MOTION FOR A RESOLUTION
5 September 2005
pursuant to Rule 115 of the Rules of Procedure
by John Bowis and Bernd Posselt
on behalf of the EPP-ED
on famine in Niger
B6-0476/2005
European parliament resolution on the famine in Niger
The European Parliament,
– having regard to the UN donor appeals for Niger food aid, amounting to $ 80.9 million,
– having regard to Article 115(5) of its Rules of Procedure,
A. whereas Niger, ranked 176th out of 177 countries in the 2004 Human Development Index, suffers from factors such as a rapid population increase (estimated at 3.6 % per year), desertification, locust infestations, rain shortfalls and socio-economic impacts of crises in the Sahel region, all contributing to increased poverty and chronic food shortages,
B. whereas Niger was severely affected by drought and a locust infestation during the autumn of 2004, leading to an estimated third of its close to 12 million people suffering from severe food shortages,
C. whereas drought-areas are also known to be conducive to the outbreak of a number of communicable diseases such as malaria, hepatitis, cholera, typhoid fever and diarrhoea,
D. whereas the urgent appeal by the Government of Niger for emergency food aid in November 2004, as well as following UN warnings of a looming crisis and appeals for emergency aid to the Sahel region were largely ignored by donor countries,
E. whereas a renewed UN appeal in June did not result in a single pledge, but only in late July, after another appeal and increasing media attention, the first pledges were made,
F. whereas the Government of Niger has created a Food Crisis Prevention and Mitigation Mechanism, which receives regular EU contributions but which can only meet approximately half of the needs in the current food crisis,
G. whereas desertification and soil nutrient depletion in the Sahel is a result of the unsustainable use of natural resources, including the decimation of forests and bushland,
1. Welcomes the Commission earmarking of € 4.6 million in humanitarian aid to Niger, as well as the pledge to "provide additional humanitarian funds should the situation continue to deteriorate", announced on 1 July;
2. Deplores, however, the lack of response from the international donor community to earlier aid appeals that could have saved many lives, and only at a fraction of the estimated cost at present;
3. Deplores the insufficient and slow reaction of the Government of Niger to the looming crisis, refusing at first to respond to growing demands for free food and playing down the gravity of the situation, thereby undermining international appeals for aid and aggravating the crisis;
4. Expresses grave concern that international attention to the crisis is once again waning, while aid funds are still lacking and the suffering continues; calls, in this context, on international donors not to abandon Niger in the midst of its suffering;
5. Warns, at the same time, against the risk of misguided food aid destabilising local and regional markets, and calls on international donors to focus on cash donations to locally based organisations, to end food aid as soon as the situation improves, and to link emergency aid to longer-term aid for increased food security, improving health systems, supporting regional cooperation and markets, and addressing the serious degradation of agricultural areas and natural resources;
6. Welcomes, in this context, the coordination of ECHO emergency aid with longer term food security operations administered by the Commission, as well as the clear indication of rural development and food security as a priority in the Niger Country Strategy Paper;
7. Calls on international donors to also focus on health-related aid, for instance to improve the access to clean water, to distribute re-hydration tablets and to support and expand existing health services to prevent an outbreak of communicable diseases;
8. Calls on international donors to coordinate their aid strategies for Niger with each other, as well as with the African Union, ECOWAS and other regional and local actors, and to make this aid long-term and part of a regional strategy;
9. Instructs its President to forward this resolution to the Council, the Commission, the co-Presidents of the ACP-EU Joint Parliamentary Assembly, the African Union, the ECOWAS, UN Secretary-General and the government of Niger.