III European Union
| Date | 01 June 1995 |
| Author | Johannes van der Klaauw |
| Published date | 01 June 1995 |
| DOI | 10.1177/016934419501300207 |
| Subject Matter | Part B: Human Rights News |
III EUROPEAN
UNION
Johannes van der Klaauw*
A.
Human
Rights
in
the
Common Foreign
and
Security Policy
the EU and its Member States have made an effort to use possibilities for joint action for
the protection of human rights offered by the Treaty provisions on the Common Foreign
and Security Policy (Title V). Most of the Union's activities in this area, however,
continue to be the result of intergovernmental consultations within the framework of the
European Political Cooperation, such as diplomatic demarches or public statements
concerning individual cases of human rights violations or country situations.
Under the Common Foreign and Security Policy, however, the Union can now send
its own contingent of human rights observers to Rwanda or contribute to the re-
establishment of the rule of law in Burundi through the training of lawyers, making use
of Community funds. The Union, furthermore, is increasingly keen on making joint
contributions to the activities of international or regional organizations involved in
preventive diplomacy or conflict resolution, such as those of UN agencies to resolve the
crisis in Central Africa, or the activities of the OSCE in findingapoliticalsolution
tothe
conflict in Chechnya.
It
is too early to make an assessment of the functioning of the
Common Foreign and Security Policy regarding its human rights component, but with the
Governments, the EU Commission and the European Parliament are expected to start
formulating recommendations for more coherent human rights policy and action as an
integral part of the Common Foreign and Security Policy.
One of the areas in which the Union has been increasingly active is the control on
the production and export of arms and other military equipment. Further steps were taken
in the process of the harmonization of policies and practices in this field by the adoption
by the General Affairs Council of 19 December 1994 of a Regulation on dual-use (civil
and military) goods and technology (see NQHR, Vol. 11,
No.4,
p. 487ff. and NQHR,
Vol. 12,
No.1,
p. 68).1 Together with the Regulation, the Council adopted a Joint
are expected to come into force on 1 July 1995 and constitute a first step to establish a
common system of control of exports of dual-use goods in the internal market. The Joint
Action contains a number of annexes listing, inter alia, the goods for which prior
authorization for export should be sought (more than 1,000) and the destinations to be
controlled. In another annex, reference is made to the criteria for the control
of
arms
exports as adopted by the June 1991 European Council meeting in Luxembourg and
amended by the June 1992 European Council meeting in Lisbon (see NQHR, Vol. 11,
No.4,
p. 487). Therefore, this Joint Action, although dealing with the export and transfer
of dual-use goods, is linked to the wider area of military and security transfers which
should be conditioned, inter alia, on respect for human rights in the buyer country. By
Staff member of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) in Brussels. The views
expressed in this and future contributions are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views
of the United Nations. .
Regulation (EC) No. 3381/94, in OJ L 367 of 31 December 1994, based on a Proposal by the
Commission, OJ C 253 of 30 September 1992, COM (92) 317. Opinion of the European Parliament in
OJ C 268 of 4 October 1993.
Decision of the Council 94/942/CFSP, in OJ L 367 of 31 December 1994.
173
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