B4-0823, 0833 and 0838/98

Resolution on the situation in Afghanistan

The European Parliament,

- recalling its previous resolutions on the situation in Afghanistan,

A. whereas the Taliban regime has extended its grip to encompass almost the entire country, encouraging it to call for international recognition, hitherto granted only by Saudi Arabia, Pakistan and the United Arab Emirates,

B. whereas the Taliban are stepping up their attacks on the fundamental rights of human beings, in particular equality of men and women and freedom of thought and expression, even going so far as to ban printed, spoken and televisual media,

C. whereas the Taliban regime welcomes and encourages international terrorism based in the territory under its control, as shown in particular by the sheltering in Afghanistan of Usama Bin Laden, the leading suspect in recent attacks against American embassies in Africa and tourists in Egypt,

D. deeply concerned at reports highlighting the increasingly ethnic nature of the conflict, in particular those produced by Amnesty International on massacres of the Hazara minority,

E. sympathising with the Iranian authorities at the fate of the murdered Iranian diplomats and journalists and sharing their profound concern for the fate of those abducted by the Taliban on their capture of the Iranian consulate in Mazar-e-Sharif, whose whereabouts are still unknown, and for the situation of all Iranian nationals living in Afghanistan,

F. deeply concerned at the recent concentration of troops on the Iranian border with Afghanistan,

G. deeply saddened at the death of the Italian Colonel Calò, killed in an attack in Kabul,

H. whereas the Taliban have refused to allow NGOs to distribute aid to the Afghan people on a basis of equality of the sexes and have expelled them from Kabul,

I. whereas all the Commission's humanitarian aid operations have also had to be suspended in Kabul,

J. noting with regret that the international humanitarian organisations operating in Afghanistan subsequent to the earthquakes that have ravaged the region have had to leave the country due to the continual restrictions and threats to which they were subjected by the Taliban and the level of violence in fighting between different factions,

1. Vigorously condemns the denial of human rights by the Taliban regime, in particular the unacceptable treatment imposed on Afghan women;

2. Condemns the massacres perpetrated by Taliban militia among the Shi'ite population in the Mazar-e-Sharif and Bamian regions, the capture by the Taliban of the Iranian consulate general in Mazar-e-Sharif and the murder of the Iranian diplomats;

3. Calls on the Taliban to make public without delay the fate of the Iranian diplomats taken hostage following the capture of the Iranian consulate in Mazar-e-Sharif;

4. Urges the Taliban and other parties to the conflict to allow investigations by the UN to take place as requested by the Security Council;

5. Reiterates its view that the only way to conflict settlement is by peaceful means relying on cooperation, a process in which the UN must play a central and impartial role and the EU act as the main humanitarian aid donor;

6. Calls on EU Member States to refuse to recognise the Taliban regime until it upholds fundamental rights;

7. Calls on those States that have recognised the Taliban regime to withdraw their support;

8. Calls on EU Member States to refuse to establish or continue any economic contacts with the Taliban regime other than humanitarian aid and, in this connection, to strengthen political and humanitarian cooperation with Afghanistan's neighbouring states, which are under threat from the fundamentalist terrorism activities supported by the Taliban;

9. Calls on the Commission, the Council and the Member States to demand that UNDCP projects be reconsidered within the relevant UN bodies;

10. Insists that the Iranian authorities should not contribute to a further escalation of the Afghan conflict;

11. Expresses its deepest sympathy at the death of Colonel Calò and condemns the perpetrators and instigators of his murder in the strongest possible terms; calls on the Taliban immediately to clarify the full circumstances of Colonel Calò's murder;

12. Points out that Colonel Calò's death marks the ninth occasion since the start of the year on which a serving officer on UN peace-keeping missions to maintain and restore peace in Afghanistan has been killed;

13. Instructs its President to forward this resolution to the Council, the Commission, the United Nations Secretary-General, the governments of the United States, Uzbekistan, Iran, Pakistan, Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, Tadjikistan, Russia and India, and to the Northern Alliance and the Taliban.

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