RESOLUTION(1)

on the situation in Southern Africa

The ACP-EU Joint Parliamentary Assembly,

- meeting in Brazzaville (Republic of the Congo) from 31 March to 3 April 2003,

- having regard to the UN Secretary-General's report of 26 July 2002 and to Security Council Resolutions 1432(2002), 1433(2002) and 1439(2002) on Angola,

- having regard to the UN Secretary-General's reports of 12 December 2002 and 7 February 2003,

- having regard to its previous resolutions on Southern Africa,

- having regard to the Africa Hunger Alert campaign launched by the World Food Programme (WFP) on 16 December 2002,

A. whereas many countries in Africa, Asia and Central America are currently facing catastrophic conditions caused primarily by shifting weather patterns, political instability, failed economic policies, and HIV/AIDS,

B. whereas nearly 15 million are threatened by starvation in six countries in Southern Africa - Malawi, Zimbabwe, Zambia, Lesotho, Swaziland and Mozambique - as a result of drought, the convergence of poor harvests and HIV/AIDS,

C. whereas the scope and depth of the crisis is unprecedented and requires an urgent response, failing which the humanitarian community will not be able to counter these looming disasters,

D. whereas in the particular case of Southern Africa the traditional pattern of humanitarian assistance is simply not a viable option at this time, as the capacities of governments across the region to deal with the impact of the current humanitarian crisis have been weakened by the current and future implications of the HIV/AIDS pandemic, which is threatening an entire generation of working-age adults and leaving in its wake millions of orphans,

E. whereas food aid in itself is not an appropriate instrument to create long-term food security but remains essential to deal with humanitarian crises of an unprecedented and unpredictable nature,

F. noting the moral and sovereign rights of affected Southern African states to accept or reject GMOs coming as food aid and the Cartagena Protocol on Biosafety, requiring advanced informed agreement on the use of GM food,

G. having regard to corruption charges against European companies during the construction in Lesotho of the one of the world's largest hydrological engineering projects, which would provide drinking water to 7 million South Africans, and taking into account the heavy financial burden of the judicial process involved in the prosecution of the case,

H. whereas on 17 September 2002 the High Court of Lesotho convicted Acres International, a Canadian engineering consultancy firm, of paying bribes to win contracts on the Lesotho Highlands Water Project (LHWP),

I. whereas the court cases have been extremely costly and it is feared that Lesotho, one of Africa's poorest countries, will not have the financial resources to complete the prosecutions,

J. having regard to the fight against corruption in Zambia carried out by President Mwanawasa, at the risk of losing his post,

South Africa

1. Believes that South Africa has a central role to play in fostering development and stability throughout the region and calls on and encourages it to make a still more determined and direct commitment to combating poverty and social inequalities;

2. Calls on the South African Government to do everything in its power to combat HIV/AIDS;

3. Calls on the relevant authorities to step up their efforts to combat crime, particularly crime which affects the most vulnerable members of society (women and children) and some foreign communities, without undermining respect for human rights;

4. Calls on the Member States, the Commission, the European Investment Bank, the ACP countries and the international community to provide assistance to South Africa under their respective programmes for the country;

Angola

5. Congratulates the Angolan Government and UNITA for the strong political will shown in achieving the goal of peace and national reconciliation and invites all parties to continue to work together closely to build on this achievement; is concerned about any pockets of conflict that remain in the country and welcomes all initiatives to resolve them that may lead to a democratic dialogue;

6. Expresses its satisfaction with the finalisation of the work of the Joint Commission which marks the completion of the main tasks of the Angola peace process and notes with satisfaction some steps towards normality like the appointment of a new Prime Minister - an office which has been vacant for three years - and the ongoing discussion between parties in parliament on a new constitution for Angola;

7. Welcomes the Angolan Government's declaration of 19 November 2002 underlining its commitment to the social reintegration of all Angolans and recognising UNITA's full engagement in the peace process;

8. Stresses in this regard a number of medium and long-term challenges such as the reintegration into society of former government and UNITA soldiers and their families and the resettlement of civilians displaced by the war and reconstruction, which have to be met by Angola; notes that these tasks will now have to be handled within the framework of the national reconciliation process agreed by both parties;

9. Notes the reunification of UNITA as a freely reorganised unarmed political party;

10. Believes that the consolidation of peace in Angola also depends on the re-establishment of the electoral process and full normalisation of democratic, free and pluralist institutions, guaranteed respect for human rights, respect for the law, the independence of the courts, the neutrality and impartiality of the public administrative authorities, a properly functioning state apparatus and social justice;

11. Welcomes in this context the commitments by the President of the Republic and the government to ensure the democratic legitimacy of national institutions by holding free and pluralist local and national elections as soon as possible; asks the Commission to help provide the necessary international assistance for this purpose;

12. Considers also that peace, reconciliation and democracy in Angola require the commitment of all Angolans to engage in a comprehensive dialogue encompassing and actively involving all political parties on a representational basis, together with civil society, and traditional and religious authorities;

13. Calls on the European Commission to include in its aid programmes for Angola provision for the participation of civil society and churches in the process of national reconciliation and civic training programmes, in a move to strengthen democracy;

14. Calls on the European Commission and the ACP-EU Council to support programmes of mine clearance, humanitarian assistance and the social reintegration of displaced persons, demobilised personnel, the disabled and orphans, together with the organisation of an international conference of humanitarian aid donors and the reconstruction of Angola following the restoration of peace;

15. Urges the European Commission and the international community to provide further funding for the restoration of infrastructures destroyed during the war and for relaunching economic activity, particularly in the agricultural and fisheries sectors, so as to make the population less dependent on food aid;

16. Welcomes the commitments by the President of the Republic and the measures urged by the leader of the parliamentary majority to combat corruption; calls on the authorities to act with determination so as to bring this campaign to a successful conclusion;

17. Calls on the Angolan Government and its industrial and trading partners to establish suitable mechanisms for the transparent and responsible management of Angola's natural resources in accordance with IMF recommendations;

18. Endorses the United Nations proposals to continue, following the expiry of the mandate of the United Nations Mission in Angola (UNMA), closely to monitor the humanitarian situation and respect for human rights throughout the country;

Lesotho

19. Welcomes the stand taken by the government of Lesotho against bribery and corruption; hopes that this will be an example to other countries in Southern Africa;

20. Asks the European Commission to provide the necessary financial support to the Lesotho Government to enable it to pursue the court process to its conclusion;

Good governance

21. Fully supports all those who fight corruption, particularly President Mwanawasa of Zambia;

22. Calls on the European Commission and the governments of the EU Member States to honour their commitments in support of good governance and to provide financial and technical assistance and cooperation to those developing nations which are willing to deter, prevent and punish corrupt practices in the award of contracts for public works;

Food crisis

23. Expresses its grave concern at the looming humanitarian disasters in Southern Africa and calls on the EU and other donors to promptly and substantially respond to the Africa Hunger Alert campaign launched by the World Food Programme (WFP) and to step up food aid and humanitarian aid to the region, as well as support for longer-term efforts to achieve food security;

24. Supports the position of the Zambian Government which has rejected GM food aid on the basis of the precautionary principle in order to protect Zambian farmers, the country's agricultural production and prospects for exports;

25. Considers that the Cartagena Protocol on bio-safety enshrines the sovereign right of countries to be informed and to take precautionary decisions on imports of GMOs;

26. Reaffirms that the right to food is a fundamental human right and that accepting or rejecting GM food aid is a sovereign right of beneficiary countries;

27. Warns that the global cost of not eradicating hunger - in terms of conflict, recurrent emergencies, international crime, the drugs trade, economic stagnation, clandestine migration and premature death - is enormous;

28. Calls on the EU and other donors to address urgently the dire socio-economic impacts of the HIV/AIDS pandemic in the Southern Africa region, and to speed up the slow disbursement of earmarked monies from the Global Fund for HIV/AIDS;

29. Expresses its continuing grave concern at the magnitude of the food crisis facing some countries in Southern Africa;

30. Instructs its Co-Presidents to forward this resolution to the ACP-EU Council, the European Commission, the Secretary-General of the United Nations, the African Union, SADC and the governments of Angola and South Africa.

(1) Adopted at the ACP-EU Joint Parliamentary Assembly on 3 April 2003 in Brazzaville (Republic of the Congo).