1. Resolution CDJA
Presented by: Political Commission on behalf of the International
Commission (CIS), Working group for Foreign Affairs and
Defense and the Working group for European Affairs.
Resolution: Pursuing democratic improvements in Ukraine
At the CDJA Congress in Zeist on 24-25 May 2013.
Recognizing that:
1. Breaching basic human rights, the daily repression and oppression in the Ukraine and
because of the bad condition of the human rights in the country which gave reason to
high representatives to boycott the European Championship football last year of
which Ukraine was one of the hosts;
2. 2013 will be a crucial year in the relationship between the European Union and
Ukraine, because of the planned conference of the Eastern Partnership in next
November where there is the intention to sign the association agreement between the
two;
3. The former Prime Minister of the Ukraine, Yulia Tymoshenko, because of a political
motivated trial became imprisoned for many years;
4. Recently colleagues of our sister party Democratic Alliance were arrested and
imprisoned because of their peaceful demonstrations close to the presidential palace
in Kyiv.
Acknowledging that:
1. The parliamentary elections of October 28th, 2012 were considered as a crucial test
for Ukraine to show that the country is on the right path to evolve its system in a fully
democratic one, to strengthen the rule of law and to continue the political reforms;
2. Ukraine because of its size, its natural resources, its people and its geographical
position a strategic value has for EU and the Netherlands;
3. According to the European Court of Human Rights (ECHR) former Prime Minister
Yulia Tymoshenko has been unlawfulness and arbitrary arrested;,
4. Recently, due to the efforts of former President of the Republic of Poland Alexander
Kwasniewski and former President of the European Parliament Pat Cox, former
Minister of Interior Affairs Juri Lutsenko and former Minister of Environment Heorhej
Filiptsjoek have been pardoned;
5. The Association Agreement of the EU can be a powerful instrument to support
Ukraine to continue political reforms in a positive way;
2. CDJA calls on:
1. The Dutch government to pursue all possible ways, before the signing and ratification
of the Association Agreement and the effective implementation of it, to induce
Ukraine to work on establishing political reforms and therefore to work on positive
progressions in the next areas:
a) Liberal democracy and freedom;
b) Free, fair and transparent elections;
c) Strengthening the rule of law and the independence of the judiciary,
(including the reforming of the judiciary);
d) Protection of Human Rights;
e) Active fighting of corruption;
2. The Dutch government to support initiatives which contribute to improvements of the
areas under ‘call on 1’ and coming from the civil society in Ukraine (NGO’s, political
parties, trade unions etc.), as much as possible in a neutral way and when possible
through our diplomatic mission in Ukraine;
3. The Dutch government to turn to the Ukrainian authorities to request for neutrality and
to guarantee transparency in the cassation process in the Tymoshenko-case, that this
will be done according to the norms and practice of law which are applied in Europe
and described in the European Convention of Human Rights (ECHR). This also
applies for (high) senior officials of the Ukrainian government;
4. CDA, via all parliaments, assemblies and other international bodies where they take
seat, to appeal Ukraine to its responsibility, whereby it a serious option is to do this
via the persons of former President of the Republic of Poland Alexander Kwasniewski
and former President of the European Parliament Pat Cox
Calls the Executive Board to state this opinion to the involved CDA Members of
Parliament and calls those involved representatives to proceed to this point of view;
Request CDJA to spread this point of view far and wide;
And moves back to today’s agenda.
Adopted by the CDJA Congress on 24-25 May 2013 in Zeist.
On behalf of the Congress,
Julius Terpstra Frank Visser
President CDJA International Secretary CDJA