MOTION FOR A RESOLUTION
19.2.2008
pursuant to Rule 115 of the Rules of Procedure
by Adam Bielan, Ryszard Czarnecki, Hanna Foltyn-Kubicka, Ewa Tomaszewska, Mieczysław Edmund Janowski, Konrad Szymański
on behalf of the UEN Group
on the situation in North Kivu
B6‑0089/2008
European Parliament resolution on the situation in North Kivu
The European Parliament,
- –having regard to its previous resolutions on the Democratic Republic
- of Congo (DRC) and the Great Lakes region,
- –having regard to the results of the Conference on Peace, Security and Development for the provinces of North and South Kivu held in Goma, North Kivu from 6 to 23 January 2008,
- –having regard to Human Rights Watch publication Renewed Crisis in North Kivu, October 2007,
- –having regard to the resolution of the ACP-EU Joint Parliamentary Assembly of 22 November 2007 on the situation in the Democratic Republic of Congo,
- –having regard to the European Convention on Human Rights and its Five Protocols,
- –having regard to the resolutions of the United Nations (UN) Security Council on the situation in the Democratic Republic of Congo and the monthly reports of the UN Secretary-General on this matter,
- –having regard to Rule 115(5) of its Rules of Procedure,
A. whereas since the end of 2006, approximately 300 000 persons living in the province of North Kivu have been forced to flee their homes due to warfare involving the regular armed forces of the DRC and the rebel troops of ousted general Laurent Nkunda, and other armed groups bringing the total number of displaced persons up to 800 000 people,
B. whereas violence in the North Kivu province of the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) has intensified since August 2007, displacing hundreds of thousands of people and creating major obstacles for people to access health care,
C. whereas in recent weeks the humanitarian situation in North Kivu in the east of the country has further deteriorated. and displacements on a massive scale, rapes and horrendous atrocities against the civilian population have become a daily occurrence,
D. whereas the persistence of armed conflict and the presence of renegade armed groups in the Great Lakes region constitutes a serious threat to peace, stability, democracy and the development of that region,
E. whereas the stability and peace in the DRC can be achieved only based on the agreement reached at the Goma Conference for Peace, Security, and Development in the provinces of North and South Kivu after full disarmament of all paramilitary groups stationed in the eastern part of the country,
1. Remains very worried about the dire situation of the populations in North Kivu, in particular that of women and children who suffer from violence and atrocities including excessive force, robberies, extortions, rapes and arbitrary executions;
2. Stresses that the Democratic Republic of Congo counts to date more than 6 million displaced persons, 1.3 million of whom have been displaced in North and South Kivu and that five million Congolese have died, as a direct and indirect result of the war;
3. Underlines that the crisis in the Kivu provinces has many dimensions that call for a comprehensive solution, including an end to the fighting, the disarmament and demobilization or integration into the Armed Forces of militias and the re-establishment of State authority and the rule of law;
4. Welcomes the agreement reached at the Goma Conference for Peace, Security, and Development in the provinces of North and South Kivu and the encouraging prospects for ending conflict in these two provinces;
5. Calls on the international community, in particular the eastern neighbours of the Democratic Republic of the Congo in the Great Lakes region, to fully support the new dynamic launched by the Goma Conference, which is a major step towards the restoration of lasting peace and stability in the Great Lakes region;
6. Calls upon the DRC authorities, communities and armed groups to continue the
constructive dialogue in order to improve the situation in the country especially in the provinces of North and South Kivu; stresses the need for all protagonists of the conflict to support the momentum for peace created by the Goma agreement;
7. Calls on the governments of the EU and ACP countries, the Council, the Commission, the UN and the African Union (AU) to do everything possible to provide efficient and adequate aid to the population in the DRC especially in North Kivu and South Kivu and to contribute to addressing a humanitarian disaster;
8. Underlines its commitment to contributing to the consolidation of peace and stability in the Democratic Republic of the Congo’s post-transition period;
9. Urges that the perpetrators of human rights violations in the DRC, such as war crimes, crimes against humanity, sexual violence against women and the recruitment of child soldiers be reported, identified, prosecuted and punished in accordance with national and international criminal law;
10. Urges the international community, non-governmental organizations and civil society to increase humanitarian assistance to civilians affected by displacement and violence in North and South Kivu;
11. Instructs its President to forward this resolution to the Council, the Commission, the governments and the parliaments of the Member States, the Government of the Democratic Republic of Congo, the United Nations Security Council and the governments of the ACP countries.