B5-0052, 0066 and 0069/2000
The European Parliament,
- having regard to Article 18 of the 1948 UN Universal Declaration of Human Rights,
- having regard to the UN Declaration on the Rights of Persons belonging to National or Ethnic Religious and Linguistic Minorities,
- having regard to the Council of Europe's 1995 Framework Convention for the Protection of National Minorities,
- having regard to the Barcelona Declaration adopted at the Euro-Mediterranean Conference on 27-28 November 1995,
- having regard to the Cooperation Agreement of 27 September 1978 between the European Economic Community and the Arab Republic of Egypt, demonstrating the parties' desire to strengthen their friendly relations in accordance with the principles of the United Nations Charter,
A. concerned by the recent sectarian clashes between Copts and Muslims in Egypt, which resulted in the deaths of more than 20 Egyptian citizens in several villages in Upper Egypt on 1 and 2 January 2000,
B. whereas these acts of violence follow several attacks on Egyptian and foreign civilians, particularly in March 1992 and in February and August 1997, and are bound to impair the harmonious economic and social development of the Egyptian population,
C. concerned by the fact that religious hatred leads to violence in many countries around the world,
D. whereas one of the key aims of the Barcelona Declaration lies in strengthening democracy and respect for human rights; whereas the Arab Republic of Egypt is a signatory to that declaration,
E. whereas the Egyptian constitution guarantees absolute equality of rights and duties for all and the freedom to practise any religion without suffering discrimination,
1. Notes the efforts made by the Egyptian Government to combat fundamentalism and all forms of extremism; with that in mind, calls on the state of Egypt to raise awareness about religious tolerance and respect for human rights and minority freedoms by launching a campaign on sectarian hatred and violence, and to consider initiatives to abolish the death penalty;
2. Supports the Egyptian Government's endeavours to strengthen national unity;
3. Supports the Egyptian authorities" efforts to conduct a full investigation into the events and calls on them to bring those responsible for the violence to justice; welcomes the Egyptian Government's decision to compensate those citizens who suffered injury or loss during the violence;
4. Calls on the Council to plan measures under the MEDA Programme with a view to raising awareness about democracy, human rights and religious tolerance;
5. Calls on the United Nations Organisation to disseminate information seeking to promote tolerance amongst ethnic and religious minorities worldwide;
6. Instructs its President to forward this resolution to the Council, the Commission, the Secretary-General of the United Nations, the Egyptian Government and all Euro-Mediterranean partners.