Near and Middle East
As Chair of the Delegation for Relations with the Arabian Peninsula and a close partner of women and human rights organisations in Iraq, Afghanistan or Iran, I often travel to the Near and Middle East. Talking to those in power there is often a balancing act. We need to exchange with them, for example, to organise humanitarian aid or to fight the climate crisis. But it is just as important to clearly name those who commit human rights violations, to support civil society on the ground and to show solidarity with those who stand up for democracy and human rights, even when faced with tough opposition. For me, one thing is clear: a values-driven foreign policy tries to do justice to these different goals as best as it can.
And in doing so, we must not omit another issue: Worldwide, most military equipment is exported to the Near and Middle East. If you need proof that more weapons do not lead to more peace and security, countries like Yemen, Syria or Afghanistan are the best examples. In this context, we must critically rethink our own export policy.
Saudi Arabia has made progress on women's rights and announced significant legal reforms. However, serious human rights violations continue to take place in the country. On which terms should we engage with Saudi Arabia?
It's been 2 years since I took my seat in the European Parliament - a lot of things have happened and I was able to celebrate many successes. A review of the past 12 months:
An diesem Mittwoch haben die Vereinten Nationen und Deutschland zur 2. Libyen-Konferenz eingeladen. Doch ich bin wenig optimistisch, dass die Konfliktparteien dieses Mal Zusagen machen werden, die sie auch wirklich einhalten. Warum, könnt ihr hier nachlesen.
Ich wollte schon immer "Vorband" von Annalena Baerbock sein: Beim WDR-Europaforum diese Woche war das dann der Fall! Bei einer Paneldiskussion vor dem Kanzerkandidat*innenduell ging es um "Die EU in der veränderten internationalen Kräftekonstellation".
The 66-year-old German-Iranian Nahid Taghavi is one of more than two dozen foreigners or dual nationals imprisoned in Iran. Iran arrests these people to exert political pressure. I was interviewed on this topic in "heute journal".
Bahraini human rights defender Abdulhadi Al-Khawaja has now been imprisoned for 10 years. My Co-Statement as Chair of the European Parliament Delegation for Relations with the Arabian Peninsula:
Bahrain ended its de facto moratorium in 2017, and so far six people have been executed. Dozens are currently on a death row. My demands to the rulers in Bahrain:
The war in Syria has been going on for 10 years now. It is not enough to throw just money at the problem from the European side. But there are a number of things we can do right now.
The Yemen war is currently the world's worst humanitarian crisis. But the EU can do something to stop it: no more arms exports and maintenance support to warring parties! This is now also the official position of the European Parliament.
Seit Mai 2018 war die saudische Frauenrechtlerin Loujain al-Hathloul durchgängig inhaftiert. Nun ist sie entlassen worden. Mein Statement als Vorsitzende der Parlamentsdelegation für die Beziehungen zur Arabischen Halbinsel:
In October and November, for about two weeks, I visited Baghdad, Erbil and Mosul in Iraq as well as Qamishli and Hassakeh in Northeast Syria. I met with activists, parliamentarians, ministers, military leaders and diplomats. Find out more here
In December's plenary I spoke about the arms exports of President Macron to the Egyptian dictator al-Sisi. Click here to learn more
