MOTION FOR A RESOLUTION on Terrorist attacks in Somalia
14.11.2017 - (2017/2962(RSP))
pursuant to Rule 135 of the Rules of Procedure
Elena Valenciano, Victor Boştinaru, Soraya Post, Cécile Kashetu Kyenge on behalf of the S&D Group
Judith Sargentini, Bart Staes, Barbara Lochbihler, Igor Šoltes on behalf of the Verts/ALE Group
See also joint motion for a resolution RC-B8-0600/2017
The European Parliament,
-having regard to its previous resolutions on Somalia;
-having regard to its resolution on the situation in the Dadaab refugee camp of 18 May 2017;
-having regard to the statement by the High Representative/Vice-President on the attacks in Mogadishu, Somalia of 15 October 2017;
-having regard to the Council conclusions on Somalia of 18 July 2016 and 15 February 2016;
-having regard to the EU intervention of the 36th Session of the Human Rights Council on the Interactive Dialogue with the Independent Expert on Somalia of 27 September 2017
-having regard to UN Security Council Resolution 2372 (2017) on extending the mandate of AMISOM;
-Having regard to the final communique of the international conference on Somalia, held in London on 11 May 2017;
-having regard to the EU-African Union Joint Communiqué on the Implementation of the Paris Agreement of 1 June 2017;
-having regard to the UN report on freedom of expression in Somalia released on 4 September 2016;
-having regard to UN Security Council resolution 2297 (2016) adopted on 7 July 2016;
-having regard to the UN Human Rights Council Report of the Working Group on the Universal Periodic Review of 13 April 2016;
-having regard to the latest Universal Periodic Review on Somalia before the UN Human Rights Council in January 2016;
-having regard to Somalia’s National Strategy and Action Plan for Preventing and Countering Violent Extremism, launched on 12 September 2016;
-having regard to the statement of the Special Representative of the African Union Commission Chairperson (SRCC) for Somalia, Ambassador Francisco Caetano Madeira, of 30 August 2016, commending the Somali security forces in relation to the attack on a hotel in Mogadishu;
-having regard to the Cotonou Partnership Agreement between the ACP and the EU;
-having regard to the mandate of the African Commission on Human and Peoples’ Rights to promote and protect human and peoples’ rights under the African Charter on Human and Peoples’ Rights;
-having regard to the Organisation of African Unity Convention on the Prevention and Combating of Terrorism, adopted in 1999;
-having regard to Rules 135 of its Rules of Procedure.
A.whereas on 14 October 2017 a massive truck bomb rocked the centre of Mogadishu killing at least 358 people, injuring 228 others with 56 still missing; Whereas the attack in the heart of Mogadishu was one of the most lethal terrorist operations anywhere in the world in recent years;
B.whereas the Somali government has buried at least 160 of those killed because they could not be identified after the blast; Whereas the true death toll in the attack will probably never be known;
C.whereas, although no group has claimed responsibility for the cowardly attack, it bears the hallmarks of Al Shabaab, who now appear not to want to undermine any popular support by associating itself with such a huge loss of civilian life;
D.whereas there have been a series of deadly terrorist attacks in Mogadishu and throughout the country in recent months, highlighting the continued threat of extremism facing the country; Whereas Al-Shabaab has been slowly driven out of its key strongholds in a campaign by regional and Somali troops but still launches frequent attacks in Mogadishu and elsewhere;
E.whereas the president of Somalia, Mohamed Abdullahi Mohamed has pledged to rid Somalia of al-Shabaab, after taking power in February in an election seen as a key milestone on the battered east African country’s gradual return to stability and prosperity;
F.whereas, in addition to violent extremism, drought, clan conflict, and forced evictions have resulted in hundreds of thousands of people being displaced in the past year alone, many into government controlled urban centres; whereas many live in unsafe settlements facing abuse and sexual violence in particular women and girls;
G.whereas the threat of famine still looms large in Somalia, with approximately 400,000 Somali children suffering from acute malnutrition and 3 million people living in crisis or emergency food security conditions;
H.whereas, earlier this year a famine was narrowly averted with more than 6 million people, half its population, faced acute food insecurity in the country, whereas there are some 1.1 million internally displaced persons in Somalia with over 900,000 Somali refugees in the region;
I.whereas, according to the World Food Programme (WFP) two seasons of failed rains in have resulted in severe water shortages, tripling the price of a barrel of water (200 litres) to USD 15. Three-quarters of the country’s livestock has died and cereal production is down 75%, sending food prices through the roof. Whereas many young people are faced with rampant unemployment in a country where more than 70% of the population is under the age of 30;
J.whereas there are 420 000 Somali refugees in camps in Kenya, with 350 000 in the Dadaab camp, and the governments of Somalia and Kenya and the UNHCR have agreed to facilitate the voluntary return of 10 000 refugees to Somalia, to areas that are free from Al-Shabab control; whereas returnees are faced problems of re-integration and little prospect of finding work; whereas many Dadaab refugees are of Somali descent but have never known life outside the camp and are effectively stateless meaning they cannot be sent to Somalia;
K.whereas in December 2016 the World Bank pledged to step up the fight against extreme poverty announcing that developed countries had pledged a record USD 75 bn for grants and soft loans to the International Development Association (IDA) to assist its poorest members over the next three years;
L.whereas however, Somalia is not eligible for IDA funds because it owes the bank and the IMF over USD 300 M part of a USD 5 bn debt mountain owed to multilateral and bilateral creditors. Whereas these debts were mainly incurred in the 1980s when most of Somalia’s current population was not even born. Whereas despite the fact that 90% of the debt has been written off, the remaining amount remains crippling for such a poor country;
M.whereas, in the absence of a functioning civilian judiciary, the Somali Government relies on military courts to try and convict civilians, which does not guarantee the rights of civilian defendants; whereas broad powers of investigation are granted to the National Intelligence and Security Agency (NISA), which currently does not have a law enforcement mandate, resulting in significant violations of the due process rights of detainees held by NISA;
N.whereas the EU has been progressively increased its annual humanitarian support to Somalia since 2016, in particular to respond to the severe drought affecting the country, allocating €120 million to humanitarian partners in 2017 and releasing an emergency aid of €100 000 to help respond rapidly to medical needs in Mogadishu following the attack on 14 October;
O.whereas the EU has provided EUR 286 million through the European Development Fund (2014-2020), focusing on the implementation of the ‘Compact’ and namely on state- and peacebuilding, food security, resilience and education; whereas the EU is also committed to supporting AMISOM through the African Peace Facility.
1.Expresses its deepest sympathy with the victims of recent terrorist attacks in Somalia and with their families, and deeply regrets the loss of lives; at the same time, strongly condemns the perpetrators of these attacks, attributed to the Al-Shabab insurgent group.
2.Once again recalls that lasting stability and peace can only be achieved through social inclusion, sustainable development and good governance based on the democratic principles and rule of law in which peoples’ dignity and rights are fully respected;
3.Calls for the EU and international partners to fulfil commitments to Somalia, namely by undertaking efforts to establish food security in order to avoid the structural problems which lead to famine, to foster security and the reconciliation of communal grievances, to improve the management of public finances and to assist with the completion of the constitutional review, in order to achieve long-term stability;
4.Deplores the fact that despite repeated warnings from humanitarian groups, aid agencies and the European Parliament, Somalia continues to teeter on the brink of repeating the 2011 famine, when an estimated 260,000 people starved to death in the country after a slow response from donors;
5.Recalls that the death toll in the 2011 famine was exacerbated by insecurity and extremist militants from al-Shabaab, which banned food aid deliveries to the areas of south-central Somalia it then controlled; Calls on all parties to work with humanitarian agencies, fully respecting humanitarian principles to allow full and unhindered access to those who continue to suffer in need, in particular those in rural areas;
6.Recognises that there can be no development without improved security in the entire region; strongly underlines the fact, that funds from the EDF and ODA sources must be devoted to economic, human and social development in the region with a particular focus on the development challenges identified by the Trust Fund decision; recalls that EDF and ODA funds should be used exclusively for development objectives which address the root causes of migration in the region.
7.Underlines that Somalia desperately needs predictable multi-year finance to underpin the investments in health, nutrition, education and livelihoods needed to escape the cycles of drought and hunger that blight so many lives;
8.Calls on the World Bank and the IMF to urgently examine ways to fast track Somalia’s ability to access multi-year funding under the IDA. Similarly invites the World Bank to acknowledge recent progress made in Somalia allowing it to qualify for debt relief and allocate a pre-arrears clearance grant;
9.Welcomes the endorsement of the Government of Somalia’s National Development Plan (NDP) and the identification of infrastructure, ienergy, the productive sectors (agriculture, fisheries and livestock), access to skills and finance, and measures to improve inclusive development. Calls on the EU and international partners to coherently support priorities highlighted in the NDP;
10.Welcomes the decision of the Somali National Leadership Forum to promote the establishment and registration of political parties, in anticipation of the 2020 elections, based on the ‘one-person, one-vote’ principle, as well as the attempt to rebuild the State institutions and the adoption of important new laws on political parties and on the creation of an independent National Human Rights Commission; Points out that efforts must be undertaken to increase women’s representation;
11.Underlines the importance of the contribution of diaspora and civil society to re-establishing governance as well as social and economic development in Somalia, highlighting the importance of women’s representation and participation in decision making. In this context welcomes the increase in the number of women members of Parliament to 24% and in the Cabinet, keeping in mind the need for greater efforts to improve gender balance both in the EU and Somalia;
12.Takes note of the IGAD Nairobi declaration on durable solutions for Somali refugees and the reintegration of returnees in Somalia; welcomes the commitment to achieve a comprehensive regional approach, while also maintaining protection and promoting self-reliance in the countries of asylum, which is to be undertaken with the support of the international community and consistent with international responsibility-sharing as outlined in the Comprehensive Refugee Response Framework (CRRF) of the New York Declaration;
13.Regrets the very low-key role played by the EU Member States when it comes to efforts to resettle refugees from the Dadaab refugee camp and calls for the EU to live up to its responsibility in ensuring fair burden-sharing; Considers that given the current circumstances of ongoing security problems in Somalia and a high risk of famine, in any scenario, returns should always be voluntary;
14.Reiterates its support for the aims of the EUTF for Africa in addressing the root causes of irregular migration and displaced persons in Somalia and the East Africa region; demands that the Member States honour their commitments to the fund; Calls for a greater sharing of responsibilities when it comes to hosting refugees and establishing additional methods to help refugees to access third countries, including the EU;
15.Calls for the Commission to step up consultation efforts with actors in the region, including the local populations, regional government and NGOs, with a view to focusing on locally identified problems and needs and fostering a conducive climate and increasing the capacity for the return of refugees to their home countries;
16.Expresses concern about the broad remit of Somalia’s National Intelligence and Security Agency (NISA) and its use of military courts regarding alleged terrorism related crimes, which have repeatedly flouted due process and imposed the death penalty without accountability;
17.Calls on the Somali government and the EU, as part of its rule of law activities in Somalia, to ensure that NISA is regulated with effective oversight mechanisms and to build the technical expertise of Somalia’s Criminal Investigation Department (CID) to carry out thorough, effective and rights-respecting investigations;
18.Welcomes in particular the political agreement Somalia’s leaders reached on 16 April 2017 to integrate regional and federal forces into a coherent National Security Architecture capable of gradually taking on lead responsibility for providing security, and the swift establishment of the National Security Council and National Security Office;
19.Acknowledges AMISOM’s role in enabling security and stability allowing Somalia to establish political institutions and extend state authority, in anticipation of a transfer of security responsibility to Somali institutions and forces;
20.Underlines the importance of the possibility of extending AMISOMs mandate beyond May 2018, warning that a premature transfer of responsibilities to Somali troops could be detrimental to long term stability;
21.Underlines the need to fight impunity and ensure accountability for crimes against humanity and war crimes carried out in Somalia. Takes note of the Somali President’s offer of amnesty for certain crimes to those who renounce terrorism and violence and want to leave Al Shabaab and other terrorist groups, and encourages the development of amnesty legislation;
22.Deplores the recruitment of child soldiers by Al Shabaab militants. Recalls that the government of Somalia has committed to rehabilitate former child soldiers and bring those responsible for their recruitment to justice; Calls on international donors including the EU to prioritise the provision of rehabilitation services, education and safe schooling as a key element to breaking the deadly cycle of violence.
23.Raises serious concern that natural resources, namely charcoal remains a significant source of financing for terrorists and a cause of serious environmental degradation in Somalia; Calls on the European Commission to examine how traceability and due diligence schemes can be widened to include all natural resources which fuel terrorist activity and violence. In this context calls on all parties to ensure compliance with the UN Security Council resolution banning the export of Somali charcoal;
24.Highlights the importance of EU anti-piracy operations (NAVFOR) in Somali waters and in tackling illegal, unregulated, and unreported fishing which has a serious economic impact; Calls on the EU to support moves by the Federal of Somalia to developing maritime security capabilities through appropriate anti-piracy legislation,
25.Recalls that remittances are essential for Somalia’s humanitarian needs and essential to promoting economic growth. Calls therefore on governments, the private sector, financial institutions and banks to urgently addressing regulatory obstacles in the remittances markets, in accordance with international regulatory standards;
26.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 African Union, the President, the Prime Minister and the Parliament of Somalia, the Secretary-General of the United Nations, the United Nations Security Council, the United Nations Human Rights Council, and the ACP-EU Joint Parliamentary Assembly.