# CE2004088EN.01016801.xml

| 8.4.2004 | EN | Official Journal of the European Union | CE 88/168 |
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8.4.2004

EN

Official Journal of the European Union

CE 88/168

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(2004/C 88 E/0176)

WRITTEN QUESTION E-0072/04

by José Ribeiro e Castro (UEN) to the Commission

(20 January 2004)

Subject:   Suspected traffic in human organs — Mozambique

Subject:

At the end of 2003, there were rumours that in a region in Northern Mozambique, a criminal network was operating in trafficking in human organs, removed from people (children above all, but also adults) kidnapped and murdered for this purpose. It was claimed that mutilated corpses were appearing on a weekly basis around a monastery in the Nampula area. There were apparently also countless cases of people who had vanished without trace. The trade in organs was possibly being carried on via South Africa, with reference being made to the possible involvement of a South African citizen. The population was panic-stricken, and there were fears that the network might be connived at by high-ranking politicians or businessmen.

The seriousness of such crimes can scarcely by overestimated, and public knowledge of their possible truth first came from religious sources; fear for the lives of clergy and religious in the area — there have been death threats against missionaries disturbed by these crimes and outraged by the possible traffic in organs — meant that they treated the reports with extreme caution, while seeking to gather further evidence. However, the rumours had already hit the news, when a Brazilian woman missionary levelled accusations during a television broadcast in Brazil at the end of 2003. News coverage in Portugal followed, in the ‘Público’ newspaper of 24 December 2003 and 2 January 2004. The latter further stated that the Mozambique state prosecutor was aware of the accusations and was investigating the facts.

The European Parliament recently addressed this problem in a general sense, when assessing, on a Greek initiative, the proposal for a framework directive on the prevention and control of trafficking in human organs and tissues — see the proceedings in plenary of 23 October 2003 and the report by Robert J.E. Evans (A5-0326/2003).

The Commission:

| — | does the Commission have any information concerning these crimes in Mozambique; |
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does the Commission have any information concerning these crimes in Mozambique;

| — | how might it be able to help the Mozambique authorities in the investigation of these claims, and in the international fight against trafficking in human organs and any other crimes which may be being perpetrated; |
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how might it be able to help the Mozambique authorities in the investigation of these claims, and in the international fight against trafficking in human organs and any other crimes which may be being perpetrated;

| — | what guarantees are there that no EU Member State is the destination of criminally obtained and illegally traded human organs? |
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what guarantees are there that no EU Member State is the destination of criminally obtained and illegally traded human organs?

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