MOTION FOR A RESOLUTION
5.9.2006
pursuant to Rule 115 of the Rules of Procedure
by Sajjad Karim, Marios Matsakis and Liz Lynne
on behalf of the ALDE Group
on the situation in Sri Lanka
B6‑0503/06
European Parliament resolution on the situation in Sri Lanka
The European Parliament,
– having regard to its previous resolutions on Sri Lanka,
– having regard to the Oslo and Tokyo Declarations (December 2002 and June 2003 respectively),
– having regard to the Report of the United Nations Special Rapporteur, Philip Alston, on the current Civil and Political Rights situation in Sri Lanka, including the question of disappearances and summary executions, (27 March 2006, Commission on Human Rights, Sixty-second session, Item 11 (b) of the provisional agenda).
– having regard to Rule 115(5) of its Rules of Procedure,
A. whereas the recent rapidly escalating violence in the North and East of Sri Lanka has killed over 1000 people this year, triggered the new internal displacement of over 200 000 people, forced more than 10 000 people to flee by sea to the nearby Indian state of Tamil Nadu and brought the Ceasefire Agreement (CFA), negotiated in 2002 to the brink of collapse,
B. whereas what was once a human rights crisis in Sri Lanka has been transformed into a humanitarian crisis,
C. whereas European peace monitors presently in Sri Lanka, as part of the Sri Lanka Monitoring Mission (SLMM), have found "very strong indications" of government forces responsibility for the "committed act of assassination" of 17 national staff members of the French NGO, Action Contre la Faim, in Muttur, on 5 August, and ruled the incident as a "gross violation of the ceasefire accord" adding that: "The committed act of assassination has proved to be one of the most serious recent crimes against humanitarian aid workers worldwide and has been strongly condemned internationally",
D. whereas UNICEF has accused the Sri Lankan air force of killing children in an air strike on Vallipuram in the Mullaithivu district, which at least 51 adolescent schoolgirls aged between 17 to 20 were killed and 129 were wounded whilst attending a first aid course, on 14 August; whereas the SLMM confirmed they saw "no evidence of a military installation" at the site,
E. whereas the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) currently have 1300 child soldiers in their ranks, an continue to forcibly recruit child soldiers to their ranks,
F. Whereas the SLMM have found that the LTTE was responsible for the bombing of a civilian transport bus in a land mine attack on 15 June 2006 that killed 64 people and injured more than 80 in Kebetigollewa in the Anuradhpura in northern Sri Lanka and ruled the incident as a gross violation of the Cease Fire Agreement (CFA),
G. whereas the Muslim community in the East, in particular, is in desperate need of protection from both the LTTE's targeted killings and forced displacement and the Government of Sri Lanka's indiscriminate shelling, which have lead to the displacement of 50 000 people from the Muslim community, in Muttur alone,
H. whereas the security threats currently faced by humanitarian actors are hampering effective and efficient delivery of humanitarian assistance; whereas restrictions imposed by the Government of Sri Lanka, including the delay in issuing work permits and travel restrictions in both Government and LTTE controlled areas, have created a climate of confusion and constrained the movement of humanitarian agencies,
I. recalling the international community's commitment to the peace process and the principles underlying its support as stated in the Tokyo Declaration of June 2003 and recalling that the EU was one of the four Co-Chairs of the Tokyo Conference on the Reconstruction and Development of Sri Lanka 2003; recalling the last statement of the Co-Chairs calling for independent, international investigations of allegations of serious human rights abuses and a fact-finding mission to examine the consequences of displacement and impediments to the right of return of the internally and externally displaced,
J. recalling the primacy of respect for human rights and humanitarian norms by all parties to the conflict, not only as an immediate response to the worsening situation, but as a fundamental building block in a just and enduring resolution of the conflict,
K. recalling the continued need for an international presence in conflict areas and among displaced communities and that the withdrawal of INGOs, often the only independent witness in conflict areas, has increased people's fear of the security forces' violence,
L. whereas the EU must engage all parties on a humanitarian level and put pressure on both main parties to declare a moratorium on violence for the duration of the reconstruction process and the LTTE to abstain from the threat of war as a negotiating tactic,
M. whereas the absence of a concrete human rights agreement has been a fundamental flaw in the Sri Lankan peace process and has allowed the escalation in human rights violations during the ceasefire,
N. whereas any recalibration of the peace process must seek the inclusion of all communities and political organisations in Sri Lanka,
O. whereas political stability is vital to a long-term solution with the LTTE,
1. Continues to support the peace facilitators' determined efforts to secure a further round of talks aimed at strengthening the Ceasefire Agreement;
2. Condemns the assassination by Sri Lankan Security Forces of 17 national staff members of the French NGO, Action Contre la Faim, in Muttur, on 8 August, concurs with European peace monitors that this was "one of the most serious recent crimes against humanitarian aid workers worldwide";
3. Condemns the killing of 61 children attending a first aid course in Vallipuram in the Mullaithive district, by the Sri Lanka Air Force on 14 August;
4. Condemns the LTTE's blowing up of a civilian transport bus in a land mine attack on 15 June 2006;
5. Calls on the LTTE to refrain from human rights violations and to eschew collaboration with armed civilian proxies, by which it deliberately blurs the distinction between civilian and combatant and places civilians at high risk; calls on the LTTE to adopt concrete steps to demonstrate that it is serious about human rights, including issuing unequivocal denunciations of killing attributed to it, but for which it denies responsibility;
6. Calls on the LTTE to refrain from recruiting child soldiers, to allow UNICEF access to children who have been recruited to ensure their medical and psychological and social needs are addressed and to expedite their safe release;
7. Calls on both parties to fulfil their obligations under international humanitarian law, notably respect Common Article 3 of the Geneva Conventions, to ensure the safety of non-combatants, particularly women and children, and to refrain from further actions liable to jeopardise the peace process;
8. Calls on the Government of Sri Lanka to renew renunciation of collaboration with the Karuna group and to end its practice of child recruitment, adult abduction and extra-judicial killings in government controlled territory;
9. Underscores the need for a wide-ranging human rights agreement between the parties and the need for its facilitation by an effective, independent international monitoring mission that complements the agreement on the ground, as recommended by UN Special Rapporteur Philip Alston and supported by UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, Louise Arbour's call for international forensic experts to investigate major human rights abuses; such a mission should act under the full authority and protection of the United Nations, or other international body whose mandate includes the protection of human rights and concern peace and security in Sri Lanka, and be empowered with enforcement mechanisms and unhindered access to both government and LTTE controlled areas;
10. Calls on the Government of Sri Lanka and the LTTE to ensure the security of humanitarian and medical staff and provide an enabling safe environment to carry out their duties;
11. Calls on the Government of Sri Lanka to clearly set out what the requirements are for NGOs and INGOs to be active in the North East and to speed up the process in issuing work permits for international staff working with NGOs and INGOs, ensuring that the process is efficient and transparent;
12. Calls on the Commission and the Government of Sri Lanka to ensure the independence of Sri Lanka's Human Rights Commission and stresses the need for an effective, independent investigation into all alleged human rights violations by security forces or armed groups, bringing the perpetrators to justice in accordance with international fair trial standards;
13. Calls on the Government of Sri Lanka to strengthen its National Police Force to ensure effective police investigation of all extrajudicial killings; recommends the immediate appointment of members of the National Police Commission by the Constitutional Council, as provided for by the Constitution, and confirm its key role in promoting and disciplining police officers; recommends programmes to recruit Tamil and Tamil-speaking police officers, especially to work in the North and East, and programmes to train all police reservists in criminal detection and investigation;
14. Calls on the Government of Sri Lanka and the LTTE to summon the political will to resume their dialogue under the facilitation of the Norwegian Government;
15. Calls on the Council, Commission and all Member States to initiate a human rights-based dialogue with the Tamil Diaspora residing within the European Union;
16. Calls on the Government of Sri Lanka to ratify the Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court;
17. Instructs its President to forward this resolution to the Council, the Commission, the Prime Minister and Parliament of Sri Lanka, the LTTE, the UN Commission on Human Rights and the other governments of SAARC.