On human rights and democracy in the world and the European Union’s policy on the matter – annual report 2024
AFET-PR-763138
Committee on Foreign Affairs · Rapporteur: Isabel WiselerLima
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This draft report is Parliament's annual resolution on human rights and democracy worldwide. It condemns rights violations, supports human rights defenders, and calls for stronger EU action across many policy areas.¶¶¶ It urges the EU to counter authoritarianism, uphold international law, and use tools like sanctions, dialogues, and aid effectively. It also addresses specific rights issues, including food, climate, children, women, refugees, LGBTIQ+ persons, and digital rights.¶¶¶
Committee position. The draft report proposes a resolution that condemns human rights violations, calls for stronger EU action, and sets out detailed recommendations across all areas of EU external human rights policy.¶¶¶
Key points
- Reasserts the universality and indivisibility of human rights and the EU's duty to promote and protect them worldwide.¶
- Condemns rising human rights abuses, including arbitrary arrests, torture, censorship, and attacks on civil society, and notes a global accountability crisis.¶¶
- Welcomes the extension of the EU Action Plan on Human Rights and Democracy to 2027 and supports the EU Special Representative for Human Rights with increased resources.¶¶
- Calls for robust human rights clauses in international agreements, effective enforcement, and suspension in case of persistent breaches.¶
- Supports the EU Global Human Rights Sanctions Regime, calls for qualified majority voting and anti-corruption sanctions, and urges full enforcement.¶
- Calls for increased funding and support for democracy activities, including election observation and civil society, and for full application of EU guidelines on human rights defenders.¶¶
- Urges support for the UN, ICC, and International Court of Justice, and calls for respect for their decisions and for upholding international humanitarian law.¶¶¶
- Calls for stronger EU action on specific rights: condemns torture, food weaponisation, attacks on environmental defenders, and violations of children's, women's, refugees', LGBTIQ+ persons', and persons with disabilities' rights.¶¶¶
- Reiterates opposition to the death penalty and calls for its universal abolition or a moratorium.¶
- Calls for protection of freedom of religion, expression, and media, and for action against SLAPPs and internet shutdowns.¶¶¶
- Welcomes the corporate sustainability due diligence directive and the forced labour products regulation, and stresses the role of trade and MSMEs in human rights.¶¶
- Concerned about AI threats to human rights and democracy, welcomes the EU AI Act, and calls for combating disinformation and internet shutdowns.¶¶
Who is affected
- Human rights defenders and civil society organisations worldwide, who should receive stronger EU protection and support.¶
- Non-EU countries with EU agreements or receiving EU aid, which must respect human rights clauses and face sanctions or suspension if they breach them.¶¶
- Journalists and media workers, who should be protected from censorship and SLAPPs and supported by EU initiatives.¶¶¶
- Vulnerable groups including children, women, refugees, LGBTIQ+ persons, persons with disabilities, and elderly people, whose rights the EU should promote in external action.¶¶¶
- Businesses, especially micro-, small and medium-sized enterprises, which must respect human rights and can benefit from EU trade and due diligence rules.¶¶
Figures and deadlines
Legal basis: Articles 2, 3, 8, 21 and 23 of the Treaty on European Union and Articles 17 and 207 of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union.¶¶