MOTION FOR A RESOLUTION

3.2.2009

with request for inclusion in the agenda for the debate on cases of breaches of human rights, democracy and the rule of law
pursuant to Rule 115 of the Rules of Procedure
by Marco Cappato, Jelko Kacin, Marios Matsakis
on behalf of the ALDE Group
on Sri Lanka

See also joint motion for a resolution RC-B6-0074/2009

NB: This motion for a resolution is available in the original language only.

B6‑0077/2009

European Parliament resolution on Sri Lanka

The European Parliament,

–  having regard to its previous resolutions on country-regionplaceSri Lanka of 18 May 2000, 14 March 2002 20 November 2003 and 7 September 2006,

–   having regard to Rule 115(5) of its Rules of Procedure,

A.   whereas in the past few months, the situation in Sri Lanka has deteriorated miserably with hundreds of deaths, some 300 000 people displaced from their homes and deprived of essential food and water supplies as well as shelters, medicines and other humanitarian supplies,

B.   whereas the LTTE has retreated into its stronghold in the northern Vanni area since the start of the government offensive in October 2008, forcing civilians deeper into territory they control,

C.   whereas the Government of Sri Lanka is carrying out military operations in areas with important civilian population

D.   whereas the Government ordered in September 2008 the withdrawal of all UN and nongovernmental organizations (with the exception of the ICRC and Caritas) from the Vanni that plunged the region into a humanitarian crisis,

E.  whereas information made available indicates that several civilians in the so-called safe zone have been killed or sustained injuries as a result of artillery bombardment,

F.  whereas the International Press Freedom Mission that took place in October 2008 noted lack of press access and independent information flow in the conflict zones;

G.  whereas since the beginning of the new year, both the killing of a senior editor and the attack on the facilities of a popular independent TV channel have led to a total paralysis of the media community,

F.  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,

• 1.Deplores the resumption of large-scale and widespread violence between the government forces and the LTTE that are violating the laws of war by targeting civilians and preventing them from escaping to safety;
• 2.Condemns the operations led on both sides, which have resulted in enormous humanitarian suffering and the deaths of hundreds of civilians and military personnel;
• 3.Deplores the shelling on 24 and 25 January against a compound sheltering UN national staff inside the safety zone, killing at least nine civilians and wounding more than twenty;
• 4.Condemns the culture of impunity and indifference over killings and attacks on journalists in country-regionplaceSri Lanka, urges the government to accept the creation of an international and independent commission to enquiry on the attacks in line with requests by Sri Lankan journalists and media institutions;
• 5.Underscores the long-term need for a wide-ranging human rights agreement between the parties and its facilitation by an effective, independent international monitoring mission, complementing the agreement on the ground with unhindered access to both Government and LTTE controlled areas;
• 6.Emphasises the need for international monitors to assess the humanitarian needs of a quarter of a million people trapped in the Wanni and to ensure proper distribution of food and other humanitarian assistance, particularly as the fighting approaches the trapped civilian population;
• 7.Calls upon the Sri Lankan government and the LTTE to give assurances of unimpeded humanitarian access to provide for the immediate material needs of the displaced and assure their safety,
• 8.Reiterates its condemnation of the appalling abuse of children through the recruitment of child soldiers, which is a war crime, and calls on all rebel groups to stop this practice, to release those whom they are holding and to make a declaration of principle that they will not recruit any children in the future; urges the Government of Sri Lanka to put into place legal measures to prevent and criminalise the practice;
• 9.Condemns the intransigence of the LTTE leadership over the years, which has successively rejected so many possible ways forward,
• 10.Calls for an immediate, comprehensive and verifiable end to hostilities and calls on the LTTE to resume peace negotiations on a constructive basis with the Government of Sri Lanka without delay;
• 11.Calls for 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;
• 12.Calls on the Council, the Commission and the Governments of the Member States to redouble their efforts to help bring a stable and just peace to country-regionplaceSri Lanka and restore security and prosperity;
• 13.Instructs its President to forward this resolution to the Council, the Commission, the Secretary-General of the United Nations, the Government of Norway and the other Co-Chairs of the Tokyo Donor Conference, the President and Government of Sri Lanka and other parties to the conflict.