MOTION FOR A RESOLUTION on the humanitarian situation in South Sudan
5.11.2014 - (2014/2922(RSP))
pursuant to Rule 123(2) of the Rules of Procedure
Ignazio Corrao, Fabio Massimo Castaldo on behalf of the EFDD Group
See also joint motion for a resolution RC-B8-0213/2014
B8‑0219/2014
European Parliament resolution on the humanitarian situation in South Sudan
The European Parliament,
– having regard to its previous resolutions on South Sudan, in particular those of 10 December 2013 on the efforts of the international community in the area of development and of ‘state building’ in South Sudan[1] and of 16 January 2014 on the situation in South Sudan[2],
– having regard to the 2005 Sudanese Comprehensive Peace Agreement (CPA),
– having regard to the Council conclusions of 20 January and 17 March 2014 on South Sudan,
– having regard to the statements of 28 August 2014 by the spokesperson for the Vice‑President of the Commission / High Representative of the Union for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy on the situation in South Sudan,
– having regard to the statement of 25 September 2014 by the Commissioner for International Cooperation, Humanitarian Aid and Crisis Response, Kristalina Georgieva,
– having regard to the statement of 30 October 2014 by the UN Secretary-General, Ban Ki-moon,
– having regard to the roadmap for Sudan and South Sudan of April 2012,
– having regard to the African Charter on Human and Peoples’ Rights, the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and the Cotonou Agreement,
– having regard to the statement of 20 October 2014 by the Intergovernmental Authority on Development (IGAD),
– having regard to Rule 123(2) of its Rules of Procedure,
A. whereas a political conflict started after Salva Kiir, the country’s president and a member of the Dinka ethnic group, accused his sacked vice-president, Riek Machar, an ethnic Nuer, of plotting a coup d’état against him; whereas Riek Machar has denied attempting a coup;
B. whereas since 15 December 2013 the northern and eastern parts of the country have been in a de facto civil war, which has led to more than 1.7 million displaced persons inside and outside South Sudan, including 1.3 million internally displaced persons – around 100 000 of whom are sheltering in congested Protection of Civilians (POC) areas of the UN Mission for South Sudan (UNMISS) bases, under sub-minimal humanitarian conditions – and more than 452 000 refugees in neighbouring countries (Ethiopia, Kenya, Sudan and Uganda);
C. whereas it is expected that by the end of 2014, 2.3 million people will be displaced inside and outside South Sudan;
D. whereas South Sudan has been plagued by continuous crises which have generated huge humanitarian needs; whereas, as a direct consequence of the fighting, South Sudan is facing a severe food security and nutrition crisis; whereas 7 million people are at risk of food insecurity, with 3.9 million at immediate risk, and whereas leading aid agencies have warned that parts of South Sudan could fall into famine in early 2015 if fighting is renewed;
E. whereas the principal humanitarian needs include food, clean water, healthcare, sanitation, shelter and protection;
F. whereas the conflict has devastated the lives of millions, having a particularly grave impact on children; whereas unless nutrition services are scaled up immediately, 50 000 children under five years of age will be at risk of death; whereas more than 9 000 children have been recruited by armed forces and some 11 000 children have been affected by attacks on schools and their occupation by armed groups;
G. whereas, despite the onset of the harvest season, 1.5 million people are predicted to remain in crisis- or emergency-level food insecurity; whereas the outlook for 2015 is bleak, particularly for the conflict-affected areas, where the level of displacement is high, and land cultivation and harvesting hardly possible;
H. whereas acute malnutrition rates (severe acute malnutrition and global acute malnutrition) are above emergency thresholds in many areas, with the highest rates in conflict-affected Nuer communities;
I. whereas in October 2014 the Commission increased its allocation of EUR 100 million in humanitarian assistance by EUR 20 million with a view to meeting the urgent needs of South Sudanese refugees in neighbouring countries; whereas the EU – the Member States and the Commission – has so far provided assistance worth over EUR 245 million in 2014, which represents more than one third of all humanitarian funding;
J. whereas South Sudan is the world’s youngest and most fragile state, and one of the least developed; whereas the UN has declared the situation in South Sudan a level 3 emergency, the worst level of humanitarian crisis, and whereas the country ranks second in ECHO’s Global Vulnerability and Crisis Assessment Final Index;
K. whereas violence and deliberate attacks on civilians have been repeated and extreme, and whereas in many cases people have been targeted on the basis of ethnicity and/or political affiliation;
L. whereas the current crisis is largely caused by an armed conflict, and whereas the affected population has found itself facing severe abuses; whereas military groups, with the backing of political actors, practise widespread abuses of civilians, targeted killings of ethnic groups and sexual intimidation of women, and whereas widespread abuses of children are common; whereas medical facilities have been destroyed, and patients raped and/or murdered in their beds;
M. whereas South Sudan is suffering from decades of conflict and neglect, combined with frequent natural disasters and disease outbreaks;
N. whereas there is a cholera epidemic and whereas other diseases (malaria, kala-azar, hepatitis, etc.) have been on the increase, partly owing to the rainy season but also because displacement has further weakened populations;
O. whereas the conflict and recurrent natural disasters are also taking a toll on the country’s already weak economy, as harvests are being disrupted and food production reduced because of flooding, droughts and displacement;
P. whereas humanitarian aid is being delivered in extremely challenging circumstances, as hostilities and attacks against humanitarian workers seriously constrain access to those in need, while the commandeering of assets and other illegal obstructions further constrain the work of aid organisations;
1. Condemns previous violations of the agreement on the cessation of hostilities and urges all parties to honour the agreement and not to renew the fighting;
2. Is deeply concerned by the food security situation in South Sudan, which has been caused by the conflict and worsened by the recurrent natural disasters;
3. Reaffirms its strong commitment to the sovereignty, independence, unity and territorial integrity of Sudan and South Sudan, and recalls the importance of the principles of good neighbourliness, non-interference and regional cooperation;
4. Welcomes the EU’s contribution to the humanitarian crisis in South Sudan and urges its Member States to find a solution with a view to funding the increasing number of crises, in line with their international commitments;
5. Calls on the international community to honour its funding commitments to South Sudan and the region and to mobilise resources in order to respond immediately to the worsening humanitarian situation in South Sudan;
6. Calls on all neighbours of South Sudan and on regional powers to work closely together to improve the security situation in the country and the region, and to find a way towards a peaceful, lasting political solution to the current crisis;
7. Considers it regrettable that, despite IGAD’s continuous efforts to mediate peace talks with a view to establishing a transitional government of national unity, no significant progress has been made; supports, nevertheless. the continuation of the mediation led by IGAD and its efforts to open the way for an inclusive political dialogue, and calls for the EU to continue to assist IGAD in both substantive and financial terms and to continue to contribute staff to the ceasefire monitoring and verification mechanism;
8. Stresses the need for effective human rights monitoring, including of any sexual and gender-based violence and violations and abuses committed against children;
9. Urges the implementation of all outstanding issues from the Comprehensive Peace Agreement (CPA);
10. Is deeply worried about the ethnic dimension of the conflict; stresses that seeking power by means of violence or division along ethnic lines is contrary to the democratic rule of law and contravenes international law; is also concerned by the spillover and destabilising effect of the conflict on an already instable region, especially as a result of the increasing number of refugees in neighbouring countries;
11. Recalls that humanitarian aid is vital, but cannot fix a political problem or create peace, security and stability; takes the view that dialogue and cooperation between parties and the full implementation of the ceasefire agreement are essential not only for peace, security and stability but also for a long-term solution for the South Sudanese people; underlines the fact that the participation of civil society in the peace negotiations is crucial;
12. Denounces the fact that humanitarian access continues to be hampered by fighting and by violence perpetrated by both sides against aid workers, equipment and infrastructure; urges all the parties involved to give humanitarian personnel full, safe and unhindered access to civilians in need of assistance and to all the facilities necessary for their operations, in accordance with international law, including the applicable international humanitarian law, and with UN guiding principles on humanitarian assistance;
13. Calls for child protection programmes, including: family tracing and reunification and the prevention and treatment of gender-based violence; protection monitoring and assistance for individual vulnerabilities; the reduction of risks associated with violence, such as the level of lighting in settlements;
14. Deplores the fact that the conflict has disrupted many basic social services and that hundreds of thousands of children are out of school; is alarmed by the fact that children continue to bear the brunt of the violence, suffering from psychological distress and lack of access to services, including education; urges the parties to end the recruitment and use of children in armed forces, and other grave violations against children;
15. Calls for food security to remain one of the major sectors of intervention, with improvements to the targeting and impact of the humanitarian food assistance delivered, and the targeting of beneficiaries on basis of their degree of vulnerability;
16. Instructs its President to forward this resolution to the Council, the Commission, the Vice-President of the Commission / High Representative of the Union for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy, the governments and parliaments of the Member States, the Government of South Sudan, the Human Rights Commissioner of South Sudan, the National Legislative Assembly of South Sudan, the institutions of the African Union, the Intergovernmental Authority on Development, the Co-Presidents of the ACP-EU Joint Parliamentary Assembly and the UN Secretary-General.
- [1] Texts adopted, P7_TA(2013)0546.
- [2] Texts adopted, P7_TA(2014)0042.