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B7-0442/2011
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MOTION FOR A /ESOLUTION on the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), mass rape in the South Kivu province

5.7.2011

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 122 of the Rules of Procedure

Charles Tannock, Jan Zahradil, Syed Kamall, Ryszard Antoni Legutko, Tomasz Piotr Poręba, Ryszard Czarnecki on behalf of the ECR Group

See also joint motion for a resolution RC-B7-0442/2011

Menettely : 2011/2747(RSP)
Elinkaari istunnossa
Asiakirjan elinkaari :  
B7-0442/2011
Käsiteltäväksi jätetyt tekstit :
B7-0442/2011
Äänestykset :
Hyväksytyt tekstit :

B7‑0442/2011

European Parliament resolution on the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), mass rape in the South Kivu province

The European Parliament,

 having regard to its previous resolutions on the DRC, in particular those of 17 January 2008 on the situation in the Democratic Republic of Congo and rape as a war crime and 17 December 2009 on violence in the Democratic Republic of Congo, relating to sexual violence by armed groups and the persistence of human rights abuses in the DRC as well as that of 07 October 2010 on failures in protection of human rights and justice in the Democratic Republic of Congo;

 

–   having regard to the ‘Rapport préliminaire de la mission d’enquête du Bureau Conjoint des Nations Unies aux Droits de l’Homme sur les viols massifs et autres violations des droits de l’homme commis par une coalition de groupes armés sur l’axe Kibua-Mpofi, en territoire de Walikale, province du Nord-Kivu, du 30 juillet au 2 août 2010’ (a preliminary report on mass rapes in the Democratic Republic of Congo) published on 24 September 2010,

–   having regard to the Cotonou Partnership Agreement signed in June 2000,

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

–   having regard to Council Joint Action 2009/769/CFSP of 19 October 2009 amending Joint Action 2007/405/CFSP on the European Union police mission undertaken in the framework of reform of the security sector (SSR) and its interface with the system of justice in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (EUPOL RD Congo),

–   having regard to the EUSEC RD Congo security sector reform mission, established in June 2005 (Council Joint Action 2005/355/CFSP of 2 May 2005 on the European Union mission to provide advice and assistance for security sector reform in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC)),

–   having regard to UN Security Council Resolution 1856 (2008) on MONUC’s mandate,

–   having regard to UN Security Council Resolution 1925 (2010), which specifies the mandate of the UN mission in the DRC (MONUSCO),

–   having regard to UN Security Council Resolutions 1325 (2000) and 1820 (2008) on women, peace and security, and UN Security Council Resolution 1888 (2009) on sexual violence against women and children in situations of armed conflict, which emphasises the responsibility of all states to put an end to impunity and to prosecute those responsible for crimes against humanity and war crimes, including those relating to sexual and other violence against women and girls,

–   having regard to the law on sexual violence adopted by the DRC Parliament in 2006, which was designed to speed up the prosecution of rape cases and impose stiffer penalties,

 having regard to the EU Council Plan of Action on Gender Equality in Development Cooperation that should ensure that gender equality is mainstreamed throughout the EU’s work with partner countries at all levels,

 having regard to the role of EU crisis management in the framework of implementation of UNSC resolutions 1325 and 1820 within the Common Security and Defence Policy by putting specialised gender advisors or focal points in each crisis management mission throughout the world,

–   having regard to the appointment in March 2010 of a Special Representative to the UN Secretary General on Sexual Violence in armed conflict,

 having regard to the joint statement of 27 August 2010 by Catherine Ashton, the High Representative, and Andris Piebalgs, the EU Development Commissioner, on the resurgence of violence in North Kivu, DRC,

 having regard to the UN Secretary General’s report of 23 August 2010 on the mass rapes of civilians by members of armed groups in eastern DRC,

 having regard to the statement of 22 February 2011 by Andris Piebalgs, the EU Development Commissioner, on the need to end impunity in DRC (République Démocratique du Congo: «Un pas vers la fin de l’impunité»),

–   having regard to Rule 122(5) of its Rules of Procedure,

 

A. whereas a state of civil war has prevailed for years in certain parts of the DRC, mainly the eastern provinces (North- and South-Kivu), resulting in persistent human rights abuses and war crimes such as mass rape, massacres of civilians, and the widespread enlisting of child soldiers,

B. whereas the human rights situation in DRC remains of outmost concern to the Congolese people themselves and the international community as horrifying testimonies about systematic human rights violations, including mass rape and related acts of torture, have been reported over the past four years;

C.  whereas the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) recently sent a mobile emergency response team including trauma counsellors to the South Kivu province to provide medical support to the victims of the latest case of systematic sexual violence that concerns up to 170 civilians who may have been beaten and raped on 10-12 June 2011 in this province of the DRC,

D. whereas several members of the Congolese armed forces, the police, the security services as well as other armed groups active on the territory of the DCR such as the Rwandan rebel group FDLR (Democratic Front for the Liberation of Rwanda) – which is led by perpetrators of the Rwandan genocide who fled to Congo – and Congolese Mai-Mai militia, have been identified as the alleged perpetrators of these horrendous crimes in the past years; whereas allegedly Colonel Niragire Kifaru, a former member of the Mai Mai tribal militia and recent deserter from the DRC armed forces (FARDC), is said to be responsible for the latest sexual violence in the South-Kivu province according to Congolese’s civil society sources,

E. whereas according to UN sources, in 2010 already 242 rapes occurred in and around the village of Luvungi in the North-Kivu province at the end of July and into August, just about 30 kilometres from a UN base, and in total, more than 500 rapes have allegedly occurred in the region since July 2010; whereas reports indicate that the rapes were organized and systematic,

F. whereas Atul Khare, the UN assistant secretary general for peacekeeping, conceded that the UN' peacekeepers failed to protect civilians from systematic rapes by armed combatants in the eastern RDC last year,

G. whereas sexual and gender-based violence remains a widespread problem in eastern DRC and rape has become a weapon of war in today’s Congo that is now sadly called the ‘rape capital of the world’,

H. whereas according to the UN more than 15 000 rapes, including of children, have been reported in DRC in 2008 and 2009,

I. whereas the natural resources and profit from the illegal extraction and trade of minerals are still often under the control of paramilitary armed groups, especially in the volatile eastern part of DRC, where conflict has been ongoing for many years despite the presence of a United Nations peacekeeping mission, MONUC, that is present in DRC to assist the FARDC in restoring peace in the country,

1.  Condemns in the strongest possible way the recent attacks on, and mass rape of, civilians committed on 10-12 June 2011 in the South-Kivu province of DRC;

2. Considers it of paramount importance to investigate impartially and thoroughly all these horrendous cases of a physical and mental abuse in order to identify the perpetrators, end their impunity, and bring them to justice at the local and/or international level;

3.  Associates itself with the pain and sorrow of all victims of cases of sexual violence, especially mass rape, that were committed repeatedly in the eastern part of DRC over the past four years; calls for professional medical care, including post traumatic and psychological support, to be provided to all people in need therein;

4. Suggests that a comprehensive programme of assistance for, and reintegration of, victims to the Congolese society and the labour market be worked out by the Government of DRC in close cooperation with the victims themselves assisted by medical teams and domestic civil society actors supporting their cause, and that this programme be considered as a high priority of any international and EU-funded aid to the country, including the international fight against the AIDS/HIV pandemics;

5.  Calls on the DRC Government to step up its domestic efforts to ensure the security of the Congolese people on the whole territory of the country, and to closely cooperate with the international community, mainly the UN and the International Criminal Court (ICC), to hold all the perpetrators of war crimes responsible for their evildoings;

6.  Stresses the necessity to enhance the tools, resources, and training provided to the government's and the United Nations’ armed forces in DRC to better protect civilians, and especially to prevent members of these regular armed forces from committing themselves abuses on those civilians whom they should be protecting in the first place;

7.  Stresses the need to tackle corruption and human rights abuses committed by both the Congolese armed and police forces, and underlines the respective role of MONUC, EUSEC RD and EUPOL RD in preventing this through joint planning and implementation of operations with their Congolese counterparts and the enforcement of proper accountability mechanisms for abuses in their areas of expertise;

8. Calls for all paramilitary groups, foreign armed rebels, and mining sector organised criminal gangs operating in the eastern provinces of DRC to be disarmed; points out, in this regard, that failure to do so fully, or at least substantially, before the next presidential and legislative elections with the former being set to take place on 27 November 2011 already, may hamper the still fragile peace and democratization process in the country; warns also against any attempts to misuse the poor security situation in the eastern part of DRC as a reason to postpone or simply cancel these important elections, without which the DRC would not have a legitimate President, Government, and parliament in place;

9.  Calls therefore on all parties to step up the fight against impunity and to uphold the rule of law, and reminds the Government of the DRC of its pledge made on the occasion of the 50th anniversary of the country’s independence to commit itself resolutely to promoting political practice that upholds human rights and strengthens the rule of law by ensuring that those responsible for breaching human rights and international humanitarian law are held to account and criminally prosecuted;

10. Instructs its President 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 governments and parliaments of the Member States, the institutions of the African Union, the United Nations Secretary-General, the United Nations Security Council, and the United Nations Human Rights Council, and last, but not least, to the President, Prime Minister, and parliament of the DRC.