P6_TA(2005)0178

Situation in Sudan

European Parliament resolution on the situation in Sudan

The European Parliament,

- having regard to all relevant UN Security Council resolutions, including Resolution 1593 (2005) on the situation in Sudan and Resolution 1564 (2004), pursuant to which the report of the International Commission of Inquiry on Darfur to the UN Secretary-General of 25 January 2005 was presented,

- having regard to the Darfur Plan of Action agreed between the UN and the Government of Sudan on 5 August 2004,

- having regard to the Comprehensive Peace Agreement (CPA) signed between the government of Sudan and the Sudan People's Liberation Movement/Army (SPLM/A) on 9 January 2005 in Nairobi,

- having regard to its resolution of 16 September 2004 on the humanitarian situation in Sudan [1], and the ACP-EU Joint Parliamentary Assembly Resolution ACP-EU 3777/05 of 21 April 2005 on the situation in Sudan,

- having regard to the United Nations Sudan Situation Report of 26 April 2005,

- having regard to Rule 108(5) of its Rules of Procedure,

A. whereas the CPA provides for separate armed forces, with the withdrawal of 91000 government troops from the south within two and a half years and of the SPLA from the north within eight months, an equal division of oil wealth and elections after three years,

B. whereas the UN Security Council decided, in its resolution 1593 ( 2005), to refer the situation in Darfur since July 2002 to the Prosecutor of the International Criminal Court,

C. whereas the signing of the Naivasha peace accords on 31 December 2004 is welcome, but violence from all sides continues in Darfur, with the Sudan government continuing to breach the ceasefire agreement with air attacks and failing to disband the Janjaweed and bring those responsible to justice; whereas it is concerned about the recent dramatic increase in breaches of the ceasefire by rebels,

D. whereas the International Commission of Inquiry stated in its report that war crimes "no less serious and heinous than genocide" had been committed in Darfur, including "indiscriminate attacks, including killing of civilians, torture, enforced disappearances, destruction of villages, rape and other forms of sexual violence", concluding that "those identified as possibly responsible for (these) violations consist of individual perpetrators, including officials from the government of Sudan, members of militia forces, members of rebel groups and certain foreign army officers acting in their personal capacity",

E. whereas the International Commission of Inquiry concluded that "the Sudanese justice system is unable and unwilling to address the situation in Darfur",

F. whereas the signing of the Naivasha peace accords led to the Commission promising to reopen access for Sudan to EUR 450000000 from the European Development Fund, beginning with an initial sum of EUR 50000000 in humanitarian aid which was divided between the north and south,

G. whereas the African Union (AU) has so far played a very positive role in prevention, monitoring of the ceasefire and reporting of violations of it, and whereas the AU is trying to revive peace talks on Darfur and the formal resumption of talks is set for late May 2005,

H. whereas some estimates put the number of people who have died in Darfur at 300000 [2], with 10000 [3] dying per month because of the consequences of the violence, including malnutrition and disease; whereas 1,65 million people remain displaced in Darfur [4], with reports of some being forced to return to their homes,

I. whereas the reintegration of ex-combatants from all armed forces in Sudan represents a crucial problem, and whereas the disarmament of civilians and of any formal and informal militias is paramount for order, security, freedom and stability,

J. whereas the impending rainy season could worsen the situation, with potentially 3500000 to 4000000 people needing food and medical assistance; whereas the World Food Programme still lacks the funding to provide adequate food for internally displaced persons (IDPs), with only some 20 % of needs having been met by 11 April 2005,

K. whereas Dr Mudawi Ibrahim Adam, as well as his colleague Yasir Salim and driver Abdalla Taha, were arrested on 8 May 2005 hours before Dr Adam was due to travel to Ireland to receive the Front Line Human Rights Defender award from President McAleese,

1. Warmly welcomes the signature of the historic CPA in Nairobi on 9 January 2005 between the government of Sudan and the SPLM/A, which marked the end of a 21-year civil war, as an important step towards bringing peace to southern Sudan and as a development that can also contribute to bringing peace to Darfur;

2. Urges all parties to implement the CPA and its set of protocols covering, inter alia, power and wealth sharing agreements, without further delay; calls on the Sudan government and the SPLM/A to use the oil revenues they will receive under the CPA resource sharing for development purposes, so that the people of Sudan can see the benefit of peace;

3. Calls on the CPA signatories to include all political and civil society actors in the drafting of the new constitution in order to ensure legitimacy and broad political and popular support for a democratic transition;

4. Considers that women's participation and non-discrimination in the decision-making process, at both the legislative and executive levels, are essential for good governance;

5. Urges that, in the reconstruction of Sudan, close attention be paid to freedom of assembly and expression, and to the presence of independent media as a guarantee of democratic pluralism;

6. Emphasises that the CPA can contribute to sustainable peace and stability throughout Sudan and to the efforts to address the situation in Darfur, but at the same time expresses serious concern that the growing insecurity and violence and the lack of a peaceful settlement to the Darfur crisis could eventually jeopardise the entire peace process;

7. Welcomes the UN Security Council decision to create the United Nations Mission in the Sudan (UNMIS), composed of 10000 persons, with responsibility for disarming the combatants, reconciliation, observance of the rule of law and human rights, mine clearance and supervision of elections, in addition to involvement in the rehabilitation and development process in the country, and pays tribute to the countries participating in UNMIS;

8. Welcomes the decision of the AU to increase its peacekeeping force to Darfur to some 7700 troops;

9. Welcomes the decision of the UN Security Council to refer the situation in Darfur to the International Criminal Court (ICC); also welcomes the handing-over of 51 names of those suspected of war crimes by Kofi Annan on 5 April 2005 to the ICC Chief Prosecutor; urges the government of Sudan and all other parties to the conflict to do their utmost to cooperate fully with the Court;

10. Strongly criticises the Sudan government's description of UN Resolution 1593 as "unjust", as well as the lack of support from rebel leaders for the ICC;

11. Calls upon all parties to back the ICC in order to end the culture of impunity within Darfur; strongly believes that compliance with the resolution will boost the peace process in Darfur and aid development in Sudan as a whole;

12. Expresses its strong support for the Security Council's appeal to the ICC to support international cooperation efforts to promote the rule of law, protect human rights and combat impunity in Darfur;

13. Condemns the Government of Sudan for its responsibility for decades of economic and political marginalisation of certain communities and regions, a situation which has compounded the conflict in Darfur;

14. Condemns the ongoing violence, terror and widespread rape occurring in Darfur, including abductions of NGO workers, and the attacks by the militia and others on civilians in south and west Darfur on 25 and 26 April 2005 respectively, as reported by the UN [5]; calls on all parties to stop the violence, conflict and sexual attacks in Darfur without delay;

15. Condemns the violence, intimidation and harassment taking place within IDP camps in Darfur, and the refusal of access for some international NGOs to IDP camps; insists that international NGOs must be guaranteed unrestricted access to all areas of the country, including IDP camps;

16. Condemns the re-arrest of Dr Adam, chairperson of the Sudan Social Development organisation (who was previously detained in 2004 for seven months), as well as the arrest of his colleague Mr Saleem and driver Mr Taha; calls on the Sudanese authorities to release all three without delay; insists that the Sudanese authorities make it clear where they are holding Dr Adam and allow him access to family and lawyers;

17. Urges the EU to put intensive pressure on the Sudanese authorities to immediately release and put a stop to the systematic harassment of Dr Adam,

18. Insists that all IDP returns must be voluntary and conducted safely and under protection, and that the international community must be informed of any planned movements of IDPs before they are carried out;

19. Calls on the government of Sudan to ensure that women who have been raped are able to receive immediate treatment after reporting the incident and that every effort is made to further train police in sexual and gender-based violence issues; in this regard, welcomes the change in procedures for reporting rape (the lifting of the requirement of completion of Form 8 and granting equivalency to medical NGOs, recognition as treatment centres), as disclosed to the delegation by the Minister of Justice;

20. Calls on all parties involved in the conflict in Sudan to refrain from the recruitment and use of child soldiers under the age of 18, and calls on the Sudanese authorities to protect displaced children, especially unaccompanied minors;

21. Condemns the activities of the Lord's Resistance Army in southern Sudan and Uganda;

22. Recalls that special attention should be paid to the relaunch of economic activity, primarily in the agricultural sector, including opportunities for micro-credit for women; particular care and support should be given to health and education for children and women and to universities, especially in the south;

23. Urges the Commission to ensure that the EUR 450000000 in aid be disbursed gradually and as far as possible via humanitarian organisations; stresses that the government of Sudan should only be granted access to these funds if substantial progress towards peace in Darfur is achieved, including the end of all violence, the reining-in of government-sponsored militias, and cooperation with the ICC criminal investigation;

24. Calls on the Member States to provide urgent and generous contributions to the humanitarian efforts under way in Sudan and Chad, including decentralised cooperation;

25. Calls on the government of Sudan and the governments of Chad, Libya and the Central African Republic to impose stricter controls on trade in small arms in the region; calls on the UN Security Council to take all appropriate measures to stop any proliferation of arms to the Darfur region, and to consider limited sanctions as an appropriate tool to stop further arms trade and arms proliferation to the region concerned;

26. Urges the US to intensify its commitment to resolving the conflict and ending impunity in Darfur, following its meetings on global terrorism with the head of the Sudan government's security and intelligence service;

27. Instructs its President to forward this resolution to the Council, the Commission, the Government of Sudan, the African Union, the governments of the EU Member States, the US, Russia, Chad, Libya, Eritrea, Egypt and China, the UN Secretary-General, the Co-Presidents of the ACP-EU Joint Parliamentary Assembly and the ACP Council.

[1] Texts Adopted, P6_TA(2004)0012.

[2] House of Commons International Development Committee report on Darfur, Sudan: "The responsibility to protect", fifth report of session 2004-2005, Volume I, 16 March 2005, p. 7.

[3] World Food Programme news website (http://www.wfp.org), 13 September 2004.

[4] Report of the International Commission of Inquiry on Darfur to the United Nations Secretary-General, 25 January 2005, p. 62.

[5] United Nations Sudan Situation Report, 26 April 2005.

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