WRITTEN QUESTION E-1958/00 by Mario Mauro (PPE-DE), Johan Van Hecke (PPE-DE) and Antonio Tajani (PPE-DE) to the Commission. Human rights violations in northern Uganda.
Date: 2000-06-16
Institutions: European Parliament, Provisional data
Subjects: Sudan, Uganda, armed forces, child protection, common foreign and security policy, competence of the Member States, freedom of movement, illegal restraint, peace

C 103 E/38

Official Journal of the European Communities

EN

3.4.2001

(2001/C 103 E/040)

WRITTEN QUESTION E-1954/00

by Alexandros Alavanos (GUE/NGL) to the Commission

(16 June 2000)

Subject: Failure to maintain current job levels at a subsidised plant owned by pasta-producer MISKO

I have already addressed two question to the Commission (E-2778/99 and 2779/99) (1) requesting
clarification about matters relating to aid for MISKO and the employment of workers at this plant.
Mrs Diamantopoulou, the Commissioner responsible, answered on behalf of the Commission that it was
collecting the information it needed to answer the question and that it would communicate its findings as
soon as possible.

In view of the difficult predicament facing MISKO employees, will the Commission say what progress it
has made in collecting information? When will it provide an answer to my question?

(1) OJ C 225 E, 8.8.2000, p. 206.

Answer given by Mrs Diamantopoulou on behalf of the Commission

(4 October 2000)

The Honourable Member will very shortly receive a complementary reply to his written questions E-2778/
99 and E-2779/99.

(2001/C 103 E/041)

WRITTEN QUESTION E-1958/00

by Mario Mauro (PPE-DE), Johan Van Hecke (PPE-DE)
and Antonio Tajani (PPE-DE) to the Commission

(16 June 2000)

Subject: Human rights violations in northern Uganda

1.
Is the Commission aware of what is happening in northern Uganda, where more than ten thousand
children have been abducted in recent years and more children are still being abducted on an almost daily
basis, by rebels of the Lord(cid:146)s Resistance Army?

Is the Commission informed about the role of the Sudanese armed forces in training, arming and

2.
using these children for military operations against the Ugandan army and the SPLA in South Sudan?

3.
Is the Commission informed that many of these children are dying of cholera in the camps in South
Sudan, of mistreatment or of life-threatening conditions on the battlefield both in Uganda and South
Sudan?

If so, what measures will the Commission take on the basis of this information? If not, what will the

4.
Commission do to investigate these events?

5. What is the Commission doing to facilitate, press for and speed up the implementation of the
Nairobi Peace Accord, signed in December between Uganda and Sudan, and of the Amnesty Bill, passed by
the Ugandan Parliament in December but suffering from serious delays?

6.
Is the Commission aware of the presence in some Member States of (cid:145)representatives(cid:146) of the LRA,
guilty of the most serious abuses against children anywhere in the world, who seem to be travelling
unhindered within and outside the European Union? If so, what concrete actions is the Commission going
to take to stop these people from operating and mobilising support in these Member States?

3.4.2001

EN

Official Journal of the European Communities

C 103 E/39

Answer given by Mr Nielson on behalf of the Commission

(20 July 2000)

The Commission is fully aware of the situation in the North of Uganda of the terrible conditions
1. to 3.
both in the camps and in the battlefields and is following events closely through its delegation in Kampala.

4. and 5.
The Commission is intervening at various levels to try to improve the situation in the North of
Uganda. Together with the representatives of Member States in Kampala, the Commission is in permanent
political dialogue with the Ugandan authorities and is constantly lobbying for the implementation of the
Nairobi peace agreement and the amnesty law. The Commission has just taken the leadership of donors for
discussions with the government to accelerate the implementation of the amnesty law and is preparing
with the government and the local authorities a scheme of financial support for those returning to Acholi
district. The Commission is also directly supporting a return programme for abducted children in Sudan,
which for the time being however only covers Sudanese children.

The Commission has already given financial support to the (cid:145)Concerned Parents Association(cid:146) established
after the abduction of the (cid:145)Aboke Girls(cid:146) for their work of international awareness raising and for help to
the families, and for the rehabilitation of the victims of mines in Northern Uganda through the Italian non-
governmental organisation AVSI.
the Commission is preparing a general rehabilitation
programme for the Gulu and Kitgum districts which will be implemented through the local authorities.
Implementation of this programme depends however on the development of the security situation in the
region. The Commission is also chairing the donor coordination group for the North of Uganda.

In addition,

6.
The Commission does not have detailed information about the presence or the activities of the Lord(cid:146)s
Resistance Army (LRA) (cid:145)representatives(cid:146) in Member States. Questions of immigration, residence or political
activites of non-Community citizens are dealt by Member States themselves.

(2001/C 103 E/042)

WRITTEN QUESTION E-1959/00

by Laura GonzÆlez `lvarez (GUE/NGL) to the Commission

(21 June 2000)

Subject: Infringement of Community law: construction of the new La Breæa II dam on the River Guadiato

(Cordoba province, Spain)

By means of a resolution dated 23 December 1997 the Spanish Environment Ministry(cid:146)s Directorate-
General for Environmental Quality and Assessment issued a favourable environmental impact statement in
respect of the project involving the construction of the new La Breæa II dam on the river Guadiato in
Cordoba province (Spain). However, the Nature Conservation Institute (ICONA) has announced that the
building of such a dam would affect species included in Annex I to Directive 79/409/EEC (1) on wild birds.

Furthermore, the dam would seriously affect highly protected species of Community interest which are
included in Annex IV of the Directive on the conservation of natural habitats (92/43/EEC (2)), such as
wolves, otters and the Spanish lynx. Construction of the dam would require valuable Mediterranean
woodland (comprising, inter alia, ilex and cork oak) to be flooded. In addition the Andalusia Regional
Government(cid:146)s Environment Agency (in a report dated 16 November 1993) explains in detail the major
ecological importance of the area and states that the particularly valuable features thereof would suffer
severely, for which reason an alternative location needs to be found.

The Sierra de Hornachuelos, which is the intended site of the dam, has been declared a ZEPA (area of
special protection for water birds) and construction of the dam would destroy 600 hectares thereof. The
area which is due to be flooded meets several of the criteria laid down in Directive 92/43/EEC which
qualify it to be included in the Nature 2000 Network as a Special Area of Conservation, for which reason