April 2003

Guantanamo Bay - A legal limbo (HoL)

Thursday 03 April 2003

My Lords can the Minister clarify the prisoner of war situation?

He has been largely reassuring about the situation of British detainees although he spoke of how they would be treated as prisoners of war under the Geneva conventions until proved otherwise. Under what mechanism would it be decided that such prisoners were not prisoners of war but unlawful combatants? What would happen to people who are classified as unlawful combatants? I do not believe that he has clarified what he understands the situation to be and what assurances he has received from the United States about the status of their detainees.

Trial of Leyla Zana, Former Kurdish MP

Monday 07 April 2003

I just wanted to protest at the decision of a majority of the Conference of Presidents not to send a delegation from the European Parliament to the first hearing of the trial of Leyla Zana who is of course a Sakharov Prize laureate.

This decision was I am glad to say opposed by the Liberal Group and also by the GUE Group but the Conservatives Socialists and Green Group insisted on cancelling the delegation. There had been lobbying from the Turkish side not to go on the grounds that this was a sensitive time in Turkey. Of course it is but since the views of the Turkish population on Iraq are shared by most EU citizens the EU as such should be neither more nor less popular than normal.

Europol

Tuesday 08 April 2003

I want to speak on the linked issues of data protection and parliamentary accountability. The joint supervisory authority responsible for data protection is composed of a Member from each Member State.

It is supposed to ensure that Europol respects the Convention's provisions on data protection. It has to review the activities of Europol in order to ensure that the rights of individuals are not violated by the storage processing and utilisation of data held. It must monitor the permissibility of the transmission of data originating from Europol. It submits regular reports to the Council.

First EU legal immigration law to be passed

Wednesday 09 April 2003

The EU is set to agree its first ever law on legal immigration - as opposed to the series of repressive measures to combat illegal immigration it has prioritised to date - after getting European Parliament approval today.

European Liberal Democrat group spokeswoman on Justice and Home Affairs London MEP Sarah Ludford welcomed the EU agreement on conditions for migrants to bring in family members while regretting the watering down of the measure and the UK refusal to 'opt in' to it:

"It has taken over three years for a directive to be agreed. It is less generous and comprehensive in the definition of family than the Parliament wanted and allows too many national variations."

Nick Baker - British citizen needs fair trial in Japan

Wednesday 09 April 2003

Baroness Sarah Ludford London's Liberal Democrat MEP and European Parliament spokeswoman on Justice and Home Affairs for the Liberal group has again raised Nick Baker's case with the Foreign Office.

Nick Baker was arrested on suspicion of drug trafficking in Japan in April 2002. He has since been in Japanese custody and has been held in solitary confinement for 10 months. Sarah Ludford MEP first took up Nick's case in October last year when working with Nick's mother Mrs Iris Baker and Fair Trials Abroad she raised the matter with Japan's Ambassador to the EU and with Foreign Secretary Jack Straw.

London MEP Defends Vital Research

Wednesday 09 April 2003

London's Liberal Democrat Euro-MP has strongly criticised moves by a majority in the European Parliament to severely restrict medical research.

Sarah Ludford MEP voted (Thursday) against proposals from German representatives that could restrict stem cell research in Britain. The procedure is legal here but banned in some other EU countries.

This research which supporters say could hold the key to cures for diseases such as Alzheimer's and Parkinson's takes cells from human embryos to replace malfunctioning cells in the patient.

Sarah sees stem cell research as a potential breakthrough for the thousands of sufferers of Alzheimer's in London.

Londoners need EU action on mobile phone thefts

Thursday 10 April 2003

Baroness Sarah Ludford MEP LibDem Euro-MP for London has urged the European Commission to take action on the problem of mobile phone theft and reprogramming insisting that there should be increased efforts to tackle this cross-border problem with a European crackdown. She says:

"The UK has set an excellent example leading the way in outlawing reprogramming of stolen phones and cooperation among all operators to immobilise them."

"But international measures are needed as the main markets for phones stolen in the UK are abroad. So we need to roll these initiatives across the EU. An international database of stolen mobile phone serial numbers (IMEI numbers) is an essential tool against these criminals but EU-wide criminalising of reprogramming would also help."

Supporting EU enlargement

Friday 11 April 2003

Sarah Ludford MEP has helped in the campaign for a "yes" vote in the referendum on joining the EU taking place in Hungary on Saturday 12th April.

The European Parliament voted on 8th April by an overwhelming majority to approve the accession of all 10 states which have completed negotiations.

The signing ceremony of the accession treaty will be on 16th April in Athens and they are due to join subject to ratification by the parliaments of the 15 current Member States on 1st May 2004 in time for the June European elections.

President Trajkovski risks being seen as hypocritical""

Friday 11 April 2003

Liberal Democrats in the European Parliament have reacted with surprise to an unprecedented move by the President of the Republic of Macedonia Boris Trajkovski to release former Interior Minister Ms. Dosta Dimovska from any further prosecution over charges of illegal spying.

In the week when President Trajkovski addressed MEPs and pledged to fight organised crime and corruption many will say that this decision sends a disastrous political message to the country and one which will be welcomed by those who think they can break the law with impunity.

British Liberal Democrat Sarah Ludford Vice-president of the European Parliament's South East Europe delegation said:

Meeting founder of NGO 'Forward'

Monday 21 April 2003

Sarah Ludford met the founder of NGO 'Forward' Efua Dorkenoo OBE.

Forward (Foundation for Women's Health Research and Development) campaigns against female genital mutilation (FGM) and Sarah is helping to support their work at a European level.

She is also asking the European Commission to press EU Member States to ratify the protocol to the Convention for the Elimination of discrimination against women so that individuals can appeal to the UN if their national judicial system fails to condemn their maltreatment. Says Sarah:

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