JOINT ASSEMBLY OF THE CONVENTION CONCLUED BETWEEN THE AFRICAN, CARIBBEAN AND PACIFIC STATES AND THE EUROPEAN COMMUNITY (ACP-EC)

RESOLUTION () on Nigeria

The ACP-EU Joint Assembly,

- meeting in Luxembourg from 23 to 26 September 1996,

- having regard to its previous resolutions on Nigeria,

- having regard to the previous resolutions of the European Parliament on the same subject,

A. deeply concerned at the maintenance in power by the use of force of the Abacha military regime, which is defying the international community by ignoring the result of the presidential election of 12 June 1993, and has abolished all democratic institutions, including all local and national elections and political parties,

B. reaffirming its condemnation of the execution of Ken Saro-Wiwa and eight other Ogoni militants in November 1995 and the murder in June 1996 of the wife of the democratically elected president Mr Moshood Abiola, imprisoned following the 1993 elections,

C. greatly disturbed that, despite the recent releases of a small number of political detainees, 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,

D. mindful of the UN Human Rights Committee Report of July 1996 on Nigeria which, under the Principal Subjects of Concern in Chapter D, refers to disrespect for constitutional rights, arbitrary arrest, torture, very poor conditions in detention centres, the application of the death penalty after trials which do not allow any right of appeal and which do not meet international definitions of fair trials, and which calls for the restoration of the rule of law in Nigeria, the abolition of the death penalty, measures to stop arbitrary extra-judicial and summary executions, and an end to torture and arbitrary arrest and detention by members of the security forces,

E. shocked by the murder on 4 June 1996 of Mrs Kudiratu Abiola, the wife of the democratically elected President of Nigeria, Mr Mshood Abiola,

F. noting with regret that the Nigerian Government bears the responsibility for the emergence of the exiled opposition which threatens to use force to stop human rights abuses,

G. disturbed at reports that, during their mission to Nigeria, the activities of the fact-finding team of the UN Secretary-General to Nigeria resulted in harassment and detention of human rights activists and others,

H. 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 in its resolution approved in Windhoek, have not been adopted,

I. convinced that concerted international sanctions designed to isolate the Nigerian authorities economically, diplomatically and politically, applied effectively can bring pressure to bear on the regime of Sani Abacha to establish a democratic constitutional regime,

J. deploring that the Nigerian regime has virtually refused the Commonwealth team authorization to freely and voluntarily visit the various parts of Nigeria where human rights abuses are committed with impunity,

1. Condemns the Nigerian regime for its continuing brutal oppression of opponents and any democratic force in the country and calls on the Council, the Commission and the Member States to step up, without hesitation and without delay, the sanctions against Nigeria and to ensure that they are strictly enforced;

2. Calls on the Nigerian Government to return Nigeria to rule by elected civilian government by the end of 1996, and in so doing to restore the democratic rights of Nigerian citizens;

3. Calls on the Nigerian Government to engage the opposition in a constructive dialogue to resolve the country's political crisis;

4. Condemns the assassination of Mrs Kudiratu Abiola and calls upon the Nigerian Government to investigate this murder and bring the perpetrators to justice;

5. Calls for the release of all prisoners incarcerated for political reasons, including Mr Moshood Abiola, the winner of the 1993 democratic presidential elections, and an end to the instances of persecution of a number of journalists in recent months;

6. Calls on the Nigerian Government to respond in full to all the points raised by the UN Human Rights Committee Report in July in relation to Nigeria, and in particular to repeal the State Security (Detention of Persons) Decree No 2 of 1984 and any other decrees allowing indefinite detention without charge;

7. Calls on the Nigerian Government to compensate financially all victims of human rights violations, as suggested by the fact-finding mission of the UN Secretary-General;

8. Calls on the International Community, the EU and the Commonwealth in particular, to continue exercising sanctions until the Nigerian regime stops its atrocities and establishes a free democratic order;

9. Calls 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;

10. Calls on the Member States of the European Union to take steps to freeze the financial assets of the Nigerian Government and of members of the Provisional Ruling Council and Federal Executive Council and their families;

11. Calls on the Council and Commission of the European Union to fund studies by independent experts on the impact of oil company activities in the Niger Delta, and to develop codes of conduct to ensure that companies based in the Member States of the European Union which operate in Nigeria respect and support international standards of human rights;

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