Michael Cashman MEP

MEPs today slammed the Tory Government’s attack on the human rights of European citizens, as the British government started to reform the European Convention on Human Rights.

The United Kingdom, which holds the Presidency of the Council of Europe until May, has made proposals, together with France, to reform the European Court of Human Rights. The 47 States of the Council of Europe are meeting today (18-20 April) in Brighton to discuss them.

“By presenting such reforms, the UK ‘s coalition government is stripping each one of us of our basic human rights,” said Michael Cashman, who will be leading the debate for the Socialist and Democrats.

“We should never forget that without the judgements of the Court, homosexuality might still be criminalised in parts of the EU, and even parts of the UK” continued Cashman, who is also President of the European Parliament’s Intergroup on LGBT Rights.

While they support necessary reforms to the functioning of the Court, the Labour Members in the European Parliament denounced the Tory proposals to codify the “principles of subsidiarity” and “margin of appreciation” together with the addition of new admissibility requirements and deadlines to access the Court.

“We must make the Court more efficient in order to alleviate its current heavy workload. But many of the reforms put forward by the Tory government this week in Brighton seek to restrict the access of an individual citizens to the European Court of Human Rights,” said Michael Cashman.

The European Court of Human Rights upholds the Convention on Human Rights “which was created from the ashes of the Second World War, thanks to Winston Churchill’s efforts, in order to safeguard democracy, the rule of law, human rights and fundamental freedoms in Europe,” said Michael Cashman.

“The Court enables individuals to bring governments responsible for violations of fundamental rights to account before a European Court, and it ensures that victims unable to get redress at the national level can have an effective remedy.

“David Cameron should pay greater heed to the existing legal obligations under the Convention. The number of victims requiring recourse to the Court would be significantly reduced if his government properly implemented Court judgments”, he said.

The UK government sponsored High-Level Conference of the Council of Europe meeting in Brighton this week will also debate the proposed reforms to the European Court of Human Rights.

MEPs will also be debating this on Thursday 18 April during the plenary session in Strasbourg, along with the longstanding issue of the EU accession to the European Convention on Human Rights.

The European Union is obliged to join the European Convention on Human Rights under Article 6 of the Treaty of Lisbon. All EU legislation will be bound to respect it, and an individual will be able to contest it if it violates his/her human rights. The United Kingdom has objected to its accession, as the Tory/LibDem government fears that this will offer new powers to the Strasbourg Court of Human Rights .

“It’s unacceptable and deeply questionable when at the last minute a Member State blocks a whole process that’s been agreed already and is a legal obligation. We should not play around with human rights when there are people in situations across the EU that could benefit from the compliance of EU legislation to the European Convention”, said Michael Cashman.

” Everyone who cares about human rights can see that the Tory – LibDem reforms are a real threat to rights that so many take for granted,” he concluded.

Last week Member of the European Parliament Michael Cashman met leaders and non-governmental organisations in the northern part of Cyprus, advocating for the decriminalisation of homosexuality. Northern Cyprus is the last territory in Europe where homosexuality is a crime.

Michael Cashman MEP visited the northern part of Cyprus on 12 and 13 April, where he met Members of Parliament and party leaders, Speaker of the Parliament Hasan Bozer, Prime Minister Irsen Küçük, and President Derviş Eroğlu.

Talks focused on the need for a comprehensive review of local laws, which currently punish homosexuality with up to five years in prison. Several arrests had taken place in recent months, prompting the visit.

All agreed that urgent changes included decriminalising same-sex activity; equalising the age of consent for both same-sex and different-sex intercourse; and defining rape more clearly.

A live TV show on homosexuality was also broadcast on local TV channel Kanal Sim.

Reshat Shaban from Queer Cyprus Association declared: “Thanks to Michael’s visit to northern Cyprus, our demands for equal rights were heard by political leaders. Undoubtedly, most pressing for us is to fully decriminalise homosexuality, equalise the age of consent and better protect LGBTQ people under the law.”

Michael Cashman, Co-president of the European Parliament’s LGBT Intergroup, concluded: “All my interlocutors agreed local laws need updating urgently. Now the Parliament must do its work, and align the Criminal Code with binding European standards.”

(This article was originally written for, and appeared in The Parliament Magazine)

For decades the bloody spectacle of the cruel Canadian seal hunt appalled the general public in the European Union. Images from the commercial slaughter became an iconic symbol for all concerned about conservation and animal welfare. Resulting widespread condemnation led the European commission to propose a regulation to ban the trade in seal products, which members of the European parliament overwhelmingly endorsed in May 2009 with a 550-49 vote.

Sadly, however, rather than respecting the democratic will of the EU, the Canadian government is now attempting to have the ban thrown out by referring the matter to the World Trade Organisation (WTO), while simultaneously negotiating a comprehensive economic and trade agreement (CETA) with the EU. The fact that both things are happening simultaneously reveals a cavalier hypocrisy by the Canadian government and the failure of the commission’s negotiators to defend Europe’s moral values by more strongly demanding the withdrawal of the WTO complaint.

The EU has a proud record of defending both human rights and animal welfare. The EU’s ban on seal product trade was and still is overwhelmingly popular with European citizens. Over seven in 10 adults (72 per cent) across the 11 European countries surveyed in July 2011 by Ipsos Mori say they supported the ban with the ratio of support to opposition running at over five to one. The aim of the regulation was to ensure that commercial seal products are no longer placed on the EU market. The ban entered into force in August 2010.

This should have been the end of the story but while the European commission’s cowardice threatens its own legislation, Canada continues to slaughter baby seals. In 2011, the Canadian government authorised the killing of 400,000 pups. Due largely to the EU ban the quota was not met and the smaller number of about 38,000 were killed.

Since the ratification of the Lisbon treaty in December 2009 the European parliament must ratify all trade agreements. In the case of CETA, 102 MEPs have already signed an open letter stating they won’t ratify the deal unless Canada drops its WTO challenge.

Now the European public is getting involved. Humane Society International recently launched a petition calling on the European parliament to defend its own legislation and to reject CETA for so long as Canada continues with its WTO challenge. Nearly 20,000 EU citizens from all 27 member states have already added their names to the petition. The parliament has an opportunity to demonstrate to the Canadian public, the Canadian business community and the European commission that CETA is dead if Canada continues to disregard EU morality and democracy.

The Canadian government must face the fact that the seal hunt is dead. Russia, after ending its own seal hunt on animal welfare grounds, recently followed in the EU’s footsteps and banned the trade in seal products. Russia imported nearly 90 per cent of Canada’s post-EU ban seal exports.
There are none so blind as those that cannot see. It is our hope that the 20,000 plus signatures presented at the upcoming meeting of the parliament’s petitions committee will help lift the blinkers from the Canadian government’s eyes.

Michael Cashman is a member of parliament’s petitions committee

His Excellency Dr. J. Bhagwati
High Commissioner of India
India House
Aldwych
London
WC2B 4NA

29th March 2012

Dear High Commissioner,

I have been contacted by many concerned constituents regarding the imminent execution of Balwant Singh, who is due to be executed by the Indian Authorities on 31 March.

The European Union opposes capital punishment under all circumstances. It is a cruel and inhuman punishment, which fails to act as a deterrent and represents an unacceptable denial of human rights and dignity.

The India Government must not break it’s moratorium on the death penalty. If Balwant Singh is executed, others may follow. There is particular concern about Davinderpal Singh Bhullar.

I request that you convey these concerns to the Indian Government as a matter of urgency.

Yours sincerely,

Michael Cashman
Member of the European Parliament for the West Midlands

“There’s no decent, honourable reason to deny same sex couples the freedom of movement and right to be with their family that other EU citizens enjoy,” said Labour’s Michael Cashman MEP as the European Parliament overwhelmingly passed a report on EU citizenship.

Several member states of the EU currently do not give full rights to same sex couple families who travel in the EU, for example questioning the parental authority of mothers wanting to visit their children in hospital.

Today’s vote calls on member states to carry out the rights granted to all citizens under the Free Movement Directive and it further calls on the Commission to ensure that the Directive is strictly applied.

Michael Cashman, who co-chairs the European Parliament’s LGBT Intergroup, said “the commission must enforce these fundamental rights which are enshrined in the treaty. If it doesn’t we’ll never be taken seriously within the global political domain let alone within the legal domain.

“I particularly welcome the cross-party support we won on this issue, of the British parties only UKIP and the BNP opposed us, with a small minority of the Conservatives as well.”

“We are not trying to impose same-sex marriage across the EU. Quite simply, what we want is what all decent, fair-minded people want: that a family—any family—be able to travel or live anywhere in the EU without risking to be separated from their loved ones.”

“I also welcome the strong language in this report on protecting Roma and other minorities. We have to tackle all forms of discrimination. If we don’t defend the rights of others how on earth can we expect our own rights to be defended? That’s the basis on which the EU was built,” said Michael Cashman.
After the votes, Michael expressed sadness that former UKIP MEP Nikki Sinclaire voted against, then abstained on the amendment:

“The official voting record shows how she failed to stand up for the rights of LGBT families in the West Midlands. Why did she vote the way she did?”

UPDATE: Nikki Sinclaire has subsequently clarified her position via Twitter: “I was never going to vote against. We all make mistakes with the voting lists. If plenary is poorly chaired mistakes happen.”

I accept her explanation as fair comment and that her votes were genuine mistakes. I am pleased she subsequently corrected her vote after the voting record was published.

Chair of External Delegation of the European Parliament
Tuesday saw Michael elected as Chair of External Delegations of the European Parliament from now until the end of the current mandate in 2014. Speaking about his election Michael stated:

“I am honoured to have been elected Chair of External Delegations of the European Parliament. In this new role I will ensure coherent and sustainable external relations of the EP, which are so important in such crucial times.”

Gender Equality
Monday evening saw Michael give a short speech in plenary in the debate on the yearly report on the gender equality situation in the European Union. The main focus of the report is on equal economic independence including progress on the new directive on maternity leave and equal pay for work of equal value. The report also looks at equality in decision-making, respecting women’s dignity, an end to gender-based violence – including the need for a legislative criminal-law instrument – improving gender equality beyond the EU and better governance. The text also includes several recommendations for LGBT rights, and was adopted in Parliament on Tuesday. Michael Cashman, when speaking on the report, argued:

“These sweeping recommendations repeat what we’ve known since the last European elections in 2009: this parliament stands for full equality for LGBT people. In particular the anti-discrimination Directive and a future LGBT Roadmap—like current roadmaps on gender equality or for Roma people—will bring exhaustive and long-lasting equality measures.”
The video of the speech is available to viewed here:

Situation in Nigeria
On Thursday the European Parliament adopted a resolution on the situation in Nigeria, following widespread violence and a worrying economic situation. The Parliament called on the government to crack down on Boko Haram and investigate the root causes of the conflict and it demands measures to tackle the misuse of oil revenues and the problems caused by oil pollution. At the same time, it appeals to the authorities to address the huge gap between rich and poor and the genuine grievances of citizens suffering from “dire living conditions” and to fight corruption, poverty and inequality.
The resolution also condemns current legal threats to lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender persons. The European Parliament is calling “on the Nigerian Parliament to reject the ‘Same Gender Marriage Prohibition Bill’ which, if passed, would put LGBT people – both Nigerian nationals and foreigners – at serious risk of violence and arrest”.

Succession and Cross-Border Inheritances
Monday evening also saw a debate in plenary on succession and cross-border inheritances. The new regulation aims to make it easier to settle inheritances and avoid disputes when someone dies and leaves a will and the legal systems of more than one Member State are involved. The proposed regulation would introduce two new principles for dealing with international successions.

The Parliament said this new European law must also respect the existing rights of same-sex spouses and partners. According to recital (24), Member States who do not recognise same-sex unions will not be allowed to reject succession decisions that are legal under Member States that do. The text does not create any new marriage rights in the European Union, and still allows Member States to decide whether or not they recognise same-sex unions on their territory. Under this regulation, a Spanish citizen married to an Italian of the same-sex under Spanish law could inherit his or her possessions in Italy, even though Italy does not recognise same-sex marriage. However, the regulation would not apply in UK and Ireland, as their current governments decided to exercise their right to opt out.

International Cocoa Agreement
The European Parliament voted this week on the 2010 International Cocoa Agreement which aims to improve market transparency and strengthen co-operation between exporting and importing countries. MEPs also voted on a separate resolution to condemn the use of child labour for cocoa production. The International Cocoa Agreement, which replaces the existing 2001 agreement, will be in force for 10 years and can be extended twice for additional two-year periods. The new agreement sets objectives for a sustainable cocoa economy, recognises the need for fair cocoa prices and equitable returns, promotes quality and develops food safety procedures. It also aims to strengthen the role of the International Cocoa Organisation (ICCO).

The use of child labour for cocoa production remains a concern, which is why there is a resolution on it. The resolution responds to a number of campaigns that Labour MEPs and their constituents have participated in throughout the UK.

Other Plenary News

Organised Crime
A special parliamentary committee on organised crime, corruption and money laundering was created by Parliament on Wednesday. It has a year to investigate infiltration of the EU’s legal economy, public administration and financial systems by organised crime, including mafias, and propose ways to fight it.

Higher Education
MEPs adopted on 13 March a report calling for more funds and support to encourage student mobility and make European higher education more attractive and competitive. This would involve reinforcing the Bologna Process, which aims to create a European Higher Education Area by making quality standards and degrees more compatible throughout the continent. In addition to the EU, the Process is also implemented in 20 other European countries. If is to contribute to achieving the goals of the EU’s 2020 strategy for kick-starting Europe’s economy, then it is argued that more effort will need to be made by universities, member states and the European institutions.

Debate about EU Summit The need to tackle tax evasion at a time when the EU shows signs of turning the corner on the debt crisis was highlighted during Tuesday’s plenary debate on the EU summit of 1-2 March. The debate, in the presence of European Council and Commission presidents Herman Van Rompuy and José Manuel Barroso, also focused on the situation in Greece.

Council President Herman Van Rompuy called the last EU summit meeting a positive step forward towards further fiscal consolidation and economic stability. Although the biggest fiscal stimulus since the 1930s had been an efficient tool for short term recovery, overcoming the crisis would require creating trust in the long-term structure of the European economy.

European Commission President José Manuel Barroso said the EU was not yet out of the crisis but may be on a path towards renewed stability and growth. He added that the €1 trillion lost to tax evasion in the EU each year could have solved many problems. On Greece, Mr Barroso announced that the Commission would soon present a plan on growth and jobs for that country. He said austerity needed to be complemented by growth and called on governments to implement the EU 2020 strategy: “Member states must close the gap between declarations and policies.”

For more information, please visit:

10 things you should know about the March plenary

Today marks International Women’s Day, a date celebrated by women’s groups around the world. This date is also commemorated at the United Nations and is designated in many countries as a national holiday. It’s an occasion which unites women from around the world and (putting aside ethnic, linguistic, cultural, economic and political differences) allows them to celebrate and mark their common struggle to achieve equality, justice, peace and development.
The idea of an International Women’s Day was born at the turn of the last century, which in North America and Europe was a period of expansion and turbulence, booming population growth and radical ideologies. It was a period in history marked by the struggle for universal suffrage. It was also a time where women trade unionists such as Mary Macarthur starting to organise women workers into organisations such as the National Federation of Womens Workers. In 1910 Macarthur led the women chain makers in Cradley Heath in a successful strike which became a landmark victory in the history of minimum wage legislation.

Over a hundred years later it is still women who benefit the most from an established minimum wage. But it would be wrong to assume that the last century has been dominated by the struggle to achieve full equality. Ten years ago childcare, flexible working, violence against women and women’s pensions hardly featured in political debates. It is to this government’s credit that these issues have now been placed firmly on the agenda, resulting in real improvements in women’s lives.

Gender equality is about fairness – it’s as simple as that. And achieving fairness is as important now as it was one hundred years ago.

Equal pay is a case in point. Although we have had equal pay legislation for thirty five years the pay gap between men and women remains unacceptable. The average gap is 17% for full time workers but for part-time workers it is 38%. This pay gap is truly shaming and is the largest of all European countries.

One hundred years after the women chain makers of Cradley Heath struck a blow for equality; the pay divide between men and women is there for all to see.

Universal suffrage was finally achieved in 1918. Yet the goal for equal representation still looks like a far away prospect. Women in public life are often held to impossible and conflicting standards.

Gender continues to be a defining issue, not just in the UK, but across the world. Consider these stark facts:

• 70% of the world poorest people are women
• Two thirds of the world’s 800 million illiterate adults are women
• Women work two thirds of the world’s working hours yet earn only a tenth of the income
• Domestic violence kills and injures more women in the developing world than war, cancer or traffic

The plain fact is that if we don’t support women across the world in asserting their political and social rights, we will fail in our battle against world poverty and securing the fundamental human rights of all our people.

The apartheid of gender must be tackled. And it must be tackled now.

The European Commission has published proposals, which seek to amend EU directives on transparency and accounting. The proposals would require extractive companies to report how much they pay to governments.

It is right that some of the profits from mineral extraction should be used to improve lives and reduce poverty in resource rich countries. It cannot be right that resource rich countries experience set backs in development and governance. It is wholly wrong that the people of these countries become the victims of resource misuse and corruption. In these countries, this “resource curse” can fuel human rights abuses as well as political, social and economic insecurity.

The new EU legislation would allow for closer examination as to whether or not developing countries are receiving a fair deal for the exploitation of their resources. The secrecy surrounding payments to governments has often led to large scale corruption, violence and civil war in resource rich countries. This is why I support transparency on a country by country and project by project basis. I believe that country by country reporting can help empower citizens to hold their government to account. Therefore, I welcome the Commission’s recent legislative proposals in this area. In my opinion these proposals will have a positive impact on one of the worst humanitarian crises in the world.

LGBT Rights and Russia
Monday evening saw Michael, who is Co-president of the Intergroup on LGBT rights, give a short speech in plenary criticising the new laws the Legislative Assembly of Saint Petersburg, Russia is about to adopt which bans the “propaganda of sodomy, lesbianism, bisexualism and transgenderism” to minors, including in public. Examined since November 2011, the bill echoes similar legislation in Lithuania, and developing legislation in Ukraine. These laws have already been adopted in the three Russian states of Arkhangelsk, Ryazan and Kostroma and now they are being introduced in St.Petersburg and Moscow. Michael Cashman speaking in plenary stated:
“We have recently seen the introduction of a new law which bans the so-called promotion of homosexuality. Its starting point is that homosexuality is wrong, but I would say what is wrong is the promotion of intolerance and discrimination precisely what these repressive laws set out to achieve.”
The video of the speech is available to view at:

Speech in Plenary on LGBT Rights in Russia http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6afvsdNqDk0

Human Rights Council
On Wednesday Michael took the floor on the debate on the Parliament’s position on the 19th Session of the UN Human Rights Council, which gives political orientation to the EU´s position on the session. Michael Cashman praised the United Nations Human Rights Council’s resolution on world-wide LGBT human rights, and called for an open, frank and intelligent session. Michael then went on to call for the monitoring of developments in Zimbabwe and the condemnation of human rights violations under the Mugabe Administration, as well as an end to the stigma and discrimination of people living with HIV/Aids. He also brought attention to the worsening situation in Belarus:

“the dictatorial regime needs to be brought to an end, the death penalty abolished and political prisoners released. Free and fair elections must also take place.”
The video of the speech is available at:

Speech in Plenary on UN Human Rights Council

Blind Persons Access to Books
Blind people should have access to books and other published works in special formats, such as Braille, large print or audio. This requires a targeted exception to copyright rules, says a resolution adopted by Parliament on Thursday, calling on the Council and Commission to support a binding international treaty to make it possible. Only 5% of books are currently accessible to the blind in richer countries, and less than 1% in poorer ones.

In his speech on the issue, Michael Cashman argued:

“Blind people and people who are visually impaired across the world are victims of a worldwide book famine. We need to take positive action in tackling it, in full respect of copyright legislation. I do not believe that the creators of these works stand as a barrier to access.”
A video of the speech can be viewed at:

Speech in Plenary on Blind Persons Access to Books

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=y3jRVV3JF_M

Citizens Access to Documents
On Wednesday morning, Michael met with the Danish Minister for Europe to move forward his proposals for a more transparent EU. This follows the vote in the December Plenary on the report authored by Michael to increase public accessibility to documents held by EU institutions, covering not only the European Parliament, Council and Commission, but all EU institutions, bodies, offices and agencies. The purpose of the amended regulation is to give the fullest possible effect to the right of public access to documents to EU citizens.

More information on this is available at:

http://michael-cashman.eu/2011/12/cashman-wins-fight-against-secret-brussels-and-defies-uk-coalition-government/

Other Plenary News

EU Food Aid Program
Wednesday saw the Parliament save the food programme for the EU´s most deprived citizens, which means that the “Food for the needy” programme will continue to supply food for two more years, thanks to a rescue plan agreed with the Council and approved in plenary session on Wednesday. The programme, on which 18 million of the EU’s poorest people in 20 Member States rely, will run until the end of 2013.

2013 Budget British Labour MEP Derek Vaughan’s request for the European Parliament to freeze its administrative budgets in 2013 was backed by a majority in the plenary on Thursday.
“The institutions, in the context of continued challenging economic circumstances, should freeze their administrative budgets,” read Vaughan’s guidelines on the 2013 EU administrative budgets.

Family Reunification
On Thursday morning the European Commission has been told to do more to ensure that countries across the EU are upholding laws on family reunification. The right to reunification was formally laid out in a law passed in 2003 , however the directive gave member states a great deal of discretion in how it should be implemented.

Vaccination against Bluetongue
The Parliament on Tuesday approved a directive that updates rules governing the use of bluetongue vaccines. The updated rules will enable livestock farmers that are outside exclusion zones to preventatively vaccinate against the bluetongue virus.

EU-Morocco Trade
The European Parliament consented to liberalise EU-Morocco trade in agricultural and fisheries products, while adopting a resolution highlighting a number of concerns. The votes on Thursday followed approval on Tuesday to allow Morocco to participate in certain EU programmes. The trade deal is intended to boost EU-Morocco ties and support the transition to democracy following the Arab Spring, with a number of MEPs arguing that the agreement will help to alleviate economic and security problems.

Syria
The European Parliament in Strasbourg on Thursday voted with majority to create safe corridors in Syria. The parliament also urged European countries to withdraw their ambassadors from Damascus and said it will work to give political and technical support to the Syrian opposition.

For more information, please visit:
10 Things You Should Know About the February Plenary

Europe should be doing more to improve access to books for blind people.

That was the message last night from West Midlands Labour MEP Michael Cashman following a debate in the European Parliament on the issue of access by blind and dyslexic people to books and other printed products. The debate followed a question to the Commission, tabled on behalf of the Parliament’s Petitions Committee, on the same subject.

Michael Cashman, Labour’s representative on the committee, and long-time supporter of the Royal National Institute of Blind People, hit out at the European Commission for being reluctant to support a binding worldwide treaty which would make it legal to send blind accessible books across national borders.

“Blind people and people who are visually impaired across the world are victims of a worldwide book famine. We need to take positive action in tackling it, in full respect of copyright legislation. I do not believe that the creators of these works stand as a barrier to access”

“The potential exists to produce accessible books, but current international law restricts their accessibility, particularly in developing nations”, said Cashman, also Labour’s Spokesperson on International Development in the European Parliament.

Last year the European Parliament adopted a report called “Unlocking the potential of the cultural and creative industries” that made clear its support for an international binding “Treaty for the visually impaired and print disabled person”.

Although the Parliament made clear its support for a binding WIPO (World Intellectual Property Organisation) Treaty, the European Commission rejected that view and currently favours non-binding stakeholder agreements in the EU and a non-binding, voluntary “Joint Recommendation” at international level.

Michael Cashman believes that Commission proposals are not sufficient:

“Proposals by the Council and Commission for “soft law” guidelines will be nowhere near as effective as a binding treaty. The European Parliament supports an internatinal binding treaty, organisations for the blind support it and so do most countries. I urge the European Commission and Council to go forward and beyond voluntary agreements. Can we possibly imagine a world without access to the wors of Shakespeare, Victor Hugo and countless others who enrich our very lives?” , he asked.