WRITTEN QUESTION No. 2245/97 by Kirsi PIHA to the Commission. Situation in the Democratic Republic of Congo
Date: 1997-07-02
Institutions: European Parliament, PIHA
Subjects: Congo, UNO, crime against humanity, fact-finding mission, homicide, human rights, international issue, non-governmental organisation, political refugee, violence

17. 3. 98

EN

Official Journal of the European Communities

C 82/49

improving social protection in the European Union(cid:146) (2). In this communication, emphasis is given to adapting
social protection to the new balance of the sexes in terms of participation in working life, and to changes in
family structures.

In addition, in its 1997 report on social protection, the Commission will include the efforts of Member States to
make progress towards the individualisation of rights without jeopardising the economic situation of women.

(1)  COM(87) 494 final.
(2)  COM(97) 102 final.

(98/C 82/90)

WRITTEN QUESTION E-2245/97

by Kirsi Piha (PPE) to the Commission

(2 July 1997)

Subject: Situation in the Democratic Republic of Congo

According to press reports large refugee camps have been discovered in Congo which have been revealed to be
mass extermination camps. It is estimated that there are some 40 000 refugees in Congo, and no-one can say
exactly how many of them have already died or will die in these inhuman camps.

What measures does the Commission propose to take to help ensure that the events which led to this disastrous
situation are investigated and that those responsible are found and brought before an international court?

Answer given by Mr Pinheiro on behalf of the Commission

(4 September 1997)

The rebellion staged at the end of 1996 by the Alliance of Democratic Forces for the Liberation of Congo-Zaire
(AFDL) caused Rwandan refugees who had been in Kivu since 1994 to scatter.

An estimated 600 000 to 800 000 refugees returned to Rwanda; the remainder, whose numbers are difficult to
estimate (almost 200 000 according to the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees), fled
the  advancing  AFDL  forces.  Some  sought  refuge  in  remote  areas  of  the  country  or  in  states  bordering  the
Democratic Republic of the Congo, but a great many others were very probably persecuted and died of that or of
exhaustion.

In the light of revelations by a number of non-governmental organisations in particular, detailing grave human
rights violations and massacres, the United Nations decided to send a fact-finding mission to the area.

The Union has called on the government of President Kabila, by means of public declarations and overtures by
the European troika, actively supported by the Commission, to comply fully with humanitarian law and to grant
humanitarian organisations unrestricted access to all regions to assist the refugees. The Union has also asked the
government to grant immediate authorisation to the UN mission to conduct a full investigation into the alleged
massacres in Congolese territory.

(98/C 82/91)

WRITTEN QUESTION E-2262/97

by Amedeo Amadeo (NI) to the Commission

(2 July 1997)

Subject: Annual report on the Cohesion Funds for 1995

Will  the  Commission  say  why  there  have  been  delays  in  the  submission  of  the  1995  annual  report  on  the
Cohesion Funds (COM(96) 388 final) and why in some cases sufficient comparative data are not available on the
projects?