Mr President, I do not want to over-dramatise the situation as there are many civilians suffering violence in armed conflicts around the world. However, between 1992 and 1997, 131 volunteer and humanitarian workers and human rights activists working for the United Nations in areas of conflict were murdered. Between 1 January 1994 and 17 March 1997, 119 volunteer and humanitarian workers were kidnapped in 35 separate incidents. In 1992, one United Nations representative died violently every month. In 1993, one died every two weeks and, in 1994, one died every week. In the first two months of 1997, 9 volunteers died. In 1996, 153 delegates of the International Committee of the Red Cross were subject to security incidents, including murders and kidnappings. I must, in particular, mention the deaths of three members of Médecins du Monde-Spain in Rwanda in 1997. In short, as stated by the joint motion for a resolution with which we want to close this debate, the murders of Iñigo Eguiluz and Jorge Luis Mazo are simply the latest in a long line of attacks. These two men were volunteers for the organisation Paz y Tercer Mundo. They were murdered on 18 November in Quibdó on the Atrato river, 500 kilometres north of Bogotá, Colombia. These attacks strike not only at the integrity of these individuals but also at human rights, international humanitarian law and, within this, the right of victims of conflicts to be helped, to see the perpetrators of these acts tried and to receive the necessary reparation so that these crimes do not go unpunished. The recent insecurity for humanitarian workers is due to the increase in conflicts, the exponential growth of humanitarian organisations and, in particular, the nature of current conflicts. These are no longer between regular armed forces, subject to political control, and guerrilla movements with a defined command structure and ideologies. Conflicts in which the warring parties are responsible, to some extent, for the protection of humanitarian workers, from whose actions the people benefit, no longer exist. Volunteer and humanitarian workers are now exposed to banditry. The civilian population is regarded as just another element in the conflict and as part of the political and military strategy. Humanitarian action has therefore become an obstacle to the warring parties in the achievement of their objectives which often involve the elimination of part of the civilian population for ethnic, religious or cultural reasons. In view of this situation, the security of humanitarian workers is a widespread problem which is of concern to Parliament. The Commission should be concerned as it finances over 180 NGOs working in areas of conflict. The Council should also be concerned as it is engaged in advancing an external policy in accordance with the Treaties, in promoting human rights and a security policy which, at the moment, is specifically confined to humanitarian actions. This is why we ask for Parliament’s concerns to be echoed by the other institutions. The Commission should act by preparing a communication on the security conditions of volunteer and humanitarian workers and by adopting measures which guarantee this security. Before applying the measures proposed by some governments, such as military protection of their volunteers, we must examine other measures which may be more effective in situations of conflict. The Council should act through the promotion, from within the CFSP, of international humanitarian law and perhaps through the creation of a European civilian peace corps. In 1999, we commemorated the 50th anniversary of the Geneva Conventions on International Humanitarian Law, which protect the civilian population in armed conflicts, and which guarantee their access to international aid. These are instruments which impose a legal obligation on countries but which are systematically being breached. We ask the Secretary-General of the Council to use the European Union’s incipient capacity for external action to promote these EU principles. The Secretary-General of the United Nations recently asked the Security Council to impose international humanitarian law, even by applying Chapters 5, 6 and 7 of the Charter of the United Nations. Here today, we simply ask that we start to acquire a conscience and that measures are taken to tackle a problem which affects not only the NGOs but also the very foundations of our concept of world order.

Political group: PSE