WRITTEN QUESTION P-0443/03

by José Salafranca Sánchez-Neyra (PPE-DE) to the Commission

(13 February 2003)

Subject: Withdrawal of foreign troops from the Democratic Republic of the Congo

Reports and evidence from NGOs working there point to a worrying situation in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC). There are signs that the withdrawal of foreign troops stationed in the DRC recently has not been completed and that some of them are still there. If these reports are confirmed it could mean that the already delicate security situation in the country has worsened and may hamper or prevent the normalisation of the political situation in the DRC to be achieved by means of a global political agreement. Furthermore, there are also complaints that the mandate of MONUC (UN Mission in the DRC) is inadequate to play an effective role in re-establishing normality and a situation of stability and security. All this would simply aggravate the disastrous humanitarian situation in the country.

Does the Commission have evidence that foreign troops have not been completely and definitively withdrawn from the DRC?

Does it consider that the mandate of the MONUC should be strengthened and the number of personnel be increased in order to play an effective role in restoring normality in the DRC?

What is the Commission's assessment and what measures does it envisage to tackle the serious humanitarian situation in the country?

Answer given by Mr Nielson on behalf of the Commission

(11 March 2003)

Following the signing of the Lusaka ceasefire agreements and its deployment, MONUC, has carried out its objectives of:

- supervising implementation of the ceasefire agreement and investigating violations;

- supervising and monitoring the withdrawal and redeployment of the troops of the Lusaka agreement signatories.

Following the signing of the Pretoria Agreement between the DRC and Rwanda in August 2002, it was further agreed to create a mechanism to verify implementation of the agreement, the so-called Third Party Verification Mechanism, consisting of the United Nations and South Africa as acting president of the African Union.

Not having an independent intelligence service, the Commission has no grounds for disbelieving that the withdrawal of foreign troops from DRC territory has been completed, as has been indicated by the institutional verification mechanisms established by the international community.

The Commission believes that the mandate given to MONUC, whose personnel was increased to 8 700 by Security Council Resolution 1445 of 4 December 2002, could be strengthened to enable the United Nations Mission to take a more active and effective role in the process of peace and national reconciliation and to exceed its hitherto status of observer. However, strengthening MONUC's mandate falls under the jurisdiction of the Security Council in which the Commission has no power to intervene.

Given the complexity of the situation, the Commission is in the process of implementing a programme of cooperation with the dual objectives of, firstly, promoting national reconciliation and reunification and establishing a democratic transition leading towards free and fair elections and, secondly, improving living conditions for victims of the conflict.

In view of the urgency, the Commission has already taken all the necessary steps, within the limit of the available resources, through the humanitarian office ECHO to deal with the difficult situation in DRC which, for several years, has in fact been the principal beneficiary of humanitarian aid from the Commission. The Commission has recently approved a further EUR 35 million aid allocation for 2003.