MOTION FOR A RESOLUTION on Angola
8.9.2015 - (2015/2839(RSP))
pursuant to Rule 135 of the Rules of Procedure
Ana Gomes, Norbert Neuser, Victor Boştinaru, Afzal Khan, Josef Weidenholzer, Maria Arena, Eric Andrieu, Nikos Androulakis, Zigmantas Balčytis, Richard Howitt, Liisa Jaakonsaari, Hugues Bayet, Neena Gill, Monika Flašíková Beňová, Miriam Dalli, Roberto Gualtieri, Anna Hedh, Victor Negrescu, Sergio Gutiérrez Prieto, Andrea Cozzolino, Eider Gardiazabal Rubial, David Martin, Brando Benifei, Goffredo Maria Bettini, Andi Cristea, José Blanco López, Vilija Blinkevičiūtė, Biljana Borzan, Krystyna Łybacka, Vincent Peillon, Nicola Caputo, Cătălin Sorin Ivan, Doru-Claudian Frunzulică, Viorica Dăncilă, Jonás Fernández, Csaba Molnár, Tibor Szanyi, Nicola Danti, Sorin Moisă, Enrico Gasbarra, Kashetu Kyenge, Damiano Zoffoli, Javi López, Michela Giuffrida, Julie Ward, Maria Grapini, Renato Soru, Flavio Zanonato, Theresa Griffin, Demetris Papadakis, Jeppe Kofod, Louis-Joseph Manscour, Marlene Mizzi, Claudia Tapardel, Alessia Maria Mosca, Tonino Picula, Miroslav Poche, Inmaculada Rodríguez-Piñero Fernández, Daciana Octavia Sârbu, Elena Valenciano, Andrejs Mamikins on behalf of the S&D Group
See also joint motion for a resolution RC-B8-0846/2015
The European Parliament,
– having regard to its previous resolutions on Angola,
– having regard to the EU-Angola Joint Way Forward of 23 July 2012
– having regard to the EU guidelines on Human Rights Defenders and on freedom of expression,
– having regard to the Council Conclusions of June 2014 on the 10th anniversary of the Guidelines
– having regard to Article 21 TEU and the EU Strategic Framework on Human Rights, in which the EU commits to "continue to throw its full weight behind advocates of liberty, democracy and human rights throughout the world”,
– having regard to the Cotonou Partnership Agreement signed in June 2000,
– having regard to the 1948 Universal Declaration of Human Rights and the 1966 International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights,
– having regard to the African Charter on Human and Peoples’ Rights,
– having regard to Rule 135 of its Rules of Procedure,
A. whereas in recent months the Angolan government has intensified its clampdown on any suspected challenge to its authority, thus violating human rights as enshrined in the Angolan constitution;
B. whereas on March 14th human rights activist José Marcos Mavungo was arrested without a warrant and on August 28th prosecutor António Nito, asked the court in the Angolan province of Cabinda to sentence Mavungo to 12 years imprisonment on the charge of inciting rebellion despite no evidence being presented that he had committed any crime;
C. Whereas lawyer Arão Bula Tempo was similarly arrested on the same day for alleged involvement in the organisation of the same protest; whereas Arão tempo was subsequently released on May 13th awaiting for trial on sedition charges;
D. whereas the journalist and human rights activist Rafael Marques was condemned on 28 May 2015 to 6 months imprisonment with a suspended jail term for two years, for the publication 2011 book, “Blood Diamonds: Corruption and Torture in Angola”, which detailed more than 100 killings and hundreds of cases of torture allegedly perpetrated by security guards and soldiers in the diamond fields of the Lundas region; Whereas the complaints submitted by Marques to the Public Prosecutor concerning human rights violations in the Lundas were not subject to investigation;
E. whereas 15 youth activists were arrested between June 20th at a private political discussion; whereas captain Captain Zenóbio Lázaro Muhondo Zumba was subsequently arrested on June 30th on the ground of alleged links with the 15 activists arrested;
F. whereas all those detained were illegally and arbitrarily arrested and accused of preparing a rebellion and a coup attempt against the president and other government members;
G. whereas the 15 activists detained are held in pre-trial detention, haven’t been formally charged, without full access to legal counsel, visits from family members attempting to provide food, and are held in solitary confinement;
H. whereas the activists were arrested and had their homes raided without the authorities presenting any warrant; and that it has been reported that they were subject to physical and psychological torture as well as death threats;
I. whereas the authorities are threatening the mothers of the young prisoners who are getting mobilised and the ruling party MPLA has prevented demonstrations by supporters to ask for their release; whereas a peaceful demonstration of relatives of the prisoners in Luanda on August 8th was met with attacks and violent repression from the security forces on the ground;
J. whereas there have been reports of a massacre in Huambo in April 2015 by the police forces of followers of the religious sect Luz do Mundo; whereas diverging sources report between dozens and thousands of deaths and many displaced persons; whereas for months the government has failed to address the urgency on conducting an independent investigation;
K. whereas the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights urged for an international inquiry into the incident, which triggered the Government to open a judicial investigation;
L. whereas the Government has maintained the law on financing of NGOs set up to prevent international support and further restrict their space for action;
M. whereas civil society has repeatedly denounced the link between corruption, depletion and misappropriation of natural resources by the ruling elite and human rights abuses committed against those who threat and denounce the status quo;
N. whereas despite commitments by the Angolan government to step up efforts to improve its anti-money laundering/combating financing of terrorism (AML/CFT) system and some progress, the Financial Action Task Force, an intergovernmental organization founded in 1989 on the initiative of the G7 to develop policies to combat money laundering, continues to identify strategic deficiencies in Angola’s AML/CFT system.
O. whereas independent reports established that the oil income, the main resource of the Government, was not directed towards sustainable development or local communities, and at the same time the ruling elite became richer;
P. Whereas the economic crisis in the country following the sharp decrease of oil revenues is likely to trigger further social unrest and protests against the government;
1. Is deeply concerned by the fast deteriorating situation in terms of human rights, fundamental freedoms and democratic space in Angola, as well as the serious abuses by security forces and the lack of independence of the judiciary;
2. Calls the Angolan authorities to immediately and unconditionally release all human rights defenders, including Marcos Mavungo and the 15+1 activists arrested in June 2015 , and to drop all charges against them; as well as any other activists, prisoners of conscience or political opponents arbitrarily arrested and detained solely for their political views, journalistic work or for participating in peaceful activities;
3. Urges the authorities to ensure that no acts of torture or ill-treatment are performed on the detainees and to guarantee full protection and access to their families and lawyers;
4. Calls on the Angolan authorities to immediately put an end to cases of arbitrary arrest, illegal detentions and torture by the police and security forces; reiterates that prompt, impartial and thorough investigations must be carried out into all allegations of human rights violations, including torture, by police and security forces and that the perpetrators are brought to justice;
5. Is strongly concerned by the continuous attempts to limit freedom of expression and media freedom, peaceful assembly and association and the increased breaches of these freedoms by the authorities and calls on the Angolan authorities to ensure the immediate and unconditional upholding of these freedoms;
6. Regrets the political and media silence of the EU on the deteriorating situation;
7. Asks the EU Delegation in Luanda to deliver on the EEAS commitments to support and protect human rights defenders worldwide,including concrete, visible steps such as trial observation, political and material support to HRDs, their lawyers and families and systematic engagement by EU and member states with the Angolan authorities on human rights at all levels of relations, including the highest level; and to step up the political dialogue with the Angolan Government in all political, trade and development relations, to ensure it upholds its national and international human rights commitments; and urges it to use all appropriate tools and instruments, including the European Instrument for Democracy and Human Rights, to do so;
8. Urges the Angolan judicial authorities to assert their independence from any political instrumentalisation and to ensure the protection of rights recognised by the legal instruments, such as access to justice and the right to a fair trial;
9. Urges the Angolan Government to lead an urgent, transparent and credible inquiry of the Huambo massacre, and to provide support to the survivors who have been displaced, and echoes the UN calls for an international and independent complementary investigation;
10. Calls on the Angolan authorities to promptly ratify and implement the human rights conventions it has signed and incorporate the provisions of these into national legislation, such as the International Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Racial Discrimination, the Convention against Torture and its Optional Protocol; furthermore calls on Angola to consider acceding to other international human rights instruments to which they are not yet a party;
11. Recalls the commitment made by Angola under the Cotonou Agreement to respect democracy, the rule of law and human rights principles which include freedom of expression and freedom of the media, good governance and transparency in political offices; urges the government of the Angola to uphold these provisions in accordance with Articles 11b, 96 and 97 of the Cotonou Agreement and, failing that, asks the European Commission to launch the relevant procedure in accordance with article 8,9 and 96 of the Cotonou Agreement
12. Urges the EU and Member States to address the transparency of trade of all natural resources, including oil, and notably to fully implement and monitor country-by-country reporting obliging businesses to publish their payments for exploitation of natural resources; calls on the Angolan authorities and foreign companies to help strengthen governance in the extractives sector by abiding to the Extractive Industries Transparency Initiative and review the implementation of the Kimberley Process; further calls on the Angolan government to submit a plan to join the Open Government Partnership and henceforth lay out a concrete plan to fight corruption, increase transparence and enhance public accountability;
13. Calls on Member States’ national administrations and supervisory authorities to step up vigilance of compliance with due diligence normative and proper risk analysis, especially involving Politically Exposed Persons originating from Angola;
14. Encourages the EU to lead a global backing of such efforts and to ask the US government to make tangible progress on the implementation of section 1504 of the Dodd Frank act
15. Instructs its President to forward this resolution to the Council, the Commission, the Vice-President of the Commission / High Representative of the Union for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy, the African Union, the governments of the countries of the SADC region, the President, Prime Minister and Parliament of Angola, the Secretary-General of the United Nations, the UN Human Rights Council, and the ACP-EU JPA.