MOTION FOR A RESOLUTION on violations of human rights including religious freedoms in Burkina Faso

17.12.2019 - (2019/2980(RSP))

with request for inclusion in the agenda for a debate on cases of breaches of human rights, democracy and the rule of law
pursuant to Rule 144 of the Rules of Procedure

Jan‑Christoph Oetjen, Atidzhe Alieva‑Veli, Abir Al‑Sahlani, Petras Auštrevičius, Malik Azmani, José Ramón Bauzá Díaz, Phil Bennion, Izaskun Bilbao Barandica, Gilles Boyer, Sylvie Brunet, Olivier Chastel, Katalin Cseh, Jérémy Decerle, Anna Júlia Donáth, Engin Eroglu, Klemen Grošelj, Christophe Grudler, Bernard Guetta, Antony Hook, Ivars Ijabs, Ondřej Kovařík, Ilhan Kyuchyuk, Nathalie Loiseau, Karen Melchior, Ulrike Müller, Javier Nart, Dragoş Pîslaru, Frédérique Ries, María Soraya Rodríguez Ramos, Monica Semedo, Susana Solís Pérez, Ramona Strugariu, Irène Tolleret, Yana Toom, Hilde Vautmans, Marie‑Pierre Vedrenne, Chrysoula Zacharopoulou
on behalf of the Renew Group

See also joint motion for a resolution RC-B9-0261/2019

B9‑0269/2019

European Parliament resolution on violations of human rights including religious freedoms in Burkina Faso

(2019/2980(RSP))

The European Parliament,

-  having regard having regard to the Strategy for Security and Development in the Sahel, adopted in March 2011,

-  having regards to its debate Plenary Debate, 17 September 2019, “Security situation in Burkina Faso”,

-  having regards to its previous resolutions on Burkina Faso an don the Sahel region,

-  having regard to the “Hearing on Freedom of Religion or Belief: the situation of persecuted minorities, notably Christians” organised on 22 November 2017 by its Human rights sub-committee,

-  having regard to the Joint Declaration of the extraordinary summit on terrorism in Ouagadougou Economic Community of West African States (Ecowas) on 14 September 2019

-  having regard to the “Final Report on the Mandate of the Special Envoy Jan Figel” Special Envoy of the European Commission, for the promotion of Freedom of Religion or Belief, 25 November 2019,

-  having regard to the Statement by the Spokesperson on the attacks in Burkina Faso, EEAS, Spokesperson for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy/European Neighbourhood Policy and Enlargement Negotiations, 7 November 2019.,

-  Having regard to the Cotonou Agreement of 2000 and amendments of 2005 and 2010;

-  Having regard to the UN Declaration of 1981 on the Elimination of All Forms of Intolerance and of Discrimination Based on Religion or Belief,

-  having regard to the African Charter on Human and Peoples’ Rights of 1981,

-  having regard to the Universal Declaration of Human Rights of 1948,

-  Having regard to the African Union Convention on the Prevention and fight against terrorism,

1. Whereas Burkina Faso faces since 2015 unprecedented violence, hundreds of people have been killed and thousands forced to flee their home;
2. whereas terrorists armed groups have targeting public places such as hotel and restaurants; whereas embassies, military basis and foreign assets have come under regular attacks; whereas symbols of State such as police and schools as well as health infrastructure have also been the scene of attacks; whereas churches and mosques as well as religious figures have been specifically targeted;
3. whereas the Sahel region is plagued by tensions and the presence of terrorist groups taking advantage of the overall instability after the 2011 collapse of Libya;
4.  whereas insecurity, violence, continuing food crisis, floods and epidemics are increasing together with ethnic and religious tensions especially at the border with Mali are among the factors that have plunged Burkina Faso into a full-blown humanitarian crisis;
5. whereas according to UNHCR, around 1.2 million people are in need of assistance in Burkina Faso’s Sahel, North, North-Centre and Eastern regions;
6. whereas the recent increase of violence has led to the displacement of thousands of people; whereas the internal displacement of such a large group of person is posing serious challenges for the delivery of food, health or sanitation services;

 

7. whereas the internal displacement of people comes as an addition to the thousands refugees fleeing the crisis in Mali; whereas this situation creates challenge over social cohesion;

 

8. whereas those conditions were created by the action of jihadists groups but also made solid grounds for jihadists to act and recruit in Burkina Faso, in particular Ansarul Islam, GSIM (AQIM, Ansar Din, Al Mourabitou) or ISGS; whereas social unrest and radicalisation of the youths, together with lack of accountability and fair opportunities creates a further polarised country;

 

9. whereas these jihadist groups pose a cross-border threat; whereas a  comprehensive solution can only be found in coherence and through cooperation with Burkina Faso’s neighbouring countries, especially with regards to Niger and Mali;

 

10. whereas the religious diversity of Burkina Faso is put in danger by multiplication of terrorist attacks; whereas the targeted attacks towards Christians appears to be an attempt to drive non-Muslims out of the northern regions and to divide the Mossis ethnic group composed by both Muslims and Christians;

 

11. whereas according to Human Rights Watch, the Islamic rebels are executing those who refuse to collaborate with them and have instituted their laws and the security forces have allegedly responded to the situation with summary executions of suspected Islamists;

 

12. whereas more than 1 billion euro have been allocated to Burkina Faso for the period 2014-2020 through different funds such as the European Development Fund, the Emergency Trust Fund; whereas the European Union support for Burkina Faso’s stability and development has consisted in a wide range of areas such as governance, health, food security, agriculture, water, employment, energy and public services, including via significant budgetary support;

 

1. reaffirms its support to the people of Burkina Faso; Expresses its solidarity with the people of Burkina Faso and presents its sincere condolences to the family of the people who died in the recent attacks;
2. recalls that liberty of religion, enshrined in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, must be guaranteed; reiterates that people must be allowed to observe and practice their faiths in peace provided the respect of others and do not act against the public order;
3. Expresses its deepest concerns about the tensions between religious communities fuelled by jihadists hate speeches and violent actions in a country known for its long history of peaceful coexistence between faiths and communities;
4. Calls on the national authorities to invest more in national dialogue as an important building block for cohesion; it is crucial that unity is fostered between all ethnic communities in Burkina Faso including traditional leaders as well as civil society organisations to the dialogue in order to counter the attempt to hatred and inter-ethnic tensions;
5. Expresses its deepest concerns about the instability caused by the influx of several thousand refugees, fleeing Mali, in a region already extremely fragile; in regards to this, welcomes  the existing cooperation between Mali and Burkina Faso and highly encourages both states to continue their efforts to collectively stem forced migration flows;
6. supports the Sahel Emergency Programme launched by the Government of Burkina Faso to meet the security challenges in the region; welcomes the extension of the emergency plan for the Sahel to its eastern regions;
7. supports the commitments by the G5 Sahel countries to adopting an integrated, strategic framework precisely to synchronise their efforts on security and on development and to identify priority regions for their actions; strongly supports a regional and integrated approach focused on governance and addressing root causes of conflict;
8. strongly supports the joint military force of the G5 Sahel, which has an important role in fighting terrorism and organised crime across the region; supports as well the extra 138 million euros announced by High Representative Mogherini, at the fifth annual ministerial meeting in September 2019 alongside common priorities described in the joint declaration;
9. calls on the G5 Sahel countries and international donors to strengthen the efforts in order to turn the joint military force of the G5 Sahel into an operational force with sufficient means without any further delay.
10. calls for international coordination for the entire region, notably in the framework of ECOWAS, with the political objectives safeguarding territorial sovereignty and integrity of Member States, the safeguarding of regional democratic institutions and the security of all the citizens, as well as the protection of their properties;
11. expresses its deep concerns on the target attacks towards schools and assassination of teachers, in particular French speaking school, that had led children without access to education and in the grip of armed groups;
12. underlines the efforts of the Burkina Faso authorities and the humanitarian actors to have quickly provided assistance, however calls for international support to meet the growing needs of the affected people; warns that another humanitarian crisis will arise if basic needs such as food, water, shelter, healthcare etc. of the displaced and hosting communities are not met.
13. calls on the Government to commit itself to a lawful and rights-respecting counterterrorism strategy; to invest in rebuilding public trust in the State´s ability to deliver basic infrastructures and public services;
14. recalls that the situation Burkina Faso has a direct impact on its neighbouring states; calls on the Government to further intensify its security cooperation with its neighbouring states, especially with regards to its northern regions and those states directly affected, such as Mali and Niger;
15. welcomes the extension of the mandate of MINUSMA until 30 June 2020;recommends the UN mission in Mali (MINUSMA) to consider taking into account, in its stabilising mission, the security issues resulting from Mali’s porous borders to neighbouring Burkina Faso and Niger;
16. welcomes the role played by some Member States in the fight against terrorism in the Sahel region and in Burkina Faso and calls on other Member States to join in;
17. calls on the Government of Burkina Faso to increase its efforts to combat the calls for the departure of foreign troops fighting terrorism.
18. instructs its President to forward this resolution 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 Government and the Parliament of Burkina Faso, Heads of State and Government of the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) and the African Union,