and development.
In this context, Parliament made the following recommendations to the Council:
Human rights, democracy and the rule of law: Members wanted the EU to promote extensive contribution to the UN’s Universal Periodic Review process and to reiterate full support for the International Criminal Court, and remain vigilant regarding any attempts to undermine the legitimacy, universality and integrity of the Rome Statute system. Members of UN General Assembly were asked to make full transparency of reporting and to strengthen the principle of democratic governance in the UN. Parliament called on the members of UN to ratify the UN Convention Against Corruption and the UN Convention against Transnational Organised Crime and to conclude the negotiations on a comprehensive convention on international terrorism.
Torture and death penalty: Parliament recalled the importance of fighting against torture and other forms of ill-treatment, and the priority that the EU placed on this issue. They also wanted the EU to continue fighting against the use of the death penalty and to strongly support the moratorium as a step towards abolition.
LGBTI rights: Parliament reaffirmed its support for the continuing work by the High Commissioner on Human Rights to combat these discriminatory laws and practices, and recommended active participation in combating the attempts to undermine these rights.
Armed drones: Parliament wanted to support international efforts to promote greater transparency and accountability in the use of armed drones by States.
Peace and security: Parliament supported peace enforcement and peacekeeping missions and asked for increased EU support (technical, financial, equipment or EU forces) with a view to equipping the UN with more efficient de-escalation tools. It demanded of all parties to an armed conflict that they fully respected their obligations under international law, including unhindered access to humanitarian assistance. It wanted to see a focus on ending terrorism, whether state sponsored or otherwise.
At the same time, Members asked to ensure that the UN conference on the establishment of a Middle East zone free of weapons of mass destruction, took place in 2014, and to ensure that the 2015 review process of the UN peace-building architecture promoted the principle of Responsibility to Protect and the role of women in peace-building.
Responsibility to protect: parliament recalled that this should be established as an international norm to prevent and stop genocide and mass atrocities where responsibility lies primarily with the state concerned, but that the international community also had a role that supersedes the invocation of sovereignty.
Women and children: Parliament reaffirmed its commitment to the implementation of UN Security Council resolutions on women, peace and security and strongly supported the full implementation of UN resolution on fighting impunity in conflict-related sexual violence. It called for prioritising ending child marriage and ensuring a focus on education for girls.
Post-2015 development agenda: recognising that significant progress had been made towards achieving the Millennium Development Goals, Members wanted to make the best use of the preparatory phase ahead of the September 2015 Summit on the post-2015 agenda. Special focus had to be directed towards the needs of the least developed countries and of conflict and post-conflict countries.
Once again, Parliament stressed the need for action on eradication of poverty, the fight against inequalities, the promotion of sustainable development, food safety and gender equality.
It called for the adoption of a single, comprehensive and integrated post-2015 framework for the MDGs, with clear benchmarks incorporating the key development and sustainability issues to make sure that this framework was universal l in nature, promoting prosperity, human rights and well-being for all. Members called for a coherent and comprehensive international approach to financing beyond 2015, addressing in a predictable manner all dimensions of sustainable development.
The EU at the UN: Members wanted to actively support a comprehensive reform of the United Nations system, and especially its Security Council, in order to strengthen its legitimacy, and they wanted to work towards the long-term goal of the EU having a seat in an enlarged UNSC. They support the role of parliaments and regional assemblies in the UN system and global parliamentarism. The report asked to raise awareness of the fact that 2015 would be declared the European Year for Development, which will create an unprecedented momentum for improving public knowledge in Europe about the global challenges and the importance of the new development goals to be agreed upon.
Parliament made a series of specific recommendations on:
· climate change;
· privacy in the digital age;
- Syria;
- South Sudan
- Central African Republic
- Israeli-Palestinian conflict.
Lastly, Parliament called for the swift signing and ratification of the Arms Trade Treaty by all UN members, including all EU members, in order to enable the international community to effectively address the negative repercussions of lack of transparency and badly regulated trade in arms.