Sittings · Document

Report (2025/2166(INI)) 2026-01-14

Human rights and democracy in the world and the European Union’s policy on the matter – annual report 2025

14.1.2026 A10-0262/1

Amendment 1

Matthieu Valet, Paolo Borchia, Mieke Andriese, Silvia Sardone, Raffaele Stancanelli, António Tânger Corrêa, Roberto Vannacci, Isabella Tovaglieri, Nikola Bartůšek, Hermann Tertsch, Jorge Martín Frías, Margarita de la Pisa Carrión

on behalf of the PfE Group

Report A10-0262/2025

Francisco Assis

Human rights and democracy in the world and the European Union’s policy on the matter – annual report 2025

(2025/2166(INI))

Motion for a resolution

Recital M a (new)

Motion for a resolution

Amendment

Ma. whereas the Sahel region has become a hotspot for forced displacement and mass killings, with Nigeria at its epicentre; whereas radical Islamist violence in Nigeria has driven more than 3 million people from their homes, while terror groups such as Boko Haram and ISWAP have begun employing drones to hunt down Christians fleeing violence; whereas in June 2025, in Benue State (Nigeria), more than 200 Christians were massacred by radical Islamist militants, to the total indifference of the international media; whereas since 2009, more than 185 000 Nigerians have been killed, including 125 000 Christians, more than 19 100 churches destroyed, over 1 100 Christian communities displaced and more than 20 000 square miles of land seized; whereas in 2025, more than 7 000 Christians were killed across Nigeria in the first 220 days alone, with an average of 100 churches attacked every month and 32 Christians murdered every day;

Or. en

14.1.2026 A10-0262/2

Amendment 2

on behalf of the PfE Group

Report A10-0262/2025

Francisco Assis

Human rights and democracy in the world and the European Union’s policy on the matter – annual report 2025

(2025/2166(INI))

Motion for a resolution

Recital M b (new)

Motion for a resolution

Amendment

Mb. whereas in 2024, according to Open Doors, more than 380 million Christians faced persecution, harassment or discrimination; whereas in 2024, 4 476 were killed and 4 744 arrested on account of their faith; whereas these acts of violence are mainly concentrated in Sub-Saharan Africa, particularly in the Sahel region, as well as in parts of Asia, where restrictions on and hostility towards Christians are sharply increasing;

Or. en

14.1.2026 A10-0262/3

Amendment 3

Matthieu Valet, Paolo Borchia, Mieke Andriese, Silvia Sardone, Raffaele Stancanelli, António Tânger Corrêa, Isabella Tovaglieri, Nikola Bartůšek, Hermann Tertsch, Jorge Martín Frías, Margarita de la Pisa Carrión

on behalf of the PfE Group

Report A10-0262/2025

Francisco Assis

Human rights and democracy in the world and the European Union’s policy on the matter – annual report 2025

(2025/2166(INI))

Motion for a resolution

Paragraph 10 a (new)

Motion for a resolution

Amendment

10a. Calls on the Council and the Commission to stop financing non-governmental organisations (NGOs) that are complicit in facilitating illegal migration; underlines that private entities must not engage in search and rescue operations in breach of national laws; reiterates that funding to such organisations, which effectively operate as illegal shuttle services for migrant smuggling, should be blocked; reiterates its call to hold these NGOs criminally liable for human smuggling and trafficking;

Or. en

14.1.2026 A10-0262/4

Amendment 4

on behalf of the PfE Group

Report A10-0262/2025

Francisco Assis

Human rights and democracy in the world and the European Union’s policy on the matter – annual report 2025

(2025/2166(INI))

Motion for a resolution

Paragraph 21

Motion for a resolution

Amendment

21. Reiterates the need for the EU and its Member States to speak with one voice at the UN and in other multilateral forums in order to effectively tackle global challenges to human rights and democracy in these forums and to support the strongest possible language in line with international human rights standards; stresses that the current multilateral order needs to fully incorporate in its architecture global actors focusing on democracy and human rights such as the EU; calls therefore for the EU and its Member States to work towards ensuring a permanent seat for the EU in multilateral forums, particularly in the UN Security Council in addition to existing Member States’ seats;

21. Firmly rejects the proposal to grant the EU a permanent seat in all multilateral forums, which would limit the ability of Member States to act in their national interests and weaken their national sovereignty; stresses that conferring state-like attributes to the EU constitutes a direct threat to the sovereignty of Member States and represents a further step towards federalisation; recalls that, in accordance with Article 24(1) TEU and the relevant Declarations of the 2007 Intergovernmental Conference, the provisions of the Common Foreign and Security Policy (CFSP) do not allow the EU to encroach on the competencies of Member States, including in conducting their foreign policy, managing their national diplomatic services, maintaining relations with non-EU countries, or participating in international organiations, including the United Nations Security Council;

Or. en

14.1.2026 A10-0262/5

Amendment 5

on behalf of the PfE Group

Report A10-0262/2025

Francisco Assis

Human rights and democracy in the world and the European Union’s policy on the matter – annual report 2025

(2025/2166(INI))

Motion for a resolution

Paragraph 43

Motion for a resolution

Amendment

43. Reiterates its support for increasing the use of the GHRSR, along with other ad hoc sanctions frameworks, as a key political EU policy tool promoting the rule of law, democracy and human rights, which complements other judicial instruments; calls for the EU and its Member States to expand the scope of the EU Global Human Rights Sanctions Regime (EU Magnitsky Act), to include acts of corruption – as already requested several times by Parliament – and systematic listings for perpetrators of transnational repression, including those targeting diaspora communities; recalls, however, the limitations and slowness of the current decision-making system for these instruments’ activation and the loopholes in enforcement mechanisms that allow circumvention; reiterates its call for the introduction of qualified majority voting for decisions on the GHRSR; calls for an equal, principled and complete enforcement of sanctions and for circumventions to be tackled;

43. Reiterates that the GHRSR must remain a strictly targeted instrument for the Union’s external action, to be used solely against countries, individuals, and entities that directly engage in hostile acts against one or more Member States of the European Union, or in response to clear and serious human rights abuses; stresses that unanimity in the Council must be maintained for all decisions related to the adoption of sanctions under the CFSP, in accordance with Article 24(1) of the Treaty on European Union, so that the national interests and foreign policy priorities of individual Member States are not impacted against their will; warns that any move towards qualified majority voting in the context of the GHRSR constitutes a direct challenge to the sovereignty of Member States and the intergovernmental nature of the Union’s external action; further warns against any ideological or expansive use of the GHRSR that is disconnected from the Union’s core strategic priorities;

Or. en

14.1.2026 A10-0262/6

Amendment 6

on behalf of the PfE Group

Report A10-0262/2025

Francisco Assis

Human rights and democracy in the world and the European Union’s policy on the matter – annual report 2025

(2025/2166(INI))

Motion for a resolution

Paragraph 56 a (new)

Motion for a resolution

Amendment

56a. Calls on the Council to halt further migration from radical Islamic countries, such as Afghanistan, as it risks importing fundamentalist practices that undermine, in particular, women’s rights in Europe; urges Member States to halt the mass influx of migrants from such countries, largely composed of young adult males, and to swiftly enforce readmission agreements to return illegal migrants and those posing a threat to security within the EU;

Or. en

14.1.2026 A10-0262/7

Amendment 7

on behalf of the PfE Group

Report A10-0262/2025

Francisco Assis

Human rights and democracy in the world and the European Union’s policy on the matter – annual report 2025

(2025/2166(INI))

Motion for a resolution

Paragraph 60

Motion for a resolution

Amendment

60. Calls for the protection of civilians at all times during armed conflicts and for the creation of humanitarian corridors, when necessary, in order to allow civilians to escape conflicts, and strongly condemns any attacks on civilians; calls for more effective protection of journalists and human rights defenders during armed conflicts, as they are particularly targeted for their work in documenting human rights abuses; emphasises that mothers and children are at an increased risk of starvation and malnutrition;

60. Calls for the protection of civilians at all times in situations of armed conflict and for humanitarian corridors to be established in neighbouring countries, when necessary, to allow civilians to escape conflicts, in accordance with international humanitarian law and relevant UN guidelines, and to ensure that such mechanisms do not result in abuses and mass inflows of refugees into the European Union, which could encourage further massive waves of migration; strongly condemns any attacks on civilians;

Or. en

14.1.2026 A10-0262/8

Amendment 8

on behalf of the PfE Group

Report A10-0262/2025

Francisco Assis

Human rights and democracy in the world and the European Union’s policy on the matter – annual report 2025

(2025/2166(INI))

Motion for a resolution

Paragraph 66

Motion for a resolution

Amendment

66. Calls on its EU institutional partners to explore new avenues to improve decision-making, including qualified majority voting, and, when more flexible approaches are employed, such as the Team Europe approach, to ensure that human rights are sufficiently guaranteed;

66. Firmly rejects any initiative from EU institutional partners to explore new avenues for reviewing decision-making, particularly through qualified majority voting; recalls that the national interests and foreign policy priorities of the Member States vary significantly, which can lead to inconsistent application of the Union’s external action tools; underlines, in this regard, that the requirement for unanimity in the Council serves as an essential safeguard to ensure that no Member State is bound by foreign policy decisions that run counter to its fundamental interests; stresses that any attempt to introduce qualified majority voting would constitute a direct challenge to the intergovernmental nature of the Union’s external action and a serious erosion of Member State sovereignty, in accordance with Article 24(1) TEU;

Or. en