B4-0997 and 1023/95

Resolution on Sudan

The European Parliament,

- recalling its previous resolutions on the situation in Sudan,

A. whereas the twelve-year-old civil war in Sudan, which is mainly being fought in the south and has so far killed more than a million people, continues to cause immense human suffering, hunger, an ever-increasing flow of refugees and the collapse of social and economic structures,

B. whereas, according to Amnesty International's Report 1995, torture was widespread, numerous floggings were carried out as punishments, the fate of hundreds of prisoners who had 'disappeared' in previous years remained unknown and hundreds of people were extrajudicially executed in war-affected areas,

C. whereas the human rights violations have affected virtually every section of Sudanese society, both in the north and in the war-ravaged south,

D. whereas the Sudanese Government has not so far facilitated any mediation for a peaceful settlement of the civil war, does not allow the UN human rights rapporteur to visit the country and has even refused to accept a UN observer team at the Nairobi peace talks,

E. whereas the Sudanese authorities are also hindering relief operations in the war-affected areas, contrary to the relief agreement signed in 1994,

F. whereas the Sudanese Government is continuing its campaign of destruction of squatter settlements in the Khartoum area; stressing that the result of the military operations launched in 1994 has been to increase the number of displaced persons which was already in the order of several million,

G. deeply concerned that women and children have been abducted and sold into domestic slavery by government-controlled militia,

H. whereas it has been reported that Hassan El Tourabi, the Sudanese Islamic leader, has paid tribute to the members of the commando responsible for the failed assassination attempt on President Mubarak of Egypt on 26 June 1995 in Addis Ababa,

1. Condemns the Government of Sudan and the factions of the Sudan People's Liberation Army (SPLA) for the continuing civil war in the south and for the killing, the massacres, the torture and other abuses of human rights that they inflict on the civilian population of southern Sudan;

2. Condemns the Government of Sudan for its ongoing policy of forced Islamization of the Christian and animist populations of the south, through killing, torture, intimidation and the enslaving of children and for the destruction of squatter settlements around Khartoum;

3. Calls upon the Sudanese authorities not to hinder relief operations in the war-affected areas;

4. Calls upon the Sudanese Government and the SPLA to respect human rights, release all political prisoners and put an end to arbitrary and secret detentions;

5. Calls upon the Sudanese Government to ratify the UN Convention against torture and other cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment and to fully cooperate with the UN human rights rapporteur;

6. Calls on EU Member States to exert pressure within the UN Security Council to reinforce the sanctions against the Khartoum regime, including an international arms embargo, to bring pressure to bear on the Sudanese government to stop the massacre of its southern population and respect human rights throughout the entire country;

7. Instructs its President to forward this resolution to the Commission, the Council, the governements of the Member States, the Co-Presidents of the ACP-EU Joint Assembly, the UN Secretary-General and the Government of Sudan.