MOTION FOR A RESOLUTION on the situation between Sudan and South Sudan
6.6.2012 - (2012/2659(RSP))
pursuant to Rule 110(2) of the Rules of Procedure
Mariya Nedelcheva, Filip Kaczmarek, Gay Mitchell, Horst Schnellhardt, Rafał Trzaskowski, Cristian Dan Preda, Mario Mauro, Michèle Striffler, Michael Gahler, Joachim Zeller, Nadezhda Neynsky, Giovanni La Via, Monica Luisa Macovei, Roberta Angelilli, Frank Engel on behalf of the PPE Group
See also joint motion for a resolution RC-B7-0281/2012
B7‑0286/2012
European Parliament resolution on the situation between Sudan and South Sudan
The European Parliament,
– having regard to the Comprehensive Peace Agreement (CPA) signed on 9 January 2005 between Sudan People’s Liberation Movement and Government of Sudan,
– having regard to the Solemn Declaration of the Assembly of Heads of State and Government of the African Union on Sudan of 31 January 2011,
– having regard to the Council conclusions on Sudan of 31 January 2011 and to Council Decision 9953/11 of 17 May 2011,
– having regard to the conclusions of the UN-backed consultations on the Darfur peace process, held in Doha, Qatar (27-31 May 2011),
– having regard to the UN Security Council Presidential Statement of 3 June 2011 on Sudan,
– having regard to the Memorandum of Understanding on Non-Aggression and Cooperation signed on 10 February 2012 between Sudan and South Sudan,
– having regard to the Statement of 28 March 2012, 11 April 2012 by the Spokesperson of EU High Representative, Catherine Ashton, on armed border clashes between Sudan and South Sudan,
– having regard to the African Union statement of 17 April 2012 calling to Sudan and South Sudan to act responsibly and to heed the appeals made by the AU and the international community for an immediate end to the current conflict between the two countries,
– having regard to the statement of the Spokesperson for the UN Secretary-General on the situation in Sudan and South Sudan of 16 April 2012 expressing deep concern over continued hostilities between the two countries, including its impact on innocent civilians,
– having regard to the statement by the UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon of 19 April 2012 urging Sudan and South Sudan to end their hostilities avoiding a return to conflict which has already cost millions of lives over two decades,
– having regard to the Council conclusions on Sudan and South Sudan of 23 April 2012 (3159th Foreign Affairs Council meeting) expressing EU deep concern about the escalating conflict between Sudan and South Sudan,
– having regard to the Roadmap for Sudan and South Sudan set out in the communiqué issued by the AU Peace and Security Council on 24 April, which is fully supported by the EU,
– having regard to the Declaration of 19 April 2012 by the High Representative on behalf of the European Union on EU support to Joint Operations Centre to combat Kony’s Lord’s Resistance Army,
– having regard to the Statement of 26 April 2012 by the spokesperson of High Representative Catherine Ashton welcoming the adoption of a roadmap on Sudan and South Sudan by the African Union Peace and Security Council,
– having regard to the unanimously adopted on 2 May 2012 by the UN Security Council resolution on the Roadmap for Sudan and South Sudan,
– having regard to the statement of 12 May 2012 by Ban Ki-moon welcoming the withdrawal of the South Sudan Police Service from Abyei Area, and urging the Government of Sudan to also remove its forces from the Area, as well as calling on Sudan and South Sudan to resume negotiations under the auspices of the AU High-Level panel,
– having regards to the ACP-EU JPA previous resolutions on Sudan and South Sudan, especially those of 22 June 2006 and 31 March 2010,
– having regard to its previous resolution on Sudan and South Sudan, especially those of 9 June 2011 and 14 September 2011,
– having regard to the Declaration of the ACP-EU JPA Co-Presidents on Sudan and South Sudan adopted by the Joint Parliamentary Assembly on 30 May 2012,
– having regard to Rule 110(2) of its Rules of Procedure,
A. whereas recent fighting between Sudan and South Sudan was triggered over the town of Heglig in South Kordofan state, which is usually internationally recognised as Sudanese territory, but which is also claimed by the South;
B. whereas the latest clashes in the Heglig, a region rich with oil but with ill-defined boarder, between South Sudan and Sudan were the worst since South Sudan gained independence last July;
C. whereas South Sudan accuses Sudan of having bombed its northern territory in several instances in May and June;
D. whereas both sides blamed each other for the latest conflict, which fuelled fears of a return to outright war;
E. whereas it has still not been resolved how much landlocked South Sudan - which took about three quarters of what was the united country’s oil output when it seceded - should pay to export crude using pipelines and other infrastructure like processing facilities in Sudan;
F. whereas in January 2012, South Sudan, which depends on oil sales for 98% of its revenue, shut down all of its oil fields in a row over the fees Sudan demands to transit the oil;
G. whereas Sudan ordered a general military mobilisation and has vowed to act with all means against the attack, pulling out of African Union-led negotiations with South Sudan on partition-related issues including demarcating the border, determining the status of citizens in one another’s territory, dividing up debt, sharing of oil revenues and use of pipelines;
H. whereas the President of South Sudan, Salva Kiir, has initially said that he will not withdraw his troops from the Heglig oilfield on its disputed border with Sudan, however, whereas on 20 April the South Sudan’s information minister said that orderly withdrawal of troops will commence immediately and were eventually completed within three days;
I. whereas troops movements into and around Abyei Area were flagrant violations of the 20 June 2011 Agreement on the Temporary Security and Administrative Arrangements for Abyei;
J. whereas both parties declared that they will withdraw all security forces from the Abyei Area;
K. whereas at the end of March 2012 the UN and AU have already urged the leaders of Sudan and South Sudan to convene talks in order to find a solution to the ongoing conflict over Heglig area;
L. whereas the draft decisions of the Joint Political and Security Mechanism proposed to the Parties by the African Union High-Level Implementation Panel on 4 April 2012, provide a sound basis for establishing mutual security along the common border between Sudan and South Sudan;
M. whereas, despite South Sudan’s reserves of natural resources such as oil, copper and iron as well as forest and fertile land, the vast majority of its population lives in poverty, with one of the highest infant mortality rates and the lowest education indicators in the world, and whereas all of this will contribute to socio-economic, humanitarian and security challenges;
N. whereas the EU fully supports international efforts to end the long-running campaign of terror being carried out by Joseph Kony and the Lord’s Resistance Army (LRA) and to help the populations affected by the LRA presence;
O. whereas the resolution unanimously adopted by the UN Security Council on 2 May endorsed a Roadmap for Sudan and South Sudan to end hostilities and resolve their outstanding post-secession issues within the next three months;
P. whereas Sudan and South Sudan have both welcomed the Roadmap and confirmed their commitment to an immediate cessation of hostilities, however, tensions remain high;
Q. whereas delegations from both countries have been holding talks in Addis Abeba at the beginning of June and talks between Sudan’s and South Sudan’s defence ministers have started on 4 June;
R. whereas the EU attaches particular importance to the immediate activation of the Joint Border Verification and Monitoring Mechanism by deploying international observers and other personnel on the ground to monitor what is happening and help ensure compliance;
S. whereas the International Organization for Migration says the voluntary repatriation of up to 15,000 South Sudanese stranded in Kosti, White Nile State, is under way and expected to end by mid June;
T. whereas Sudan’s ruling National Congress Party spokesperson Yasser Youssef stated on 3 June, that the Party welcomes Juba’s decision to expel rebel groups from the South Sudan, as a precondition to move forward in addressing the security issues between the two countries;
U. whereas on 3 June Malik Aggar, leader of the rebel Sudan People’s Liberation Movement–North (SPLM-N) and its secretary general Yasir Arman held a meeting with the African Union mediation over the implementation of a peace road map requiring their participation;
V. whereas South Sudan on Sunday expressed optimism in regard to the ongoing negotiations chaired by the African Union High Implementation Panel on Sudan and South in Addis Ababa;
1. Reiterates its full respect for the outcome of the independence referendum as the expression of the democratic will of the people of South Sudan; calls on both Sudan and South Sudan actively to pursue the promotion of democratic governance and the establishment of long-term peace, security and prosperity for both countries, with respect for human, social and economic rights;
2. Underlines that in order to fulfil the Roadmap for Sudan and South Sudan actions on the ground must follow, including continuation of negotiations, especially through meetings of the Joint Political and Security Mechanism to address the security concerns of both sides;
3. Condemns recent bombings by Sudan of South Sudan northern territories;
4. Welcomes South Sudan’s withdrawing of its forces out of the contested Abyei Area and calls on the Government of Sudan to do the same;
5. Calls on Sudan and South Sudan to show their political and practical willingness to pursue the path of peace, not war, and urges both parties, in order to avoid an exacerbation of the conflict, and to respect international humanitarian law and the protection of civilians, prisoners of war and the wounded, as well as take immediate steps to reduce tensions, and to act responsibly in the spirit of cooperation in pursuit of establishing two viable states;
6. Calls on the EU to continue to work closely with its international partners, in particular the AU, and the UN, in ensuring that Sudan and South Sudan implement the resolution of the UN Security Council on the Roadmap for Sudan and South Sudan of 2 May 2012;
7. Underlines the role of the African Union panel in conducting mediated talks to settle the border disputes and to make way for an agreement on oil between the two countries;
8. Urges the AU’s Regional Cooperation Initiative to strengthen regional efforts to combat the LRA and welcomes the EU readiness to provide financial assistance to the Office of the AU Special Envoy for LRA issues and the establishment of a Joint Operations Centre to enable Regional Task Force from Uganda, the Democratic Republic of Congo, the Central African Republic and South Sudan to act swiftly and effectively against the LRA;
9. Calls on international community to provide 3 mln USD needed by International Organisation for Migration to carry out the operation of voluntary repatriation of up to 15,000 South Sudanese from Kosti following the order of the governor of the White Nile State claiming the refugees were a security and environmental risk for Sudan;
10. Calls on President Bashir and President Kiir to fulfil their responsibilities to maintain peace and stability in Sudan and South Sudan and urges them to recommit to resolve all outstanding issues through peaceful dialogue;
11. Calls on Sudan and South Sudan to use AU services of its Border Programme which can assist the Parties in resolving their concerns in the delineation, demarcation and the resolution of disputed areas based on African best practices and international principles;
12. Urges the bordering regions of Sudan and South Sudan to undertake actions and make coordinated efforts to support peaceful conflict resolution, work on border security, ensure sustainable peace and stability including combating terrorist;
13. Reiterates, that a precondition for achieving peace and stability in the region is to solve the issues of boarder demarcation and reaching an agreement on how to share the oil revenues;
14. Urges the joint political and security committee chaired by defence and interior ministers and chiefs of intelligence services to meet in Addis Ababa on 4 June to discuss security issues like rebel presence in the two countries, and the establishment of a buffer zone and a mechanism to monitor the 2000 km border;
15. Calls on the People’s Liberation Movement–North to accept the humanitarian ceasefire to the rebel held zones in the Nuba Mountains in South Kordofan;
16. Welcomes the UN Security Council decision to extend the mandate of UNMIS and to send additional peacekeeping forces to Sudan; considers that a continued UN presence is extremely valuable to the peaceful development of two viable states; calls on both Sudan and South Sudan to welcome the UN presence and ensure its safety;
17. Calls on the Commission, EU Member States and the international community to honour their funding commitments to the region, particularly to address severe shortages of food aid, emergency shelter and protection; calls for close attention to the food security situation and measures to be put in place should the situation worsen;
18. Instructs its Co-Presidents to forward this resolution to the ACP-EU Council and the European Commission, the Vice-President of the Commission/High Representative of the Union for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy, the UN Security Council and Secretary-General, the EU Special Representative to South Sudan, the Government of Sudan, the Government of South Sudan, the African Union institutions and the Chair of the African Union High-Level Panel on Sudan, and the governments of the EU Member States.