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Motion for a resolution - B7-0563/2012Motion for a resolution
B7-0563/2012

MOTION FOR A RESOLUTION on the situation in the Democratic Republic of Congo

11.12.2012 - (2012/2907(RSP))

with request for inclusion in the agenda for a debate on cases of breaches of human rights, democracy and the rule of law
pursuant to Rule 122 of the Rules of Procedure

Fiorello Provera, Lorenzo Fontana, Mara Bizzotto, Oreste Rossi, Jaroslav Paška, Rolandas Paksas on behalf of the EFD Group

See also joint motion for a resolution RC-B7-0562/2012

Procedure : 2012/2907(RSP)
Document stages in plenary
Document selected :  
B7-0563/2012
Texts tabled :
B7-0563/2012
Texts adopted :

B7‑0563/2012

European Parliament resolution on the situation in the Democratic Republic of Congo

(2012/2907(RSP))

The European Parliament,

– having regard to its previous resolutions on the Democratic Republic of Congo,

 

– having regard to the Declaration of Principles for International Election Observation commemorated at the United Nations in October 2005,

 

– having regard to the United Nations Charter of Human Rights,

 

– having regard to the African Charter on Human and Peoples‘ Rights, which was ratified by the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) in 1982,

 

- having regard to the statement of 10 July 2012 by Baroness Ashton, High Representative of the Union for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy and Vice-President of the European Commission, on behalf of the European Union on the situation in the eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo

 

– having regard to Rule 122 of its Rules of Procedure,

 

A. whereas the eastern Congolese town of Goma fell to a Rwandan-backed rebel group the M23 on November 20 and it took days of negotiations and intense international pressure for the rebel fighters to withdraw from the regional capital, yet the group has threatened to retake the city if the government fails to begin negotiations;

 

B. whereas there are reports in eastern Congo of lootings, rape, summary executions and the recruitment of children

 

C. whereas a rebel delegation will engage in talks in Uganda on December 7 with the Congolese government with the aim to draft the ground rules and working framework for subsequent meetings;

 

D. whereas the indigenous Batwa population of eastern Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) numbers 90,000 yet they are victims of systematic racism, social and political exclusion and human rights violations in the DRC and in other countries in the Great Lakes Region.

 

E. whereas in 2012 the Batwa in Goma expressed concern about the potential for a humanitarian crisis at the hands of the M23 and the FDLR rebel forces

 

F. whereas the governments of Uganda and Rwanda have denied accusations by a United Nations panel of supporting the M23 rebels and supporting the capture of the eastern Congolese town of Goma;

 

G. whereas both the United States and the United Kingdom have cut off aid to Rwanda;

 

1. Strongly condemns the deplorable violence and violations of fundamental rights that took place as a result of the fall of the Eastern congolese town of Goma and calls upon the Congolese authorities to make every effort to hold the necessary investigations, to find the perpetrators;

 

2. Calls on both the Congolese government and the M23 rebel group to engage in constructive talks in order to resolve the conflict;

 

3. Calls on both the governments of Rwanda and Uganda to desist in their support of the rebel group M23 as this has a destabilizing impact on the Great Lake region;

 

3. Calls on the DRC to ratify the ILO Convention 169 on the Rights of Indigenous and Tribal peoples and draft a national law on the rights of indigenous peoples;

 

4. Calls on the Congolese Government to commit itself resolutely to a political practice that genuinely respects all human rights including freedom of expression and opinion, freedom to demonstrate, freedom of religion, and the end of the discrimination based on sex or sexual orientation; stresses the importance of strengthening the rule of law, good governance and the fight against corruption and control over the security services;

 

5. Notes that discrimination against women which stands in the way of their full participation in political life is continuing, despite the fact that the principle of equality between men and women and gender parity in the various decision-making bodies is enshrined in the Constitution; proposes that all necessary measures be taken to ensure the integration of women in political life and that the electoral law be amended to ensure the principle of gender parity;

 

6. 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 African Union, the governments of countries the Great Lakes region, the UN Human Rights Council and the authorities of the Democratic Republic of Congo.