B4-0261/94

Resolution on racism, xenophobia and anti-semitism

The European Parliament,

-having regard to the Joint Declaration of 11 June 1986 by Parliament, the Council and the Commission and all the resolutions adopted subsequently on this subject,

-having regard to the conclusions of its committees of inquiry into racism and xenophobia and its resolutions of 21 April 1993 and 2 December 1993 on racism and xenophobia and 20 April 1994 on ethnic cleansing, and insisting again on its recommendations made therein,

-having regard to the conclusions of the Corfu European Council of 24-25 June 1994 on racism and xenophobia,

-having regard to Article 14 of the Convention for the Protection of Human Rights and Fundamental Freedoms (1950), which stipulates that 'the enjoyment of the rights and freedoms set forth in the Convention shall be secured without discrimination on any ground such as sex, race, colour, language, religion, political or other opinion ... ',

-having regard to Article F(2) of the Treaty on European Union,

A.whereas racism, xenophobia, anti-semitism, intolerance and ethnic cleansing strategies and expulsions, which have caused great conflicts and suffering to various regions and nations of Europe throughout history, have left deep and lasting wounds and yet are still rampant as the 20th century draws to a close,

B.whereas people are more vulnerable to racism and xenophobia at times of revolution, misery and uncertainty in various fields, partly because of political manipulation,

C.whereas persistent structural unemployment is weakening resistance to racism and xenophobia, by causing a rise in economic problems and excluding tens of millions of people in the European Union from participating with any dignity in economic, social and political life,

D.concerned at the electoral success of racist parties in Europe, such as the FPÖ in Austria, the Front National in France, the National Front in Great Britain, the Vlaams Blok and Front National in Belgium, and pleased at the fall in the share of the vote for the Republikaner and the DVU in the elections in the Federal Republic of Germany,

E.deploring the fact that certain political forces are using the existing crisis in employment and the economy to stir up xenophobic and racist sentiments and exploit them for electoral ends,

F.regarding the existence of multi-ethnic and multi-cultural societies as an expression of civilization and as offering support to the European ideal, and observing that a living culture is open to outside cultural influence and thus displays a spontaneous tendency towards mixing, which even determines the character and history of many States and peoples,

G.stressing that the significant progress made in establishing human rights legislation since 1945 has not been matched by practical achievements and that the Universal Declaration on Human Rights is clearly not yet backed up by the necessary political will to apply them universally,

H.stressing that even within the European Union, Member States differ in opinion on the implementation of human rights when individual and group rights are at stake as they have different constitutions and laws based upon these constitutions,

I.deeply regretting that, on the one hand, in spite of its commitment over five years to the fight against racism, xenophobia and other forms of discrimination, its demands have scarcely been heeded by political decision-makers, and, on the other hand, the incidence of racism has if anything increased,

1.Condemns once more, in even stronger terms, racism in all its forms, xenophobia, antisemitism, flagrant breaches of individual rights directed specifically at women, and the intolerance in any form of religious discrimination;

2.Calls on all the governments of the European Union to condemn any form of intolerance and any racist or xenophobic declaration in their policy and their acts, especially where such attitudes are manifested institutionally;

3.Considers the Consultative Committee a good opportunity to present a reasoned selection of proposals for concrete and urgent action, which can be considered as a draft response by the Council on all the proposals already made by the European Parliament and the Council of Europe, and interprets the committee's mandate accordingly;

4.Considers that incitement to racism, as well as the dissemination and promotion of any type of revisionist thesis concerning the Holocaust or denial that the Holocaust took place, should be considered a criminal offence at Union level and calls on all the Member States accordingly to adapt their legislation against the perpetrators of acts of racism;

5.Notes with concern the increasing sympathy with which the positions of extreme right-wing movements and political parties are being received in several Member States of the Union and candidate countries;

6.Calls on the governments of the Member States and the Commission to give political and financial support to citizens' movements and organizations which play an active part in combating racism and xenophobia;

7.Calls for the implementation of a global non-discrimination policy at Union level which is based on the principle of equality and may function as a useful and effective complement to the policy of and within the Member States;

8.Calls on the Member States to take firm preventive action against racism and ill-treatment by police and other state agents, and to ensure that racist behaviour by law enforcement personnel will not be tolerated, by introducing pre-employment screening, training and when necessary formal disciplinary measures among the police force;

9.Repeats once more its request to the Commission to draw up as a matter of urgency a directive laying down measures to reinforce the relevant legal instruments in the Member States, using the document 'The Starting Line' as a basis and taking account of Parliament's guidelines for antiracist policy, in particular in the areas of: education, the media, information, culture, youth, citizens' rights, women's rights, the law, social affairs, economic affairs and employment, and immigration and asylum policy;

10.Calls on the budgetary authority to increase the financial aid allocated to anti-racist projects and to finance NGOs whose objectives include a clearly anti-racist dimension;

11.Expresses its grave concern at the particularly restrictive nature of the resolution on immigration adopted by the Ministers of Justice and Home Affairs on 20 June 1994, a resolution which draws a link between the level of unemployment in the European Union and the presence of third country nationals, a decision which can only encourage xenophobic feelings and extreme right-wing movements in the EU;

12.Calls once more for the portfolio of one of the Commissioners to include the fight against racial discrimination and xenophobia and any question of discrimination in general; stresses in this context that extending Union citizenship to citizens of third countries with their residence in the Union is a major step towards granting them equal rights and represents a significant contribution towards the fight against racism, and calls on the Member States to take this into account when they review the Union Treaty;

13.Calls on the Council, in close cooperation with the Commission and Parliament, to use the occasion of the fiftieth anniversary of the end of the Second World War to launch concrete actions, especially in the areas of education and information, with a view to promoting the values of freedom, pluralist democracy, tolerance and respect for human life which have been fundamental to the struggle for the liberation of Europe from Nazi domination and to the philosophy which inspired the founding fathers of the construction of Europe;

14.Calls on the Commission to urge the Member States of the Union to contribute, in cooperation with non-governmental organizations and active members of society, in particular youth organizations which play an important role in the fight against racism and xenophobia, to making public opinion more aware and to preventing racist, discriminatory and intolerant attitudes;

15.Believes that, as stated in the 'Strasbourg declaration' (the outcome of the European Conference on 'Vigilance for Democracy' held in Strasbourg on 20 and 21 October), it is very important to establish an annual prize for integration, which could be awarded to neighbourhoods, organizations or institutions which are a positive example of the successful integration of native and foreign citizens;

16.Emphasizes that immigration policy and asylum policy require different solutions, as asylum is not the same as immigration;

17.Calls on the authorities of the European Union and the Member State governments to increase aid to refugee and immigrant associations and associations set up to combat racism and xenophobia;

18.Instructs its President to forward this resolution not only to the Consultative Committee on Racism and Xenophobia but also to the Council, the Commission, the Economic and Social Committee, the Council of Europe and the governments and parliaments of the Member States and applicant countries.