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Collection of written amendments (Final version)

  • Doc. 14527
  • Humanitarian needs and rights of internally displaced persons in Europe

Draft resolution

1On the occasion of the 20th anniversary of the adoption by the United Nations of the Guiding Principles on Internal Displacement, the Parliamentary Assembly is alarmed by the fact that, within Europe, more than four million people are displaced inside their own country due to armed conflicts and violence. Through the massive displacement caused by the war in eastern Ukraine and the annexation of the Crimean Peninsula of Ukraine by the Russian Federation, the suffering of some 1.7 million internally displaced persons (IDPs) has been added to the long-standing suffering of the IDPs affected by earlier conflicts in Europe, in particular in Azerbaijan, Cyprus and Georgia.

2The Assembly recalls that, under the Statute of the International Criminal Court, it constitutes a war crime for an occupying power to transfer, directly or indirectly, parts of its own civilian population into the territory it occupies, or to deport or transfer all or parts of the population of the occupied territory within or outside this territory. Any displacement of persons must not be carried out in a manner that violates the rights to life, dignity, liberty and security of those affected. Regardless of ethnicity, IDPs and their families must be able to fully enjoy their human rights, including also fundamental social, cultural and economic rights as enshrined in international law. While IDPs have the right to voluntarily resettle in another part of their country, this does not affect their rights as IDPs.

3Welcoming the enormous efforts in favour of IDPs undertaken by the member States affected by armed conflicts or other causes of forced displacement, the Assembly invites those States to regularly assess and publish the humanitarian needs of their IDPs, possibly together with the United Nations, the European Union and the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC), in particular regarding the needs of IDPs in terms of housing, education, health care, employment and financial assistance. Member States must respect the rights enshrined in the European Social Charter (revised) (ETS No. 163) which, in accordance with the jurisprudence of the European Court of Human Rights on extra-territorial obligations, binds also member States which exercise control outside their own territory.

4The Assembly deplores the fact that the humanitarian situation of most IDPs in Europe has been negatively affected for an excessively long time by the fact that underlying conflicts are protracted and forced displacements, which were often perpetrated on ethnic grounds, have been thus maintained by the de facto authorities controlling the territories of the former homes and places of habitual residence of IDPs. It is therefore important that the human rights and humanitarian needs of IDPs are made a central point in all international efforts to monitor and mediate those conflicts.

5Referring to United Nations Security Council Resolutions 193 (1964) and 360 (1974) and its Resolution 1628 (2008), the Assembly welcomes the important progress made in the humanitarian situation of IDPs in Cyprus over the past decades and invites the authorities of Cyprus and Turkey to:

Tabled by Mr Yasin AKTAY, Mr Akif Çağatay KILIÇ, Mr Mustafa YENEROĞLU, Ms Ulviyye AGHAYEVA, Mr Elshad HASANOV, Mr Samad SEYIDOV
In the draft resolution, paragraph 5, replace the words "authorities of Cyprus and Turkey" with the following words: "Turkish Cypriot and Greek Cypriot authorities".

5.1continue supporting the work of the Committee on Missing Persons in Cyprus, which serves essential humanitarian needs of IDPs, and provide all possible information on the fate of the missing persons who disappeared either in Cyprus or were transferred to Turkey as prisoners of war;

Tabled by Mr Yasin AKTAY, Mr Akif Çağatay KILIÇ, Mr Mustafa YENEROĞLU, Ms Ulviyye AGHAYEVA, Mr Elshad HASANOV, Mr Samad SEYIDOV
In the draft resolution, paragraph 5.1, replace the words "who disappeared either in Cyprus or were transferred to Turkey as prisoners of war" with the following words: ", at the same time welcoming the financial support of the Turkish Cypriot side to this Committee".

5.2encourage the parties to the Cyprus problem to return to the negotiating table with the aim of reaching a final settlement to the protracted Cyprus problem that would of course include all property issues and remedies for the benefit of all Cypriots;

Tabled by Mr Yasin AKTAY, Mr Akif Çağatay KILIÇ, Mr Mustafa YENEROĞLU, Ms Ulviyye AGHAYEVA, Mr Samad SEYIDOV, Mr Elshad HASANOV
In the draft resolution, paragraph 5.2, after the word "remedies", insert the following words: "(i.e. Immovable Property Commission)"
Tabled by Mr Yasin AKTAY, Mr Akif Çağatay KILIÇ, Mr Mustafa YENEROĞLU, Ms Ulviyye AGHAYEVA, Mr Samad SEYIDOV, Mr Elshad HASANOV
In the draft resolution, at the end of paragraph 5.2, insert the following words: "and continue supporting the work of the Immovable Property Commission".

5.3continue the demining work of the United Nations Peacekeeping Force in Cyprus, in accordance with United Nations Security Council Resolution 2398 (2018), and provide access to the remaining minefields in the buffer zone, hence ensuring that IDPs and others are not exposed to life-threatening risks;

Tabled by Mr Yasin AKTAY, Mr Akif Çağatay KILIÇ, Mr Mustafa YENEROĞLU, Ms Ulviyye AGHAYEVA, Mr Samad SEYIDOV, Mr Elshad HASANOV
In the draft resolution, delete paragraph 5.3.

5.4open more crossing points for Cypriots at the buffer zone, and promote intercommunal contacts and projects on both sides of the buffer zone, such as the good example of the restoration of the Monastery of Apostolos Andreas from 2013 to 2016, and ensure that all the religious and cultural rights of IDPs are fully respected and protected, notwithstanding that all these confidence-building measures are conducive to creating a climate of good will but cannot contribute substantially to addressing the problems of IDPs in Cyprus;

6The Assembly deplores the fact that the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict remains protracted since 1994, commends the immense humanitarian efforts in favour of IDPs and invites the authorities of Armenia and Azerbaijan to:

(If adopted, amendments 1, 5 falls)
Tabled by Ms Tineke STRIK, Mr Pierre-Alain FRIDEZ, Ms Petra De SUTTER, Ms Petra STIENEN, Mr Henk OVERBEEK, Ms Thórhildur Sunna ÆVARSDÓTTIR, Ms Marianne MIKKO
In the draft resolution, replace paragraph 6 with the following paragraph:
"The Assembly recalls its previously adopted resolutions on the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict, as well as UN Security Council Resolutions 822, 853, 874 and 884 and deplores the fact that the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict remains protracted since 1994, commends the immense humanitarian efforts in favour of IDPs and invites the authorities of Armenia and Azerbaijan to:".
(Falls if amendment 6 is adopted)
Tabled by Mr Samad SEYIDOV, Ms Sahiba GAFAROVA, Mr Rafael HUSEYNOV, Mr Rovshan RZAYEV, Mr Asim MOLLAZADA, Ms Sevinj FATALIYEVA, Ms Ulviyye AGHAYEVA, Mr Sabir HAJIYEV
In the draft resolution, at the beginning of paragraph 6, insert the following words: "Referring to UN Security Council Resolutions 822 (1993), 853 (1993), 874 (1993) and 884 (1993) as well as its Resolution 1416 (2005),".
(Falls if amendment 6 is adopted)
Tabled by Ms Sahiba GAFAROVA, Ms Sevinj FATALIYEVA, Ms Ulviyye AGHAYEVA, Mr Rafael HUSEYNOV, Mr Samad SEYIDOV, Mr Sabir HAJIYEV
In the draft resolution, paragraph 6, after the word "IDPs", insert the following words: "in Azerbaijan,".

6.1give priority to the humanitarian needs and rights of IDPs in their actions and bilateral negotiations facilitated by the Minsk Group of the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE), and fully implement without further delay the relevant decisions of the European Court of Human Rights;

6.2enable the ICRC to enter the area of Nagorno-Karabakh and its surrounding districts to pursue forensic work on cases of missing persons, in particular in mass graves at Heyvali/Drmbon, Khojaly/Ivanyan, Qazançı/Kazanchi and Karakend/Berdashen, and analyse and publish the data found, in close co-operation with the Azerbaijan Red Crescent Society and the Armenian Red Cross Society;

Tabled by Mr Samad SEYIDOV, Ms Sahiba GAFAROVA, Mr Rafael HUSEYNOV, Mr Rovshan RZAYEV, Mr Asim MOLLAZADA, Ms Sevinj FATALIYEVA, Ms Ulviyye AGHAYEVA, Mr Vusal HUSEYNOV, Mr Sabir HAJIYEV
In the draft resolution, paragraph 6.2, replace the words "Heyvali/Drmbon, Khojaly/Ivanyan, Qazançi/Kazanchi and Karakend/Berdashen" with the following words: "Heyvali, Khojaly, Qazançi and Karakend".

6.3establish, in accordance with the relevant judgments of the European Court of Human Rights, national commissions for the compensation or return of IDPs’ possessions and property which have been destroyed or whose use has been made impossible by the forced displacement, and accept and process individual or collective claims;

6.4mandate the OSCE to conduct a detailed assessment mission following up the 2010 assessment mission to the territories affected by the conflict, and to continue and support demining projects in the conflict area, such as the work financed since 2000 by the HALO Trust and private Armenian-American donors;

Tabled by Ms Tineke STRIK, Mr Pierre-Alain FRIDEZ, Ms Petra De SUTTER, Ms Petra STIENEN, Mr Henk OVERBEEK, Ms Thórhildur Sunna ÆVARSDÓTTIR, Ms Marianne MIKKO
In the draft resolution, paragraph 6.4, after the words "assessment mission", insert the following words: ", including a humanitarian component".
Tabled by Mr Samad SEYIDOV, Ms Sahiba GAFAROVA, Mr Rafael HUSEYNOV, Mr Rovshan RZAYEV, Mr Asim MOLLAZADA, Ms Ulviyye AGHAYEVA, Ms Sevinj FATALIYEVA, Mr Sabir HAJIYEV
In the draft resolution, paragraph 6.4, delete the following words: ", such as the work financed since 2000 by the HALO Trust and private Armenian-American donors"

6.5restore people-to-people contacts between Armenians and Azerbaijanis, as recommended by the OSCE Minsk Group Co-Chairs on 7 December 2017, including Armenians originating from the area of Nagorno-Karabakh and its surrounding districts, as well as IDPs within Azerbaijan;

6.6welcoming reports about the restoration of the Upper Govhar Agha Mosque in Shusha/Shushi, extend such restoration to other sites of cultural importance to IDPs.

Tabled by Mr Samad SEYIDOV, Ms Sahiba GAFAROVA, Mr Rafael HUSEYNOV, Mr Rovshan RZAYEV, Mr Asim MOLLAZADA, Ms Sevinj FATALIYEVA, Ms Ulviyye AGHAYEVA, Mr Vusal HUSEYNOV, Mr Sabir HAJIYEV
In the draft resolution, paragraph 6.6, delete the following word: "/Shushi"

7Referring to United Nations Security Council Resolutions 849 (1993) and 1808 (2008) as well as its Resolution 1683 (2009), the Assembly deplores the violent displacement of people from Abkhazia and South Ossetia in the 1990s and again in 2008 and the fact that this conflict remains protracted, commends the immense efforts provided in favour of IDPs in Georgia and invites the authorities of Georgia and the Russian Federation to:

(If adopted, amendments 8, 10 falls)
(If withdrawn, amendments 14, 15 falls)
Tabled by Ms Tamar CHUGOSHVILI, Mr Giorgi KANDELAKI, Mr Dimitri TSKITISHVILI, Mr Oleksii GONCHARENKO, Ms Olena SOTNYK, Ms Nino GOGUADZE
In the draft resolution, replace paragraphs 7, 7.1, 7.2 and 7.3 with the following paragraphs:
"Referring to United Nations Security Council Resolutions 849 (1993) and 1808 (2008), the Final Declarations of the OSCE Heads of States Summits in 1994, 1996 and 1998 as well as the Resolutions 1633, 1647, 1683, 1664 and 1916 adopted by the Assembly, the Assembly deplores the forcible expulsion of people from Abkhazia, Georgia and Tskhinvali region/South Ossetia, Georgia in the 1990s and again in 2008, and the fact that this conflict in Georgia remains unresolved and commends the immense efforts provided in favour of IDPs in Georgia. In this regard: X.1 underlines the importance of the Co-ordination Mechanism on Missing Persons created in 2010 with the help of the ICRC and encourages the participants to engage constructively; X.2 referring to Assembly Resolution 1683, the Assembly calls upon the Russian Federation as an authority exercising control over Abkhazia, Georgia and Tskhinvali region/South Ossetia, Georgia to recognise formally and effectively the right of safe and dignified return of all IDPs, including those from the 2008 war, to their original places of residence to Abkhazia, Georgia and Tskhinvali region/South Ossetia, Georgia in line with paragraphs 9.9 and 9.11 of Resolution 1647 (2009); X.3 welcoming the demining of Abkhazia, Georgia by the HALO Trust from 1997 to 2011 and taking note that the demining action in Tskhinvali region/South Ossetia, Georgia by the Ministry of Emergency Situations of the Russian Federation in 2016 as the authority exercising effective control, calls on the Russian Federation to ensure also the withdrawal of ammunition and weapons from the conflict areas, which pose a serious risk to IDPs and others and have the potential to cause further displacements;"

7.1continue supporting the work of the Coordination Mechanism on Missing Persons created in 2010 with the help of the ICRC;

7.2establish a commission for the compensation or return of IDPs’ possessions and property, following an initiative of the Russian Federation and the de facto authorities in Sukhumi in 2010 to return property to Russian citizens who had been displaced;

7.3welcoming the demining of Abkhazia by the HALO Trust from 1997 to 2011 and the demining action in South Ossetia by the Ministry of Emergency Situations of the Russian Federation in 2016, ensure also the withdrawal of ammunition and weapons from the conflict areas, which pose a serious risk to IDPs and others and have the potential to cause further displacements;

(Falls if amendment 12 is adopted)
Tabled by Ms Tineke STRIK, Mr Pierre-Alain FRIDEZ, Ms Petra De SUTTER, Mr Pieter OMTZIGT, Ms Petra STIENEN, Mr Henk OVERBEEK, Ms Thórhildur Sunna ÆVARSDÓTTIR
In the draft resolution, after paragraph 7.3, insert the following paragraph:
"ensure that the IDP returnee population in Abkhazia and South Ossetia have access to documentation allowing them to exercise all human rights, including political and property rights;".

7.4open more crossing points for Georgians at the lines of contact guarded by Russian military;

(If adopted, amendment 9 falls)
Tabled by Ms Tamar CHUGOSHVILI, Mr Giorgi KANDELAKI, Mr Dimitri TSKITISHVILI, Mr Oleksii GONCHARENKO, Ms Olena SOTNYK, Ms Nino GOGUADZE
In the draft resolution, replace paragraph 7.4 with the following paragraph:
"open more so-called crossing points and cease the practice of installation of barbed wire fences and other artificial barriers guarded by Russian military along the occupation line in order not to hinder the freedom of movement;".
(Falls if amendment 13 is adopted)
Tabled by Ms Tineke STRIK, Mr Pierre-Alain FRIDEZ, Ms Petra De SUTTER, Mr Pieter OMTZIGT, Ms Petra STIENEN, Mr Henk OVERBEEK, Ms Thórhildur Sunna ÆVARSDÓTTIR, Ms Marianne MIKKO, Mr Miroslav NENUTIL, Mr Miroslav ANTL
In the draft resolution, at the beginning of paragraph 7.4, insert the following words: "the Assembly furthermore calls for mitigating measures in order to ensure full freedom of movement an notably to ".

7.5support the use of the Georgian language and alphabet in schools in the conflict area, in order to avoid further ethnic discrimination and displacement.

(Falls if amendment 12 is adopted)
Tabled by Ms Tineke STRIK, Mr Pierre-Alain FRIDEZ, Ms Petra De SUTTER, Ms Petra STIENEN, Mr Henk OVERBEEK, Ms Thórhildur Sunna ÆVARSDÓTTIR, Mr Miroslav NENUTIL, Mr Miroslav ANTL
In the draft resolution, after paragraph 7.5, insert the following paragraph:
"support the upcoming reform to social assistance for IDPs in Georgia from a system based on status to one informed by needs and vulnerabilities, hence addressing the needs of the most vulnerable and also ensuring the mainstreaming of IDPs in the social assistance mechanisms for the Georgian population.".
(Falls if amendment 12 is withdrawn)
Tabled by Ms Tamar CHUGOSHVILI, Mr Giorgi KANDELAKI, Mr Dimitri TSKITISHVILI, Mr Oleksii GONCHARENKO, Ms Olena SOTNYK, Ms Nino GOGUADZE
In the draft resolution, after paragraph 7.5, insert the following paragraph:
"the Assembly calls upon the Russian Federation to fully implement the EU-mediated ceasefire agreement, including and in particular to grant full access to the European Union Monitoring Mission (EUMM) to the entire internationally-recognised territory of Georgia and work towards a new internationalized peacekeeping format.".
(Falls if amendment 12 is withdrawn)
Tabled by Ms Tamar CHUGOSHVILI, Mr Giorgi KANDELAKI, Mr Dimitri TSKITISHVILI, Mr Oleksii GONCHARENKO, Ms Olena SOTNYK, Ms Nino GOGUADZE
In the draft resolution, after paragraph 7.5, insert the following paragraph:
"the Assembly calls upon the Russian Federation to initiate credible investigation into acts of ethnic cleansing of Georgians from those regions and implement measures to reverse it, including taking measures to effectively protect the property left behind by IDPs from both recent and previous conflicts with a view to securing restitution of such property in the future.".

8Recalling its Resolution 2198 (2018) on the humanitarian consequences of the war in Ukraine, the Assembly further invites the authorities of the Russian Federation and Ukraine to:

Tabled by Mr Oleksii GONCHARENKO, Mr Serhii KIRAL, Ms Olena SOTNYK, Mr Boryslav BEREZA, Mr Serhii SOBOLIEV, Mr Viktor VOVK, Mr Sergiy VLASENKO, Mr Kostiantyn USOV, Mr Vladyslav GOLUB
In the draft resolution, paragraph 8, replace the words "war in Ukraine" with the following words: "Russian war against Ukraine".

8.1support Restoring Family Links projects by the Ukrainian Red Cross Society and the Russian Red Cross Society and to enable the ICRC to enter, with due protection and safety, the areas affected by the conflict in order to pursue forensic work on cases of missing persons;

8.2establish a commission for the compensation or return of IDPs’ possessions and property, in accordance with the jurisprudence of the European Court of Human Rights under Article 1 of the Protocol to the European Convention on Human Rights (ETS No. 9);

8.3support and assist demining action in all areas affected by the conflict, such as the action of the Danish Demining Group of the Danish Refugee Council, the Government of Japan and the United Nations Office for Project Services, the Science for Peace and Security project on Humanitarian Demining in Ukraine of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO), the Geneva International Centre for Humanitarian Demining as well as the HALO Trust;

8.4abstain from any action that will prolong or cause further internal displacement of persons and aggravate the humanitarian situation of IDPs, in violation of international humanitarian law.

9Deploring the fact that the Southern Military District of the Armed Forces of the Russian Federation extends beyond its borders, the Assembly calls on the Russian Government to respect the rights of IDPs, in particular by:

9.1refraining from supplying weapons, ammunition and military personnel, which leads to continued violations of international humanitarian law and human rights of IDPs in the respective conflict areas;

9.2allowing international humanitarian observer missions to enter the respective conflict areas in order to analyse the humanitarian needs of IDPs and provide humanitarian assistance.

10Referring to the report on the human rights situation in south-east Turkey prepared by the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights in February 2017, the Assembly invites the Turkish authorities to organise an international humanitarian assessment mission to the areas affected by anti-terrorist operations in Turkey.

(If adopted, amendment 19 falls)
Tabled by Mr Yasin AKTAY, Mr Akif Çağatay KILIÇ, Mr Mustafa YENEROĞLU, Mr Samad SEYIDOV, Mr Elshad HASANOV, Ms Ulviyye AGHAYEVA
In the draft resolution, delete paragraph 10.
(Falls if amendment 20 is adopted)
Tabled by Mr Yasin AKTAY, Ms Sahiba GAFAROVA, Mr Mustafa YENEROĞLU, Mr Elshad HASANOV, Mr Rafael HUSEYNOV
In the draft resolution, paragraph 10, delete the word "humanitarian".

11Recalling the judgments of the European Court of Human Rights on the human rights of IDPs, the Assembly calls on all member States to ensure that those judgments are executed fully and without delay and to act appropriately in cases where a respondent State refuses to execute a judgment and pay financial compensation to IDPs or their surviving family members.

Tabled by Mr Yasin AKTAY, Mr Akif Çağatay KILIÇ, Mr Mustafa YENEROĞLU, Mr Samad SEYIDOV, Ms Ulviyye AGHAYEVA, Mr Elshad HASANOV
In the draft resolution, paragraph 11, delete the following words: "and to act appropriately in cases where a respondent State refuses to execute a judgment and pay financial compensation to IDPs or their surviving family members".

12Recalling its Resolution 1613 (2008) on the use of experience of the “truth commissions”, the Assembly recommends that member States establish national, bilateral or international commissions which record and display publicly the stories and suffering of IDPs, analyse inter-ethnic life before internal displacement and promote future inter-ethnic co-operation projects, in order to achieve sustainable reconciliation.

13The Assembly invites the Commissioner for Human Rights to co-operate with member States and the Committee of Ministers in their work for IDPs and to follow up on the Human Rights Comment “Internally displaced persons in Europe: Another lost generation?” of 2012.

Draft recommendation

1Recalling Committee of Ministers Recommendation Rec(2006)6 on internally displaced persons and the judgments of the European Court of Human Rights concerning the human rights of internally displaced persons (IDPs), the Parliamentary Assembly refers to its Resolution … (2018) on the humanitarian needs and rights of internally displaced persons in Europe and recommends that the Committee of Ministers ensure that such judgments of the Court be executed as a matter of priority and urgency, using Article 46.4 of the European Convention on Human Rights (ETS No. 5) in cases where a respondent State refuses to execute a judgment.

2The Assembly recommends that the Committee of Ministers step up its efforts and practical action to ensure that all respondent States abide by the decisions of the European Court of Human Rights regarding compensation awarded in respect of the denial of the use and ownership of IDPs’ property and other non-pecuniary losses.

3Recalling Articles 7 and 8 (2.b.xiii) of the Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court, the Assembly recommends that the Committee of Ministers ask the Committee of Legal Advisers on Public International Law (CAHDI) to establish, in accordance with Article 12 of the United Nations Convention on Jurisdictional Immunities of States and Their Property and the general principles of international law, guidelines for the recognition and enforcement by domestic courts in other member States of judgments of the European Court of Human Rights awarding financial compensation to IDPs, if a respondent State refuses to execute such a judgment.

Tabled by Mr Yasin AKTAY, Mr Akif Çağatay KILIÇ, Mr Mustafa YENEROĞLU, Mr Samad SEYIDOV, Ms Ulviyye AGHAYEVA, Mr Elshad HASANOV
In the draft recommendation, delete paragraph 3.