2000/558/CFSP: Council Common Position of 18 September 2000 on Rwanda
Date: 2000-09-18
Institutions: Council of the European Union
Subjects: Rwanda, cooperation policy, economic reconstruction, human rights, settlement of disputes, the EU's international role

20.9.2000

EN

Official Journal of the European Communities

L 236/1

(Acts adopted pursuant to Title V of the Treaty on European Union)

COUNCIL COMMON POSITION

of 18 September 2000

on Rwanda

(2000/558/CFSP)

THE COUNCIL OF THE EUROPEAN UNION,

Article 2

(1)

(2)

(3)

Having regard to the Treaty on European Union, and in partic-
ular Article 15 thereof,

Whereas:

the Council
By Common Position 1999/452/CFSP (1)
defined the objectives and priorities of the European
Union vis-à-vis Rwanda.

The European Union affirms that progress in the areas referred
to in Article 1 is primarily the responsibility of the Govern-
ment of Rwanda. In order to support and encourage its efforts,
the European Union shall pursue a constructive and critical
dialogue with the Government of Rwanda, including through
the offices of its Special Envoy to the African Great Lakes
Region, on the basis of the following provisions.

By Joint Action 96/250/CFSP (2) the Council nominated
a Special Envoy for the African Great Lakes Region.

Article 3

In the light of developments in Rwanda since 1999,
Common Position 1999/452/CFSP should be revised,

With regard to the Government of Rwanda's regional foreign
and security policy, the European Union:

HAS DEFINED THIS COMMON POSITION:

Article 1

The objectives and priorities of the European Union in its
relations with Rwanda are to encourage, stimulate and support
the ongoing process of:

(a) recovery from genocide and the promotion of national

reconciliation,

(b) reconstruction and development,

(c) protection and promotion of human rights and funda-

mental freedoms,

(d) transition to democracy.

these goals,

Insofar as regional instability may jeopardise the achievement
the European Union shall encourage the
of
Government of Rwanda to work,
in particular through its
foreign policy, towards the achievement of regional stability, as
it does with all other parties to conflicts in the region.

(1) OJ L 178, 14.7.1999, p. 1.
(2) OJ L 87, 4.4.1996, p. 1. Joint Action last extended by Joint Action

2000/347/CFSP (OJ L 122, 24.5.2000), p. 6.

inter alia,

(a) calls on the Government of Rwanda to keep the commit-
ments it made,
in Lusaka (July 1999) and
Kampala (April 2000) in favour of a negotiated, peaceful
the crisis in the Democratic
and rapid settlement of
Republic of the Congo (DRC), and to comply with the
relevant Security Council resolutions, in particular Resolu-
tion 1304 of 16 June 2000;

(b) considers it most

important

the Rwandan troops
present in the DRC and the other warring parties should
abide by their obligations under international humanitarian
law and in connection with the protection of human rights.

that

Article 4

With regard to the situation within Rwanda, the efforts of the
European Union shall be based on the following principles:

(a) concerning reconciliation and power-sharing, the European
Union shall encourage and support reconciliation among
all Rwandans within and outside Rwanda, through dialogue
between all groups which reject violence and genocide.
Such dialogue must
focus on power-sharing, national
reconstruction and minority protection. In this context, the
European Union considers it important for the Commission
on Reconciliation and National Unity to be independent,
representative of the Rwandan community, and to have a
clearly defined programme of action that the European
Union could possibly support;

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Official Journal of the European Communities

20.9.2000

(b) concerning democratisation, the European Union:

— stresses

the importance of

respecting the political
balance laid down in Rwanda's basic law, including the
Arusha agreements. It encourages the Government of
Rwanda and the authorities responsible for drawing up
a new constitution, designed to create a new institu-
tional framework for the country, to guarantee effective
protection of the civil and political rights of Rwandans,
preservation of social cohesion and the safeguarding of
fundamental rights and freedoms,

that

— urges the Government of Rwanda to specify its time-
table for democratisation and to prepare actively for
holding of the various electoral processes which must
take place by the end of the transitional period in 2003
at the latest. More specifically, it calls on the Govern-
ment of Rwanda to hold the elections at local authority
level
the Government has planned as soon as
possible, so that they contribute towards involving the
people more in the decision-making process. In this
context, it encourages the Government of Rwanda to
establish appropriate arrangements and supervision for
each of
these elections. These arrangements, while
taking into account the problem of illiteracy, should
establish a voting mechanism that will ensure free and
fair elections, guaranteeing equal rights for all Rwan-
dans; the participation of civil society; public debate;
the right of free expression; transparency with regard to
the whole electoral process and electoral legislation; the
nomination of an independent body to prepare and
oversee the entire electoral process and an opportunity
for all sectors of society to express their views. The
of
European Union
supporting the elaboration of such an electoral mech-
anism,

possibilities

examine

shall

— encourages the Government of Rwanda to continue to
the local
extend the responsibilities and powers of
authorities elected in 1999, so as to ensure the partici-
pation of the local population in the political and devel-
opment process, and shall remain prepared in principle
to support this process by appropriate means,

— encourages the Government of Rwanda to strengthen
and implement the process of decentralisation initiated
in May 2000;

(c) concerning the judicial system and the establishment of

traditional

justice (‘Gacaca’), the European Union:

— stresses the importance, and assesses the difficulty, of
setting up a judicial administration which would help
speed up the reconciliation process throughout
the
country,

— acknowledges that

the ‘Gacaca’ system may, under

certain conditions, serve this purpose,

— encourages the Government of Rwanda to bring the
‘Gacaca’ system into line with international human
rights standards,

— encourages the ‘Gacaca’ authorities to establish clem-
ency as a general working principle and to safeguard
rights guaranteed by law both to those accused, particu-
larly as regards defence and appeals and to civil parties,

— will study, with others, how possible support

for
system might be

administration of
provided in a well-coordinated manner,

‘Gacaca’

the

— encourages the Rwandan authorities to continue raising
awareness, among the population in general and geno-
cide survivors in particular, of the need to accept these
principles,
in order to deal simultaneously with the
problem of impunity and to reach a pragmatic solution
to the alarming problem of a large prison population
awaiting trial under precarious conditions of detention,

to reduce

— encourages the Government of Rwanda to continue its
efforts
the prison population and its
campaign to raise awareness, including by speeding up
implementation of its decision, announced in 1998, to
release prisoners against whom there are no files, or
incomplete files,

— supports

the work of

International Criminal
the
Tribunal in Arusha, and in particular renews its efforts
to ensure that all States surrender to the Tribunal all
those indicted by it for genocide and other serious
violations of international humanitarian law.
It shall
seek continued improvement of the Tribunal's adminis-
trative effectiveness,

— encourages the courts and the Government of Rwanda
to show the utmost restraint with regard to the imposi-
tion and execution of the death penalty, with the highly
desirable prospect of its total abolition, and to comply
fully with its obligations under
the International
Covenant on Civil and Political Rights and to observe
other international safeguards concerning the death
penalty;

(d) concerning villagisation policy,

the European Union
encourages the Government of Rwanda to continue the
critical reflection on the subject that it has already initiated,
and to proceed with the policy only after careful planning,
using a decentralised and participatory approach, and after
studies, pilot projects and
carrying out prior
campaigns to raise awareness among the population and to
assure an equitable redistribution and management of land,
in order to avoid resettlement, hastened by security consid-
erations, bringing about human rights violations, results
contrary to the desired effects and causes for further
discord;

impact

(e) concerning human rights, the European Union:

— encourages and supports

efforts

initiated by the
Government of Rwanda to protect and promote the
human rights of all Rwandans,
including through
ensuring the independent and effective functioning of
the National Human Rights Commission and by
continuing to work with the Special Representative of
the United Nations Commission on Human Rights and
the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights,

— encourages the National Human Rights Commission to
continue working with the non-governmental organ-
isations concerned and to implement without further
delay its programme of action, to which the Union
could possibly make a contribution;

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Official Journal of the European Communities

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(f) concerning economic development and cooperation, the
European Union continues to support the efforts of the
Government of Rwanda to promote inclusive economic
development and to extend progress achieved on the
macroeconomic field as instruments for peace and stability.
it encourages it to make additional efforts
In particular,
with regard to good governance.

Noting the continued Rwandan presence in the DRC, mo-
tivated from the Rwandan point of view by security
concerns, the European Union considers that action by the
Government of Rwanda with a view to a peaceful settle-
ment of the conflict in the DRC, under the terms of the
Lusaka and Kampala agreements and in accordance with
in particular
the relevant Security Council resolutions,
Resolution 1304, is likely, subject to detailed examination
by the competent bodies, to influence the quality of the
cooperation links between the European Union and
Rwanda;

(g) concerning reintegration into Rwandan society of genocide
survivors, demobilised soldiers and all other displaced
the European Union encourages and supports
people,
efforts by the Government of Rwanda to facilitate this
process, including through cooperation with relevant inter-
national organisations. The European Union is convinced
that there can be no military solution to the question of
It
Rwandan armed groups driven back to the DRC.
demands that all States in the region refrain from giving
military support to these groups; it calls on the Rwandan
authorities to put into sustained and visible effect their
declared undertaking to receive in Rwanda,
in complete
security, those Rwandan rebels fighting in the DRC who are
not implicated in crimes of genocide or war crimes. The
European Union is prepared to contribute to the imple-
mentation
reintegration
social
programmes determined for this purpose.

economic

and

of

Article 5

The Council notes that the Commission intends to direct its
action towards achieving the objectives and priorities of this
Common Position, where appropriate by pertinent Community
measures.

Article 6

In implementing this Common Position, the European Union
will cooperate closely with the United Nations, the Organ-
isation of African Unity and other interested organisations.

Article 7

The implementation of this Common Position will be moni-
tored regularly. It will be reviewed within 12 months.

Article 8

This Common Position shall replace Common Position 1999/
452/CFSP of 12 July 1999.

Article 9

This Common Position shall take effect on the day of
adoption.

its

Article 10

This Common Position shall be published in the Official
Journal.

Done at Brussels, 18 September 2000.

For the Council

The President

H. VÉDRINE