EUROPE’S “CONSTRUCTIVE dialogues” with oppressive regimes in Uzbekistan and Turkmenistan has been criticised by campaign group Human Rights Watch as EU commission chief José Manuel Barroso met Uzbek president Islam Karimov in Brussels.
In an annual review of human rights, the US-based group directed criticism at the EU and its member states for failing to stand up firmly against abusive leaders and for accepting excuses from repressive governments. It also said “eloquent statements” from US president Barack Obama had not always been followed by concrete action.
“The ritualistic support of dialogue and co-operation with repressive governments is too often an excuse for doing nothing about human rights,” said Human Rights Watch executive director Kenneth Roth. “The EU’s constructive dialogues are among the most egregious examples of this global trend.”
The report criticised the EU for lifting sanctions imposed on Uzbekistan after security forces massacred hundreds in 2005 in the city of Andijan, even though the Uzbek government took no steps to fill any of the EU criteria required for lifting sanctions.
The commission said Mr Barroso’s engagement with Mr Karimov was in line with a policy adopted by EU foreign ministers to strengthen relations with the country “in a comprehensive manner”. There was no press conference after the meeting, at which a memorandum of understanding on energy was signed.
According to the spokeswoman for the commission president, they spent “roughly one hour” on human rights in a meeting which continued for more than an hour-and-a-half.
“I believe it is through such a robust eye-to-eye dialogue, and not an empty chair policy, that we can further the EU’s unanimously agreed policy of engagement most effectively,” Mr Barroso said.
Human Rights Watch has also queried the EU’s relations with Serbia, saying accession discussions were opened despite its failure to apprehend and surrender for trial Bosnian Serb war leader Ratko Mladic.
The group also criticised relations with Turkmenistan. “It [the EU] has concluded a significant trade agreement and pursued a full-fledged partnership and co-operation agreement with Turkmenistan, a severely repressive government, without conditioning either on human rights improvements or engaging in any serious efforts to secure improvements in advance.”
Declining to respond in detail to the report, Mr Barroso’s spokeswoman said the commission attached “high importance” to human rights. “We’re going to study it very carefully before we respond to the specifics which are raised in the report,” she said.