Council Common Position

of 14 May 2001

concerning conflict prevention, management and resolution in Africa

(2001/374/CFSP)

THE COUNCIL OF THE EUROPEAN UNION,

Having regard to the Treaty on European Union, and in particular Article 15 thereof,

Having regard to the conclusions of the European Councils of Cologne, Helsinki, Feira and Nice,

Whereas:

(1) The primary responsibility for prevention, management and resolution of conflicts on the African continent lies with Africans themselves.

(2) The United Nations Security Council has the primary responsibility for the maintenance of international peace and security under the Charter of the United Nations.

(3) In the drawing up of United Nations Security Council decisions, the defence of European Union positions and interests is fully ensured by the application of Article 19 of the Treaty on European Union.

(4) On 2 June 1997 the Council adopted Common Position 97/356/CFSP concerning conflict prevention and conflict resolution in Africa(1).

(5) The prevention, management and resolution of conflicts have been the subject of dialogue with the Organisation of African Unity (OAU), and are included in the Cairo Declaration and Plan of Action.

(6) There is a link between conflict prevention and democracy, human rights, the rule of law and good governance, where development cooperation has a strategic role to play in strengthening capacities to manage conflicts in peaceful ways.

(7) The European Community and its Member States entered into a Partnership Agreement with the ACP States at Cotonou on 23 June 2000,

HAS ADOPTED THIS COMMON POSITION:

Article 1

1. The objective of this common position is to contribute to the prevention, management and resolution of violent conflicts in Africa by strengthening African capacity and means of action in this field, in particular through support for the OAU and subregional organisations and initiatives, and civil society organisations. In doing this, the European Union will take further steps to promote coordination between the many actors that may be involved, including a closer coordination of the measures taken by the Community and its Member States.

2. The European Union shall, as it strengthens its capacity in the areas of crisis management and conflict prevention, improve its close cooperation with the United Nations (UN) and relevant regional and subregional organisations in order to achieve the above objective.

3. The European Union shall develop a proactive, comprehensive and integrated approach, which shall also serve as a common framework for actions of individual Member States. As a part of this, and to enhance capacity for early action, a yearly survey shall be drawn up by the Presidency assisted by the High Representative and the Commission, and designed to identify and monitor potential violent conflicts and presenting the policy options necessary to prevent their outbreak or recurrence.

Article 2

While recognising the need to respond to existing crises, the European Union's policy shall also focus on preventing the outbreak and spreading of violent conflicts through early action, and on preventing the recurrence of violent conflict. In this context European Union action shall cover:

- conflict prevention by seeking to target the direct causes - trigger factors - of violent conflict while at the same time addressing the more structural root causes,

- crisis management by addressing acute phases of conflicts, supporting efforts to bring the violence to an end,

- peace-building by seeking to support initiatives for containing violent conflict and prepare for, and sustain, peaceful solutions to such conflicts.

Article 3

Recognising that the OAU and African subregional organisations constitute the central actors in the prevention, management and resolution of conflicts in Africa:

1. the European Union will continue to assist these organisations, in particular, in building their capacities for, inter alia, political and economic analyses, early warning systems, negotiation/mediation skills, peacekeeping, and in strengthening linkages between themselves as well as with other members of the international community;

2. the European Union's support for and cooperation with the OAU in the field of conflict prevention, management and resolution will be pursued with a view to developing a long term partnership, particularly in the framework of the follow-up to the Cairo Summit.

Article 4

In order to better contribute, through the strategic role which development cooperation has to play in the prevention, management and resolution of violent conflicts in Africa, the European Union will seek:

- to support the mainstreaming of conflict prevention perspectives within the framework of European Community development policy and its associated country strategies,

- to introduce, as appropriate, conflict indicators and peace and conflict impact assessment tools in development cooperation so as to reduce the risk of aid playing into the hands of conflict, and to maximise its positive impact on peace-building,

- to improve the coordination between the efforts of the European Community and those of the Member States in this field,

- to improve development cooperation with regional, subregional and local actors in order to ensure the consistency between initiatives and to support African activities,

- to coordinate its efforts with the international financial institutions.

Article 5

With regard to the strengthening of African capacity for peacekeeping:

1. the European Union will support, over the long term, the enhancement of African peacekeeping capabilities, at regional, subregional and bilateral levels. Notwithstanding such capacity enhancement, the European Union and its Member States will continue, on a case-by-case basis, to consider deploying their own operational means for conflict prevention and crisis management in Africa, in accordance with the principles of the UN Charter and in close cooperation with UN activities in the region. Such considerations will take into account the scope of capabilities developed under the European Union crisis management capabilities;

2. Member States and the Commission will exchange information on all action taken to support African peacekeeping capabilities with a view to improving coordination and developing synergies. This information will be summarised in the annual review of this common position provided for in Article 10;

3. the Member States and the Commission will seek to achieve improved coordination of bilateral action in support of the OAU and subregional African organisations, in particular the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS), the South African Development Community (SADC) and, prospectively, the Intergovernmental Authority on Development (IGAD) and the Economic Community of Central African States (CEEAC), regarding African peacekeeping capabilities;

4. Member States and the Commission will systematically invite each other or the Presidency, as appropriate, to participate in exercises and seminars they organise with a view to reinforcing African peacekeeping capabilities;

5. coordination and exchanges on enhancement activities will be sought with interested third parties, notably the United States, Canada and Japan in particular in the framework of the political dialogue with these countries;

6. the European Union will endeavour to improve further its coordination with the UN, and in particular with the Department of Peacekeeping Operations (DPKO), on all activities aiming at strengthening African Peacekeeping Capabilities;

7. the European Union will analyse how best to coordinate Member States' efforts in areas of training, equipment and exercises. This analysis will take into consideration key areas of the Brahimi report on UN peace operations, including interoperability of troops and command and control structures;

8. on an ad hoc basis, the European Union will consider in due course initiating, where there is value added, capacity enhancement programmes in its own name, separately or in conjunction with programmes initiated by individual Member States. Such action might range from small scale observer missions during peacekeeping exercises to more comprehensive training programmes;

Article 6

Member States shall continue to conduct a restrictive policy with regard to arms exports, fully applying the 1998 EU Code of Conduct on Arms Exports. Recognising that the availability and accumulation of arms exceeding legitimate security needs may be a factor contributing to instability, and that the curbing of the illicit trafficking in arms is an important contribution to the relaxation of tension and to reconciliation processes, the Member States and the Commission shall:

- cooperate in promoting international respect for arms embargoes and other relevant decisions by the United Nations Security Council and support initiatives to implement such measures effectively,

- continue to support and respect regional initiatives contributing to the prevention and combating of illicit trafficking in arms,

- cooperate to encourage associated countries to align themselves with principles adopted and measures taken by the European Union.

The European Union shall, further, consider support for African efforts to improve control of arms manufacture, import and export, and support for controlling or eliminating surplus small arms, as well as support for African efforts to tackle problems relating to small arms in accordance with Joint Action 1999/34/CFSP of 17 December 1998 on the European Union's contribution to combating the destabilising accumulation and spread of small arms and light weapons(2).

Article 7

Recognising the importance of economic factors in conflicts in Africa, as well as the potential of diplomatic and economic measures for the prevention and resolution of violent conflicts:

1. the European Union will:

- seek to promote the further integration of Africa into the world economy,

- support economic and political cooperation, such as regional stabilisation arrangements, to strengthen relations between parties as a preventive and post-conflict peace building measure;

2. the European Union will also:

- cooperate in promoting universal respect for embargoes related to the illegal exploitation of and trade in high value commodities and for other relevant decisions by the United Nations Security Council; and support initiatives to implement such measures effectively,

- actively work towards finding means to suppress illegal exploitation of natural resources which contributes to the eruption, escalation and continuation of violent conflict,

- where appropriate, use economic and financial sanctions targeted at actors who profit from and exacerbate violent conflicts.

Article 8

To reflect the need to maintain focus on a conflict even after it has turned less acute, and to contribute to a more coherent and systematic approach to post-war situations in Africa, the European Union:

- stands ready to support security sector reform within the framework of democratic principles, respect for human rights, the rule of law, and good governance, in particular in countries in transition from violent conflict to sustainable peace,

- will continue and consolidate its support for tackling the problems of the destabilising accumulation and uncontrolled spread of small arms, with due attention to the important role played by civil society,

- will enhance its support for the disarmament and sustainable reintegration of demobilised ex-combatants with particular attention to the needs of children recruited to take part in military activities, as well as to the clearance of landmines,

- will continue to support actions aimed at facilitating the reintegration of up-rooted populations in post-conflict situations,

- will encourage reconciliation and support reconstruction necessary to allow countries emerging from conflict to relaunch policies for long term development.

Article 9

The Council notes that the Commission intends to direct its action towards achieving the objectives and priorities of this Common Position, where appropriate by pertinent Community measures.

Article 10

On the basis of a report by the Presidency, in association with the Secretary General/High Representative and the Commission, this Common Position and the implementation thereof shall be reviewed annually.

Article 11

This Common Position shall take effect on the day of its adoption.

Common Position 97/356/CFSP is hereby repealed.

Article 12

This Common Position shall be published in the Official Journal.

Done at Brussels, 14 May 2001.

For the Council

The President

A. Lindh

(1) OJ L 153, 11.6.1997, p. 1.

(2) OJ L 9, 15.1.1999, p. 1.

Statement by the Danish delegation

In accordance with Article 6 of Protocol No 5 on the position of Denmark, annexed to the Treaty of Amsterdam, Denmark does not participate in the elaboration and the implementation of decisions and actions of the Union which have defence implications.

Denmark will therefore not participate in future Council decisions which have defence implications as follow-up to the Common Position on conflict prevention, management and resolution in Africa.