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Propunere de rezoluţie - B6-0565/2008Propunere de rezoluţie
B6-0565/2008
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MOTION FOR A RESOLUTION

21.10.2008

with request for inclusion in the agenda for the debate on cases of breaches of human rights, democracy and the rule of law
pursuant to Rule 115 of the Rules of Procedure
by Jürgen Schröder, Eija-Riitta Korhola, Bernd Posselt, Tunne Kelam, Hans-Peter Mayer
on behalf of the PPE-DE Group
on the clashes in the Eastern Border areas of DRC

See also joint motion for a resolution RC-B6-0556/2008

Procedură : 2008/2657(RSP)
Stadiile documentului în şedinţă
Stadii ale documentului :  
B6-0565/2008
Texte depuse :
B6-0565/2008
Texte adoptate :

B6‑0565/2008

European Parliament resolution on on the clashes in the Eastern Border areas of DRC

The European Parliament,

–  having regard to the resolution of 21 February 2008 on the situation in placeNorth Kivu,

–  having regard to its resolution of 17 January 2008 on the situation in the Democratic Republic of Congo and rape as a war crime and to its previous resolutions on human rights abuses in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC),

–  having regard to the resolution of 22 November 2007 of the ACP-EU Joint Parliamentary Assembly on the situation in the Democratic Republic of Congo, in particular in the East and its impact on the region,

–  having regard to its resolution of 15 November 2007 on the EU response to situations of fragility in developing countries,

–  having regard to the communication from the Commission to the Council, the European Parliament, the European Economic and Social Committee and the Committee of the Regions entitled ‘Towards an EU response to situations of fragility – engaging in difficult environments for sustainable development, stability and peace (COM(2007)0643) and the Commission staff working document annexed thereto (SEC(2007)1417),

–  having regard to Resolution 60/1 of the United Nations General Assembly of October 2005 on the 2005 World Summit outcome, and in particular paragraphs 138 to 140 thereof on the responsibility to protect populations,

– having regard to the Council declaration on the situation in east of DRC of 10 October 2008,

–  having regard to Rule 115(5) of its Rules of Procedure,

A.  whereas the conflict affecting DRC has claimed the lives of 5 400 000 people since 1998 and still causing directly or indirectly approximately 1500 deaths each day,

B.  whereas the fighting between the Congolese army, the rebel troops of ousted General Laurent Nkunda and the fighters of the Democratic Forces for the Liberation of Rwanda (FDLR) as well as troops of Uganda's Lord Resistance Army (LRA) has caused tremendous hardship for the civilian populations of the region of Eastern provinces of DRC for many months,

C.  whereas heavy fighting took place around the border PlaceTypeplacevillagePlaceName of Rumangabo near Goma, a strategically important military camp was overrun by Nkgunda's rebels allowing them to seize weapons and supplies,

D.  whereas, according to UNHCR reports, the new fighting in North Kivu led to a high number of casualties and more than 100,000 displaced persons in addition to reports of hundreds of dead bodies having been thrown into the river and 50 000 displaced persons after heavy fighting of the LRA in the province of Ituri,

E.  whereas since the Goma peace accord on 23 January 2008 there have been massacres, rapes of young girls, mothers and grandmothers, forced recruitment of civilians and child soldiers, and a host of other acts of violence and serious human rights abuses in the Eastern DRC, both by Laurent Nkunda’s rebel troops and by FDLR combatants and the Congolese army itself,

F.  whereas MONUC has a mandate under Chapter VII of the United Nations Charter, which authorises it to use all necessary means to deter any attempted use of force which would threaten the political process on the part of any foreign or Congolese armed group, particularly ex-FAR and Interhamwes fighters, and to ensure the protection of civilians under imminent threat of physical violence,

G.  having regard to the undertakings concerning gradual demobilisation and the ceasefire commitment given at the Goma Conference for Peace, Security and Development, including a ceasefire among all warring parties, the disarmament of all non-governmental forces, the return and resettlement of all displaced peoples in the Eastern DRC and the installation of a temporary mechanism for ceasefire monitoring,

H.  whereas the Congolese army does not have the human, technical and financial resources necessary to carry out its tasks in Eastern provinces of the DRC and this poses a threat to its protective role of the population and the re-instalment of peace,

I.  whereas it is vital to find a political solution to the conflict in Eastern provinces of the DRC, so as to consolidate peace and democracy and promote stability and development in the region for the well-being of all the peoples of the placeGreat Lakes region,

J.  whereas the civil war in the region, which has been under way for four years, has been marked by the systematic pillaging of the country’s wealth by the allies and enemies of the Congolese Government,

K.  whereas several humanitarian organisations were forced to suspend their activities following the hostilities at the end of 2007, while health centres remain without supplies or have been abandoned by their medical staff,

L.  whereas, in order to achieve a significant improvement in health and a reduction in the mortality rate in the DRC as a whole and in Eastern provinces of the DRC in particular, years of sustained commitment and a substantial financial investment will be required both from the Congolese Government and the international community,

M.  whereas humanitarian aid workers have reported that the local and displaced populations in Eastern provinces of the DRC are growing progressively weaker and that the continuing warfare is preventing aid workers from gaining access to certain areas which are in need of urgent food and medical aid,

N.  whereas malnutrition is a further aspect of the extreme vulnerability suffered by the populations now living in Eastern provinces of DRC and whereas the data from MSF’s medical aid programmes offer an alarming indication of the scale of malnutrition in Eastern provinces of the DRC,

O.  whereas the EU firmly condemns the recent statements by Laurent Nkunda calling to overthrow the elected and legitimate government of the DRC,

1.  Expresses its deep outrage at the massacres and crimes against humanity which have been continuing for too many years in Eastern provinces of the DRC and calls on all relevant national and international authorities systematically to bring the perpetrators to justice, whoever they may be; calls on the United Nations Security Council as a matter of urgency to take all measures capable of genuinely preventing any further attacks on the civilian populations of Eastern provinces of the DRC;

2.  Calls on all parties involved to return immediately and unconditionally to the peace process to which they committed themselves to in Goma in January 2008;

3.  Urges all actors to restore the rule of law and fight impunity specifically in view of the mass rapes of women and girls and recruitment of child soldiers;

4.  Calls on the international community and the UN Security Council to reinforce MONUC by providing appropriate materials and staff in order to enable it to fulfil its mandate, as was requested by the head of MONUC Alan Doss in New York after briefing the UN Security Council;

5.  Welcomes the fact that the President of the DRC and his ministers have publicly expressed their support to MONUC for its contribution to national security;

6.  Reaffirms its support for the Congolese authorities in their efforts to find a political solution to the crisis and calls on all the parties to respect the ceasefire;

7.  Notes with concern that elements from the Ugandan rebel Lord’s Resistance Army (LRA) have recently conducted attacks on 16 localities in the DRC’s eastern territory of Dungu, Province Oriental and Ituri, where UNHCR reports of about 80 missing children, confirming fears of new forced recruitment of child soldiers;

8.  Underlines that the ethnic grouping of people during the displacement process is potentially dangerous under the current circumstances;

9.  Calls for zero tolerance of the sexual violence against girls and women which is used as a weapon of war and demands severe criminal penalties against the perpetrators of these crimes;

10.  Reiterates that the Goma Agreement and the Nairobi Communiqué remain the only true, viable framework for bringing stability to eastern Statecountry-regionplaceCongo and that the signatories should respect their commitments and implement them swiftly;

11.  Calls on the Governments of the DRC and Statecountry-regionplaceRwanda to stop the recent verbal hostilities and return to a constructive dialogue and put an end to the conflict;

12.  Encourages all governments of the Great Lakes Region to initiate a dialogue with an aim to coordinate their efforts in lowering tensions and stopping the violence in Eastern DRC before this conflict spreads into the region as a whole;

13.  Calls on the Council and Commission to implement large-scale medical assistance programmes for the civilian populations in placeEastern DRC with immediate effect, in order to meet immediate needs and in anticipation of the reconstruction which will be required;

14.  Calls for the effective establishment of monitoring mechanisms, such as the CityplaceKimberley process for the certification of the origin of natural resources imported into the EU market;

15.  Calls on the Council of the European Union and every EU Member State to provide special aid to the populations of placeEastern DRC;

16.  Instructs its President to forward this resolution to the Council, the Commission, the institutions of the African Union, the High Representative for the CFSP, the governments and parliaments of the Member States, the Secretary-General of the United Nations, the Untied Nations Security Council, the United Nations Commission on Human Rights, and all parliaments and governments of the Great Lakes Region.