MOTION FOR A RESOLUTION

4.9.2006

to wind up the debate on statements by the Council and Commission
pursuant to Rule 103(2) of the Rules of Procedure
by João de Deus Pinheiro, José Ignacio Salafranca Sánchez-Neyra, Elmar Brok, Charles Tannock, Tokia Saïfi, Bogusław Sonik and Rodi Kratsa-Tsagaropoulou
on behalf of the PPE-DE Group
on the situation in the Middle East

B6‑0486/2006

European Parliament resolution on the situation in the Middle East

The European Parliament,

–  having regard to its previous resolutions on the situation in Lebanon and the Middle East,

–  having regard to its previous resolutions on the Euro-Mediterranean Partnership,

–  having regard to the statement issued by its Conference of Presidents on 20 July 2006,

–  having regard to the results of the International Conference for Lebanon held in Rome on 26 July 2006,

–  having regard to the Council's conclusions of 1 and 25 August 2006,

–  having regard to United Nations Security Council (UNSC) resolutions 1559 of 2 September 2004 and 1701 of 11 August 2006,

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

1.  Continues to be extremely alarmed by the humanitarian and environmental consequences of the military escalation, and regrets the resulting casualties among civilians in Lebanon and Israel, soldiers and UN observers and the massive destruction of infrastructure;

2.  Welcomes the decision to organise an international donors' conference in Stockholm on 31 August in order to raise funding to alleviate the humanitarian suffering;

3.  Welcomes the decision by the Lebanese Government to deploy its forces in South Lebanon and the Israeli army’s agreement to withdraw behind the Blue Line as foreseen by UNSC resolution 1701; welcomes the Lebanese Government's strong support for an enhanced role to be given to UNIFIL;

4  Welcomes the outcome of the extraordinary General Affairs and External Relations Council (GAERC) meeting last Friday, in particular the full support by the Council for the implementation of UNSC resolution 1701, and the Member States' commitment to provide about 7000 men out of a maximum of 15 000 UNIFIL forces;

5.  Welcomes the European Union's continuing efforts at working to reach a lasting solution to the conflict; stresses, in this context, the importance of the European Union's Member States speaking with one voice;

****

6.  Calls on both sides to respect fully the US-France brokered UN ceasefire (UNSC resolution 1701), which came into effect on 14 August and which has largely been observed so far, and to put a definitive end to the attacks against civilians;

7.  Reiterates the call for the immediate release of the kidnapped Israeli soldiers and of the members of the Palestinian Government and members of the Palestinian Legislative Council imprisoned by Israel;

8.  Notes the call by the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights to examine whether breaches of internal law occurred during the conflict;

9.  Reiterates the call made by its Conference of Presidents on 20 July and 1 August for the rapid deployment of the international humanitarian effort and a return to respect for international law; stresses, however, that a comprehensive political settlement must be found to put a final end to the conflict, in accordance with UNSC resolutions 1701 and 1559;

10.  Stresses that this settlement should lead to the disarming of Hezbollah, including measures to prevent the entry of arms into Lebanon, and to a final definition of the borders between Lebanon and Israel, and should give full territorial integrity, sovereignty and political independence to the whole of Lebanon, including southern Lebanon;

11.  Supports the mandate given to UNIFIL as outlined in paragraphs 11, 14 and 16 of UNSC resolution 1701, and calls on EU Member States to provide the necessary troops and other logistical support to ensure the success of this mission; reiterates its support for the sending of a strong international stabilisation force under UN supervision and calls on the Council to take concrete action; would, however, have preferred a stronger role for the European Union;

12.  Welcomes the EU position and its significant role as a fundamental supporter of the UNIFIL force, within the framework of its mandate; calls on the parties involved to extend particular assistance to the Christian communities, who, in spite of their historical presence in the region, are suffering very much from the current crisis;

13.  Congratulates the Member States on the announcement at the 25 August GAERC meeting that they would provide the core of the troops for the extended UNIFIL force; insists that the deployment of troops start as soon as possible;

14.  Underlines the leading role taken by France and Italy; fully supports the decision that France will continue to assume the command of UNIFIL until February 2007 and that Italy will then take over ground control; stresses that a duplication of commanding structures must nevertheless be avoided;

15.  Stresses, nevertheless, the importance of clearly and adequately defining the mandate, rules of engagement, structure and competences of UNIFIL, if necessary to be agreed under a new UN Security Council resolution, which should take into account the lessons learnt from previous UN peacekeeping engagements, notably in Bosnia and Herzegovina;

16.  Stresses the obligation under international humanitarian law to ensure access and safe passage for displaced persons, humanitarian workers and supplies; draws attention, in this context, to the special needs of the still very large and potentially vulnerable group of migrant workers from developing countries and their dependents;

17.  Stresses the need to allocate sufficient emergency funding for the victims of the crisis; calls on the Commission, budgetary authority and Member States to consider alternative ways for funding beyond the already allocated resources;

18.  Stresses the need for measures to fight pollution in certain areas and especially against the disastrous impact of the oil slick off the Lebanese shoreline; calls on the Member States and the Commission to provide assistance and a response within the framework of the Pollution Prevention and Response Protocol to the Barcelona Convention and through the Regional Marine Pollution Emergency Response Centre for the Mediterranean Sea (REMPEC), which operates within the framework of the Mediterranean Action Plan (MAP);

19.  Stresses the crucial role which the EU can play in the reconstruction of social infrastructure and facilities in order to enhance the process of stabilisation, particularly in the south of Lebanon;

20.  Underlines the need for democratisation of the political systems of Syria and Iran, including the establishment of proper civil and political freedoms that are severely limited at present;

21.  Stresses that the current crisis has brought the Middle East Peace Process back to the top of the international agenda; calls on the international community to take this opportunity to organise an international peace conference – like the Madrid Conference in 1991 – bringing all the parties involved around one table in order to solve the conflict once and for all; to this end, urges the Council of Ministers to take the lead in this respect;

22.  Calls urgently on Iran and Syria to play a constructive role, especially with regard to the implementation of resolutions 1559 and 1701; calls specifically on Syria to step up controls on its side of the Lebanese-Syrian border in accordance with UN resolution 1701, which requires neighbouring countries to prevent supplies of weapons to non-State entities; reminds all UN Member States that UNSC resolution 1701 prohibits the sale of weapons to Lebanese militias and expresses concern that new high-technology Russian weapons were provided to Hezbollah, which served to escalate the conflict;

23.  Underlines the potentially important contribution of Syria for a sovereign Lebanon and a stabilisation of the region;

24.  Calls on Israel to lift its air and sea blockade on Lebanon once the reinforced UNIFIL force is in place;

25.  Stresses the need to fully support the Lebanese Government, and the country's political institutions and administration, in order to ensure their effective role in the stabilisation of democracy and the reconstruction process;

26.  Decides to send an EP (fact-finding) delegation to Lebanon, Palestine and Israel in order to monitor the situation, with special focus on the humanitarian and political conditions; considers that this EP delegation and the Euro-Mediterranean Parliamentary Assembly (EMPA) delegation should inform each other of their respective activities;

27.  Instructs its President to forward this resolution to the Council and the Commission.