B4-0599, 0624, 0631 and 0635/96

Resolution on Nigeria

The European Parliament,

- having regard to the resolution of the last meeting of the ACP-EU Joint Assembly,

- having regard to its previous resolutions on Nigeria, in particular those of 12 October 1995 ((OJ C 287, 30.10.1995, p. 196.)) and 16 November 1995 ((OJ C 323, 4.12.1995, p. 91.)),

- having regard to the conclusions of the Commonwealth Ministerial Action Group following the meeting of 23 April 1996,

A. having regard to the ineffectiveness of EU sanctions against Nigeria which have been provoked by the military regime's systematic violation of human rights and principles of democracy,

B. having regard to the General Affairs Council of 10 and 11 June 1996 where EU-Nigeria relations will be considered in the light of the six-month appraisal period,

C. having regard to the European Parliament's long term concern over human rights in Nigeria and its desire to make its opinion known before the General Affairs Council on the subject of EU - Nigeria relations,

D. gravely concerned that despite the political and economic sanctions imposed by the EU, a vast number of prisoners of conscience are still being detained, on charges which the international community regards as spurious, and that progress towards a return to democratically elected legal government is too slow,

E. regretting that despite the continued abuse of human rights, diplomatic relations between the EU and Nigeria have largely been restored,

F. reiterating its unequivocal condemnation of the execution by hanging of Ken Saro-Wiwa and eight other members of the same movement, despite total condemnation by the international community,

G. appalled that Felix Ndamaigida and Rebecca Onyabi Ikpe are yet other such prisoners, who have been tried in secret and consequently convicted of treason at trials which do not meet international standards and who are now being held incommunicado without access to either family, lawyers or health care,

H. answering the desperate cry for help made in an open letter which was smuggled out of Nigeria to The Times newspaper on Friday 17 May 1996, from the 19 Ogonis still being held on the same charges as Ken Saro-Wiwa, describing the appalling sub-human conditions in which they are kept,

I. disturbed that these convictions appear to be based on their non-violent opposition to General Sani Abacha's government, which is in power as a result of the illegal annulment of the election results of 1993,

J. concerned that the present sanctions imposed by the EU in relation to Nigeria have not been effective and believing new measures should now be adopted,

1. Demands that the Council and Commission make public the report on the effectiveness of measures taken by the EU as regards its relations with Nigeria;

2. Urges that all prisoners of conscience, including Felix Ndamaigada and Rebecca Onyabi Ikpe, be released;

3. Calls on the Nigerian government to free the Ogoni nineteen who face the same charges before the same military tribunal that executed Ken Saro-Wiwa in November 1995;

4. Calls on the Nigerian Government to free the lawyer of the Ogoni nineteen, Gani Fawehinmi, who has been held in detention without charges since January 1996;

5. Calls on the Nigerian government to carry out a rapid transition to democracy, to culminate in free elections surveyed by international observers by the end of 1996;

6. Is of the opinion that an oil embargo is one of the most effective ways to put pressure on the Nigerian government and urges the Council and Commission therefore to make a clear recommendation on how such an embargo could be implemented;

7. Welcomes Shell's offer to clean up all oil spills and other pollution, and to repair the oil pipelines and refineries in Ogoniland;

8. Calls on the General Affairs Council of 10 and 11 June 1996, to implement properly the visa restrictions adopted by the EU against Nigeria in November 1995;

9. Calls on the General Affairs Council of 10 and 11 June 1996 to impose a ban on EU arms exports to Nigeria in view of its appalling human rights record;

10. Calls on the Member States to take measures in order to freeze financial assets held in EU banks both by the Nigerian government, and by prominent individuals within the present government and their families;

11. Calls on the Council to propose to the Member States a joint action to ensure that European companies participating in public contracts respect human rights in Nigeria;

12. Calls on the Commission to conduct a social and environmental impact study of oil company activities on Ogoni lands and to forward it to the European Parliament;

13. Calls for an end to all exchanges of experience undertaken with, and training given to, Nigerian government officials and military;

14. Instructs its President to forward this resolution to the Council and the Commission before the General Affairs Council of 10 and 11 of June 1996.