WRITTEN QUESTION No. 3174/97 by Johanna MAIJ-WEGGEN to the Commission. Zaire
Date: 1997-10-13
Institutions: European Parliament, MAIJ-WEGGEN
Subjects: Democratic Republic of the Congo, UNO, democratisation, economic sanctions, fact-finding mission, human rights, humanitarian aid, terms for aid

30. 4. 98

EN

Official Journal of the European Communities

C 134/105

The drop in the budget allocation for Action 1 of Comenius is a result of the reduced budget available for the
Socrates  programme  in  1997  (ECU  174  million  for  1997  as  opposed  to  ECU  198  million  for  1996).  The
Commission has therefore requested an increase in the budget allocation for the Socrates programme so that it
can meet the expectations of the education sector. This request is currently being examined by the Parliament and
the Council under the codecision procedure.

(1)  OJ L 87, 20.4.1995.

(98/C 134/135)

WRITTEN QUESTION E-3174/97

by Johanna Maij-Weggen (PPE) to the Commission

(13 October 1997)

Subject: Zaire

Is the Commission aware that at the end of August a new UN team went to the former Zaire to investigate the
human rights violations which have been perpetrated there since March 1993?

Is the Commission aware that the head of the UN committee of inquiry, Mr Amega, has said that he has received
no assurances that he will be able to work independently in the former Zaire?

What is the Commission(cid:146)s opinion of this statement and what has the Commission done vis-a‘-vis the UN and
Zaire in order to help ensure that the UN committee in question is enabled to carry out an independent inquiry?

What are the Commission(cid:146)s own findings to date regarding the human rights situation in the former Zaire, and
what has the Commission done to influence President Kabila in the direction of introducing a more democratic
regime in his country?

Answer given by Mr Pinheiro on behalf of the Commission

(21 November 1997)

The Commission would point out that on 22 January 1992 the Community and its Member States suspended their
cooperation programmes in former Zaire, except for humanitarian aid, owing to the obstacles placed in the way
of the democratisation process by the Mobutu regime. That suspension still applies.

Since the Democratic Republic of the Congo came into being in May 1997 the European Council in June 1997
and the Council (General Affairs) meeting on 15 September 1997 have defined the position of the Union on the
new  authorities:  the  gradual  resumption  of  cooperation  with  them  depends  on  respect  for  human  rights  and
international humanitarian law, a genuine commitment to democracy and the establishment of a State in which
the rule of law prevails.

The Commission has found that the political dialogue with the Congolese Government begun in May this year
has not yet produced any practical results. It regrets that the United Nations fact-finding team has not been able to
begin work owing to lack of cooperation on the part of the Congolese authorities. In these circumstances the
Commission is not in a position at present to consider the gradual resumption of Community cooperation. It is
continuing, however, the political dialogue with the Congolese Government in order to persuade it to drop a
policy  of  confrontation  with  the  United  Nations  which  may  compromise  cooperation  with  the  international
Community which is so essential.

With regard to the resumption of the democratisation process in preparation for the multi-party elections which
President Kabila has undertaken to hold in April 1999, it has to be observed that no practical action › and in
particular  the  establishment  of  a  Constituent  Commission  before  1  September  1997  ›  has  flowed  from  that
policy commitment by the head of the alliance with a monopoly of powers in the Congo. The Commission can
therefore  only  point  to  the  failure  on  the  part  of  the  authorities  in  Kinshasa  to  relaunch  the  democratisation
process,  a  failure  which  has  precluded  it  from  making  the  Community  contribution  of  ECU  30  million  for
election preparations.

Meanwhile  the  Commission  carries  on  with  its  humanitarian  programmes  in  the  Democratic  Republic  of  the
Congo.