Humanitarian aid: aid to uprooted people (refugees, displaced persons) in Asian and Latin American developing countries

In adopting the recommendation for second reading by Mr Richard HOWITT (PSE, UK), Parliament took the view that there are still a large number of omissions in the common position including a lack of commitment to targeting towards women refugees and no reference to the involvement of the local people in the refugee assistance programme. Consequently, it adopted amendments aimed at making the establishment of democratic structures and the promotion of human rights an integral part of assistance programmes. It called for assistance to be targeted to vulnerable groups including women, children, indigenous people, disabled and elderly people. It also proposed that the Community should support projects covering mine clearance, combatting sexual violence, basic healthcare including reproductive and psychological health and treatment for women who have been victims of rape, aid to promote family unity including family tracing and reunification programmes. The Community was also called upon to support operations to help people reclaim land and property rights, to support the return of uprooted people and their settlement in their places of origin or in third countries. �