The repressive environment in Afghanistan, including public executions and violence against women
MEPs are deeply concerned about the humanitarian and human rights crisis in Afghanistan. The Taliban have, they say, dismantled the justice system, ordered judges to fully implement Sharia law and virtually eliminated women and girls from public life. This amounts to gender persecution and gender apartheid, according to the MPs, who call on the Taliban to immediately restore the full and equal participation of women and girls in public life, in particular access to education and at work.
Parliament urges Afghan de facto authorities to abolish capital punishment and immediately end public executions as well as barbaric persecution and discriminatory policies, in particular against women, LGBTIQ+ and ethnic and religious minorities .
MEPs insist that any EU commitment to the Taliban can only be maintained under strict conditions set by the Council and in accordance with the UN Special Rapporteur’s recommendations.
Parliament supports Afghan civil society’s call to hold de facto authorities accountable for their crimes, including through the investigation by the International Criminal Court, establishing an independent UN investigative mechanism and expanding restrictive measures of the EU.
The resolution was adopted by 513 votes in favor, 9 against and 24 abstentions. For more details, the full version will be available here. (14.03.2024)
The case of Rocío San Miguel and General Hernández Da Costa, among other political prisoners in Venezuela
Parliament strongly condemns the Maduro regime in Venezuela for imprisoning hundreds of political prisoners held in conditions that do not meet the requirements of the United Nations Minimum Rules for their treatment.
Demanding their immediate and unconditional release, Parliament urges the regime to stop repressing and attacking civil society and the opposition. MEPs want the EU to increase sanctions, notably against high-level officials, members of the security forces, members of the regime’s Supreme Court of Justice and Maduro himself.
They urge the International Criminal Court to include persistent human rights violations and arbitrary detentions in its investigation into alleged crimes against humanity committed by the Maduro regime. Parliament calls on the international community to support the return to democracy in Venezuela, particularly in view of the elections in which the leader of the opposition to the regime, María Corina Machado, will fully participate.
MEPs also call on the Chilean authorities to fully investigate the murder of Ronald Ojeda, a former political prisoner who escaped the Maduro regime, and urge the Venezuelan authorities to reestablish the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights and to guarantee their access to prisons.
The resolution was adopted by 497 votes in favor, 22 against and 27 abstentions. For more details, the full version will be available here. (14.03.2024)
Originally published in The European Times.
source link eu news
