Raül Romeva i Rueda

Tal i com em vaig comprometre fa uns dies (veure apunt Tractat Internacional d’Armes (ATT): el procés ja ha començat ) estic impulsant en el si del Parlament Europeu una Resolució en suport del Tractat Internacional d’Armaments (ATT), i en denúncia d’algunes de les flagrants vulneracions dels embargaments d’Armes com, per exemple, el del Sudan (comentada també en els apunts Més sobre enviaments d’armes al Sudan ; Darfur (Sudan) i l’embargament d’armes). A continuació adjunto la proposta de Resolució tal i com l’he presentada en format esborrany i que serà debatuda i votada la setmana vinent a Estrasburg. (segueix…)

DRAFT RESOLUTION

The International Treaty on Arms Trade (ATT), arms brokering, and arms embargoes and the ongoing failure to address such issues in Darfur/Sudan.

tabled by: Raül Romeva i Rueda on behalf of the Green/EFA Group

The European Parliament

Having regard to its  resolutions of 15 March 2001, 15 November 2001, 19 June 2003 and 26 May 2005 on combating the proliferation and misuse of small arms and light weapons (SALW), as well on its annual resolutions on the implementation of the EU Code of Conduct on Arms Transfers;

Having regard to its resolution of 15 June 2006 urging the international community to start negotiations of an international Arms Trade Treaty (ATT) within the United Nations directly after the 2006 UN Review Programme of action Review Conference in order to establish a legally binding instrument to regulate arms transfers at global level;

Having regard to Rule /// of its Rules of Procedure;

A) Welcoming the adoption of  Resolution 61/89 by the UN General Assembly on 6 December 2006 marking the formal start of a process towards an Arms Trade Treaty (ATT) and noting the overwhelming support that resolution received from 153 states, indicative of strong global political conviction that the time is ripe to end the irresponsible arms trade;

B) Noting that as a first step the UN Secretary General is to seek the views of Member States on the feasibility, scope and draft parameters for a comprehensive, legally binding instrument establishing common international standards for the import, export and transfer of conventional arms;

C) Taking into account that approximately 100 governments have submitted their views, and that the UN Office for Disarmament Affairs has indicated that while submissions before 20 June 2007 will be included in the report of the UN Secretary General to be presented at the UN Committee on Disarmament in October 2007, states that miss the June deadline will still be able to have their submissions included as addenda to the report;

D) Considering that Resolution 61/89 also mandates the Secretary General to convene in 2008 a Group of Governmental Experts (GGE) to examine the feasibility, scope and draft parameters for a comprehensive, legally-binding instrument establishing common international standards for the import, export and transfer of conventional arms;

E) Underlining that a positive outcome of this consultation process is crucially important to lay the foundations of the future negotiations on the Treaty;

F) Reaffirming that until these negotiations will have been concluded successfully, irresponsible arms transfers will continue to cause unacceptable human suffering and exacerbate armed conflict, instability, terrorist attacks,  bad governance and corruption, as well as grave violations of the rule of law, human rights and international humanitarian law; and undermine sustainable development;

G) Convinced that pending the outcome of these negotiations states should not continue to allow previously agreed arms embargoes to be contemptuously ignored and mocked by parties  by parties to armed conflict and unscrupoulous arms suppliers;

H) Extremely concerned about the ongoing supply of arms and military equipment of all types to Sudan and the use of these items in the current human rights and humanitarian disaster in the Sudanese province of Darfur as documented in recent reports by the United Nations Panel of Experts and Amnesty International;

I) Welcoming and supporting the ongoing campaigning efforts of civil society organisations;

therefore

1) Calls on  all 153 states who voted for the UN-resolution, amongst these all the EU Member states, to send in their submissions supporting an ATT to the UN Secretary General without further delay,

2) Urges the Council to develop a programme of activities using various international fora, including NATO, the OSCE as well as the ACP/EU Assembly to encourage States to send in their submissions,

3) Urges all states to emphasize in their submissions that the ATT should codify already existing obligations under international law with respect to arms transfers, and especially those covering human rights and humanitarian law,

4) Strongly recommends that in order for the ATT to be effective, states base their submissions on the following parameters:

1. States are responsible for and must regulate all arms transfers that are relevant to their jurisdiction;

2. States must assess all international arms transfers according to three categories of restriction under existing law;

a) express prohibitions where States must not transfer arms in certain situations based on existing prohibitions on the manufacture, possession, use and transfer of arms;

b) prohibitions based upon the likely use of the weapons, in particular whether the arms are likely to be used to commit serious violations of international human rights law or international humanitarian law;

c) criteria and emerging norms that must be considered when assessing arms transfers including whether the arms will be used for terrorist attacks, violent and/or organised crime, adversely affect sustainable development or regional security or stability, or involve corrupt practices;

3. States must agree a monitoring and enforcement mechanism providing for prompt, impartial and transparent investigation of alleged violations of an ATT and appropriate penalties for offenders,

5) Calls on all states to support the work of and engage with the Group of Governmental Experts (GGE), to be established in 2008 to ensure it makes significant progress towards a meaningful ATT;

6) Remains convinced that critical to the success of the ATT will be greater openess and a new willingness to exchange information about arms transfers, including information on end-users; and that this will require the use of mechanisms, such as an improved version of the UN Register for Conventional Arms, to create a compensating and mutual guarantee of global transparency,

7) Calls upon all States pending the adoption of an ATT  to take efficient measures to stop the irresponsible brokering and transportation of arms, ammunition and associated military and security equipment of all types, including components and items of dual use as well as the transfer and licensing of foreign production of such equipment to parties subject to international arms embargoes or who persistently commit serious violations of international human rights law or international humanitarian law,

8) Calls in this perspective on the EU to transform without delay its common position on arms brokering into a legally binding instrument with maximal efficiency,

9) Categorigally denounces the trade of arms and ammunition in violation of United Nations Security Council arms embargoes and recognises that such transports are primarily conducted through air channels. Calls upon EU Member States to enhance their cooperation and cooperation with other States in this area. Calls upon the competent international and the interested regional organisations to recommend, in coordination with the air transport industry, appropriate preventive measures;

10) Condems the blatant violation of the UN arms embargo by the Government of Sudan and the systematic violation of human rights and humanitarian law;

11) Calls upon EU Member States to introduce forthwith stricter monitoring and verification procedures to ensure compliance with UN Security Council Resolution 1591 of 29 March 2005 and EU Council Common Position 2005/411/CFSP of 30 May 2005 concerning restrictive measures against Sudan so that the procedures apply to EU nationals, EU registered companies, EU funds and EU registered vessels and aircraft or companies operating within EU territorial jurisdiction regarding:

(a) the supply of dual-use technology to Sudan so that the prohibition on this supply is fully consistent with Council Regulation (EC) No 1334/2000 setting up a Community regime for the control of exports of dual-use items and technology and the Wassenaar Arrangement on Export Controls for Conventional Arms and Dual-Use Goods and technologies;

(b) a requirement in the civil-military cooperation frame of the single sky legislation that EU member states and EU organisations strictly monitor cargoes of flights which may contain military or dual use items and technology that may be destined for Sudan, in particular when those cargoes are passing over the territory of the European Union; freight by ships should be monitored as well;

(c) the use of all legitimate means to promote full and strict observance and compliance by all states with the UN arms embargo and sanctions on Sudan as set out in the UN Security Council Resolutions of 30 July 2004 (S/Res/1556) and 29 March 2005 (S/Res/1591), including strict prohibitions of arms and military items likely to be used by the Government of Sudan in Darfur;

(d) the design of a stricter and more comprehensive regime of arms and trade prohibitions on Sudan that applies to the supply of military equipment to Sudan from subsidiaries and associates of EU companies,

(e) measures to avoid that means for the transportation of humanitarian aid into the region are used in parallel to transport embargoed military items,

* * *

12) Invites its president to forward this resolution to the Council, the Commission, the governments and parliaments of the EU Member States, the Secretary-General of the United Nations, the Secretary-General of NATO, the OSCE, the African Union, the Parliamentary Forum on Small Arms and Light Weapons, the Assembly of the Inter-Parliamentary Union, and to the NGO Arms Trade Treaty Steering Committee.

(end)

 

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