MOTION FOR A RESOLUTION
17.11.2008
pursuant to Rule 103(2) of the Rules of Procedure
by Ryszard Czarnecki, Adam Bielan, Ewa Tomaszewska, Mieczysław Edmund Janowski and Konrad Szymański
on behalf of the UEN Group
on the situation in the Democratic Republic of Congo
See also joint motion for a resolution RC-B6-0590/2008
B6‑0594/2008
European Parliament resolution on the situation in the Democratic Republic of Congo
The European Parliament,
– having regard to its resolution of 17 January 2008 on the situation in the Democratic Republic of Congo and rape as a war crime and to its previous resolutions on human rights abuses in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC),
– having regard to its resolution of 15 November 2007 on the EU response to situations of fragility in developing countries,
– having regard to the resolution of 22 November 2007 of the ACP-EU Joint Parliamentary Assembly on the situation in the Democratic Republic of Congo, in particular in the East, and its impact on the region,
– having regard to the communication from the Commission to the Council, the European Parliament, the European Economic and Social Committee and the Committee of the Regions entitled 'Towards an EU response to situations of fragility – engaging in difficult environments for sustainable development, stability and peace' (COM(2007)0643) and the Commission staff working document annexed thereto (SEC(2007)1417),
– having regard to Resolution 60/1 of the United Nations General Assembly of 24 October 2005 on the 2005 World Summit outcome, and in particular paragraphs 138 to 140 thereof on the responsibility to protect populations,
– having regard to the Council statement of 10 November 2008 on the situation in eastern DRC,
– having regard to the recent verbal hostilities between the government of the DRC and the Government of Rwanda,
– having regard to Rule 103(2) of its Rules of Procedure,
A. whereas the fighting between the Congolese army, the rebel troops of ousted General Laurent Nkunda, the fighters of the Democratic Forces for the Liberation of Rwanda (FDLR) and troops of Uganda's Lord's Resistance Army (LRA) has been causing tremendous hardship to the civilian populations of the eastern provinces of the DRC for many months,
B. whereas the conflict affecting the Democratic Republic of Congo has claimed the lives of 5 400 000 people since 1998 and continues to be the cause of 1500 deaths each day,
C. whereas since 28 August 2008 fighting has resumed between the Congolese army and the forces of a renegade general, Laurent Nkunda’s National Congress for the Defence of the People (CNDP), as well as other armed groups, breaking a ceasefire that had been in place since the Goma peace agreement was signed on 23 January 2008,
D. whereas an estimated 250 000 civilians were forced to flee in the most recent violence, including many who had been displaced by earlier waves of fighting,
E. whereas since the signature of the Goma peace agreement there have been reports of civilians being trapped in combat zones, massacres, rapes and civilians being illegally detained by soldiers of the Congolese army and combatants belonging to other armed groups,
F. whereas aid workers have suffered attacks that have forced them to suspend activities in North Kivu and parts of South Kivu, leaving many displaced persons without assistance; whereas soldiers and combatants from armed groups have looted health centres and hijacked trucks delivering humanitarian assistance, diverting them for military purposes, and crowds have stoned aid workers and refused to allow them to pass roadblocks, confusing their role with that of the UN peacekeeping force, MONUC,
G. whereas local food prices have increased dramatically, exacerbating poverty and malnutrition, but the World Food Programme has been obliged to reduce rations in eastern Congo because of food shortages; whereas displaced people and other vulnerable groups have resorted to high-risk strategies to feed their families,
H. whereas despite the risk of abuses by army soldiers or combatants belonging to armed groups, some have no alternative but to return home to cultivate their fields; whereas women and girls are the most affected, many having been raped while attempting to return home or to seek firewood or water,
placeI. whereas children of displaced families have little or no access to education, either because the family has no money to pay school fees or because there are no schools operating in or near displacement camps, and whereas in the struggle to stay alive, children are forced to work,
J. whereas the vast majority of those forced to flee their homes are living with host families, many of whom are as poor as those they support; whereas to date, these host families, many of whom have sheltered large numbers of displaced persons for months or years, have received little attention and assistance, and with village populations sometimes doubling in size, scarce local resources are so strained that displaced people are often forced to move again to other locations,
K. whereas it is vital to find a political solution to the conflict in the eastern provinces of the DRC, in order 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,
L. whereas since the end of 2006 the conflict in the DRC has also forced some 400 000 people to flee their homes and whereas there are now a total of 800 000 displaced persons in the eastern provinces of the DRC,
M. whereas the EU firmly condemns the calls by Laurent Nkunda for the overthrow of the elected and legitimate Government of the Democratic Republic of Congo,
1. Condemns the continuing unacceptable violations of human rights in the east of the Democratic Republic of Congo, in particular the numerous cases of sexual violence and the recruitment and use of child soldiers by armed groups;
2. Calls on all the parties involved to immediately cease violations of human rights;
3. Expresses its deep outrage at the massacres and crimes against humanity which have been continuing for years in the eastern provinces of the DRC, calls on all relevant national and international authorities systematically to bring the perpetrators to justice, whoever they may be, and calls on the United Nations Security Council as a matter of urgency to take all measures capable of genuinely preventing any further attacks on the civilian populations of the eastern provinces of the DRC;
4. Calls on CNDP to return immediately and unconditionally to the peace process to which it committed itself in Goma in January;
5. Reiterates the need for further efforts to bring to an end the activity of foreign armed groups in the east of the DRC, in particular the FDLR, and calls on the Government of the DRC and other governments in the region to take the necessary steps to this end;
6. Calls on the international community to reinforce MONUC by providing appropriate materials and staff to enable it to fulfil its mandate;
7. Reaffirms its support for the Congolese authorities in their efforts to find a political solution to the crisis and calls on all parties concerned to respect the ceasefire;
8. Reiterates that the Goma Agreement and the Nairobi Communiqué remain the only true viable framework to bring stability to eastern placecountry-regionCongo;
9. Encourages all governments of the Great Lakes Region to initiate a dialogue with the aim of coordinating their efforts to reduce tension and stop the violence in eastern DRC before this conflict spreads into the region as a whole;
10. Urges the authorities of the Democratic Republic of Congo and the Republic of Rwanda to step up their cooperation in order to implement the commitments entered into in Nairobi, and to give priority to dialogue and consultation to help bring about lasting peace in the east of the DRC and stability in the region;
11. Calls on the Council and Commission to implement large-scale medical assistance programmes for the civilian populations in eastern DRC with immediate effect, in order to meet immediate needs and in anticipation of the reconstruction which will be required;
12. Calls for the effective establishment of monitoring mechanisms analogous to the placeCityKimberley process to certify the origin of natural resources imported into the EU;
13. Calls on the Council of the European Union and every EU Member State to provide special aid to the populations of eastern DRC;
14. Instructs its President to forward this resolution to the Council, the Commission, the institutions of the African Union, the High Representative for the CFSP, the governments and parliaments of the Member States, the Secretary General of the United Nations, the United Nations Security Council, the United Nations Commission on Human Rights, the President, Parliament and Government of the Democratic Republic of Congo, the President, Parliament and Government of the Republic of Rwanda, and all governments of the Great Lakes Region.