MOTION FOR A RESOLUTION on Madagascar
14.11.2017 - (2017/2963(RSP))
pursuant to Rule 135 of the Rules of Procedure
Charles Tannock, Karol Karski, Urszula Krupa, Valdemar Tomaševski, Raffaele Fitto, Ruža Tomašić, Jan Zahradil, Mark Demesmaeker, Notis Marias, Ryszard Czarnecki, Angel Dzhambazki, Geoffrey Van Orden, Branislav Škripek, Jana Žitňanská on behalf of the ECR Group
See also joint motion for a resolution RC-B8-0641/2017
The European Parliament,
-having regard to Articles 8 and 9 of the Cotonou Agreement, concerning political dialogue and respect for human rights respectively,
-having regard to its previous resolutions on Madagascar, in particular those of 9 June 2011,
-having regard to Rule 123(2) and (4) of its Rules of Procedure,
A. whereas since 2009 coup Madagascar is political crisis and has become one of the poorest countries in the world, with more than 92 percent of the population living on less than $2 a day, according to the World Bank Group.
B. whereas in March 2009, Andry Rajoelina, mayor of capitol Antananarivo ousted in the coup d’état President Marc Ravalomanana, who went into exile to South Africa;
C. whereas Western sanctions and suspension of donor aid amounting to 50 percent of the national budget and 70 percent of public investments obstructed the Rajoelina administration’s management of state affairs and its ability to systematically combat poverty on a wider scale; whereas key development indicators steeply declined between 2009 and 2013, including maternal and child mortality, per capita income and employment rates; In 2010 the United Nations ranked Madagascar among the ten poorest countries in the world, noting that the economic gains made under Ravalomanana had been lost following Rajoelina’s unconstitutional rise to power;
D. whereas in response to refusal of United States, Madagascar’s largest bilateral donor and provider of humanitarian aid, to acknowledge the Rajoelina administration, he explored the possibility of foregoing the support of traditional partners, through new or strengthening relations with such alternatives as China and Libya;
E. whereas under pressure from France and African Union, Rajoelina withdrew from the 2013 presidential elections which were won by Hery Rajaonarimampianina, Rajoelina finance minister;
F. whereas following Rajaonarimampianina’s election, the international community offered “conditional recognition” of the new government; whereas this tentative validation of the results was motivated by the concern that the new president was a puppet for Rajoelina, as well as the allegation by his rival, backed by Ravalomanana, Jean Louis Robinson of massive electoral fraud after losing the runoff despite a wide lead over his opponent in the first round;
G. whereas on 19 May 2014, the European Council lifted article 96 of Cotonou Agreement, thus allowing for the normalisation of the cooperation with the Government; whereas this also allowed launching the programming of the 11th EDF (2014-2020);
H. whereas in December 2016 during the Conference of Donors and Investors organised by the Malagasy government in Paris, Madagascar received a commitment of $6.4 billion in support of its development projects (2017-2020) with the support of the African Development Bank, the World Bank Group, and the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP);
I. whereas China is Madagascar’s primary source of imports, and it is currently the island’s fifth-largest destination for exports; whereas overall, China is Madagascar’s most important commercial partner in terms of trade volume and total value of investments; whereas China moved forward with the largest investment deal in Madagascar to date for mining rights to an iron ore project, at a time when foreign investors and Western donors were pulling out of the country;
J. whereas the two countries agreed to for China to construct a deep-water port in the bay of Narinda, on Madagascar’s north-western coast facing Mozambique, one of China’s many massive rail and investments across the African continent intended to improve connectivity between Africans producers and China; whereas as geographically closest African country to China, with direct sea lanes to China across the Indian Ocean, Madagascar is a natural extension of the 21st Century Silk Road; whereas according to Chinese Foreign Ministry, Madagascar will serve as “a bridge between the African continent and the Belt and Road Initiative”;
K. whereas popular discontent increased in 2016, amid a stagnant economy, flooding the markets with made-in-China goods and an unresponsive political system; whereas several acts of violence by Chinese management against Malagasy employees led to national scandals, the deportation of Chinese investors, and the loss of Chinese assets and return on investments; whereas some incidents provoked serious riots, and strikes at Chinese run enterprises are not uncommon;
L. whereas former president Marc Ravalomanana after returning from exile in 2014, and release from subsequent arrest and house arrest in 2015 and after receiving amnesty for his convictions after coup d’état, announced that he will run for president in 2018; whereas his wife, Lalao, won the mayoralty of the capital city in 2015;
M. whereas since August 2017, Madagascar is experiencing a large outbreak of plague affecting major cities and other non-endemic areas; whereas from 1 August through 30 October 2017, a total of 1801 confirmed, probable and suspected cases of plague, including 127 deaths, have been reported by the Ministry of Health of Madagascar to WHO;
N. whereas based on available information and response measures implemented to date, WHO estimates the risk of potential further spread of the plague outbreak at national level remains high; whereas the risk of international spread is mitigated by the short incubation period of pneumonic plague, implementation of exit screening measures and advice to travellers to Madagascar;
O. whereas the current outbreak in Madagascar is also slowing down, with number of cases falling in the past couple of weeks; whereas the overall global risk is considered to be low;
P. whereas one child in two under the age of five suffers from chronic malnutrition; whereas UN reported cases of domestic servitude, child labor, slavery, forced marriages, child prostitution and child pornography;
Q. whereas environmental conditions on the island also worsened under Rajoelina; whereas NGOs and the US government accused the Rajoelina administration of selling endangered rosewood to China to supplement the national budget; whereas a large, unexplained stash of rosewoods logs was discovered at the presidential palace after the end of Rajoelina’s term in office; whereas due to accelerating deforestation and spike in bush meat consumption linked with deepening poverty, the island’s lemurs species were found to be threaten with extinction under Rajoelina’s tenure; whereas a July 2012 assessment found that 90 percent of lemur species were found to be threatened with extinction;
1.Calls on the Government of Madagascar to allow for a free and just election process before and during 2018 presidential elections to ensure full return of democratic principles and rights that the country enjoyed before 2009 coup d’état;
2.Calls on international community to take all possible steps to ensure a smooth electoral process of the 2018 presidential elections, including two-year package of support for election arrangements;
3.Calls on international community to ensure that all candidates will be allowed to run; It is crucial that the electoral system is as transparent and reliable as possible, to minimise the room for uncertainty and challenges;
4.Calls on UE, US and other crucial donors to ensure that healthcare cut by 30 per cent by the Rajoelina administration will receive enough funds to stop the further spread of the plague;
5.Calls on international community and donors to ensure that once democracy is fully reinstated on the island, Madagascar will receive sufficient funds and investments to return on the path of self-sustaining development;
6.Calls on the government of Madagascar to create programs against child slavery and exploitation;
7.Calls on the government of Madagascar to stop the customary discrimination against twins, and other multiple births, which are being abandoned by their parents due to popular beliefs that they bring bad luck; programs should be developed to prevent stigmatisation and exclusion from the rst of community parents who choose to keep twins;
8.Calls on the government of Madagascar to protect the environment and endangered species;
9.Instructs its President to forward this resolution to the Council, the Commission, the Vice-President/High Representative of the EU for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy, the Member States, the ACP-EU Council, the Secretary-General of the United Nations, the SADC, President and the Commission of the African Union.