(2004/C 88 E/0177)

WRITTEN QUESTION E-0143/04

by José Ribeiro e Castro (UEN) to the Commission

(26 January 2004)

Subject:   Trafficking in human organs — Mozambique

Since my recent question to the Commission and Council, there have been fresh developments, notably the fact that the Prosecutor-General of the Republic Mozambique, Dr Joaquim Madeira, has acknowledged in the media that there really is trafficking in human organs going on. The Prosecutor-General confirmed some days ago on Portuguese language radio, RDP-Africa, that the accusation lodged with the State Prosecutor's Office had been submitted by the President of the Human Rights League, in the wake of Brazilian Missionary, Elilda dos Santos reporting eight possible cases of organs removed from children in Nampula. The Prosecutor-General's investigation team is now examining the cases brought forward in the provinces of Manica, Maputo and Nampula has already taken various statements on the issue. Alarmingly, mention has been made, at the same time, to the presence of this monstrous trade in other African countries.

Yesterday, 14 January, the main news broadcast of RTP 1 (the Portuguese public service television channel), devoted a lengthy report to the situation in Mozambique, confirming the accusations and demonstrating the blatant contradictions between the local police (who deny them) and the Prospector-General (who confirms both the facts and the cases now in hand).

In a further interview on Mozambique television, the Prosecutor-General has apparently called on the people of Mozambique to close ranks in fighting this crime. Three people have already been arrested in the central province of Manica, accused of trafficking in organs, and a foreign couple, suspected of attempting to kidnap minors for the purpose of removing organs, are on bail in Nampula. The Brazilian missionary responsible for making the initial accusations, who lives in a monastery in Nampula which looks after poor children and orphans, believes that there is evidence to suggest that in recent months further minors have been killed for the sake of their internal organs.

For this reason, and reiterating my previous question (E-0072/04) will the Commission tell me:

Joint answer

to Written Questions E-0072/04 and E-0143/04

given by Mr Nielson on behalf of the Commission

(19 March 2004)

The Commission shares the concerns of the Honourable Member about these abominable crimes relating to the trafficking of human organs, in particular of children in Mozambique.

The Commission, fully aware of the seriousness of the situation through its Delegation in Maputo, has already contacted the Republic's General Prosecutor in respect of these crimes. The latter has, as mentioned in the Honourable Member's question, confirmed that a case was reported in Nampula and a full investigation is underway not only in this region but also in other regions of the country. At present the General Prosecutor has not expressed the need for any additional assistance from the Commission or any other donor.

The EU Head of Missions and the EC Delegation have been discussing these cases and they will raise this issue within the framework of the EU-Mozambique political dialogue.

Mozambique has been benefiting from assistance to the judiciary system (Strategic Planning, Strategic Planning, access to justice, human rights, prison reforms, legal training, Maputo Civil Court, Police of Mozambique) by the EU (Denmark, Ireland, Portugal, Spain, Italy and the Netherlands), Norway, the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) and the United Nations Agency for International Development (USAID).

Support to this sector is foreseen in the EC-Mozambique Country Strategy Paper, and a programme of EUR 10 million is in the process of being approved by the Commission. The strategy of this programme is to complement the activities financed by other donors and, based on the fact that problems affecting penal justice have to be tackled in a systemic way, include all the actors involved, as elements of the ‘penal justice chain’: the Police of Criminal Investigation, the Attorney-General's Office, the Courts, the correctional sector, the legal defence, as well as civil society which has a major role to play in areas such as crime prevention (through Community based activities) and advocacy against human rights violation. The second critical area, decentralisation, aims to correct geographical imbalances in the system and facilitate access to justice, particularly at district and local level. The strategy is based on a rights and service delivery approach. The programme itself focuses on policy objectives for which different and independent institutions have to concur. The activities foreseen in the programme include institutional support, exploration into prison alternatives, media and awareness campaigns, research and surveys, training, creation of specific support funds for human rights, rehabilitation and supply of equipment.

With regard to the situation within the EU, a considerable number of measures to improve cooperation between Member States' police services and customs administrations and to strengthen external borders have been adopted. Regarding in particular, trafficking in human organs, in February 2003, Greece presented an initiative for the adoption by the Council of a Framework Decision concerning the prevention and control of trafficking in human organs and tissues. The aim of the proposal is to define which types of conduct should be punishable in all Member States and the minimum penalties which should apply to such offences. The Commission welcomed the proposal in principle. The Commission has sought to support the initiative of Greece by inviting applications for the funding of further projects in this area under its 2004 AGIS programme for police and judicial cooperation in criminal matters.

Furthermore, Europol's mandate has been extended to include illicit trade in human organs and tissues since 1 January 2002. Europol is currently collecting information from Member States concerning the situation within the EU.