ALDE MEP Calls For 2010 To Be ‘European Year of Nonviolence’
The European Parliament has approved a report by Marco Cappato MEP assessing global human rights and highlighting major outstanding areas of concern.
Below is a press release issued by the Alliance of Liberals and Democrats For Europe:
The Committee on Foreign Affairs of the European Parliament has just approved a report by ALDE MEP Marco Cappato (Radicale, IT), assessing the state of Human Rights in the World in 2007. The report states that internet censorship in places such as China is a breach of human rights and also condemns the breach of minorities' human rights in China, Burma and Tibet. The Report also welcomes the European success of the adoption of a United Nations Resolution for a moratorium on the death penalty and demands that it be fully implemented by every member country of the UN.
Mr Cappato underlined his desire, included in the report, to have the European Union declare the year 2010 “European Year of Nonviolence” and to take action to promote a World Democracy Organization to remove obstacles to the full enjoyment of Human Rights around the world.
Speaking after the vote Cappato welcomed the clear stand taken by the European Parliament in that “it considers Gandhian non-violence as the most adequate tool for the enjoyment, assertion, promotion and respect of fundamental rights."
"Although progress is being made, the basic denial of human rights to individuals, groups and minorities across the world continues to haunt us. This report mentions just some of the most horrific instances such as in China, Burma and Tibet. More worryingly as Europeans, we find gross violations of human rights by governments at our doorstep as in the case of Belarus."
The European Parliament will have its final say on the Report in the Brussels plenary session of May 7th and 8th [2008]. The full draft report appears on Parliament's website:
