Speeches

Madam President, colleagues, Commissioner, Mr Lissu started his career as a lawyer working on land rights and on the impact of mining in protected areas. His political activity and his exposure of government corruption made him a target for an assassination attempt, followed by several years of exile in Belgium. He returned home to Tanzania, he became a leader of the opposition party, and just last month he was arrested, disqualified from participating in the upcoming election in October and charged with treason – a crime punishable with a death sentence. This is not a standalone case. It exemplifies the regime's treatment of political opposition, civil society organisations, journalists, indigenous peoples and human rights defenders. Anyone who poses a threat to the ruling elite is effectively silenced. The EU can – and should – do more. We should make any future EU investments in Tanzania conditional upon improvements in human rights, democracy and the rule of law. Embassies and the EU delegation must monitor the trials of those unlawfully detained, and we should increase the funds supporting civil society and indigenous communities. Today, this Parliament stands with Mr Lissu and with all those unjustly deprived of freedom in Tanzania. To them we say: you are not alone!

Mr President, dear colleagues, the European Day of the Righteous came about in 2012, intended as a way of commemoration, a way to honour the brave people who risked their lives to stand up for democracy and humanity in the dark times of totalitarianism that our continents experienced not too long ago. It is also a day to remind ourselves that we may never allow these tendencies to rise again. No one could have expected that, just ten years after the creation of this day, we would be confronted with war in our continent, with an authoritarian-leaning President in the White House, and with chilling amounts of anti-democratic forces deeply cemented in European governments and parliaments – in this House too. This combination is a toxic cocktail posing an existential threat to our democracies and our societies. Against this backdrop, the only way to truly honour the righteous is by echoing their voices today, to speak up, to denounce all forms of totalitarian regimes, crimes against humanity and genocide. Do it now, as they did back then. Our democratic values fade when we silence the righteous, so we must speak up.

Mr President, dear colleagues, the media shapes our world view. Journalists who report with no fear or favour are able to foster transparency and to hold those in power accountable. Without them, we are the targets of misinformation and further polarisation, with immense risks for our societies and democracies. But the free press is under threat. We are witnessing alarming trends all around the world – from strategic litigation to arbitrary detention, use of violence and a tragic increase in journalist fatalities. So I am proud that today this Parliament is standing up for journalists in Cameroon. They are routinely censored, detained, attacked and imprisoned. Sometimes they're tried in military courts, which is against international law. I condemn these structural violations and call for the immediate and unconditional release of all those imprisoned in Cameroon. The UN member states must use all of their leverage to improve the human rights situation and issue humanitarian visas for journalists at risk. Let us stand in solidarity with the courageous journalists in Cameroon and elsewhere, who risked their lives to bring us the truth. Their fight for freedom of expression is a vital part of the global struggle for a more informed and just world.

Dear colleague, you and your colleagues have repeatedly used this debate on human rights to raise the issue of Marine Le Pen. My question to you is: yesterday, when our group proposed a debate on corruption, on this case, how did you vote? If you voted against, why are you instead using this platform to make the points that you could have voted on a debate to speak about?

Madam President, dear colleagues, dear Ms Kallas, we look back on a year marked by the disregard of international law, kerbs on freedom of expression, shrinking civic spaces and a setback for women's rights. Human rights defenders face growing threats while discrimination against LGBTQi+ people persists. Huge issues like forced labour, torture and the death penalty continue to go on. So, the question is: how is the world reacting? Well, from the White House we see a prime example of selfish foreign policy and transactionality. And here in the EU, some seem tempted to sing to the same tune, because, let's face it, our leaders are happy to turn a blind eye on human rights if our trade or migration interests are at stake, or if it means we get access to critical raw materials. International law violations are being met with deafening silence from the EU and from the international community if they are considered to be done by our partners, like Israel. We tolerate attacks on the ICC and ICJ from the other side of the Atlantic and do very little in their defence. We criticise the unjustifiable cuts to USAID, while some of our Member States, led by the far right, slash their own development corporation budgets, and we stand here and we regret the downwards trend and we call for a better future. If the EU starts to give up on human rights, how do we expect others to uphold them? Do we want to live in a world where international law is just a suggestion? If we don't want to be here next year talking again about the further deterioration of human rights in the world, the road is very clear: we must reject a transactional foreign policy approach and stop our double standards.

Mr President, dear colleagues, Azerbaijan is facing a deep human rights crisis. The government installed severe restrictions on freedom of expression, assembly and association, and weaponised the legal system against critical voices. Armenian detainees are one of the groups most severely affected by the government's policies. Ill-treatment is widespread and fair trials have become an illusion. I am glad that this Parliament is consistently and strongly addressing the situation, but sadly we seem to be the only EU institution doing so. We cannot allow continuing business as usual with Azerbaijan, sacrificing our values because of economic and energy interests. This is not only hypocritical, but it generates dependencies, making us vulnerable for blackmail. Have we not learned any lesson from our dependencies with Russia in the past? It is time we prioritise human rights above cheap oil and gas.

Mr President, as the brutal war rages in Sudan, the population is confronted with an unprecedented humanitarian crisis: over 150 000 people have been killed, 13 million were forced to flee their homes and 30 million are dependent on humanitarian aid. Rape has become a method of warfare, leaving permanent scars and destroying lives. The sad conclusion is that the Western world is failing humanity in Sudan. USAID cuts deeply hit the most vulnerable people directly, putting their lives at risk. And while the EU is preoccupied with the latest nonsense coming from the White House, the United Arab Emirates delivers weapons to a party that is standing accused of genocide. The EU must take its responsibility: install the monitoring mission, support the work of the ICC and adopt sanctions against those responsible for the violations. If we believe that human rights are universal, we need to act now!

Madam President, dear Commissioner, we celebrated a ceasefire, but it was short‑lived. After a few weeks, Netanyahu unleashed full war on civilians once again. The cutting of aid and electricity in Gaza, as well as the intensified attacks on the West Bank, can be added to the ever‑expanding list of war crimes that he should be imprisoned for. Instead of supporting and upholding international justice, the EU continues business as usual with Israel. In the meantime, our credibility in the global south crumbles by the day with these double standards. As Israel's largest trading partner, we have a responsibility to force change and end the atrocities in Palestine – stop arms trade, cease this association agreement and impose sanctions. So tonight, here are my questions: when will we finally stop business as usual with the aggressor? When will we stop applying these double standards? And when will we start treating Palestinian lives as human lives?

Madam President, dear Commissioner, time flies when you're having fun and with Mercosur, we've been negotiating for 25 years. But here in the European Parliament we were a bit late to the party, as we only had access to the final text after a political deal was announced in December. This agreement raises a lot of questions. How exactly will we ensure that it will not drive deforestation in the Amazon, or that the rights of local and indigenous communities will be respected? Why do we have a deal on the table that increases imports of poultry and beef without presenting conditions on animal welfare? What about the rebalancing mechanism? Can it be used to challenge the European Deforestation Regulation? If so, what would that mean for future trade deals with other partners or future environmental rules that we want to set? Let me be clear: with Trump's trade policies, Europe needs to diversify its trade partners. But this cannot be done at any cost. We need a strategic agreement that works for both the planet and the people here and in Mercosur countries. The jury is very much still out on whether this deal can deliver that.

Mr President, dear colleagues, what were you doing when you were 27 years old? Maybe finishing a degree or starting a new job? Maybe you were getting married. Yahaya Sharif-Aminu is 27 years old and today he sits in a jail in Nigeria, sentenced to death by hanging. His crime? Writing a song and sharing it on WhatsApp. A Sharia court considered it to be blasphemy, tried him without legal representation and sentenced him to death. Capital punishment is a barbaric and inhumane practice. It violates the most fundamental human right: the right to life. It is an irreversible form of punishment. So today I call on the Nigerian authorities to release Yahaya Sharif-Aminu, as his trial shows concerning flaws. I call on the Nigerian Government to declare an immediate moratorium on all executions and to abolish the death penalty. And I call on the Commission and the Member States to join me in raising this request with Nigeria, because no one should die because of a song.

Madam President, colleagues, without universal enforcement, international law is just a huge pile of paper. Independent institutions such as the ICC and the ICJ are vital to uphold a system that we established to prevent war crimes, crimes against humanity and genocide. But then one day Donald Trump wakes up and decides he doesn't like the ICC targeting Netanyahu for what's happening in Gaza. And because of that, he is entitled to undermine the work of the ICC, to target not just a court and its staff, but also people and institutions that support it, and that it's OK to bring the work of international justice to a halt. Well tell that to those faced with sexual violence in Sudan. Tell that to the child soldiers recruited in the Central African Republic. Tell that to the victims of war crimes in Ukraine. These sanctions are nothing less than an open invitation to dictators, authoritarians and warlords around the world to conduct large‑scale human rights violations with impunity. All eyes are on the EU now. We must act immediately by activating the blocking statute to protect the ICC against these sanctions, and take responsibility as one of the few remaining guardians of international law.

Madam President, colleagues, I'm going to do something I don't usually do in this House and tell a bit of a generational story. I come from a family, on my mother's side, in which there were many whalers in the Azores Islands. My great‑grandfather, the brother of my grandfather, they were proud whalers. It was their livelihood, it was their tradition. And I'm very glad, I'm very proud that that tradition has stopped. Since 1984, in Portugal, this is no longer happening. Now, fast‑forward to the 1990s, my cousin was born on my father's side of the family. He has worked on sustainable whale watching tours that also give him a livelihood and help the protection of these incredible animals that are under threat. There is no excuse to anywhere around the world to continue this abuse of animal rights and this harm on our climate. So let's follow the examples that are there. Let's, for once and for all, stop whaling.

Madam President, dear colleagues, on 16 November, 2024, French-Algerian writer Boualem Sansal was arrested, charged with national security-related offences, a charge often used by the Algerian authorities to silence government critics. His trial has shown several flaws and denial of his rights, as Mr Sansal was interrogated without his lawyer present. We know the situation in Algeria is severe, with an estimated 200 regime critics being imprisoned at the moment. Journalists, critics and other Algerians struggling for democracy are under severe pressure. The EU should do more to support them, raise their cases with the authorities, speak out in public and make sure that there are strong human rights conditionalities applied for EU funds to Algeria, as for any other country. Our founding values of democracy, rule of law and human rights should be at the core of EU-Algeria relations. We must practise what we preach.

Madam President, colleagues, Belgian-Congolese national Jean-Jacques Wondo was sentenced to death by a Congolese military court on the baseless accusation of being the mastermind behind the May coup attempt. This is, let me remind you, a civilian. Not a single piece of evidence has been presented to date. His situation in prison is rapidly deteriorating, and he is in urgent need of medical help due to his heart condition and diabetes. We may also not forget that, besides Wondo, 36 others were also sentenced to death. All of them civilians, all of them tried before military court, which is, of course, against international law. This is not only an urgent appeal to the Congolese authorities to immediately give Mr Wondo the medical care that he needs and to drop the charges against him. This is also a call towards the European Union and the Belgian authorities to do more to free their own national and also a Belgian civil servant. Let us protect this EU citizen from unlawful prosecution. It is the absolute minimum.

Mr President, dear colleagues, with the illegitimate consolidation of Maduro's power after the July elections, the Venezuelan people are entering a new chapter of repression, violence and state terror. The regime will use the upcoming years to further crush, harass and diminish opposition with no respect for human rights, democracy and the rule of law. So in Europe we need to step up our game to support the Venezuelan people by offering financial support to civil society, by giving visas to human rights defenders at risk, by supporting international bodies to monitor the human rights situation in the country, by supporting the ICC to investigate international crimes committed by the Maduro regime, and by sanctioning those responsible for the repression and the violations of human rights – in essence, by isolating this regime. Maduro, like other dictators around the world, holds on desperately for power, and we will stand with the people of Venezuela and all of those who fight for democracy.

Mr President, colleagues, in this Chamber we have mourned the deaths of almost 50 000 Palestinians, including 20 000 children. A ceasefire in Gaza, while fragile and imperfect, offers a crucial first step to end this bloodshed. This pause must not be an end on itself, but a beginning of a determined effort to achieve lasting peace. Our societies, governments and institutions have a very heavy responsibility from now onwards. First of all, to ensure that the ceasefire holds. Opportunities for peace are as rare as they are valuable, and we cannot afford to waste this one. Secondly, to support humanitarian relief and Palestinian‑led reconstruction in Gaza. And this, let me tell you, cannot happen without the support of UNWRA. They are crucial not just for humanitarian support, but also for services like education and medical care. The Knesset ban on this agency would be catastrophic at this moment, and we cannot let it go ahead. And finally, we have the responsibility to champion a just and lasting solution in the region, a two‑state solution, and seek justice for the Palestinian people, safety for everyone in the region.

Mr President, dear colleagues, over the past few years we've seen in many debates here the ongoing repression that civil society has faced in Azerbaijan. But I'm really shocked to see it unfolding at this very moment and with consequences for this very House. The European Parliament elected Mr Gubad Ibadoghlu as a Sakharov finalist. So yesterday his peers were here and they were here in person to accept this honour. But he was not because his travel ban was not lifted. In house arrest, his internet connection was eventually cut off, stopping him from having an online intervention in meetings of political groups. His family was threatened – if he would speak, things would happen. We so often speak in big terms about third countries' undue influence in the EU, and rightfully so, but rarely do we see this meddling happening right in front of our eyes, like we see right here and right now. I urge our presidents to take resolute action to protect Dr Ibadoghlu. I urge Member States to finally prioritise the horrendous human rights situation in their relationships with Baku, and I urge the Commission to suspend the MoU in the field of energy. Enough impunity – if we are serious about protecting democracy we need to act now.

Madam President, dear Ms Kallas, 'there is nothing anyone can do for justice; I just have to report to God'. These were the words of a survivor of sexual violence in Sudan. These are words of hopelessness. Amidst the horrible conflict in Sudan, women are raped, often by several men and in front of their families. In some cases, they are under age. In some cases, they are kept as sex slaves. Meanwhile, in Congo, every minute a woman is raped. In North Kivu, women have been targeted by soldiers when they were leaving displacement camps in search of food. So rape as a method of warfare is not an act by individual soldiers, but a systematic, deliberate and cruel warfare tactic that terrorises victims. It tears entire communities apart, and it has the potential to leave irreparable damage and erase women and girls' participation in public life. International humanitarian law is evolving, and rape is increasingly being identified as a war crime, a crime against humanity and an act contributing to genocide. This legal recognition, both in the EU and the UN, is extremely important, but we need to step up our efforts. We need to deploy missions to protect civilians, we must demand the investigation and prosecution of perpetrators, and we must ensure that women are full participants in all peace negotiations. Let us take our responsibility because we owe it to the survivors.

Mr President, ever since Cambodian labour rights organisation CENTRAL published a critical report on freedom of association violations, they have been confronted with a government-led smear campaign. CENTRAL and its programme manager, Khun Tharo, are facing unfounded legal threats and harassment. We see the same pattern with Mother Nature Cambodia, a youth‑led organisation that exposes environmental crimes. Several of their members, most of which are students in their 20s, have been sentenced to prison, while others have been harassed to the point of leaving. They are not safe in their own country because they dare to speak out. Cambodian civic space is shrinking rapidly, and the government is instrumentalising the judiciary and affiliated trade unions to silence opposition, human rights and environmental defenders, and journalists. We need targeted sanctions against those responsible for the political repression, and we must ensure that further engagement with the country is conditional upon the improvement of human rights and civil society freedoms. The EU must use its leverage to ensure that the Cambodian civil society is not silenced.

Mr President, dear Commissioner, international law emerged as a safeguard against the horrors that humanity should never repeat. But that safeguard is under immense pressure today. In Gaza, we see unthinkable destruction, mass displacement, civilians that are deliberately targeted and starvation being used as a method of warfare. So, naturally, internationally recognised judicial bodies are ringing all the alarm bells about Israeli war crimes. The ICJ concluded that there is a risk of genocide. The ICC issued an arrest warrant against Prime Minister Netanyahu. But what does this change? Israel is still a major Western partner. Our weapons are still being exported there, our agreements are still not being questioned. Some Member States are even outright dismissing the ICC decision. If we apply double standards for Israel, why would anyone adhere to the rules? International law only works if it's strongly enforced, regardless of the perpetrator, and that is what the European Union must do.

Mr President, dear Commissioner, Famil Khalilov, Anar Mamadli, Bahruz Samadov, Iqbal Abilov. These are among the ever-growing list of political prisoners in Azerbaijan – a list that also includes Gubad Ibadoghlu, shortlisted for this year's Sakharov Prize. Jailed under dubious charges and currently under house arrest, he is being detained and denied the urgent medical care that he requires. Yet, Commission President von der Leyen refers to Azerbaijan as a reliable partner, signaling perhaps that protecting oil and gas imports matters more than upholding our values. We must use the approaching COP29 in Baku to shine a spotlight on Azerbaijan's human rights situation and prevent the regime from misusing the events to whitewash its reputation. Let us, in words and in action, reaffirm that a reliable partnership is one built not just on economic interests, but also on shared values.

Madam President, Commissioner, while the whole world is holding its breath about the horrible developments in Ukraine, Gaza and Lebanon, we cannot forget about the ever-continuing genocide of the Uyghurs. Hundreds of thousands of Uyghurs face systematic surveillance, persecution, mass imprisonment, torture and forced sterilisation. Brave activists like Ilham Tohti and Gulshan Abbas are being harassed, detained and silenced. The list of detained activists is getting longer by the day. Yet, exports from Xinjiang into the EU have risen by 140 % this year. From the cotton in our clothes to the electronic components in our gadgets, we are sponsoring the continuation of state-imposed forced labour. This is simply unacceptable. We must strictly enforce the forced labour ban. We must hold the Chinese regime accountable. We must prevent our complicity to this genocide.