Motion for a resolution | Doc. 13902 | 02 October 2015

Blacklisting of elected parliamentarians, counterproductive to parliamentary diplomacy

Signatories: Mr Tiny KOX, Netherlands, UEL ; Ms Najat AL-ASTAL, Palestine ; Mr Joe BENTON, United Kingdom, SOC ; Mr David CRAUSBY, United Kingdom, SOC ; Mr Tuur ELZINGA, Netherlands, UEL ; Mr Gvozden Srećko FLEGO, Croatia, SOC ; Mr Hans FRANKEN, Netherlands, EPP/CD ; Ms Adele GAMBARO, Italy, ALDE ; Mr Andreas GROSS, Switzerland, SOC ; Mr Matjaž HANŽEK, Slovenia, UEL ; Mr Andrej HUNKO, Germany, UEL ; Mr Ögmundur JÓNASSON, Iceland, UEL ; Mr Carles JORDANA MADERO, Andorra, ALDE ; Mr Qais KHADER, Palestine ; Ms Elvira KOVÁCS, Serbia, EPP/CD ; Mr Ertuğrul KÜRKÇÜ, Turkey, UEL ; Mr George LOUKAIDES, Cyprus, UEL ; Mr Dirk Van der MAELEN, Belgium, SOC ; Sir Alan MEALE, United Kingdom, SOC ; Mr Žarko OBRADOVIĆ, Serbia, SOC ; Mr Stefan SCHENNACH, Austria, SOC ; Mr Aleksandar SENIĆ, Serbia, SOC ; Ms Tineke STRIK, Netherlands, SOC ; Mr Snorre Serigstad VALEN, Norway, UEL ; Mr Egidijus VAREIKIS, Lithuania, EPP/CD ; Mr Nikolaj VILLUMSEN, Denmark, UEL

This motion has not been discussed in the Assembly and commits only those who have signed it.

The increasing number of exclusions due to blacklisting by member States and European organizations of elected members of national parliaments of the Parliamentary Assembly is severely undermining the work of its members.

No matter which reasons are behind the blacklisting, the results of this practice should be perceived as being counter-productive. The consequence of blacklisting is that elected parliamentarians of the Assembly are prohibited from entering the countries where they have to carry out their duties in the framework of the Assembly.

The continuation of the use of blacklists hinders the work of the parliamentarians, amongst others with regard to election observations and preparations of Assembly reports, and has become a serious barrier for exercising their mandate.

This can lead to the situation where we will end up with politicians who have excluded each other to enter countries and to be present in black holes which exist in Europe and where nobody goes anymore and authorities can do whatever they want.

Therefore, the Assembly firstly appeal to all governments and international organizations to consider what has happened and to understand that this type of sanctions, for whatever reason it had been introduced, had been de facto counter-productive, especially with regard to the work carried out by elected parliamentarians of the Assembly.

Secondly, the Assembly should look into this matter and do its utmost to find an efficient solution in order to reduce the amount of exclusions as fast and as far as possible and end the spiral of undesirable exclusions of parliamentarians which disturbs their performance of engaging internationally in the context of parliamentary diplomacy.