MOTION FOR A RESOLUTION
21.10.2008
pursuant to Rule 115 of the Rules of Procedure
by Luisa Morgantini
on behalf of the GUE/NGL Group
on the clashes in the Eastern Border areas of DRC
B6‑0568/2008
European Parliament resolution on the clashes in the Eastern Border areas of DRC
The European Parliament,
– having regard to the Council declaration on the situation in east of DRC of 10 October 2008,
– having regard to Rule 115(5) of its Rules of Procedure,
A. whereas the conflict affecting the DRC has claimed the lives of 5 400 000 people since 1998 and still causing directly or indirectly approximately 1500 deaths each day,
B. whereas the fighting between the Congolese army, the rebel troops of ousted General Laurent Nkunda and the fighters of the Democratic Forces for the Liberation of Rwanda (FDLR) as well as troops of Uganda's Lord Resistance Army (LRA) has put tremendous hardship to the civilian populations of the region of Eastern provinces of the DRC for many months,
C. whereas according to UNHCR reports the new fighting in North Kivu led to a high number of casualties and more than 100,000 displaced persons in addition to reports of hundreds of dead bodies having been thrown into the river and 50 000 displaced persons after heavy fighting of the LRA in the province of Ituri,
D. whereas since the Goma peace accord of 23 January 2008 there have been massacres, rapes of young girls, mothers and grandmothers, forced recruitment of civilians and child soldiers, and a host of other acts of violence and serious human rights abuses in the Eastern DRC, both by Laurent Nkunda’s rebel troops and by FDLR combatants and the Congolese army itself,
E. whereas it is vital to find a political solution to the conflict in Eastern provinces of the DRC, so as to consolidate peace and democracy and promote stability and development in the region for the well-being of all the peoples of the placeGreat Lakes region,
F. whereas several humanitarian organisations have been forced to suspend their activities following the hostilities at the end of 2007, while health centres remain without supplies or have been abandoned by their medical staff, .
G. whereas humanitarian aid workers have reported that the local and displaced populations in Eastern provinces of the DRC are growing progressively weaker and that the continuing warfare is preventing aid workers from gaining access to certain areas which are in need of urgent food and medical aid,
H. whereas malnutrition is a further aspect of the extreme vulnerability suffered by the populations now living in Eastern provinces of the DRC and whereas the data from MSF’s medical aid programmes offer an alarming indication of the scale of malnutrition in Eastern provinces of the DRC,
placeI. whereas the EU firmly condemns the recent statements by Laurent Nkunda calling to overthrow the elected and legitimate government of the DRC;
1. Expresses its deep condemnation for the massacres which have been continuing for too many years in Eastern provinces of DRC and calls on all relevant national and international authorities systematically to bring the perpetrators to justice;
2. Calls on all parties involved to return immediately and unconditionally to the peace process to which they committed themselves to in Goma in January 2008;
3. Urges all actors to restore the rule of law and fight impunity specifically in view of the mass rapes of women and girls and recruitment of child soldiers;
4. Reaffirms its support for the Congolese authorities in their efforts to find a political solution to the crisis and calls on all the parties to respect the ceasefire;
5. Notes with concern that elements from the Ugandan rebel Lord’s Resistance Army (LRA) have recently conducted attacks on 16 localities in the DRC’s eastern territory of Dungu, Province Oriental and Ituri where UNHCR reports of about 80 missing children, confirming fears of new forced recruitment of child soldiers;
6. Reiterates that the Goma Agreement and the Nairobi Communiqué remain the only true, viable framework to bring stability to eastern country-regionplaceCongo;
7. Encourages all governments of the Great Lakes Region to initiate a dialogue with an aim to coordinate their efforts in lowering tensions and stopping the violence in Eastern DRC before this conflict spreads into the region as a whole;
8. Calls on the Council and Commission to implement large-scale medical assistance programmes for the civilian populations in placeEastern DRC with immediate effect, in order to meet immediate needs and in anticipation of the reconstruction which will be required;
9. Calls for the effective establishment of monitoring mechanisms, such as the CityplaceKimberley process for the certification of the origin of natural resources imported into the EU market;
10. Calls on the Council of the European Union and every EU Member State to provide special aid to the populations of placeEastern DRC;
11. Instructs its President to forward this resolution to the Council, the Commission, the institutions of the African Union and all parliaments and governments of the Great Lakes Region.