MOTION FOR A RESOLUTION on the situation in Eastern Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) and the assassination of Italian ambassador and his entourage
9.3.2021 - (2021/2577(RSP))
pursuant to Rule 144 of the Rules of Procedure
Salima Yenbou, Hannah Neumann, Jakop G. Dalunde, Pär Holmgren, Alice Kuhnke, Bronis Ropė, Francisco Guerreiro, Sara Matthieu, Katrin Langensiepen, Ignazio Corrao, Eleonora Evi, Piernicola Pedicini, Rosa D'Amato, Pierrette Herzberger‑Fofana, Jordi Solé
on behalf of the Verts/ALE Group
See also joint motion for a resolution RC-B9-0173/2021
B9‑0196/2021
European Parliament resolution on the situation in Eastern Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) and the assassination of Italian ambassador and his entourage
The European Parliament,
– having regard to its previous resolutions on the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC),
– having regard the Council Decision (CFSP) 2020/2033 of 10 December 2020 amending Decision 2010/788/CFSP concerning restrictive measures against the Democratic Republic of the Congo
– having regard to the Democratic Republic of Congo 1993-2003 UN Mapping Report, 2010,
– having regards the OHCHR-MONUSCO report on violations of human rights and international humanitarian law by the Allied Democratic Forces armed group and by members of the defense and security forces in Beni territory, North Kivu province and Irumu and Mambasa territories, Ituri province, between 1 January 2019 and 31 January 2020 , July 2020;
– having regard to the European Convention for the Protection of Human Rights and Fundamental Freedoms,
– having regard to the provisions of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights,
– having regard to the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights of 1966,
– having regard to the EU Guidelines on Human Rights Defenders,
– having regard to the African Charter on Human and People’s Rights of 1981,
– having regard to the Protocol to the African Charter on Human and Peoples’ Rights on the Rights of Women in Africa, better known as the Maputo Protocol, of 2003,
– having regard to the Constitution of the DRC, adopted on 18 February 2006,
– having regard to the Cotonou Agreement,
– having regard to Rule 144 of its Rules of Procedure,
A. Whereas on 22d February Italian Ambassador to DRC Luca Attanasio, his security escort, Vittorio Iacovacci, and one of the drivers of the WPF vehicles, Mustapha Milambo, were killed in Virunga National Park, in the attack of the WFP convoys travelling from Goma, capital of North Kivu province, to visit one of the agency’s school feeding programmes in Rutshuru;
B. whereas a U.N. investigation joined by Congolese authorities will look into whether the long-planned mission’s security protocols were followed and whether information might have leaked to the unknown gunmen involved in the ambush and killings;
C. whereas on 2d March, the head of the military prosecutor's office in Rutshuru (North Kivu), Major Williams Mulahya Hassan Hussein has been killed on the same route as the Italian ambassador and entourage; whereas he had dealt with several crimes and embezzlement in the armed forces, including, last year, the trial of a soldier accused of abusing a girl, and cases of poaching by military officers in the Virunga National Park (VNP); whereas his murder might be connected to the investigation into the killings of the Italian ambassador and his entourage;
D. whereas several armed groups are active in the region; whereas no specific armed group has been identified as the author of the attack nor claim responsibility for it.
E. Whereas in 2019 around 130 armed groups existed in the Kivus alone and 122 were listed in the whole area (North Kivu, South Kivu, Ituri and Tanganyika) in 2020; whereas the intensity of violence has only increased over the same period, as has the heavy human toll with numerous reports of massacres, recruitment and use of children by armed groups, and widespread sexual and gender‑based violence;
F. Whereas the UNJHRO reported that in the last eight months soldiers from the Forces armées de la République démocratique du Congo (FARDC) and agents of the Police Nationale Congolaise (PNC), including members of the special forces Légion Nationale d’Intervention (LNI), have been responsible for killing 14 civilians and injuring 49 others, as well as for the arbitrary arrest and detention of 297 civilians;
G. whereas the European Union (EU) allocated €20 million from the 11th European Development Fund (EDF) for the Police Reform Support Programme over five years whichs brings EU support in this field up to a total of €60 million;
H. whereas nearly 19.6 million people are currently in need of humanitarian assistance in DRC; whereas the ongoing conflicts and military operations have also caused the internal displacement of 5.2 million people, and have forced more than 910,000 people to flee the country; whereas the EU allocated more than €40 million for humanitarian aid in DRC in 2020;
I. whereas in the attack at the Italian Ambassador and his entourage, VNP ecoguards trying to counter the progress of the attackers have been killed; whereas the Virunga National Park has been the scene of violence for over two decades; whereas exploitation and trade of its natural resources, poaching of endangered animals, have not only benefitted armed groups, official army forces, private companies, but also fuelled serious breaches of human rights and pollution in the area, affecting in particular indigenous people and local communities (IPLC);
J. Whereas human rights defenders and their families are systematically victims of death threats and arbitrary arrests in the Eastern region in DRC;
1. Condemns the recent assassination of the Italian ambassador and his entourage; calls for an independent investigation into these events and perpetrators to be brought to justice;
2. welcomes the decisions of the government of President Felix Tshisekedi to direct an investigation into the murder of the Ambassador Attanasio and his entourage, to strengthen security red zones; calls on national authorities to take the necessary steps to allow ambassadors and senior diplomats accredited to Kinshasa to travel safely in the country, including in sensitive conflict zones;
3. Condemns the significant increase in the number of attacks by armed groups against the civilian population in Eastern DRC; points out that among the widespread and systematic nature of attacks directed against the civilian population the past months, some UN documented human rights abuses may amount to crimes against humanity;
4. Calls on independent investigation into the murder of Major Williams Mulahya Hassan Hussein, and to bring perpetrators to justice;
5. Condemns human rights violations and violations of international humanitarian law committed by security and defence forces; urges Congolese authorities to remove from their position security force officers and other executive branch officials reported by the UN and Congolese and international human rights organizations as being implicated in serious human rights violations; calls for the creation of a formal vetting mechanism as part of the broader Security Sector Reform (SSR) efforts, to investigate on candidates for removal and ensure that security forces act in a manner consistent with international human rights and humanitarian law standards; calls on authorities to end all support by security force officers and political leaders to armed groups and ensure that those responsible for such support are held accountable in fair trials;
6. Urges President Felix Tshisekedi to uphold his commitment to ensure those responsible for the murders of UN investigators Zaida Catalán and Michael Sharp and their interpreter Betu Tshintela are held accountable, and calls for full transparency in this investigation;
7. Welcomes the renewal in December of the EU targeted sanctions against senior Congolese officials responsible for violent repression and other serious human rights abuses; regrets that none of the sanctioned individuals have been investigated or prosecuted by the government for alleged rights violations; and urges the Congolese government, the EU and the international community to intensify efforts to ensure that they face justice;
8. Calls to urgently set up an effective Demobilization, Disarmament, and Reintegration (DDR) program and strategy for dealing with armed groups, with long-term, holistic support to deter former fighters from returning to fighting zones; urges authorities to provide critical humanitarian assistance to demobilized fighters currently stationed in DDR camps with hardly any food supplies and no adequate medical care;
9. Stresses the urgent need for a revaluation of the UN peacekeeping strategy in order to be more effective in the future;
10. Condemns killings of Virunga Park ecoguards during the attacks perpetrated throughout the year 2020; urges the DRC Government to disarm rebels and restore security in the park region;
11. recalls that protected areas such as the VNP have an invaluable potential to safeguard biodiversity, but have also been associated, with large-scale human rights violations against Indigenous Populations and Local Communities (IPLC); urges the EU to ensure that a right-based approach is applied to all ODA funded projects, with particular regard to the rights of IPLC, including full recognition of the right to self-determination and land rights as enshrined in the UN Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous People and the principle of Free, Prior and Informed consent set out in the ILO Conventions; calls on the establishment of accountability, complaint and redress mechanisms for infringements on indigenous rights in the context of conservation activities;
12. Calls on national authorities to fully protect freedom of expression, assembly, and association in accordance with international standards; insists that activists, political opposition, journalists, and human rights defenders should be able to conduct their work freely, criticize government policies, and organize peaceful protests without fear of intimidation, reprisals, harassment, arrests, or the excessive use of force by the security forces;
13. Supports NGOs and individuals who denounce human rights violation and corruption, in particular the two whistleblowers Navy Malela and Gradi Koko who have been sentenced to death for revealing a money-laundering scandal involving the businessman Dan Gertler and the Afriland First Bank;
14. Recalls the commitment made by the DRC under the Cotonou Agreement to respect democracy, the rule of law and human rights principles, which include freedom of expression and freedom of the media, good governance, and transparency in political offices; calls on the newly formed Congolese government to accelerate the implementation of reforms to ensure better governance at all levels of the state and society, including public finance and the fight against corruption, to organise a credible electoral process in 2023 and to guarantee sustainable security conditions in Eastern DRC;
15. Condemns all attacks against humanitarian actors and impediments to humanitarian access; reiterates its concern at the difficult working conditions of humanitarian workers and the insecurity they face in the Eastern part of the country; insists that civil society must be involved in any action to protect civilians and resolve the conflicts; in this regard, welcomes the collaboration of the Congolese government with NGOs on the field of the attacks against the WFP convoys; urges all parties to the conflict to respect the independence, neutrality and impartiality of humanitarian actors;
16. Strongly condemns serious violations of human rights and humanitarian law committed by local militias in Eastern DRC, including sexual and gender-based violence, the recruitment and unlawful use of child soldiers and the killing of civilians by members of the DRC security forces, which could constitute war crimes under international law; urges the Government of the DRC to establish a mechanism for justice and accountability for those responsible for human rights violations documented in the UN Mapping Report as well as other serious crimes under international law and humanitarian law committed in the DRC;
17. Urges the international community to accelerate its efforts to eliminate the plague of sexual and gender-based violence in armed conflicts and wars, to protect victims, to put an end to impunity for the perpetrators, and to guarantee access to justice, reparations and redress for survivors; recalls the invaluable work done by Sakharov price winner Dr. Mukwege, which significantly impacts on the lives of women and girls victims of rapes and war crimes;
18. Calls on the EU to increase its development and humanitarian fundings for the DRC for the programming period 2021-2027, with special attention to its Eastern region in order to improve the living conditions of the most vulnerable sections of the population, including women, IPLC, refugees and the internally displaced; calls in particular for the allocation of funds of the Global Europe-NDICI for the establishment of a large-scale programme for mediation, dialogue and reconciliation in Eastern DRC;
19. Reminds the EU must keep coherence between its policies, and that negotiations for trade agreements including the Eastern DRC region must promote peace, stability, development and human rights;
20. Encourages President Tshisekedi to invest in his mandate at the African Union presidency to enhance cross-border cooperation in the African Great Lakes region, establish a regional strategy to address the violence and human rights abuses in the DRC and end support from neighboring countries to armed groups active in Eastern DRC;
21. Stresses the urgent need for mandatory due diligence and responsible business conduct by businesses operating in conflict zones; calls on the Commission and the Member States to take the requisite measures against European companies that fail to comply with international standards or that do not adequately compensate victims of human rights violations for which they are directly or indirectly responsible;
22. Recalls that armed domestic and foreign rebel groups in eastern DRC, are financed by and compete for access to the mineral trade; welcomes the entry into force of the EU Conflict Minerals Regulation since January 2021 and calls for work to continue at international level to address this matter; urges that this Regulation maintains DRC in the list of countries considered conflict-affected and high-risk;
23. Calls on the HR/VP, EU delegation and EU missions in the Democratic Republic of Congo to increase their visible support to human rights defenders at risk in DRC, as a protection measure to provide recognition to their human rights work and acknowledge their important role as human rights defenders in fighting for stability and peace in the region and, where appropriate, to facilitate the issuing of emergency visas, and provide temporary shelter in the EU Member States;
24. Instructs its President to forward this resolution to the Council, the Commission, the Vice-President of the European Commission / High Representative of the Union for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy, the EU Special Representative for Human Rights, the ACP-EU Council of Ministers and Joint Parliamentary Assembly, the African Union, the Pan-African Parliament, and the President, Prime Minister and Parliament of the Democratic Republic of the Congo.