The European Parliament,

–  having regard to the conflict in Darfur and its wider regional impact, in particular on the eastern part of Chad and the northern part of the Central African Republic (CAR),

–  having regard to the conclusions of the Council for General Affairs and External Relations of 23-24 July 2007, asking ‘its competent bodies to continue planning with a view to a possible decision on a bridging operation, in the framework of the European Security and Defence Policy, in support of a multidimensional UN presence in Eastern Chad and North-Eastern Central African Republic with a view to improving security in those areas’,

–  having regard to UN Security Council Resolution 1769(2007) of 31 July 2007 establishing, for an initial period of 12 months, an AU/UN hybrid operation in Darfur (UNAMID),

–  having regard to the Arusha meeting on peace in Darfur, which was held from 3 to 6 August 2007,

–  having regard to the signing in N’Djamena on 13 August 2007, in the presence of the international community and of the Chadian Head of State, President Idriss Deby Itno, of the political agreement with a view to the reinforcement of the democratic process in Chad by all the Chadian political parties in the majority and in the opposition,

–  having regard to the 27 August 2007 presidential statement of the UN Security Council confirming its readiness to establish a UN mission in Chad and welcoming the EU’s intention to provide support in the form of a military ESDP mission,

–  having regard to its resolution of 12 July 2007 on the situation in Darfur,

–  having regard to Rule 103(2) of its Rules of Procedure,

A.  whereas currently, owing to the conflict in Darfur and its cross-border consequences, about 238 000 refugees from Sudan, 44 600 refugees from the Central African Republic and 170 000 internally displaced persons (IDPs) are hosted in 12 camps along Chad’s eastern border with Sudan,

B.  preoccupied by the security situation in the eastern part of Chad, which has deteriorated since 2006 as a result of clashes between Chadian security forces and Chadian rebels, and incursions of Janjaweed militias and armed groups from Sudan, to which banditry and attacks on humanitarian organisations must be added,

C.  welcoming UN Security Council Resolution 1769(2007), which authorises the deployment of an AU/UN force of 26 000 soldiers in Darfur, which will help to pacify the whole region in combination with the deployment of a UN police force and the planned ESDP operation in the eastern part of Chad and the northern part of CAR,

D.  supporting the efforts of UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-Moon to find a negotiated solution to the conflict in Darfur by promoting contacts between the Sudanese authorities and the various rebel groups,

E.  welcoming the signing in N’Djamena on 13 August 2007 by all the Chadian political parties of an agreement aimed at reinforcing the democratic process in Chad,

F.  noting the efforts by the Libyan leadership to find a solution to the internal conflict in Chad with the groups which did not sign the previous agreement,

1.  Considers that coordinated efforts between the EU and the UN can help to create the conditions that would enable the different parties to the conflict in the broader region of Darfur/Eastern Chad/Northern CAR to find a political solution which would put an end to insecurity in this region, thus facilitating the return of the refugees and internally displaced persons to their places of origin;

2.  Supports, in this context, the launching of an ESDP operation in the eastern part of Chad and the northern part of CAR with a view to securing these two regions, thus contributing to a reinforcement of the effectiveness of the AU/UN operation in Darfur and bringing support to the UN police force which is to be deployed in the eastern part of Chad to train and mentor the Chadian police forces, whose task will be to secure the camps and villages and control the border areas;

3.  Notes that this ESDP operation in the eastern part of Chad and the northern part of CAR is of a primarily humanitarian nature;

4.  Recommends that this ESDP operation in the eastern part of Chad and the northern part of CAR, which is humanitarian in nature, is subject to the following conditions:

5.  Asks the Council to keep the European Parliament informed on a regular basis, especially through its Subcommittee on Security and Defence, regarding the different phases of the operation (Crisis Management Concept (CMC), Joint Action, Concept of Operations (CONOPS), Operation Plan (OPLAN), force generation process, progress of the operation until its end and lessons-learnt process);

6.  Instructs its President to forward this resolution to the Council, the Commission and the Secretary-General of the United Nations.