Joint Assembly of the Convention concluded between the African, Caribbean and Pacific States and the European Union (ACP-EU) - Resolutions adopted on Nigeria (ACP- EU/2146/97/fin.)

The ACP-EU Joint Assembly,

- meeting in Brussels from 17 to 20 March 1997,

A. deeply concerned at the maintenance in power through the use of force of the military regime led by General Sani Abacha, following the annulment of elections in 1993, at the continued detention without trial of the winner of the 1993 elections, Chief Moshood Abiola, and at the regime's clear intention - as evidenced in the local elections which took place on 15 March 1997 - of conducting a transition programme on terms designed to exclude opposition groups from participation,

B. disturbed by the reports of international human rights organizations and institutions about continuous human rights violations, public executions and violations of the right to freedom of expression,

C. concerned that despite the sanctions imposed by the EU, arbitrary arrest, extrajudicial and summary executions, disappearances, cases of torture and ill-treatment of human rights and pro-democracy activists still continues,

D. concerned that the rights provided for in the Convention on the Rights of the Child still have no legal status in Nigeria as proved by the low age of criminal responsibility, the conditions and treatment of children in detention and the lack of necessary safeguards against excessive use of force against children by law enforcement officials,

E. whereas two and a half years after the electoral process was violently suspended the military government is still using violence to remain in power, and the continuing arrests of political leaders and representatives of civil society point to the undemocratic and dictatorial nature of that military regime,

F. greatly disturbed that many prisoners of conscience remain in detention in terrible conditions and that many more continue to be arrested, and that the 'Ogoni 19` will face trial before a special tribunal of the same type that sentenced Ken Saro Wiwa and eight other Ogoni activists to death in November 1995,

G. whereas the municipal elections, due to be held in December 1996, have been postponed indefinitely,

H. deploring the Nigerian Government's refusal to permit the UN special rapporteurs on the independence of judges and lawyers and on extrajudicial, arbitrary and summary executions to conduct a fact-finding mission to Nigeria on their standard terms of reference, and welcoming the decision by the UN not to proceed with its mission on this basis,

I. noting with regret that the dialogue between the Commonwealth and the Nigerian authorities has led neither to any improvement in the human rights situation nor to the expected free democratic order,

J. welcoming the extension for a further six months of the limited measures which the European Union has taken against Nigeria, but regretting that more forceful measures, in line with this Assembly's recommendations, have not been adopted,

K. regretting that international oil companies are still operating in Ogoni country despite human rights violations and environmental degradation,

L. convinced, however, that despite the sanctions introduced at international level and, in particular, those decreed by the European Union, only measures aimed at isolating the country economically, in particular through an oil embargo, are liable to oblige the Nigerian regime to establish a democratic constitutional system,

M. reaffirming its condemnation of the execution in November 1995 of Mr Ken Saro Wiwa and eight other Ogoni ecologist activists, members of the Movement for the Survival of the Ogoni People (MOSOP), following a series of iniquitous trials of a political nature and the murder in June 1996 of the wife of the President elected democratically in June 1993, Moshood Abiola, who has been in prison since June 1994,

1. Condemns the Nigerian military regime for its continuing brutal repression of those who oppose its rule and calls on the Council, the Commission and Member States to strengthen the measures currently in place to put pressure on the Nigerian government and to ensure that they are strictly enforced;

2. Appeals to the international community, the EU and the Commonwealth in particular, to continue exercising sanctions until the Nigerian regime stops its atrocities against its population, especially children, and embarks on a realistic democratization process;

3. Insists on the immediate and unconditional release of all political prisoners and detainees imprisoned for the non-violent expression of their political views, including human rights defenders and Mr Moshood Abiola, unless they are to be charged and tried promptly and fairly with full rights of defence;

4. Considers that current arrangements for a return to civilian rule by October 1998 in Nigeria do not represent a genuine democratic process;

5. Calls on the Nigerian Government to engage the opposition in a constructive dialogue to resolve the country's current political deadlock so that an interim government headed by Chief Abiola can be established to oversee free and fair democratic elections;

6. Calls on the Nigerian Government to compensate financially all victims of human rights violations, and in particular the relatives of Ken Saro Wiwa and his co-accused, as recommended by the April 1996 fact-finding mission of the UN Secretary-General;

7. Calls on the Commonwealth to expel Nigeria at the next Heads of State meeting on the grounds that the Harare principles have not been respected, and to step up measures taken against the regime on the basis that its efforts at dialogue with the Nigerian Government have so far failed to produce any significant progress in terms of progress towards democracy, respect of human rights and the rule of law;

8. Notes that the sanctions currently applied by the European Union against Nigeria have not really been effective, and therefore calls on the European Union to be vigilant about the effective impact of the implementation of its sanctions;

9. Calls, once again, on the European Council to implement the following measures:

- an embargo on the exploitation of Nigerian oil;

- freezing of financial assets held in the EU by the Nigerian Government and of members of the Provisional Ruling Council and Federal Executive Council and their families;

10. Repeats its call for a total ban on arms exports to Nigeria from the European Union, including exports relating to contracts signed before the current embargo came into effect, and for the introduction of a case-by-case review, with a presumption of denial, on all 'dual use` equipment which may have both military/security and civilian purposes;

11. Calls on the Member States not to grant visas to members of the Nigerian regime;

12. Calls on the European Union Member States to grant refugee status to Nigerians in exile who are opposed to General Abacha's military regime, as provided for in the Geneva Convention on Refugee Status;

13. Calls on the Union to step up humanitarian assistance to the Nigerian people, in particular to the most vulnerable and those likely to be affected by the sanctions imposed against the regime;

14. Invites members of official Nigerian political parties due to visit the EU in April and members of the Nigerian Opposition to meet under the auspices of the Joint Assembly to pursue discussions on the basis of Article 5 of the Lomé Convention;

15. Instructs the Bureau of the Joint Assembly to immediately send a mission to Nigeria to meet political prisoners and to report back on their condition and the reasons for their detention, so that this information can be transmitted to the 53rd UN Session of Human Rights which is due to discuss the situation in Nigeria;

16. Instructs its Co-Presidents to forward this resolution to the ACP-EU Council, the Commission, the United Nations Security Council, the United Nations in Geneva, the OAU, the Nigerian Government and the presidents of oil companies operating in Nigeria.