RESOLUTION(1)

on the situation in the Great Lakes Region

The ACP-EU Joint Assembly,

- meeting in Abuja (Nigeria) from 20 to 23 March 2000,

- 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 26 November 1999,

A. whereas an armed conflict has been raging in the DRC over the past 18 months, with the active military involvement of six neighbouring countries, posing a serious threat to the stability of the region and causing further death and destruction as well as a new exodus of refugees,

B. whereas the Lusaka cease-fire agreement, signed in July 1999 by the six countries and the different rebel groups involved in this conflict, has been violated with impunity by all sides ever since,

C. whereas the United Nations Security Council held a special session on 26 January 2000 to consider the situation in the DRC, and is now considering the deployment of 5500 troops to monitor the implementation of the Lusaka agreement,

D. whereas the Lusaka Agreement includes a pledge from neighbouring countries to withdraw their forces as well as a promise from all sides to engage in a national dialogue on Congo's future with the participation of representatives of civil society and to secure Congo's borders in order to guarantee the safety of neighbouring countries,

E. whereas the obstacles to the implementation of the Lusaka Agreement are enormous given the grave instability and ethnic tensions that persist in the region and the continuing presence of refugees across the region, which has resulted in a tremendous humanitarian crisis,

F. whereas respect for human rights and democratic institutions must be an essential part of the reconciliation process in the region,

1. Deplores the delays in the implementation of the Lusaka Agreement and strongly condemns the continuing human rights violations, summary executions, acts of torture, harassment and rape, ethnic propaganda, incitements to ethnic violence and the enlistment of children as soldiers;

2. Reaffirms its commitment to the Lusaka Agreement,which offers the only realistic prospect of lasting peace and security in the Great Lakes and is crucial for the return and reintegration of refugees and displaced people into their countries of origin;

3. Calls on all parties to the conflict to show the necessary political will and proceed immediately with implementation of the Lusaka Agreement, and to refrain from any declaration or action that could jeopardise the peace process;

4. Welcomes in this context the special session of the UN Security Council and urges it to authorise without delay the initial deployment of 5500 UN troops to monitor the implementation of the Lusaka Agreement, according to the proposal of its Secretary-General, which was supported by all Heads of State and delegations present at this special session;

5. Reaffirms the territorial integrity and national sovereignty of the Democratic Republic of Congo, including over its natural resources, in accordance with the principles of the Charters of the United Nations and the OAU; in this regard reiterates its call for the immediate cessation of hostilities and the orderly withdrawal of all foreign forces from the territory of the DRC in accordance with the Lusaka Agreement, and for the security of the borders of neighbouring countries to be guaranteed;

6. Calls on all Congolese signatories to the Agreement to engage immediately in the national dialogue on Congo's future, together with representatives of civil society; to that end calls on the DRC authorities to release without delay all political prisoners and to allow activities by political parties in order to prepare the election;

7. Calls on all signatories to the Lusaka Agreement to provide assurances of safety, security and freedom of movement of all UN and associated personnel, and stresses that such a climate of cooperation is an essential prerequisite for the success of any UN operation;

8. Calls for an international inquiry into all the massacres and other human rights violations perpetrated on DRC territory in order to identify and bring to justice those responsible;

9. Welcomes the recent designation of the former President of Botswana, Sir Ketumile Masire, as the Facilitator of the Inter-Congolese Dialogue as provided for by the Lusaka Agreement;

10. Draws attention to the European Union's duty to support efforts to implement the Lusaka Agreement and calls on it to take appropriate political and logistical action without delay, with a view to ensuring that the Agreement is properly implemented;

11. Calls on the Council and the Member States to honour the undertakings they have given with regard to controlling arms exports to the region and preventing the illicit sale of such arms and the trafficking which finances it;

12. Urges the EU to step up its humanitarian aid to the region to cope with the continuing presence of refugees, and its support to the neighbouring countries so as to enable them to help returnees;

13. Instructs its Co-Presidents to forward this resolution to the signatories to the Lusaka Agreement, the ACP-EU Council, the Commission, the UN Secretary-General, the OAU, and the governments of South Africa, Zambia and Tanzania.

(1) Adopted by the ACP-EU Joint Assembly on 23 March 2000 in Abuja (Nigeria).