MOTION FOR A RESOLUTION on the situation in the Republic of Côte d'Ivoire (Ivory Coast)
13.12.2010
pursuant to Rule 110(2) of the Rules of Procedure
Charles Tannock, Michał Tomasz Kamiński, Ryszard Antoni Legutko, Tomasz Piotr Poręba, Adam Bielan, Ryszard Czarnecki on behalf of the ECR Group
See also joint motion for a resolution RC-B7-0707/2010
B7‑0707/2010
European Parliament resolution on the situation in the Republic of Côte d'Ivoire (Ivory Coast)
The European Parliament,
– having regard to its previous resolutions on Côte d'Ivoire,
– having regard to the EU-ACP Cotonou Partnership Agreement signed in June 2000,
– having regard to the relevant UN Security Council's resolutions on Côte d'Ivoire, particularly Resolution 1765(2007), Resolution 1933(2010) and Resolution 1946 (2010),
– having regard to the statement by the Vice-President of the Commission/High Representative of the Union for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy on the electoral process, and in particular, those of 3 December 2010 on Côte d'Ivoire election results, and of 1 December 2010 on the second round of presidential elections in Côte d'Ivoire,
– having regard to the preliminary conclusions of the election observation missions sent by the European Union (EU), the African Union (AU) and the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS), which have concurred in their respective findings that the second round of presidential elections in Côte d'Ivoire took place in a free and democratic manner,
– having regard to both the UN Security Council press release on Côte d'Ivoire's elections and the statement of the UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-Moon of 2 December 2010,
– having regard to the statement of Mr Young-Jin Choi, Special Representative of the UN Secretary-General in Côte d'Ivoire, of 3 December 2010 on the certification of the results of the second round of the presidential election held on 28 November 2010,
– having regard to the Declaration of the ACP-EU Joint Parliamentary Assembly adopted on 3 December 2010 in Kinshasa on the announcement of the results of the second round of the presidential election held on 28 November 2010 in Côte d'Ivoire,
– having regard to the statement of UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-Moon of 4 December 2010 expressing concern over the political stand-off following presidential elections in Côte d'Ivoire despite Mr Alassane Dramane Ouattara's clear victory in exit polls by a nearly 10-point margin,
– having regard to the statement of European Commission's President José Manuel Durão Barroso of 4 December 2010 confirming Mr Alassane Dramane Ouattara as the legitimate winner of the democratic presidential elections,
– having regard to the communiqué of Mr Abdou Diouf, Secretary-General of the Organisation Internationale de la Francophonie of 5 December 2010, urging all political actors involved to recognize the results of the presidential elections as proclaimed by the Independent Electoral Commission of Côte d'Ivoire (IEC) and certified by the UN,
– having regard to the Final Communiqué of the ECOWAS summit held in Abuja, Nigeria, on 7 December 2010,
– having regard to the UN Security Council Declaration of 8 December 2010,
– having regard to the decision of the AU to suspend Côte d'Ivoire's membership on 9 December 2010 to pressure the country's former President Laurent Koudou Gbagbo step down,
– having regard to the international community's united position calling former President Laurent Koudou Gbagbo to resign from office at the earliest opportunity to preserve the prospects of a peaceful transition of power,
– having regard to Rule 110(2) of its Rules of Procedure,
A. whereas after more then 10 years, and several postponements, the first round of presidential elections was held in Côte d'Ivoire on 31 October 2010 in accordance with the provisions of the Ouagadougou Political Agreement of 4 March 2007,
B. whereas the first round of the presidential elections was characterized by a historic turnout of about 80% of the registered voters and took place generally in a calm and peaceful manner despite subsequent delays in the announcement of the results,
C. whereas the IEC ultimately released the names of incumbent President Laurent Koudou Gbagbo and former Prime Minister Alassane Dramane Ouattara as the main contenders of the second round of the presidential elections to be held on 28 November 2010,
D. whereas the EU's Observation Mission in Côte d'Ivoire concluded in its Preliminary Statement of 30 November 2010 that the electoral campaign for the second round of the elections was stained by violence causing several injuries and deaths among the citizenry,
E. whereas on the evening of 2 December 2010 the President of the IEC, Mr Youssouf Bakayoko, declared Mr Alassane Dramane Ouattara the winner of the second round of elections with 54.1% of the votes cast amidst a climate of generalized tension marked by allegations of electoral fraud stemming from the President-candidate's camp and acts of violence and intimidation directed towards Mr Ouattara's supporters as well as the European Union's observers in the country,
F. whereas the UN Security Council welcomed the announcement of provisional results by the Independent Electoral Commission of Côte d'Ivoire and reiterated its readiness to take appropriate measures against those who obstruct the peace process, in particular the work of the IEC, as set out in paragraph 6 of resolution 1946(2010),
G. whereas the head of the Côte d'Ivoire's Constitutional Council, following the release of the elections results by the IEC, declared these announced results as null and void and proceeded to proclaim Mr Gbagbo as winner of the presidential elections, after having cancelled voting results from four northern regions of Côte d'Ivoire where Mr Ouattara had won by large margins,
H. whereas, following the abovementioned decision of the Côte d'Ivoire's Constitutional Council, all the country's borders were closed and the broadcasting of all foreign information TV channels was suspended, which has not only left Côte d'Ivoire's citizens in total isolation from the rest of the world, but also made it difficult for the international community to monitor possible human rights abuses and breaches of the rule of law in the country,
I. whereas the UN Secretary-General's Special Representative, Mr Choi, subsequently certified the due process of the Côte d'Ivoire's presidential elections, thus confirming that election results released by the Independent Electoral Commission are accurate and representative of the free will of the Ivorian citizens,
J. whereas Mrs Fatou Bensouda, Deputy Prosecutor of the International Criminal Court (ICC), called upon the authorities of Côte d'Ivoire to duly investigate all acts of violence that occurred before and in the aftermath of the second round of presidential elections, reaffirming therefore the ICC's determination to scrutinize closely all acts of violence reported to it in this regard,
K. whereas despite ongoing protests on the part of the international community Mr Gbagbo was sworn in as President during a ceremony organized on 4 December 2010, while Mr Ouattara has taken the oath as President of Côte d'Ivoire by a letter sent to the Constitutional Council,
L. whereas a growing number of political and trade partners of Côte d'Ivoire in Africa and the Western world have expressed their support for Mr Alassane Dramane Ouattara, the latter being recognized as the legitimate winner of the Côte d'Ivoire's presidential elections and legitimate Head of State brought to power by the democratic will of the Ivorian people,
M. whereas former South African President Thabo Mbeki, Africa Union's Special representative to Côte d'Ivoire, visited the country with a view to a possible mediation between the two presidential camps,
N. whereas on 5 December 2010 Mr Ouattara announced the formation of a government headed by ex-Prime Minister Mr Guillaume Soro; while Mr Gbagbo replied to this by announcing the nomination of his own prime minister, despite the protests of several thousands of people in the Northern city of Bouaké,
O. whereas the UN Security Council meeting on 8 December 2010 condemned in the strongest possible terms any attempt to subvert the popular will of the Ivorian people and acknowledged the ECOWAS decision confirming Mr Ouattara as President of Côte d'Ivoire,
1. Expresses strong concerns about the situation in Côte d'Ivoire following the second round of presidential elections; stresses, in this respect, that the results of democratic elections must be fully respected by all participants, including the defeated candidates, and underlines that failure to uphold these results would further put at risk both peace and stability in the country;
2. Urges all the political forces in Côte d'Ivoire to respect the will of the people that was freely expressed in the results of the presidential elections of 28 November 2010 announced by the Independent Electoral Commission and certified by the Special Representative of the UN Secretary-General;
3. Deplores the violent clashes that preceded the proclamation of the results of the second round of presidential elections in Côte d'Ivoire and expresses its deepest solidarity with the victims and their families; regrets also the political obstruction and attempts to intimidate IEC members, which ultimately delayed the announcement of provisional results, thus hampering the due course of the democratic electoral process;
4. Condemns the decision of the Constitutional Council to partially invalidate the results of the second round of presidential election; considers that this constitutes a violation of the Ivorian Electoral Code, which does not provide for such a situation, and expresses concern at the political instrumentalisation of the Constitutional Court by Mr Gbagbo, which, by preventing it from functioning effectively, has threatened the electoral process as a whole;
5. Welcomes the declarations of various actors of the international community in support of the electoral process in Côte d'Ivoire and acknowledging Mr Ouattara as legitimate winner of these elections;
6. Emphasises the need to closely monitor the still confusing political situation prevailing in the country and the reported acts of violence, which in some instances allegedly involve the Ivorian security forces; calls on all parties concerned to exercise the utmost restraint in order to avoid further escalation of the situation and preserve the rule of law;
7. Welcomes all mediation efforts and calls on all political forces in Côte d'Ivoire to actively support a peaceful transition and thus avoid a division of the country;
8. Strongly condemns the acts of intimidation directed against the European Union's observers in Côte d'Ivoire and EU citizens in general that forced the mission to withdraw from the country for security reasons;
9. Commends the commitment of the Vice-President of the Commission/High Representative of the Union for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy to the electoral process in Côte d'Ivoire and welcomes her readiness to consider the adoption of targeted sanctions against those who obstruct the peaceful transition;
10. Instructs its President to forward this resolution to the EU Council and Commission, the Vice-President of the Commission/High Representative of the Union for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy Baroness Catherine Ashton, the UN Security Council and the UN Secretary-General, the ONUCI, the institutions of the African Union, ECOWAS, the ACP-EU Parliamentary Assembly and the Governments of the EU Member States.