European Parliament resolution on the catastrophic storms in Mozambique
Date: 2000-03-16
Institutions: European Parliament
Subjects: Mozambique, aid to disaster victims, emergency aid, external debt, flood, humanitarian aid

C 377/356

Official Journal of the European Communities

EN

29.12.2000

Thursday 16 March 2000

10. Mozambique

B5-0244, 0254, 0263, 0276 and 0279/2000

European Parliament resolution on the catastrophic storms in Mozambique

The European Parliament,

A. whereas serious flooding and cyclonic winds recently devastated various regions in Mozambique,

B. whereas, although it is not yet possible, according to the Mozambican authorities themselves, to take
stock of the effects of the disaster in a detailed and precise manner, preliminary estimates suggest that
many thousands of people have died and disappeared, hundreds of thousands are homeless, having
lost their homes and personal possessions, the environmental repercussions are serious and part of
agricultural land will be out of use for at least twelve months,

C. whereas the population affected is now facing very serious problems, and notably a lack of drinking
water and food, a lack of fuel, the threat of epidemics such as cholera and malaria which can prove as
deadly as the flooding and the displacement of mines by the floodwater to fields that have already
been cleared of mines,

D. having regard to the destruction of substantial transport and communications infrastructures and huge

losses in agriculture and stockbreeding,

E. whereas children account for a particularly large percentage of the dead and injured, owing to their

vulnerability,

F. whereas, over a month after the onset of this unprecedented environmental disaster, several Mozam-

bican villages are still cut off, and their survival depends on airborne humanitarian aid,

G. having regard to the enormous economic, social and public health problems caused by the flooding
and the weakness of the Mozambican economy which means that Mozambique cannot respond ade-
quately and speedily to tackle the present crisis,

H. having regard to the international appeal for emergency aid launched by the Mozambican government

and the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs,

I.

having regard to the support already announced by the Commission in the form of emergency huma-
nitarian aid,

J. whereas Mozambique is one of the most heavily indebted countries in the world,

Expresses its solidarity with the Mozambican people and supports the efforts made by the authorities

1.
and population of this country to deal with the problems caused by flooding;

2.
Regrets the shockingly small amount of aid made available by the international community for
Mozambique and the inordinate length of time it has taken to reach this country, given the scale and
dramatic nature of the crisis there;

Calls on the Commission and the Member States to increase their emergency aid so as to help the

3.
Mozambican authorities by:

3 meeting the most pressing needs of the population, notably as regards health and basic needs;

3 providing seeds, bearing in mind that the seeding season in Mozambique ends in two months time
and without those seeds the population would be left without food for the remainder of the year;

29.12.2000

EN

Official Journal of the European Communities

C 377/357

Thursday 16 March 2000

3 embarking on the reconstruction phase, notably as regards housing, schools, hospitals, communica-

tions and transport networks;

calls also for the cooperation and development programmes already under way to be maintained;

Calls therefore upon the international community to provide more helicopters and boats and/or the

4.
necessary funds for those in order to rescue the remaining isolated people;

Supports the holding of an international conference to mobilise essential international emergency aid
5.
and to adopt the economic and financial measures needed to contribute towards the reconstruction of
affected regions and the recovery of the Mozambican economy which has been devastated;

Calls on those Member States of the European Union which are Mozambique’s creditors forthwith to

6.
suspend debt servicing by Mozambique and to consider totally cancelling Mozambique’s debt;

Calls on the Commission and the Member States to coordinate their aid in cooperation with the third

7.
countries and multinational organisations;

Calls on the Commission and the Member States to grant specific aid for mine clearance operations

8.
and to provide specialists to organise mine clearance projects, including the training of local staff;

Considers that international cooperation structures and mechanisms must be set up as a matter of
9.
urgency to allow swift aid to be given to people affected by disasters by mobilising the extraordinary
technical resources now available for genuinely humanitarian ends;

Points also to the situation in Madagascar which is much worse than originally thought and

10.
requests that adequate aid be provided to Madagascar as well;

11.
Instructs its President to forward this resolution to the Council, the Commission, the national par-
liaments of the Member States, the government and National People’s Assembly of Mozambique, the gov-
ernment and parliament of Madagascar, the Organisation of African Unity and the UN Secretary-General.

11. Human rights: Presidential elections in Peru

B5-0255, 0264, 0270 and 0280/2000

European Parliament resolution on the electoral process in Peru

The European Parliament,

3 recalling its previous resolutions on Peru,

A. whereas presidential elections will take place in Peru in April 2000,

B.

regretting that three judges from the Constitutional Court have been removed because they opposed
presidential re-election, which is the subject of a controversial interpretation of the existing rules,

C. believing that a number of irregularities have been noted in the electoral process currently under way

in Peru and in the media coverage thereof,

D. whereas the army is still exercising a number of civilian functions in a number of regions,

Hopes that the presidential elections to be held in Peru on 9 April 2000 will be free and open and

1.
will abide by the universally recognised rules of democracy;