MOTION FOR A RESOLUTION on South Soudan
16.5.2017 - (2017/2683(RSP))
pursuant to Rule 135 of the Rules of Procedure
Jordi Solé, Maria Heubuch, Heidi Hautala, Judith Sargentini, Bart Staes, Bodil Valero, Florent Marcellesi, Ernest Urtasun on behalf of the Verts/ALE Group
See also joint motion for a resolution RC-B8-0358/2017
The European Parliament,
-having regard to its previous resolutions on South Sudan, in particular that of 10 March 2015;
-Having regard to the UN Security Council resolutions 2327 (2016), 2206 (2015) and 2290 (2016);
-Having regard to the Amnesty International, Annual Record - South Sudan 2016/2017;
-Having regard to the Human Rights’ Watch report South Sudan 2016;
-Having regard to the Report of the Secretary-General on South Sudan (covering the period from 16 December 2016 to 1 March 2017) and on the statement of the President of the Security Council, 23 March 2017 in follow up of that report;
-Having regard to the Joint Statement of 29 January 2017, on the margins of the twenty-eighth African Union Summit, by the African Union, the Intergovernmental Authority on Development (IGAD) and the United Nations;
-Having regard to the statement of 27 March 2017 by the chairperson for the African Union Commission (AUC) Moussa Faki Mahamat, who reported that President Salva Kiir Mayardit had accepted to proclaim unilaterally a ceasefire and grant general amnesty to promote participation in the National Dialogue, which he equally accepted to be inclusive and led by an independent and respective personality;
-having regard to the Statement of 8 May 2017 by the members of the Troika (the UK, US and Norway) which strongly endorsed the declaration of President Kiir;
-having regard to the African Charter on Human and Peoples’ Rights,
-having regard to the African Union Convention Governing the Specific Aspects of Refugee Problems in Africa,
-having regard to the Cotonou Agreement,
-having regard to Rules 135(5) and 123(4) of its Rules of Procedure,
A.whereas South Sudan’s civil war began in December 2013, continued in 2016 with serious abuses against civilians by both government forces and opposition fighters despite a peace agreement signed in August 2015 and has now taken a dramatic turn with the multiplication of ethnic killings, combined with recurring hate speeches and ethnically divisive rhetoric pronounced by political leaders;
B.whereas the conflict has expanded to previously unaffected regions such as the Greater Equatoria and the Greater Bahr-El-Ghazal, and keeps primarily hitting civilians who are targets of war crimes and crimes against humanity, including extra-judicial killings, enforced disappearances, acts of torture, destruction and looting of property, destruction of hospitals and schools, recruitment of child soldiers, attacks on humanitarian personnel and assets;
C.Whereas sexual violence, including rape, gang-rape, abduction of women and girls and sexual slavery, suggest that these crimes are intentionally being used as a weapon of war. In parallel, human rights defenders and journalists continue to be subject of threats, intimidation, harassment, arbitrary arrest and detention by the Government.
D.whereas opposition attacks on civilians are disrupting lifesaving aid and commercial trade, and the government has launched offensives also in Yuai, Waat, Tonga and Kodok displacing 50,000-100,000 individuals in recent weeks;
E.whereas the humanitarian situation continues to dramatically deteriorate and destabilise the sub-region, with South Sudan representing now the largest source of population displacement in Africa, with more than 1.5 million people who have been forced to seek refuge in neighbouring countries – half of them having fled in 2016 – and more than 2 million who are internally displaced including 200.000 people in the last few months; whereas children are particularly affected and constitute 62 % of the refugees who have fled to neighbouring countries;
F.whereas the Executive Director of the World Food programme expressed a feeling of alarm regarding the situation in South Sudan claiming that 5.5 mio people are facing hunger;
G.whereas UN agencies increased their appeal for humanitarian aid saying they needed at least $1.4 billion to help alleviate "unimaginable" levels of suffering; whereas just 14 % of this call is currently funded;
H.whereas the Government keeps impeding the delivery of humanitarian aid in areas where it is most needed;
I.whereas the UN is warning on the serious risks of seeing the violence escalating along ethnic lines, with potential for genocide;
J.whereas impunity continues to fuel the violence and crimes committed in South Sudan and as Human Rights organisations suggest, there has been no meaningful efforts by the Government to investigate, prosecute and punish those responsible.
K.whereas the Security Council as well as the Troika and the EU have confirmed that there is no military solution to the conflict, and have reiterated the call upon all parties to immediately adhere to the permanent ceasefire as called for in the Agreement on the Resolution of the Conflict in South Sudan (“the Agreement”), reminding all parties that implementation of a ceasefire is critical for the success of any genuine, inclusive political process;
L.whereas the EU and its Member States provided nearly EUR 300 million in humanitarian assistance in 2014 to respond to the humanitarian crisis and to address the urgent needs of South Sudanese refugees in the region;
1.Strongly condemns any form of violence and any attempt of escalation of the conflict into a genocide;
2.Calls on the Government, the oppositions and all the armed groups to cease all sort of violence and to cooperate with the international actors to find a peaceful solution to the conflict;
3.Urgently calls all the relevant authorities to address the challenges faced by humanitarian personnel in the delivery of humanitarian assistance throughout South Sudan and specifically to famine-affected areas;
4.Is seriously worried by the prospect of a massive famine in the region and calls on international donors to respond to the UN agencies’ calls and to urgently increase their funding for humanitarian aid,
5.Calls on all parties to facilitate the rapid deployment of the Regional Protection Force mandated by the UN Security Council, which is intended to reinforce the existing UNMISS presence and calls on the Member States and the HR/VP to urgently and significantly strengthen UNMISS with European capacities;
6.Is alarmed by reports about arms transfers to South Soudan in violation of Common Position 2008/944/CFSP facilitated by brokers based in EU Member States; urges the Member States and the HR/VP to enforce compliance with the EU arms control regime and to promote and support an UN arms embargo on South Soudan;
7.Supports all the efforts of UN, AU, and IGAD towards ensuring the implementation of the Agreement and the inclusivity of the National Dialogue as outlined in their 29 January 2017 statement,
8.Calls on the Government to promptly remove all the obstacles that affect UNMISS and the Ceasefire and Transitional Security Arrangements Monitoring Mechanism (CTSAMM) operations including obstacles to the deployment of the Regional Protection Force;
9.Supports the NGOs call to the Human Rights Council to support the establishment, without further delay, of the Hybrid Court for South Sudan HCSS by the African Union, with priority being given to the creation of its investigative branch,
10.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 African Union’s institutions, the Intergovernmental Authority on Development, the Co-Presidents of the ACP-EU Joint Parliamentary Assembly and the UN Secretary-General.