P6_TA(2005)0367

Nepal

European Parliament resolution on Nepal

The European Parliament,

- having regard to its previous resolution of 24 February 2005 on Nepal [1], in which it condemned the royal coup and urged King Gyanendra to lift the state of emergency and re-establish parliamentary powers and democratic institutions,

- having regard to the Declaration of 6 September 2005 by the Presidency on behalf of the European Union welcoming the ceasefire declaration by Chairman Prachanda of the Communist Party of Nepal (Maoist) (CPN(M)),

- having regard to the visit to Nepal of the Special Adviser of the Secretary-General of the UN, Lakhdar Brahimi, in July 2005,

- having regard to the EU Troika visit planned for October 4 to 6 2005,

- having regard to Rule 115(5) of its Rules of Procedure,

A. whereas on 1 February 2005 King Gyanendra, in an unconstitutional act, dismissed the government, assumed direct power and declared a state of emergency,

B. whereas violence has escalated in Nepal since the royal coup, and the powers of the Royal Nepalese Army have been unchecked in the absence of an elected government,

C. whereas the royal coup has strengthened the position of the Maoist rebel groups, which have over 15000 fighters and many areas of Nepal under their control,

D. whereas a seven-party alliance bringing together most mainstream political parties, which between them had more than 190 seats in the disbanded 205-member parliament, is calling for the reinstatement of the 1999 House of Representatives and for peace negotiations with the Maoists,

E. whereas meetings took place between party representatives in New Delhi in May 2005, and whereas in August 2005 the seven-party alliance agreed to appoint a joint team for formal negotiations,

F. whereas a recent peace rally of 30000 people in Kathmandu called for an end to the long-running conflict which has left some 12000 dead,

G. whereas Nepal, with a population of 23 million, is among the poorest and least developed countries in the world, with 42 % of its population living below the poverty line, 80 % of the population living in rural areas, and a 47 % unemployment rate,

H. whereas fundamental human rights continue to be breached, including harassment of democratic party leaders, detention of political and human rights activists, the arrest of 140 journalists during pro-democracy demonstrations, and restrictions on freedom of expression for trade unionists,

I. whereas media censorship and severe human rights abuses, including torture, detention, displacements, abductions and unlawful killings committed by the police forces, the Royal Nepalese Army, as well as the Maoist insurgents, continue and hundreds of political and human rights activists, journalists and trade unionists remain under arrest,

J. whereas Nepal has the highest number of "disappearances" of any country in the world, and impunity is a widespread phenomenon; whereas the risk of a humanitarian crisis is rising with the increasing number of internally displaced persons,

K. whereas the most fundamental rights of children are being routinely violated by all parties involved in the conflict,

L. whereas the EU has condemned Nepal's Maoist rebels for using children as soldiers,

1. Welcomes the ceasefire declaration by the CPN(M) and the first steps by the seven-party alliance to start a political process to resolve the armed conflict; calls for an indefinite extension of the Maoist ceasefire and for King Gyanendra to reciprocate the ceasefire and engage in constructive talks with political groups, which should include the Maoist rebels, with a view to restoring democratic processes in Nepal;

2. Calls for urgent action by the Nepalese authorities with a view to the upcoming Troika visit; asks them to cooperate at these meetings to enable a fruitful discussion to take place, with a view to furthering the peace process and reinstating democracy, with the guidance and encouragement of the international community;

3. Calls on King Gyanendra to guarantee the full sovereignty of parliamentary democratic authorities;

4. Asks for the international community to establish a Contact Group, made up of Nepal's key partners and international organisations (the EU, the US, India and the UN), to provide coordinated international action with regard to Nepal; proposes that the European Parliament appoint a special rapporteur to monitor the situation;

5. Welcomes the UN initiative of deploying a Special Rapporteur and a UN Office of Human Rights in Nepal, which will carefully monitor the human rights situation;

6. Calls for a follow-up to the 2002 London International Conference, to be organised by the Contact Group of key partners, which should set out the principles and values needed to underpin a peace process in Nepal and bring together all major players from the international community, as well as King Gyanendra, the Maoist rebel groups and the main political parties;

7. Calls on the Council and the Member States to continue to suspend military aid; asks that all aid to Nepal be monitored and that smart sanctions be imposed in order to maintain pressure on the royal government to restore democratic governance and explore all avenues to peace talks;

8. Calls on the Commission and the administrations of the Member States to scrutinise closely all development assistance to Nepal and to make sure that it serves its prime purpose of alleviating poverty and addresses the underlying causes of conflict in the country;

9. Notes that municipal elections are to be held in April 2006; calls for parliamentary elections to be held at the same time; calls for the EU to send an election observation mission to monitor these elections; calls for all political parties to be able to participate fully in the elections;

10. Strongly condemns violence in all forms and by all parties; stresses that basic human rights and freedoms must be upheld in Nepal, and therefore asks that both the King and the Maoists sign human rights accords to curb abuses;

11. Notes the release of some political prisoners, but remains deeply concerned that other political leaders, students and human rights activists are still being detained in prison;

12. Stresses that any restrictions on media freedom should be lifted immediately and that all political prisoners in detention should be either released or charged;

13. Asks the King to provide rehabilitation for the 30000 Kapilvastu villagers displaced by violent conflict;

14. Calls firmly once again on the Nepalese Government to re-establish the Tibetan Refugee Welfare Office in Kathmandu and to allow the representative office of the Dalai Lama to resume operations in providing relief services to Tibetan refugees as an implementing partner of the UN High Commissioner for Refugees;

15. Instructs its President to forward this resolution to the Council, the Commission, King Gyanendra, the Governments of India and other member states of the South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation, the Secretary-General of the UN and the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights.

[1] Texts Adopted, P6_TA(2005)0058.

--------------------------------------------------