Temporary committee to vote on Wednesday

Brussels, 12/01/2006 (Agence Europe) - In Strasbourg on 18 January, the EP will endorse the Conference of Presidents of the European Parliament's political groups' suggested mandate and composition of the 46-member temporary investigative committee on the allegations about CIA gulags in Europe, where torture suspects were tortured. Graham Watson, President of the EP's ALDE group, welcomed the decision to set up a temporary committee. Sarah Ludford MEP (ALDE) explained that the committee 'must work closely with national parliaments and the Council of Europe to find out what is really going on,' (at the Council of Europe, Senator Dick Marty will be investigating for the Parliamentary Assembly, and is expected to publish his report at the end of the month, and Council of Europe Secretary General Terry Davis has submitted questions to all 46 Council of Europe Member States to be responded to by 21 February, see EUROPE 9106). Ludford warned: 'If any EU states have violated human rights principles, they can be sanctioned by measures including loss of voting rights,' on the Council of the EU.

Temporary committee to submit interim report within four months of starting work

The Conference of Presidents of EP political groups states that the temporary committee set up to investigate allegations of the rendition and illegal detention of prisoners by the CIA in Europe should submit an interim report within four months of starting work. The mandate runs for a maximum of twelve months, unless the European Parliament decides to extend it. The list of the 46 members of the committee will be approved on 19 January in Strasbourg. Its task will be to collect and analyse information to find out:

• 'Whether the Central Intelligence Agency or other US agents or intelligence services of other third countries have carried out abductions, 'extraordinary rendition', detentions at secret sites, torture, inhuman or degrading treatment of prisoners on EU territory or in acceding or candidate countries, or have used this territory to these ends, for example by through flights to or from such countries;
• Whether such actions, which would have been carried out as part of the fight against terrorism, could be considered a violation of Article 6 of the EU Treaty, or certain provision of the European Convention on Human Rights, of the Charter of Fundamental Rights and of other international treaties and agreements, including EU-US agreements on extradition;
• Whether EU citizens have been detained;
• Whether EU Member States or institutions have been involved or have been complicit in the illegal deprivation of the liberty of individuals.'

The Conference of Presidents also states that the temporary committee 'will liaise and cooperate 'as closely as possible' with, inter alia, the Council of Europe, the European Commissioner responsible for human rights, the UN Commissioner for Human Rights (Franco Frattini, Ed.) and with national parliaments'.