MOTION FOR A RESOLUTION on Madagascar
14.11.2017 - (2017/2963(RSP))
pursuant to Rule 135 of the Rules of Procedure
Cristian Dan Preda, Tomáš Zdechovský, Pavel Svoboda, Lefteris Christoforou, Dubravka Šuica, Tunne Kelam, Eduard Kukan, Marijana Petir, Elisabetta Gardini, Jarosław Wałęsa, Laima Liucija Andrikienė, Lorenzo Cesa, Mairead McGuinness, David McAllister, Jaromír Štětina, Romana Tomc, Željana Zovko, Ivan Štefanec, Patricija Šulin, Giovanni La Via, Manolis Kefalogiannis, Maurice Ponga, Adam Szejnfeld, Joachim Zeller, Bogdan Brunon Wenta, Sandra Kalniete, Milan Zver, Roberta Metsola, Seán Kelly, Deirdre Clune, José Ignacio Salafranca Sánchez-Neyra, Lars Adaktusson, Andrey Kovatchev, Anna Záborská, Ramón Luis Valcárcel Siso on behalf of the PPE Group
See also joint motion for a resolution RC-B8-0641/2017
The European Parliament,
-having regard to its previous resolutions on Madagascar,
-having regard to WHO information on recent plague outbreak of 2 November 2017,
-having regard to Concluding Observations of the UN HRC on the ICCPR from 4th Periodic Review of 22 August 2017,
-having regard to Statement on the conclusion of mission to Madagascar United Nations Special Rapporteur John H. Knox of October 2016,
-having regard to the revised Cotonou Partnership Agreement,
-having regard to the African Charter on Human and Peoples’ Rights of June 1981,
-having regard to the African Charter on Democracy, Elections and Governance,
-having regard to Rule 135 of its Rules of Procedure,
A.Whereas since its independence in 1960, Madagascar has suffered from cyclical political crisis and repeated instability, including coups d’état, violent unrest and contested elections;
B.Whereas the country has been in a process of stabilization and democratic consolidation since the elections of December 2013 that put an end to a political crisis that lasted more than five years; whereas the human and development cost of the crisis has been extremely high and the recovery is going at a slow pace;
C.Whereas the current presidential mandate end in January 2019 and the next election is due to take place by the end of 2018;
D.Whereas the Malagasy President has declared himself in favour of a constitutional reform to permit him to stay in power during the electoral period; whereas these declarations have been contested by its political opponents and part of civil society who worry this may be a tentative to delay the election and stay beyond his constitutional mandate; whereas this is likely to increase tensions in an already fragile political context;
E.Whereas an increase in human rights violations and abuses has been reported, including preventive imprisonment without trial (more then 50% of all prisoners), censorship and harassment of journalists, activists and political opponents; whereas crime and insecurity have exploded lately; whereas police violence is particularly worrisome, with extra-judiciary killings and public lynching frequently occurring around the country;
F.Whereas civil society groups have pointed at the lack of free and fair access to justice and the widespread corruption of government officials; whereas this year, magistrates have gone on strike three times to condemn the repeated intimidations and governmental interferences with their activities and reaffirm their independence;
G.Whereas during a visit to the country in October 2016, the UN Special Rapporteur on Human Rights and Environment, John Knox, made an appeal in favour of strengthening the fight against corruption and illicit trafficking of natural resources, but the government has not yet acted up on this statement;
H.Whereas recently, an environmental activist, Clovis Razafimalala, denouncing the illegal trafficking and exploitation of natural resources was arrested and detained during ten months before being charged for incitement to rebellion; whereas several other environmental activists have reported acts of intimidation or attacks; whereas Augustin Sarovy, director of an NGO fighting rosewood trafficking was forced to flee to Europe after receiving death threats;
I.Whereas despite being rich in natural resources and biodiversity, Madagascar is one of the poorest country in the world and is ranked 154th out of 188 on the Human Development Index; whereas 92% of its population live with less than 2 USD a day and half of children under five are malnourished;
J.Whereas 25% of the population live in areas highly vulnerable to natural disasters - including cyclones, floods, droughts – in a country where agriculture and forestry are the backbone of the economy, which greatly undermine food security; whereas to date, and following three consecutive years of drought exacerbated by El Nino, 1,2 million people require humanitarian and food assistance;
K.Whereas Madagascar has been confronted to a dreadful pneumonic plague outbreak since the beginning of August 2017; whereas to date up to 2000 cases have been reported, including 143 deaths; whereas the country sees regular outbreaks of plague, with around 600 cases reported every year, however experts consider this most recent one the worst outbreak in 50 years;
L.Whereas political relations between Madagascar and the EU have normalized and article 8 political dialogue was re-established fully in 2015; whereas the National Indicative Programme for Madagascar for the period 2014-2020 signed in November 2015 provides for 518 million euro to be directed to three priority areas: governance and the consolidation of public services, infrastructure and rural development;
M.Whereas in December 2016, Madagascar received strong international support at a donors conference held in Paris with a total promise of more that 10 billion USD until 2020; however this support is conditioned to the commitment for economic reform and fight against corruption in the public sector;
1.Expresses concern at the current process of constitutional review; insists that constitutional order and political stability must be preserved and that only dialogue and consensus building among all political actors can guarantee timely and credible elections in 2018;
2.Deplores the repeated report of human rights abuses faced by journalists and political activists, such as Clovis Razafimalala and Augustin Sarovy; recalls the authorities of their obligation to uphold and protect the rights of its citizens and urges them to take all necessary measures to guarantee the exercise of their fundamental freedoms, including that of expression;
3.Strongly condemns all human rights violations committed by the police and state security actors; urges the authorities to conduct prompt and impartial investigations in order to identify perpetrators and hold them accountable;
4.Welcomes the creation of a National Committee on Human Rights in October 2016 and calls on the government to ensure that it receives the necessary resources to carry out its mandate in an effective, autonomous and independent manner;
5.Recalls that good governance and respect for the rule of law are preconditions for sustainable economic and political stability; calls therefore on the authorities to redouble their efforts to tackle corruption and impunity in the country and ensure that all cases of corruption should be brought to justice; insists on the strict respect of the principle of separation of powers and stresses that the independence and impartiality of the judiciary must be guaranteed in all circumstances;
6.Is deeply concerned by the deteriorating humanitarian situation in Madagascar; calls on the EU and its Member States to continue their assistance to the Malagasy population with a view of improving their living conditions, with a particular effort on tackling food insecurity and the consequences of natural disasters;
7.Calls on the EU to actively support national authorities in Madagascar to monitor and respond effectively to the current outbreak of plague and ensure that the number of cases continue to decline across the country;
8.Calls on the EU delegation to closely monitor the political situation in Madagascar and to use all appropriate tools to support an inclusive political dialogue as well as the protection of human rights ahead of the coming electoral period;
9.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 Government and Parliament of Madagascar, the African Union, the ACP-EU Council and the Secretary-General of the UN.