Isabel WISELER-LIMA

What Isabel WISELER-LIMA has said (9)

• “Well, let me begin by thanking our three speakers. And as the chair began by raising Qatar Gate, I would say that it really did damage the European Parliament and it did the same for NGOs. I think it was extremely regrettable and I would even say immoral, for people to abuse the respectability of the image of Parliament and NGOs and use the idea that they're involved in human rights activities to essentially engage in corruption. I mean, I'm going to stop there, but I just wanted to raise that point. Now, urgency resolutions will. We're in a very sensitive situation in terms of the time. We have to come up with them to craft them, but they are urgency resolutions. They're envisaged for cases that are immediate, someone's in danger or whatever it is. I mean, we have to live with that situation, I think. Then I'd like to thank you for your proposal to work with us on missions. I think it's great to have contact with civil society and organisations that work with people on the ground when we go on mission, because that is good. Additional information for us when it comes to our work with committees as well as the Subcommittee on Human Rights, we have the possibility to ask for opinions vis a vis the work that other committees are doing, and we don't hold back when it comes to requesting those. And then when it comes to what you said, Mr. Virahsawmy, I'm going to conclude with that, because, yes, defending democracy needs to be at the forefront of what we do, because without democracy we won't be able to defend human rights. I think it's the democratic system that enables us to defend human rights. And that's the most important thing. I'd like to conclude just by asking each of you for to perhaps give us one priority, one thing that you think should be a priority for the work of our committee, and then we'll be able to take account of it. Thank you very much.”
  Transparency requirements of EU institutions
• “I am really grateful for the witness statements that we have had. Uh, it's not just a question of the right write to inform, but the right to be informed. And we can only benefit from that, right? Because of journalists. A right, as our three speakers have already said, is a right which we have to protect them because of. We have to ensure that they can work. We have to support them so that they can do their work. It's true that journalists take incredible risks which jeopardize their lives. And when they demonstrate that they are members of the press, they take on risks. Nevertheless, we've heard about the attacks committed by the IDF, but we have seen similar throughout the world in conflict Areas. And I must admit that when. On the one hand, we are faced with an area of war, a conflict zone, and also when we are faced with authoritarian regimes. We've talked to a number of countries, talked about a number of countries where the situation is difficult. I don't know whether we have mentioned Venezuela as well, because that may be an instance which we need to talk about further. Anyway, on the one hand, we are faced with conflict situations, war situations where rights are no longer respected, but also we have to look at countries with authoritarian regimes where the same applies.”
  EU support for traditional (non-digital) media
• “President, Commissioner, organized crime now recruits at digital speed. A 14-year-old teenager receives a message via Instagram. Promise of easy money, few risk-free deliveries. That is how children are first recruited by criminals nowadays, not on our streets, but via screens. The methods have changed. They're swifter, more scattered, often invisible. Social networks, encrypted messages through online games. These are the spaces that our children frequent daily, and they've become a hunting ground for organized crime. We are facing a digitalized form of crime, a gig economy, cross-border coordination, fragmented tasks, recruitment at a sweeping scale, crime as a service. This has visibly escalated, and it will visibly inevitably escalate. It will start with delivering an envelope and end in extreme violence. Children are sometimes only in primary school. They're recruited as lookouts, mules, and then end up as executioners. Organized crime is exploiting these young people. They are malleable. They're loyal because they're afraid, and they're less likely to be prosecuted. It is down to us to protect them. We need to strengthen prevention, invest in digital education, cooperate, and ensure that we hold platforms accountable. We're no longer just talking about petty crime. We must protect our children because we need to protect them from those who would weaponize their innocence.”
  Safety features & content control for child protection online
• “Thousands of millions of Pornographic images and videos are on the internet, live or on demand. They are crude, brutal, appalling. Artificial intelligence is being trained on millions of real images. This is not acceptable. There has to be justice. There has to be punishment. There cannot be a statute of limitations. You can't have these manuals going around teaching criminals how to gain the confidence of children. And the idea of consent is nonsense. There is no consent when it is a child. There cannot be impunity for paedophiles, criminals and all of those who help them commit their crimes. This is why we need to make sure that this important legislation is implemented in all the member states of the Union very quickly. Thank you.”
  Regulation of pornography in the EU
• “And it's not just about support for farmers. It's support for us ourselves so that we can continue to have a quality food. Uh, so that's, uh, one point that I wanted to bring up. Another point, uh, and some of us went on a mission recently that makes it a bit more sensitive to this, uh, aspect. Humanitarian aid, uh, when it comes to food, uh, should never be called into question, because often. I wouldn't say that people find themselves in a situation, but people are put in situations where they are no longer able to meet their own needs. Uh, we, uh, visited the Rohingya refugee camp, and we saw the minimum that they received with the, uh, food aid that they were getting. But this was a tiny, tiny amount, uh, and we saw what they had to eat. And I think, uh, for for us, this would be far below the minimum to survive on. And it's an effort that needs to be made at the global level and can be made, uh, to be very clear that it's a political problem for a person that, uh, really can't meet their needs. Needs to be, uh, uh, they need to be looked after by the global level. So thank you very much, uh, three of you, for your presentations. And the international community really needs to be aware of this responsibility. Thank you very much. Thank you, Isabelle Mata.”
  EU Development & Humanitarian Aid
• “Must feel deep outrage at the criminal acts committed by Russia against Ukrainian civilians, most recently in Kyiv, Dnipro, Cherkasy, Sloviansk, Chernihiv and Kharkiv. The systematic targeting of the civilian population and of infrastructure providing for the basic needs of Ukrainians is inhumane. It is inconceivable that Russia sought to destroy the dam. We must continue our efforts to help Ukraine defend itself and to demand that justice be done. The special tribunal established within the Council of Europe must be made operational as soon as possible, as should the International Claims Commission, and we must continue to support the collection of evidence of the crimes committed. We're now on the 20th sanctions package, but we certainly cannot stop there. It is essential that those responsible for the abduction and indoctrination of Ukrainian children should continue to be sanctioned. Impunity must not prevail. That is the promise we owe to the victims. Slava Ukraini.”
  Russia-Ukraine conflict (10th term)
• “This debate around is about democracy itself. Companies are pursuing profit. The greater the public engagement, the more profit is generated. And the algorithms are designed that way, the more polarizing and violent the content, the more it pushes hatred, the more you generate clicks and sharing. And that spreads much more quickly than a genuine information. So authoritarian actors from abroad, but also within Europe, are seeking to undermine and destroy democracy, and they're using these platforms as a battlefield. And that's where we are vulnerable, because they're using those rules against us. They're using our free space to undermine the rules. And so we have to develop our resilience against these malicious and manipulative strategies. We must ban what should be banned. We're facing organized and systemic aggression that seeks to undermine freedom and democracy. Independent journalism needs support. And we must draw a line where online tools are being used to stifle expression. So let us defend freedom.”
  Disinformation & online freedoms
• “(11:48:39 – 11:50:52): Thank you, Chair, for, commissioning this study and organizing this workshop, which, shows the how useful our housing committee is. The shortage of housing for students is key, but let's not forget young people in training and also seasonal workers. Rates for these people is much higher than the average, as you said, and these people need urgent access to affordable and social housing. 1 of the key ways that we can tackle this is, innovative financing, encouraging best practice, and, we have different approaches in, different member states. You've given the example of Vienna. We went there on mission, and it was very, instructive. There is a and has been an action a housing action document called, relating to housing for young people and a way towards employment. This is key for for young people. And in certain, member states, there are tools creating links between young people and landlords, creating a tenant relationship, encouraging, we had an example on French radio this morning. There's also an effort to guarantee, affordable prices for young people. The more I learn about this, the more I understand the importance of collecting and sharing best practice within our member states. It's important to note how the, this information can be collected. Housing ministers who met together recently can be a source of inspiration. They mentioned, the use of an access platform for all of these best practices, which could allow everyone in the housing sector and also funders within different member states to come together and share good practices. Thank you.”
  EU housing policy
• “Mr. President. Thank you, chairman, and I'd like to thank our panelists for their words. And I'd like to say that very often when we have these kinds of meetings. There's not a lot of hope, but here there is. And it's encouraging not only because of the fact that you have new political leaders, but I think there is a good spirit in place. And it's good to remember that because. We do a lot of work. I mean, people might not see what we do, but we do work very hard and often the result is not seen quite so clearly. So this is perhaps the result or has been helped by one of our resolutions. And so seeing the resolution, and I think raising awareness of the fact that people are in danger is an important thing. And it's great to see an immediate effect, as we've seen in this case. But I wanted to go back to what the three of you have said, because very often the issues that we raise, or the question we ask ourselves is, what can we do? And you've talked about what we can do. And if I understood correctly, well, that's my impression anyway. We've already made a contribution, even though the situation with regard to human rights isn't exactly as it should be. So there's no reason for us to stop putting the pressure on now. And you raised GSP plus, and I imagine that that's the path that we should take. And sometimes we're criticized for not, uh, putting, uh, moving backwards at some point when human rights aren't expected. But you have to look at what the consequences are for the people. We're not just looking at the government, we're looking at the people as well. And so that's why we're perhaps not as harsh as we should be at certain moments. But, uh, the three points that you raised, uh, trade sanctions and our actions at the UN, so we have heard those, but I think we'll have to await the fact finding missions and the result of that. And then on our side, we'll have to, uh, move as much as possible in the direction of Gsp+. Thank you very much. Thank you. Isabelle. The socialist group. Now, I don't see Mr. Aziz. So who is the speaker for the S&D group?”
  EU competences on human rights