Sous-commission Droits de l'homme (DROI) - Parlement européen

The next meeting of the Subcommittee on Human Rights will take place on Thursday 21 March 2019 from 9.00 - 12.30 in room ASP 1G2.

Representatives of NGOs as well as other organisations are requested to accede to the EU Transparency Register and follow the procedures therein for access to the European Parliament.
Further information
Watch the meeting live
Draft agenda and meeting documents
Press statements issued by the DROI Chair
Calendar of DROI Meetings 2019 (first half)
List of urgency resolutions from July 2014
Source : © European Union, 2019 - EP

Regarding the case of the prominent Iranian human rights lawyer Nasrin Sotoudeh, EP Vice-President Heidi Hautala, and Pier Antonio Panzeri, Chair of the EP Human Rights Subcommittee, stated:

"We are concerned by the situation of Nasrin Sotoudeh, arrested last June and convicted in December 2018 to a five-year prison sentence. The trial was held in absentia and she was not represented by a lawyer during the process".

The charges against Sotoudeh are politically motivated: spreading propaganda, membership of illegal groups, encouraging people to commit corruption and prostitution, and appearing without the sharia-sanctioned hijab.

Nasrin Sotoudeh is renowned internationally for her peaceful struggle for personal and political freedoms in Iran. Prior to her arrest, she represented activists and journalists, as well as defending victims in child abuse and other criminal cases. In 2012, the European Parliament awarded Nasrin with the prestigious Sakharov Prize.

Further information
Press release in full
Source : © European Union, 2019 - EP

On 8 March 2019, International Women’s Day, the Chair of the Subcommittee on Human Rights of the European Parliament, Mr Antonio Panzeri, made the following statement:

"On this particular day, I would like to pay tribute to the work of women human rights defenders across the globe. Gender equality is at the very heart of human rights and all those addressing gender discrimination should be strongly supported," said Mr. Panzeri.

"Women across the world play an indispensable role in advancing human rights and contributing to making and building sustainable peace. Those women who, individually or with others, act to promote human rights face significant risks. They face not only the same threats that defenders who are men face, but also additional ones. In particular, women human rights defenders are frequently exposed to gender based violence and gender stereotypes limiting their capacity to pursue their professional careers and make choices about their lives."

"Women human rights defenders must be protected. Every woman who defends human rights should be able to do so without fear of retaliation."

Further information
Full content
Source : © European Union, 2019 - EP

Length of video : 39'
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Disclaimer : The interpretation of debates serves to facilitate communication and does not constitute an authentic record of proceedings. Only the original speech or the revised written translation is authentic.
Source : © European Union, 2019 - EP

Regarding the upcoming final appeals court ruling on 25 February 2019, the Chair of the Subcommittee on Human Rights Mr Antonio Panzeri made the following statement:

"Three family members of the exiled Bahraini human rights defender Sayed Ahmed Alwadaei are currently serving a sentence of three years imprisonment: his mother-in-law Hajer Mansoor Hassan, his brother-in-law Sayed Nazar Alwadaei and his cousin, Mahmood Marzooq Mansoor.

Statement in full
Source : © European Union, 2019 - EP

"I strongly condemn yesterday's executions of nine men who were denied a fair trial" stressed Mr Panzeri.

The executions were carried out despite the fact that the men claimed to have been subjected to torture in order to confess the 2015 killing of the country's former Public Prosecutor. I deplore the government's increasing use of the death penalty and actively encourage Egypt to immediately stop executions and put in place a moratorium on the use of the capital punishment..."

Statement in full
Source : © European Union, 2019 - EP

The situation in Chechnya, and the case of Oyub Titiev
Zimbabwe
Women's rights defenders in Saudi Arabia
Source : © European Union, 2019 - EP

Statement by EP Vice-President Heidi Hautala and the Chair of the EP Subcommittee on Human Rights, Pier Antonio Panzeri.

"The immediate release of all political prisoners could create a positive momentum. And this is precisely what we need now to overcome the stalemate in Venezuela", Pier Antonio Panzeri (S&D, IT), Chair of the EP Subcommittee on Human Rights, stated.
Press statement in full
Source : © European Union, 2019 - EP

Length of video : 5'45''
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Disclaimer : The interpretation of debates serves to facilitate communication and does not constitute an authentic record of proceedings. Only the original speech or the revised written translation is authentic.
Source : © European Union, 2019 - EP

Length of video : 15'
You may manually download this video in WMV (190Mb) format

Disclaimer : The interpretation of debates serves to facilitate communication and does not constitute an authentic record of proceedings. Only the original speech or the revised written translation is authentic.
Source : © European Union, 2019 - EP

Durée de la vidéo : 174'
Vous pouvez télécharger manuellement cette vidéo au format WMV (1.7Gb)

Clause de non-responsabilité : L'interprétation des débats facilite la communication mais ne constitue en aucun cas un enregistrement authentifié des débats. Seuls le discours original ou la traduction écrite révisée du discours original peuvent être considérés authentiques.
Source : © Union européenne, 2019 - PE

The Subcommittee on human rights will hold a public hearing on “Attacks on the legal profession and lawyers defending human rights”, on 19 February 2019, from 09.00-10.30, at the European Parliament in Brussels.
Attacks on lawyers defending human rights have increased in many countries over the last years, including in Europe. The hearing aims at providing an overview of the latest developments (including testimonies of persecuted lawyers), to present and assess the existing EU tools to support lawyers/human rights defenders worldwide and to reflect on possible further initiatives at EU and multilateral level to improve the situation.
Further information
Poster
Source : © European Union, 2019 - EP

The Subcommittee on human rights will hold a public hearing on “Attacks on the legal profession and lawyers defending human rights”, on 19 February 2019, from 09.00-10.30, at the European Parliament in Brussels.
Attacks on lawyers defending human rights have increased in many countries over the last years, including in Europe. The hearing aims at providing an overview of the latest developments (including testimonies of persecuted lawyers), to present and assess the existing EU tools to support lawyers/human rights defenders worldwide and to reflect on possible further initiatives at EU and multilateral level to improve the situation.

Further information
Poster
Source : © European Union, 2019 - EP

The Chair of the EP Subcommittee on Human Rights, Pier Antonio Panzeri, condemns the harassment of Egyptian human rights defenders in reprisal for their meeting with French President Macron.

"I express full solidarity with the prominent Egyptian human rights defenders who are being harassed and pressured since their meeting with French President Emmanuel Macron...."

Press statement
Source : © European Union, 2019 - EP

The Chair of the EP Subcommittee on Human Rights, Pier Antonio Panzeri, condemns the harassment of Egyptian human rights defenders in reprisal for their meeting with French President Macron. “I express full solidarity with the prominent Egyptian human rights defenders who are being harassed and pressured since their meeting with French President Emmanuel Macron...."
Further information
Press statement in full
Source : © European Union, 2019 - EP

On the historic visit of Pope Francis to the Arabian Peninsula, Antonio Panzeri, Chair of the EP Subcommittee on Human Rights, stated:

"His Holiness Pope Francis pays the first ever visit by a Pontiff to the Arabian Peninsula, the cradle of Islam. This historic moment is praised by both Catholics and Muslims in the Middle East and worldwide.

Press statement in full
Source : © European Union, 2019 - EP

On the historic visit of Pope Francis to the Arabian Peninsula, Antonio Panzeri, Chair of the EP Subcommittee on Human Rights, stated: “His Holiness Pope Francis pays the first ever visit by a Pontiff to the Arabian Peninsula, the cradle of Islam. This historic moment is praised by both Catholics and Muslims in the Middle East and worldwide...."
Further information
Press statement in full
Source : © European Union, 2019 - EP

Following the sentencing of human rights lawyer Wang Quanzhang by a Chinese court, the Chair of the EP Subcommittee on Human Rights, Pier Antonio Panzeri, issued this statement.

"I am gravely concerned by Chinese human rights lawyer Mr Wang Quanzhang's sentencing under charges of "subversion of state power" by the Tianjin No. 2 Intermediate Court on 28 January. I deplore the fact that his trial only took place on 26 December 2018, more than three years after his disappearance in August 2015 during a large crackdown on human rights lawyers..."

Press statement in full
Source : © European Union, 2019 - EP

The next meeting of the Subcommittee on Human Rights will take place on Monday 18 February from 14.30 to 18.30 and on Tuesday 19 February from 09.00 to 12.30 and from 14.30 to 18.30, in meeting room ASP A1G-3.

Representatives of NGOs as well as other organisations are requested to accede to the EU Transparency Register and follow the procedures therein for access to the European Parliament.
Further information
Watch the meeting live
Draft agenda and meeting documents
Press statements issued by the DROI Chair
Calendar of DROI Meetings 2019 (first half)
List of urgency resolutions from July 2014
Source : © European Union, 2019 - EP

Georgian occupied territories 10 years after the Russian invasion
Source : © European Union, 2019 - EP