MOTION FOR A RESOLUTION
11.12.2007
pursuant to Rule 115 of the Rules of Procedure
by Avril Doyle, Charles Tannock, Laima Liucija Andrikienė, Bernd Posselt, Eija-Riitta Korhola, Colm Burke
on behalf of the PPE-DE Group
on Eastern Chad
B6‑0534/2007
European Parliament resolution on Eastern Chad
The European Parliament,
- having regard to its previous resolutions on human rights in Chad,
- having regard to its resolution of 26 September 2007 on the ESDP operation in Chad and the Central African Republic (CAR),
- having regard to the UN Security Council resolution 1778 of 25 September 2007 which provides for the deployment of a multi-dimensional international presence in eastern Chad and north-eastern Central African Republic (CAR) including the ESDP mission EUFOR TCHAD/RCA,
- having regard to the joint action adopted by the Council on 15 October 2007 on the EUFOR TCHAD/RCA operation,
- having regard to the UN Security Council Resolution 1769 of 31 July 2007 establishing, for an initial period of 12 months, an AU/UN hybrid operation in Darfur (UNAMID),
- having regard to Rule 115(5) of its Rules of Procedure,
A. whereas on Monday 26 November, hundreds of Chadian rebel fighters were killed along the Chad eastern border by the Chadian army and on Monday 3 December, the Chadian army launched another offensive against Chadian rebel forces,
B. whereas government forces and rebel groups have resumed fighting since the collapse of a preliminary peace accord and hostilities have intensified over the last two weeks,
C. whereas the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) issued a warning on Tuesday 4 December that the surge in fighting in eastern Chad between government forces and rebels over the past 10 days has limited its access to camps that are home to hundreds of thousands of refugees and internally displaced persons (IDPs) and has heightened tensions in the area,
D. whereas fighting has been concentrated mainly in the Farchana, Iriba, Biltine and Guereda areas, located to the north and east of the major town of Abeché, the main operational base for at least 12 refugee camps; whereas the areas near refugee camps to the south of Abeché such as Goz Beida have also become less secure,
E. whereas about 238 000 refugees from Sudan, 44 600 refugees from the Central African Republic and 170 000 internally displaced persons (IDPs) are hosted in 12 camps along Chad's eastern border with Sudan,
F. whereas according to the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC), humanitarian aid activities are being threatened mostly by armed robbery and banditry in the region, and military offensives are exacerbating criminalities,
G. whereas the Chadian President Idriss Deby very recently sacked the United Front for Change's leader Mahamat Nour Abdelkerim as defence minister, indicating tensions and fall-out at governmental level,
H. whereas on 15 October 2007 the Council adopted a joint action on the operation EUFOR TCHAD/RCA designed to contribute to protecting civilians in danger, particularly refugees and displaced persons, to facilitate the delivery of humanitarian aid and the free movement of humanitarian personnel by helping to improve security in the area of operations and to contribute to protecting UN personnel, facilities, installations and equipment and to ensuring the security and freedom of movement of its staff and UN associated personnel,
I. whereas the calendar for the deployment of EUFOR TCHAD/RCA which should have been launched before the end of November is gradually being put back; whereas it was pre-empted that once the rainy season subsided at the end of October, that the rebel groups would once again be more mobile and active in the region; whereas the Chadian intelligence chief has accused Sudan of arming the rebels,
J. whereas any domestic instability in Chad - together with the insecurity of the border region of eastern Chad, Darfur and the Central African Republic - will also have a negative effect and impact on the EUFOR TCHAD/RCA operation once it is deployed,
K. whereas international concerns over the conflict have heightened since the UFDD (Union of Forces for Democracy and Development), another rebel group, threatened to attack the French or any other foreign force deployed in the EUFOR TCHAD/RCA mission,
L. whereas the war crime of sexual violence, including rape being used as a tool of war, is prevalent in refugee camps and elsewhere in this conflict region with women and girls being most vulnerable to attack,
1. Emphasises that the recent violence and unrest in Chad underscores the urgent need for the deployment of EUFOR TCHAD/RCA without further delay; Underlines that the countries of the EU and the UN have a "responsibility to protect" refugees and internally displaced persons in this region;
2. Regrets however that this mission still lacks vital equipment to enable troops to carry out their duties, such as helicopters and medical supplies;
3. Calls on the EU and its Member States to honour the political decision made and to provide this mission with more troops and appropriate financial, logistical and air support, including 10 or more helicopters as soon as possible; Underscores that the EU's credibility in its foreign policy on the world stage is at stake if it cannot mobilise sufficient troops and equipment to make this mission operational; Underlines the importance of the diversity of the composition of EUFOR TCHAD/RCA;
4. Calls on the Council and the Commission to update the Parliament on current initiatives (such as within the European Defence Agency) to address capability gaps in key areas and specifically on helicopters and medical support units and to put forward joint proposals for short term and longer term solutions for guaranteed access to such capabilities for both humanitarian as well as ESDP purposes;
5. Emphasises the regional dimension of the Darfur crisis and the urgent need to address the destabilising impact of the crisis on the humanitarian and security situation in neighbouring countries and reiterates its willingness to carry out this EU military bridging operation in support of a multidimensional UN presence;
6. Recalls its resolution of 26 September 2007 endorsing the launch of an ESDP operation in eastern Chad and northern CAR and urges the Council and Commission to speed up the decision process for the launching of the operation in order to ensure that the first deployment of soldiers starts before the end of the year and that the mission will reach its full potential by February or early March of next year;
7. Welcomes Commission funding of over € 50 million for this mission, including
€10 million from the Instrument for Stability for the UN police training component of this peace-keeping operation; Observes that this is evidence of a coherent inter-institutional EU approach to European security and defence policy;
8. Asks whether troops forming part of the EU Battle-groups, which are due to be operational on 1 January 2008, could be made available for an interim period until the full EUFOR TCHAD/RCA mission is deployed;
9. Deplores the President of Sudan's insistence that the UNAMID force, which the EUFOR TCHAD/RCA is due to bolster, should be exclusively African in nature, contrary to the relevant Security Council Resolution; also emphasises the need to speed up the deployment of this UN-AU peace-keeping force for Darfur; urges the government of Sudan to cooperate with the International Criminal Court and suggests the inclusion into the mandate of the hybrid force to search and arrest those against whom the ICC has issued arrest warrants;
10. Emphasises the particular issue of sexual exploitation in this conflict region and underlines the importance of member states contributing forces to UNAMID and EUFOR TCHAD/RCA being made aware of this abuse and adopting a gender-sensitive approach at all stages of response to sexual violence in conflict, including training to address the particular needs of victims; underscores that it is the responsibility of countries contributing troops and police to peace-keeping operations to ensure that strong codes of conduct and proper training are implemented, and that there is accountability for sexual violence; notes that increasing the deployment of women in peace-keeping has been shown to contribute not only to better relations with host communities, but also to better conduct by peace-keepers;
11. Recalls that no peacekeeping mission in the eastern part of Chad and the northern part of the CAR can be successful without a genuine political reconciliation process;
12 Instructs its President to forward this resolution to the Council, the Commission, the African Union, the Secretary-General of the United Nations, the Co-Presidents of the ACP-EU Joint Parliamentary Assembly and the Presidents, Governments and Parliaments of Chad, the CAR and Sudan.