51998IP0496

B4-0496, 0500, 0510 and 0519/98

Resolution on the sale of organs of persons sentenced to death in China

The European Parliament,

- having regard to its previous resolutions on China,

- having regard to the Annex to United Nations Economic and Social Council Resolution 1984/50 of 25 May 1994,

A. totally appalled by the report by the China Watch organization and the Fresenius company that the Chinese People's Liberation Army is carrying on a flourishing trade in the organs of persons sentenced to death,

B. whereas these practices constitute a crime and manifestly infringe international conventions on respect for and protection of the dignity of condemned prisoners and the inviolability of their person,

C. whereas various European companies could be implicated in this trafficking,

D. whereas the EU has a duty to respond in the strongest terms to the abuses which have been exposed and whereas it must do everything in its power to put a stop to these inhuman practices forthwith,

E. reiterating its total opposition to capital punishment and its determination to secure abolition of the death penalty in all parts of the world,

1. Calls on the Chinese authorities to do their utmost forthwith to stop these inhuman practices;

2. Instructs its Delegation for relations with the People's Republic of China to raise this issue on the occasion of the next delegation visit in June 1998;

3. Calls on the Council and Commission to take all the steps required to ensure that the United Nations immediately sets up an international committee of inquiry with a view to shedding full light on the networks being used in China and the rest of the world to traffic in and sell organs removed from persons sentenced to death;

4. Asks the Commission and the Council to take the necessary initiatives at international level to ban all illegal and inhumane trade in human organs;

5. Reiterates its total opposition to the death penalty and its determination to persuade the United Nations to declare a world-wide moratorium on executions;

6. Renews its demand that the authorities of the People's Republic of China abolish the death penalty as soon as possible and calls on them, pending complete and final abolition of the death penalty, to publish full details of the executions carried out;

7. Instructs its President to forward this resolution to the Council, the Commission, the governments and parliaments of the Member States, the authorities of the People's Republic of China, and the Secretary-General of the United Nations.

12