RESOLUTION(1)

on the situation in the Great Lakes and the Democratic Republic of Congo in particular

The ACP-EU Joint Assembly,

- meeting in Strasbourg (France) from 29 March to 1 April 1999,

- recalling its previous resolutions on the situation in the Great Lakes Region and in the Democratic Republic of Congo in particular,

- recalling the EU Presidency Declaration of 17 February 1999,

A. deeply concerned at the persistent instability in the Great Lakes Region and at the grave situation in the Democratic Republic of Congo in particular, where an eight-month war is causing further death and destruction, is generating a new exodus of refugees and is threatening to develop into a full-scale regional conflict,

B. noting with concern the involvement of foreign forces in the RDC conflict,

C. concerned by the serious destabilisation caused in the Democratic Republic of Congo by the presence on its territory of many rebel groups - in particular those that were defeated in the Rwandan civil war and were guilty of the genocide - which use this country as a base for their offensives both within the RDC and against the neighbouring countries,

D. concerned by the fact that these rebel groups use the civilian population as hostages and enrol even children in their forces; concerned also by the many civilian casualties which result from these activities, as recently brought to international attention by the brutal massacre of eight foreign tourists and four Ugandan park guards and guides at Bwindi Mountain Gorilla Sanctuary by Hutu rebels operating in the region,

E. whereas the continuing presence of refugees in the Great Lakes Region, owing to the persistent ethnic violence and gross human rights violations that have characterised the recent history of Rwanda, Burundi and Democratic Republic of Congo, has resulted in a tremendous humanitarian crisis, which requires the urgent attention of the international community, as well as full and unconditional access to be granted to humanitarian agencies and personnel,

F. deploring that EU and ACP countries do not always provide full support to the Arusha tribunal despite the crucial role that it is playing in terms of both avoiding impunity for the Rwanda genocide and preventing further violence in the region,

G. encouraging the reconciliation efforts and the peace initiatives promoted by the governments of South Africa and Zambia,

1. Condemns all the human rights violations, summary executions, torture, harassment, ethnically motivated arrests of civilians, enrolment of children as soldiers as well as ethnic propaganda and incitement to ethnic violence which have been openly committed in the RDC conflict;

2. Reaffirms the principle of the inviolability of the borders inherited from the colonial period, in accordance with the spirit and letter of the relevant provisions of the United Nations Charter and the OAU Charter;

3. Condemns all violations of the DRC's territorial integrity;

4. Calls for an immediate ceasefire, respect for international humanitarian law and the opening of negotiations among all parties involved, with a view to finding a political solution to the conflict that will guarantee the territorial integrity of the RDC, address the security problems of its neighbours and bring about the withdrawal of all foreign forces from the RDC and the release of all prisoners arbitrarily detained;

5. Welcomes in this context the recent acceptance by President Kabila of the principle of entering into negotiations with all parties to the conflict, including the rebel movement;

6. Insists that any negotiated settlement in the Democratic Republic of Congo must be based on a process of national reconciliation which fully respects the equality and the harmonious coexistence of all ethnic groups, allows for the return and reintegration of refugees and displaced persons, and leads to the holding of early free and fair democratic elections;

7. Calls on the RDC authorities to restart the process of democratising the country, not failing to implement the unconditional legalisation of political parties, the abolition of censorship of the press and the release of political prisoners;

8. Calls for the various regional peace initiatives sponsored by SADC, the OAU, President Chiluba, and the EU Special Envoy, Mr Ajello, to be better coordinated in order to provide a single framework of mediation efforts;

9. Encourages the governments of South Africa and Zambia not to weaken in their conciliation efforts and to continue their efforts in pursuit of a peaceful solution to the conflict;

10. Calls on the EU Council to sponsor a unitary peace initiative for the RDC, under the relevant sections of the CFSP, that would go beyond the customary declarations and match the EU's significant humanitarian commitment;

11. Welcomes the activity of the International Tribunal for Rwanda, despite the very difficult circumstances in which it has to carry out its mandate, it being an essential element for securing the region, preventing further violence and avoiding impunity through respect for the law;

12. Calls on all parties to the conflict to grant relief agencies full and unconditional access to the populations in need; calls on the Commission to step up its humanitarian aid to the region to cope with the renewed exodus of refugees;

13. Instructs its Co-Presidents to forward this resolution to the ACP-EU Council, the Commission and the UN, OAU and SADC Secretaries-General.

(1) Adopted by the ACP-EU Joint Assembly on 1 April 1999 in Strasbourg (France).