MOTION FOR A RESOLUTION
13 January 2004
pursuant to Rule 50 of the Rules of Procedure
by Geoffrey Van Orden, John Alexander Corrie, Nirj Deva, Jacqueline Foster, Neil Parish, Charles Tannock, Mary Elizabeth Banotti, Michael Gahler, Eija-Riitta Anneli Korhola, Klaus-Heiner Lehne, and Lennart Sacrédeus
on behalf of the EPP-ED Group
on Zimbabwe
B5-0030/2004
European parliament resolution on Zimbabwe
the European parliament,
– having regard to its previous resolutions on the situation in Zimbabwe,
A. whereas the Mugabe regime is now an appalling example of relentless oppression of an impoverished and starving people, the systematic subversion of judicial, press and individual freedom, and the destruction of a once successful economy,
B. whereas Zimbabwe's dire economic situation has worsened, deteriorating by some 40% over the past four years, with annual inflation now reaching 526%, unemployment 70%, and some 6.5 million people in need of food aid,
C. whereas the spread of HIV-Aids continues to cause great human suffering and exacerbate economic difficulties, with a prevalence rate of 33% in Zimbabwe's adult population,
D. whereas repression through the Public Order and Security Act and the Information and Protection of Privacy Act reached alarming levels during the course of 2003, and access to justice and observance of human rights deteriorated at an accelerated rate,
E. whereas the consequences of Zimbabwe's worsening humanitarian disaster have been intensified by a shortfall in the World Food Programme's appeal, necessitating a halving of the available cereal ration,
F. whereas Zimbabwe's commercial beef herd, bred over a period of some 110 years, has been reduced 90% since the onset of Mugabe's disastrous "land reform" programme to fewer than 120 000 from 1.4 million three years ago, with the whole gene pool threatened with extinction,
G. whereas the Daily News newspaper, the only remnant of an independent press, continues to be closed in spite of a court decision in December that overturned its forced shut down,
H. whereas on 7 December the Commonwealth Heads of Government meeting in Abuja agreed to renew the suspension of Zimbabwe and to establish a committee to make recommendations on the way forward on the matter,
I. whereas on 11 December Zimbabwe terminated its membership of the Commonwealth,
J. whereas the South African policy of quiet diplomacy has proved totally ineffective in terms of any amelioration of the situation in Zimbabwe,
K. whereas the EU Common Position of 18 February 2002, renewed on 18 February 2003, introduced targeted sanctions against the Mugabe regime and requires further renewal on 18 February 2004,
L. whereas the European Parliament has consistently called for the widening and rigorous enforcement of sanctions and introduction of additional measures, to make international action against the Mugabe regime more effective,
M. whereas African nations have allowed their relations with the countries of the EU to be held hostage by the Mugabe regime, and it is therefore in the interests of the African Union and SADC to take urgent action along with the rest of the international community to bring about a rapid change for the better in Zimbabwe,
N. whereas the 7th Session EU-ACP Joint Parliamentary Assembly (JPA) will take place in Addis Ababa on 16-19 February,
O. whereas an EU–African Union Foreign Ministerial Troika meeting is scheduled to take place on 1 April,
1. Calls upon the Council to adopt a more active and urgent approach to the Zimbabwe disaster, to include renewal of sanctions; their expansion to include the rescinding of rights of residence in Europe of those subject to a ban and the prevention of their family members accessing employment and educational institutions in the EU; the curtailing of economic links with Zimbabwe; and the identification and imposition of measures against those providing financial backing to the ZANU-PF regime;
2. Calls for the vigorous enforcement of all EU sanctions against the Mugabe regime;
3. Congratulates the Commonwealth for its principled stance in maintaining Zimbabwe's suspension;
4. Regrets the failure of the EU Council, in whatever form, to make any effective impact on the policies of Zimbabwe's neighbours, whether in its dealings with SADC or with individual countries;
5. Strongly criticises the failure of southern African governments, and South Africa in particular, to exert any moral, let alone practical, pressure on the Mugabe regime, which has been so abusive of its people and effectively disrupted relations between Africa and the wider international community;
6. Insists that African countries demonstrate their genuine commitment to their side of the NEPAD bargain - namely to introduce good governance, democracy, respect for human rights and the rule of law in return for greater external assistance;
7. Urges Zimbabwe's neighbours to seize the opportunity afforded by the forthcoming EU-ACP and EU–African Union meetings to revive their relationship with the EU by abandoning Mugabe and acting in the interests of the Zimbabwean people so that issues of wider concern in Africa, such as economic development, HIV-Aids, law and order, and fair trade, can be addressed;
8. Urges senior government figures and public servants of goodwill in Zimbabwe to insist that Mugabe and his immediate henchmen step down from office in order to spare their countrymen further suffering and expedite Zimbabwe's rehabilitation into the international community of decent states;
9. Calls for the urgent opening of formal talks with opposition representatives with a view to establishing a respectable interim coalition of national unity prior to free and fair elections under international supervision;
10. Calls upon eminent personalities in southern Africa, such as Nelson Mandela and Archbishop Desmond Tutu, who, in their freedom struggle fought against everything that Mugabe now stands for, to use their influence to bring about change for the better in Zimbabwe;
11. Calls upon all representatives of EU Member States to refuse to meet members of the Mugabe regime and others banned from travelling to the EU, regardless of location;
12. Calls upon the international donor community, as a matter of great urgency, to provide adequate funding to meet the requirements of the UN World Food Programme, working through international agencies, to alleviate the humanitarian suffering in Zimbabwe caused by Mugabe's actions;
13. Calls upon those EU Member States in the UN Security Council to galvanise the international community into coordinated and effective action to resolve the appalling situation in Zimbabwe;
14. Instructs its President to forward this resolution to the Commission, the Council, the Governments of the Member States, the EU-ACP Council, the Government and Parliament of Zimbabwe, the Government and Parliament of South Africa, the UN Secretary-General, the Secretary-General of the African Union and the Secretary-General of SADC.