WRITTEN QUESTION E-0589/97 by Iñigo Méndez de Vigo (PPE) to the Commission (25 February 1997)

Subject: Situation in the Great Lakes region in Africa

During his first official visit to East Africa the Commissioner João de Deus Pinheiro expressed his views on the situation in the Great Lakes region, referring to the efforts being made by the EU to promote the quest for peaceful and lasting solutions.

Can the Commission say what these efforts consisted in and what the tangible results have been, and can it also assess the work of the EU's envoy to the region, Mr Ajello?

Answer given by Mr Pinheiro on behalf of the Commission (2 April 1997)

Since the beginning of the crisis in the Great Lakes region in 1994, the Community has committed some 977 mecu to relieve human suffering, rehabilitate social and economic infrastructure and promote the rule of law in order to create the basis for political stability and peaceful development.

In Rwanda in particular, where the return of over one million refugees is putting the country's resources under severe stress, the Commission is deploying considerable efforts to help with the peaceful reintegration of the returnees and, in the longer term, to ease the process of national reconciliation. In addition to an ambitious rehabilitation programme, the Commission is funding a variety of projects aimed at protecting human rights, establishing the rule of law and enabling the judiciary to process in a fair manner the cases of those suspected of participation in the 1994 genocide.

During the whole period, the Commission has been equally active in the context of the Union's common foreign and security policy in launching or fostering initiatives to encourage negotiated solutions to the conflicts in the region. It keeps in close contact with the Union's special envoy for the Great Lakes region, Mr Aldo Ajello, who has enjoyed since the inception of his mission the Commission's continuous logistical and political support.

On his recent mission to East Africa region the member of the Commission in charge of external relations with African countries met Organisation for African unity (OAU) Secretary general Mr Salim-Salim and heads of state and government as well as ex-President Nyerere. On the occasion of these encounters the commissioner confirmed the continuing Commission support for humanitarian and reconstruction efforts in the region. At the same time he stressed the importance of seeking negotiated long term solutions to the conflicts in the region, based upon the stabilising factors of democratic principles, respect for human rights and good governance, and he found his interlocutors very much aware of the critical importance of these long lasting solutions for that embattled region.

The member of the Commission reiterated the Union's unrelenting support for the continued efforts of ex-President Nyerere, Mr Ajello and the recently appointed UN/OAU joint special envoy, Mr Mohammed Sahnoun, and underlined the important role of the OAU and the Intergovernmental authority for development (IGAD) in the field of prevention and solution of conflicts in the region. He attached particular importance to the holding of an international conference on peace, stability and security for the region under the auspices of the United Nations and the OAU and stated the Commission's readiness to participate in the preparations and to provide political and material support for such a conference.

The important role played by Mr Ajello in the various initiatives to promote a peaceful settlement of the crisis in the Great Lakes region was very much stressed by the commissioner and is equally highly valued by the high level personalities met during the mission.