B4-1253, 1254, 1271, 1288, 1299, 1315 and 1317/96

Resolution on the situation in Eastern Zaire

The European Parliament,

- having regard to the statements by the Council, particularly those of 21 and 25 October 1996 on the conflict in the African Great Lakes region,

- having regard to its previous resolutions on the conflict in the Great Lakes region, and especially its resolution of 24 October 1996 on the situation of the refugees in eastern Zaire ((Minutes of that Sitting, Part II, Item 11(g).)),

A. schocked by the humanitarian catastrophe under way in the North and South Kivu provinces of Zaire and concerned about the absence of any response from the international community aimed at putting an end to the conflict,

B. fearing for the fate of up to 1.2 million refugees and displaced persons that are threatened by the current crisis, appalled by the inhuman living conditions of these people, deprived of any humanitarian assistance because the warring parties refuse to suspend hostilities in order to allow international aid through,

C. regretting that the soldiers were not separated from civilians in the refugee camps in Zaire and that nothing was undertaken in order to facilitate the bringing to justice of those responsible for the 1994 Rwandan genocide,

D. deploring the decision of the Rwandan authorities to send troops over the border to fight alongside the Banyamulenge rebellion,

E. stressing the fact that there are no military solutions to the current crisis in the Great Lakes region and that all the countries in the region are facing situations which can be appropriately resolved only by regional initiatives at political and diplomatic level,

F. whereas the countries which took part in the Nairobi Conference of 5 November 1996 have declared their willingness to contribute to setting up a neutral peace-keeping force in the Great Lakes region,

1. Condemns the confrontation and calls for the immediate cessation of the fighting;

2. Deplores the decision taken by the UN Security Council on a proposal from the United States to defer any final decision on military protection for humanitarian aid; emphasizes that in the meantime tens of thousands of people are dying of hunger and recalls in this respect the statements by the Secretary-General of the United Nations, who described the situation as 'genocide by starvation';

3. Believes that humanitarian corridors must be established as a matter of urgency so as to allow aid to reach the refugees and population groups now scattered throughout Kivu;

4. Calls for the immediate setting up of a multinational force under the mandate of the UN, with logistical and financial assistance from the international community, in particular the European Union and its Member States, so as to ensure that the aid reaches its destination and to guarantee the safety of the 'humanitarian corridors';

5. Hopes that the OAU will play a leading role in the operations on which the United Nations decides and expects the OAU to promote a political solution for the whole Great Lakes region;

6. Calls for the WEU to participate in the planned multinational force;

7. Calls on all the countries of the region to accept the deployment of this multinational force;

8. Calls on the Member States of the European Union to impose an embargo on all the arms exports to the region and calls on those Member States which are members of the United Nations Security Council to encourage the adoption by that organization of a general embargo on all arms to the countries of the Great Lakes region;

9. Calls for a general operation in Eastern Zaire to disarm the civilian population and emphasizes the need to disarm the refugees before they return to their country of origin;

10. Stresses the absolute need to guarantee the safety of the persons repatriated, and calls on the governments of the region to create, with the assistance of the UNHCR, conditions enabling refugees wishing to return home to do so in complete safety and to become rehabilitated;

11. Firmly supports the organizing of a Regional Conference for Peace, Security and Stability, as envisaged by the Council and Commission, and calls on the region's governments to seize this opportunity; believes that this Conference, under the aegis of the UN and the OAU, should identify ways in which peace, reconciliation and the relaunching of the democratic process in these countries can be achieved, so as to bring to an end the escalating violence in the Great Lakes region;

12. Stresses the need to respect the territorial integrity of the states of the region and the inviolability of their borders;

13. Demands the immediate cessation of all military, logistic and material aid to former members of the Rwandan Armed Forces by the Kinshasa government;

14. Calls on the Kigali government not to provide the Banyamulengen soldiers with any military, logistic or material aid;

15. Stresses the need to bring those responsible for the 1994 genocide in Rwanda to trial, and calls on all the countries of the region to cooperate fully with the judges of the ad hoc International Tribunal for Crimes against Humanity committed in Rwanda, and to allow all necessary investigations to be carried out on their territory;

16. Instructs its President to forward this resolution to the Commission, the Council and Commission, the governments of the Member States, the UN Secretary-General, the OAU, the Governments of Burundi, Rwanda, Zaire, Kenya, Uganda, Tanzania, South Africa and Cameroon.