MOTION FOR A RESOLUTION
25.9.2006
pursuant to Rule 103(2) of the Rules of Procedure
by Pasqualina Napoletano, Miguel Angel Martínez Martínez, Glenys Kinnock, Ana Maria Gomes and Elena Valenciano Martínez-Orozco
on behalf of the PSE Group
on the situation in Darfur
B6‑0514/2006
European Parliament resolution on the situation in Darfur
The European Parliament,
– having regard to UN Resolution 1706 proposing a 22 000-strong peacekeeping force for Darfur and UNSC Resolutions 1556, 1564 and 1591 of 30 July 2004, 18 September 2004 and 29 March 2005 respectively,
– having regard to the extension of the current AMIS mission's mandate until 31 December 2006,
– having regard to the Darfur Peace Agreement signed in Abuja, Nigeria, on 5 May 2006,
– having regard to the meeting of the UN Security Council on 11 September 2006,
– having regard to the EU-China Summit of 9 September 2006,
– having regard to Rule 103(2) of its Rules of Procedure,
A. whereas the Government of Sudan (GoS) has sent 10 000 troops into Darfur to take up positions near civilian villages and refugee camps,
B. whereas Jan Pronk has stated that the Darfur Peace Agreement 'is nearly dead',
C. whereas Resolution 1706 calls for the deployment of a 22 000-strong UN peacekeeping force with a mandate to protect civilians and to work alongside the GoS in order to assist in the implementation of the Darfur Peace Agreement,
D. whereas the GoS continues to block such a UN force from entering Sudan,
E. whereas the UN 'Responsibility to Protect' provides that, where 'national authorities manifestly fail to protect their populations from genocide, war crimes, ethnic cleansing and crimes against humanity,' the UN Security Council can agree to a Chapter VII military force,
F. whereas the African Union Peace and Security Council has extended the mandate of the AMIS mission in Darfur until the end of the year in order not to leave a 'protection vacuum' in Darfur,
G. whereas the African Union will add 4000 troops to its extended Darfur peacekeeping mission, bringing the number of police and soldiers in western Sudan to 11 000,
H. whereas, in his address to the UN Security Council on 11 September 2006, Kofi Annan stated that Sudan is on the 'brink of calamity' and that no effort must be spared 'to avoid yet another genocide from taking place on the African continent',
I. whereas the AU has strengthened the AMIS mandate and tasks to include the protection of civilians within existing strength and capacity,
J. whereas the already dire security situation continues to deteriorate with groups of Janjaweed militia attacking and looting civilian villages,
K. whereas torture and forced conscription of adults and children has become a feature of the human rights abuses in Darfur, and victims of torture are too scared to report the abuse to either AMIS or humanitarian workers for fear of retribution,
L. whereas systematic rape continues to be used as a weapon of war by Janjaweed attacking villages, and there has been a drastic increase in rape in the last 3 months, particularly on women and girls collecting firewood outside villages and IDP camps,
M. whereas some areas of Darfur are now complete no-go zones for humanitarian workers, which means that thousands of Darfur people have no access to aid; whereas attacks on humanitarian workers continue almost daily, 12 having been killed in the last 3 months alone; whereas 355 000 people have been cut off from food aid for 3 months in North Darfur according to the World Food Programme,
N. whereas there is an increasing possibility that humanitarian aid agencies and NGOs may withdraw completely from Darfur if the situation does not improve,
O. whereas Article 3(h) of the Constitutive Act of the African Union states that to 'promote and protect human and peoples' rights in accordance with the African Charter on Human and Peoples' Rights and other relevant human rights instruments' is an objective of the AU,
P. whereas the SLM and the JEM have refused to sign the Darfur Peace Agreement,
1. Urges the GoS to accept a United Nations peacekeeping force in Darfur, under Chapter VII of the UN Charter;
2. Underlines that Sudan has failed in its 'responsibility to protect' its own people and is therefore obliged to accept a UN force in line with UNSC Resolution 1706; underlines that such a force is the only way to achieve the lasting peace necessary to be able to implement the Darfur Peace Agreement; warns the GoS that its continued intransigence over accepting UN peacekeepers will jeopardise the international community's support for implementation of the DPA;
3. Calls on the GoS to reverse its latest military offensive, in which thousands of troops have been deployed across Darfur in blatant violation of the Darfur Peace Agreement, in what many fear may be a preparation for the final stage of its genocidal strategy;
4. Calls for the urgent enforcement of the no-fly zone over Darfur established by UNSC Resolution 1591; urges the international community to liaise with Chad to discuss enforcing the no fly-zone from eastern Chad;
5. Calls on the United Nations and the European Union to agree and implement punitive and targeted sanctions if the GoS continues to reject a UN force after 2006, including an oil embargo and sanctions against those individuals, companies and countries breaching the arms embargo, together with consideration of an oil blockade at Port Sudan;
6. Underlines that sanctions should also include the issuing of Interpol warrants for the 17 people identified by a UN Panel of Experts created by resolution 1591 and the freezing of assets and travel bans for President Omar al-Bashir and associates, particularly those names on the list of 51 individuals handed over to the ICC, as well as targeting the illegal companies that supply the Sudanese regime and its security services with illicit funds;
7. Welcomes the action of the AU's Peace and Security Council in extending the AMIS mandate until the end of the year and increasing troop levels to 11 000, and underlines that in the meantime the African Union peacekeeping mandate must be strengthened in order that the AU can adequately protect civilians in Darfur, and that the international community must provide funds for the AU, which is currently severely underfunded and vastly overstretched;
8. Welcomes the AU's continued collective support for a possible UN force in Sudan, recognising that the extension of the AMIS mission should be an interim measure before the deployment of the UN in Darfur; underlines that any evacuation of the African Union troops must only begin after this 3-month period;
9. Urges China, Russia and the Arab League to cease their complicit approach to Sudan's continued intransigence over the need for a UN peacekeeping force and to cooperate within the UN Security Council, living up to their international responsibilities as UNSC members and world powers;
10. Calls, in this regard, on China to build on the joint statement made by China and the EU on 11 September in which 'leaders emphasised that transition from an AU to a UN operation would be conducive to the peace in Darfur'; urges the Chinese Government to act on this statement by using its influence with Sudan to persuade the GoS to accept a UN peacekeeping force;
11. Calls upon the international community, the Arab League and the UN to guarantee that the AU force has the troops, helicopters, satellite intelligence, translators, equipment, funding and basic provisions needed to carry out its role in Darfur;
12. Condemns the ongoing violence, terror and mass rape occurring in Darfur and calls on all parties to stop the violence, conflict and sexual violence in Darfur without delay;
13. Calls on the GoS to ensure that women who have been raped are able to receive treatment before or upon reporting the incident and that every effort is made to further train police in sexual and gender-based violence issues;
14. Calls for AMIS teams to include interpreters and personnel trained in handling sensitive issues such as rape, in order that rape cases can be adequately recorded;
15. Calls on all parties involved in the conflict in Sudan to refrain from the recruitment and forced conscription of child soldiers under the age of 18, and calls on the Sudanese authorities to protect displaced children, especially unaccompanied minors;
16. Condemns the violence, intimidation and harassment taking place within IDP camps in Darfur, and insists that aid agencies must be guaranteed unrestricted access to all areas of the country, including IDP camps;
17. Calls on the international donor community to ensure that humanitarian agencies such as the World Food Programme have the funds and supplies to provide for those in Darfur;
18. Calls on the EU to urge the European banking sector to restrict its dealings with the GoS and to encourage shareholders and fund managers not to invest in Sudanese companies or companies active in Sudan;
19. Calls on the international community to consider organising an international conference to rescue the Darfur Peace Agreement and to rally funds for its implementation, in exchange for the GoS's compliance with all previous UN Resolutions, in particular allowing a UN peacekeeping force, disarming the Janjaweed and committing itself to protect its entire civilian population;
20. Recalls and strongly supports Kofi Annan's message to the GoS, regarding the state-sponsored violence, that 'neither those who decide such policies, nor those who carry them out, should imagine that they will not be held accountable', and the UN Security Council's view that the GoS may be held collectively and individually responsible for the ongoing humanitarian atrocities;
21. Calls on the international community to use the remaining 3 months of the AMIS mission term to negotiate with the GoS on the deployment of a UN peacekeeping force with a strong African contingent;
22. Instructs its President to forward this resolution to the Commission, the Heads of State and Government of the EU Member States, the United Nations Security Council, the Government and Parliament of Sudan, the Heads of State and Government of the Arab League and the Governments of the ACP countries.