MOTION FOR A RESOLUTION

7.1.2005

to wind up the debate on statements by the European Council and Commission
pursuant to Rule 103(2) of the Rules of Procedure
by Martin Schulz, Jan Marinus Wiersma, Miguel Angel Martínez Martínez, Margrietus van den Berg, Glenys Kinnock, María Elena Valenciano Martínez-Orozco and Neena Gill
on behalf of the PSE Group
on the Asian tsunami

B6‑0034/2005

European Parliament resolution on the Asian tsunami

The European Parliament,

–  having regard to the tsunami that occurred on 26 December 2004 and had devastating effects across Asian countries on the Indian Ocean,

–  having regard to the Conference held in Jakarta on 6 January 2005 and the donors' Conference held in Geneva on 11 January 2005,

–  having regard to the extraordinary meeting of the EU Development Ministers convened by the Luxembourg Presidency on 7 January 2005,

–  having regard to the visit of Javier Solana to Washington D.C. on 4 January 2005,

–  having regard to the calls by Singapore for an ASEAN meeting that will include all UN agencies and donors,

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

A.  whereas over 150 000 have been confirmed dead in the tsunami so far, over 5 million have been displaced, over 500 000 have been badly injured and thousands still risk losing their lives to disease and hunger,

B.  whereas the worst-affected countries include Indonesia, Sri Lanka, Thailand, India and the Maldives, and those still missing include thousands of EU citizens,

C.  whereas devastation has also been caused in East Africa, with 50 000 people affected in Somalia and casualties in Kenya, Mauritius, the Seychelles and Tanzania,

D.  whereas the World Health Organisation estimates that up to 5 million victims of the tsunami lack basic necessities such as medical supplies and sanitation facilities, with the lack of clean water being the most basic problem,

E.  whereas the disaster has hit the poorest communities, such as fishing communities, the most in the affected countries, and many children have been orphaned by the disaster,

F.  whereas the global response to the disaster has been overwhelming; whereas the EU and its Member States have pledged almost € 1 billion so far, and the amount continues to rise; and whereas the Commission has already committed € 23 m and promises more funds from the emergency reserve of € 200 m,

G.  whereas the effectiveness of the relief effort depends on strong UN coordination supported by the major donors,

H.  whereas most of the countries affected by the tsunami were already burdened with large debt repayments, and whereas money given to the relief effort would be rendered ineffective if the donor countries continue to receive interest payments on these debts,

I.  whereas in previous disasters, pledged aid has often not reflected actual amounts of real aid delivered,

J.  whereas the UN is carrying out needs assessments across the affected areas, but many areas affected by the tsunami remain difficult to access, particularly in Sumatra,

K.  whereas Commissioner Michel visited Sri Lanka and Indonesia from 1 to 6 January 2005, attending the coordination conference convened by the Association of Southeast Asian Nations in Jakarta on 6 January alongside President Barroso and Prime Minister Juncker,

L.  whereas Louis Michel suggested that the UN hold an international conference for donors, which was agreed by all parties, to be held on 11 January in Geneva,

1.  Expresses its sorrow at the tragic loss of life and its deepest sympathy for the bereaved, both in the affected countries and across the world, including EU citizens that have lost family and friends;

2.   Welcomes the generosity of all donors, public and private, in responding to this crisis, reflecting a globalisation of solidarity displayed particularly by members of the public; urges the EU and Member States to fulfil their pledges as quickly as possible;

3.  Stresses that the children orphaned by the disaster must be one of the key priorities for relief agencies, as they are at increasing risk of abduction as well as physical and sexual abuse;

4.  Calls on the governments of the countries affected by the disaster to facilitate the work of humanitarian organisations in distributing aid by making every possible effort to secure access to aid for all those in need, whatever the political beliefs, ethnicity or religion of the victims, and by minimising bureaucracy for aid agencies;

5.  Hopes that the disaster brings a solution to internal conflicts in Indonesia and Sri Lanka closer;

6.  Welcomes the EU's rapid disbursement of the initial € 23 m, as well as the involvement of ECHO experts in the relief effort; further welcomes the mobilisation of the European Community Civil Protection Mechanism which has been active since the tsunami occurred, as well as the supporting work of the European Commission’s Monitoring and Information Centre (MIC) which has coordinated this assistance;

7.  Calls on the Commission to be generous in its use of the € 200 m emergency reserve, but to obtain an assurance from the Council that there will be new and fresh money for the emergency reserve if it is needed in 2005; stresses, in this regard, that aid given to the disaster relief must come out of the emergency reserve and must not replace rehabilitation and structural development assistance as approved in the 2005 budget; stresses that the poor across the world should not pay the price of this disaster;

8.  Insists that all coordination of the global relief operation must be led by the UN's Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) and supported by all donors, and welcomes the EU's full support for the UN and its commitment to funding OCHA in the region;

9.  Calls on the UN Secretary-General to appoint UN humanitarian coordinators for each of the countries affected by the tsunami, with clear responsibilities to direct all other UN agencies responding to the crisis;

10.  Underlines that the UN must fulfil the challenge to coordinate on the ground through assessing priorities and allocating responsibilities to the best-placed agencies, including NGOs; stresses that the UN must prioritise a coordinated vaccination and hygiene campaign against cholera and other water-borne diseases;

11.  Criticises Burma's military junta for sealing parts of the country's coastline and for its general refusal to cooperate with the international community, which will have a detrimental effect on its own victims of the tsunami;

12.  Strongly supports the role of the EU Presidency in leading internal coordination of the relief efforts of the EU and its Member States;

13.  Calls for the establishment of a comprehensive and effective early warning system to be developed without delay in the Indian Ocean, as well as in other regions vulnerable to tsunami and other natural disasters;

14.  Calls for the international community, led by the UN, to develop an effective and coordinated plan for action in the event of future disasters, so that such responses are not ad hoc and a coordinated response can be better achieved in the future;

15.  Welcomes the extraordinary meeting of the General Affairs and External Relations Council convened by the Luxembourg Presidency on January 7, involving the Ministers for Foreign Affairs, the Ministers for Development Cooperation and the Ministers of Health of the European Union; calls on the EU Member States to ensure that EU action is closely coordinated internally for the emergency relief as well as the mid- and long-term action necessary for rebuilding the affected areas;

16.  Insists that the debate on debt relief should include Least Developed Countries and should cover debt swaps, and that debt relief should only be undertaken on the condition that money gained by governments from such relief must be channelled towards helping the poorest in their communities; calls, in this regard, on the EU and its Member States as well as international financial institutions to act upon this debate on the debt of those countries affected by the tsunami and write off the debt of these countries altogether as long as the aforementioned conditions are satisfied; calls, furthermore, for the EU countries to spearhead cutting the debt of all the world's poorest nations;

17.  Strongly supports the call by Commissioner Michel for a second conference on the reconstruction and rehabilitation to be held in the near future in order to prompt rapid and effective rebuilding;

18.  Stresses that rebuilding the affected areas must focus on improving the situation of the surviving inhabitants by aiming to reduce poverty as well as future vulnerability to tsunami;

19.  Underlines that globally 1.2 billion people worldwide live in poverty, with almost a billion people malnourished, including over 150 million children under five; stresses, therefore, the need for EU Member States and all donor nations in the global community to fulfil the agreed target of giving 0.7% of GDP as overseas development assistance, as agreed in Monterrey;

20.  Encourages the EU and its Member States to give their political support to initiatives such as the Tobin Tax which could be used to raise extra funds for development;

21.  Instructs its President to forward this resolution to the Commission, the Council, the governments of EU Member States, the Heads of State and parliaments of Indonesia, Sri Lanka, Thailand, India, the Maldives, Malaysia, Bangladesh, Tanzania, Burma, Kenya, Somalia and the Seychelles, the UN Secretary-General and the Head of OCHA.