MOTION FOR A RESOLUTION

11.1.2005

to wind up the debate on statements by the Council and Commission
pursuant to Rule 103(2) of the Rules of Procedure
by Graham Watson
on behalf of the ALDE Group
on the tsunami in South-East Asia

B6‑0063/2005

European Parliament resolution on the tsunami in South East Asia

The European Parliament,

– having regard to the Commission communication 'Europe and Asia: a strategic framework for enhanced partnership'[1] and the consistent emphasis it attaches throughout to the importance of the EU's relations with Asia, a continent representing more than half the world's population,

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

A. whereas a strong earthquake measuring 9 on the Richter scale hit South-East Asia on 26 December 2004 and triggered massive tsunamis in Indonesia, Sri Lanka, southern India, Thailand, Malaysia, the Maldives, Bangladesh, Burma/Myanmar, Mauritius, Somalia, Kenya, Seychelles, Réunion and Tanzania,

B. whereas this disaster has killed more than 160 000 people, including EU citizens, in the 12 countries hit by tsunamis, has injured many more and left up to five million people displaced and lacking access to crucial services,

C. whereas the World Health Organisation estimates that up to five million people who have been displaced by the tsunami lack access to fundamental priorities, including clean water, sanitation facilities, routine medical care, and basic nutrition,

D. whereas floods can potentially increase the transmission of a number of water-borne and vector-borne diseases such as cholera, dengue and yellow fever,

E. whereas the disaster has hit the most vulnerable people and communities, such as children and fishing communities in the affected countries,

F. whereas tens of thousands of people are still missing or unidentified following the earthquake,

G. stressing that this is the largest natural disaster the international community has had to respond to in over 50 years,

H. whereas a large number of EU citizens have also lost their lives in this catastrophe,

I. deeply impressed by the scale and the spirit of people's solidarity and generosity and by the rapid mobilisation of the relevant international organisations, the European institutions and some national governments in responding to this disaster,

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

K. 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,

1. Expresses its condolences and solidarity to all of the people and families who have suffered and are continuing to suffer from the consequences of the tragic events of 26 December 2004;

2. States its firm commitment, as part of the budgetary authority of the European Union, to support the countries affected by the tsunami in this period of immediate need and beyond;

3. Will do all that it can to ensure that funds available for the immediate emergency and for the long-term reconstruction are not held up by long administrative and bureaucratic procedures and will work to improve standards of governance in the countries affected to ensure best use of aid;

4. Underlines the importance of good governance in prevention and the preparation for possible natural disasters, given that natural disasters are unavoidable, but that the number of victims and material damage depend largely on governance;

5. Calls on all governments concerned to direct all available capacity, including military resources, to emergency aid and reconstruction;

6. Calls for the suspension of all hostilities and internal political armed conflicts, at least for the duration of the emergency and reconstruction operations;

7. 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;

8. Regrets the inability of the EU to offer a rapid joint military facility for airlift and infrastructure repair; calls, therefore, on the Council to develop EU heavy airlift capabilities in order to offer an appropriate and effective response to humanitarian and natural disasters;

9. Insists that the Council support the creation of a pool of specialised civilian and military civil protection units, which should undertake joint training and be available in the event of natural or environmental disasters, or those associated with industrial risks, within the Union or in the rest of the world;

10. Calls on the Commission to be generous in its use of the € 200 m emergency reserve, and 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 has to come out of the emergency reserve and must not replace rehabilitation and structural development assistance as approved in the 2005 budget;

11. 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 full support for the UN and its commitment to funding OCHA in the region;

12. Calls on Member States and the Commission, in accordance with UN General Assembly Resolution 3519 and its own resolution of 30 November 2000[2], to ensure the full inclusion of women, both within the present tsunami-affected regions and at international level, in the coordination of the global relief operation;

13. Calls on the governments of all the countries affected by the disaster to facilitate the work of humanitarian, relief and volunteer organisations in distributing aid by making all efforts to assure access to aid for all those in need;

14. Welcomes the fact that the Commission has already committed € 23 m in humanitarian aid and supports the additional package of up to € 450 m in humanitarian and reconstruction aid to help in the relief efforts following the Asian tsunami disaster;

15. Welcomes the proposal for a € 1 bn 'Indian Ocean tsunami lending facility' to be managed by the European Investment Bank;

16. 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 honour their pledges in full as quickly as possible and ensure this financial support gives added value to existing relief and humanitarian commitments;

17. Calls on the Council and the Commission to secure a unilateral moratorium on debt repayments for the countries victims of the tsunamis and for the suspension of import tariffs on goods from the affected countries; calls also for some economic reforms in those affected countries;

18. Insists that money gained by governments from debt relief must be channelled towards helping the poorest in their communities;

19. Calls for an international concerted and sustained effort to prevent death from preventable causes due to polluted water, and despair where people cannot recover their livelihoods, homes or communities;

20. Believes that the international community's relief effort must be coordinated and managed by the United Nations in close collaboration with other international institutions such as the European Union;

21. Calls on the UN Secretary-General to appoint a UN humanitarian principal coordinator and one for each of the countries affected by the tsunami, with clear responsibilities to direct all other UN agencies responding to the crisis;

22. Underlines that it is essential that the United Nations be allowed to fulfil its key role as coordinator of international aid efforts in the field and stresses that there must be no gap between the initial emergency aid phase and the rehabilitation and reconstruction phase that will follow;

23. 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 water-borne and vector-borne diseases;

24. Insists on the fact that the international relief effort must focus:

• -on the suspension of payments or forgiveness of debt for affected countries,
• -on coordinating the aid efforts and rebuilding process.
• -on the setting-up of an early tsunami warning system for the Indian Ocean;

25. Calls for the technology for a comprehensive and effective early warning system to be developed without delay and made available to the countries of the Indian Ocean, as well as those of other regions vulnerable to tsunami and other natural disasters;

26. Calls on the Council and the Commission to use the technology of 'Galileo' to facilitate the setting-up of an early warning system for the Indian Ocean, as well as for the Mediterranean Sea;

27. 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;

28. Welcomes the role of the EU Presidency in leading internal coordination of the relief efforts of the EU and its Member States;

29. Calls on the Council and the Commission to assist actively the recovery of the fishing industry in the affected countries through aid for the rebuilding of infrastructure such as harbours, and proposes that the EU make practical contributions by sending suitable decommissioned EU fishing vessels and surplus fishing gear to the affected countries;

30. Calls on the EU Member States to ensure that EU action for the emergency relief, as well as the mid- and long-term action necessary for rebuilding the affected areas, are closely coordinated between EU institutions and with public authorities and NGOs in the recipient countries;

31. Proposes that the Council establish a common date on which all Member States' local assemblies meet to suggest that their members donate their daily allowance of that particular day in favour of UNICEF, in order to promote and manage an initiative of long-distance adoption of the children who have lost their families;

32. Strongly believes that, to protect the orphans affected by the tsunami effectively, it is necessary to offer protection from any kind of exploitation and from clandestine international adoptions, as well as to grant future perspectives by providing a safe and healthy social environment in which to facilitate their civil growth and education; calls for psychosocial measures - with a particular focus on helping children - to avoid post-traumatic stress, given that it is particularly essential that they overcome their traumas, so they can once again devote their attention to education and building a future for themselves and their countries;

33. Calls on the international community to pay special attention to the situation of the 1.5 million children who, according to UNICEF's estimates, have been made vulnerable by the disaster; urges that relief be directed towards ensuring that children are returned to school as soon as possible, towards giving high priority to finding, identifying and reuniting children that have lost their families and, in the light of reports which suggest that child traffickers are emerging to take advantage of the disaster by selling the youngsters into forced labour or sexual slavery, towards ensuring that children are protected from exploitation;

34. Strongly supports the call by Commissioner Michel for a second conference on reconstruction and rehabilitation to be held in the near future in order to prompt rapid and effective rebuilding; strongly believes, however, that there is a need for a substantial increase in the EU assistance to the region's efforts to prevent future catastrophes; believes that the International Conference on Disaster Reduction, due to be held in Kobe this month, would be a suitable moment to launch new EU initiatives and demonstrate the Union's long-term commitment to disaster prevention in Asia and around the world;

35. Stresses that the rebuilding of 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,

36. Calls on the Council to report to Parliament in twelve months' time on the success of EU relief efforts in the region;

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

• [1] COM(2001) 0469.
• [2]  OJ C 228, 13.8.2001, p. 186.