European Parliament resolution on the situation in Afghanistan
Date: 2000-11-30
Institutions: European Parliament
Subjects: Afghanistan, EU aid, UN Security Council, establishment of peace, human rights, international sanctions, political situation

C 228/184

Official Journal of the European Communities

EN

13.8.2001

Thursday 30 November 2000

11. Afghanistan

B5-0892/2000

European Parliament resolution on the situation in Afghanistan

The European Parliament,

(cid:1) having regard to the Council Common Position of 15 November 1999 concerning restrictive measures
against the Taliban, adopted with a view to the implementation of United Nations Security Council
resolution 1267/99,

(cid:1) having regard to the Council Common Position of 24 January 2000,

(cid:1) having regard to European Parliament and Council Regulation (EC) No 1880/2000 (1) of 17 July 2000
extending Council Regulation (EC) No 443/97 on operations to aid uprooted people in Asian and
Latin American developing countries,

(cid:1) having regard to its previous resolutions on Afghanistan,

(cid:1) reiterating the terms of its resolution of 5 October 2000 (2) in every respect,

(cid:1) having regard to the UN proposal for open-ended peace talks which have been accepted by the Tali-

ban movement as well as by the northern alliance let by Ahmed Shah Massood,

(cid:1) having regard to the decision of the European Commission of 26 October to allocate € 3,9 million of

humanitarian aid to Afghanistan in order to continue assisting 30 000 displaced families,

A. deeply concerned at the offensives launched by the Taliban in the summer, which has led to a fresh

upsurge in the fighting,

B. mindful of the unspeakable suffering borne by the Afghan people during so many years of conflict;
highlighting the fact that the most recent fighting is adding to the plight of civilians already badly
affected by the drought across the region,

C. whereas a million Afghans have been maimed by landmines,

D.

considering that Afghanistan is facing the threat of famine from the worst drought in 30 years and
considering that it is counted among those countries predictably most heavily affected by the ongoing
climate change,

E. mindful of the millions of uprooted people living in camps or fleeing the systematic human rights

violations committed by the Taliban regime on a daily basis,

F.

concerned about reports that tens of thousands of Afghan refugees have been blocked at the borders
towards Pakistan and Tajikistan in recent days,

G. protesting at the extreme forms of psychological and physical repression meted out to women when

the Taliban seized power in 1996,

H. deploring the abuses, arbitrary justice and discriminatory policy to which women are subject in Tali-

ban-controlled territory,

I. mindful of the rational analysis of Moslem intellectuals, which condemns the Taliban’s arbitrary and
barbaric interpretation of Sharia law and the systematic violation of the most basic human rights,

J. whereas the Taliban have refused to allow NGOs to distribute aid to the Afghan people on a basis of

equality between the sexes and have expelled them from Kabul,

K. warning of the risks inherent in all forms of extremism and fundamentalism,

(1) OJ L 227, 7.9.2000, p 1.
(2)
‘Texts Adopted’, Item 11.

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Official Journal of the European Communities

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Thursday 30 November 2000

L.

deploring the exponential growth in drug production by the Taliban, the trade in which goes to
finance its war against the Northern Alliance, in spite of UNDCP programmes,

M. whereas the European Union has never funded any UNDCP programme for the development of alter-
native crops in Afghanistan, and whereas such cooperation ultimately benefits the Taliban regime,

N. deploring the Taliban’s defence of international terrorism,

O. mindful of the Taliban regime’s expansionist designs, which pose a threat to peace and stability in the

region,

P. mindful of the fact that the European Union is the main supplier of humanitarian aid to Afghanistan,

Q. noting nonetheless that people in Afghanistan do not benefit equally from emergency humanitarian

aid programmes,

R.

S.

aware of the uncertainty surrounding the effectiveness of the United Nations resolution and the
numerous reported attempts at circumventing it,

convinced that no military solution can restore peace to the country without inflicting further con-
siderable suffering on its population,

T. noting that neither the Council nor the Commission has hitherto clarified its intentions, despite

emphatic calls from Parliament to do so,

Holds that the Taliban’s obscurantist ideology is the root cause of the constant human rights abuses

1.
in Afghanistan;

Condemns the apartheid practised by the Taliban regime on Afghan soil;

Condemns the Taliban regime’s overt support for international terrorism;

Condemns the unacceptable discriminatory policy to which women are subject in Taliban-held terri-

2.

3.

4.
tory;

Condemns all foreign interference in Afghan affairs which fans the flames of war, and especially that

5.
of Pakistan;

6.
Calls on the neighbouring countries of Afghanistan to keep their borders open for Afghan refugees
and calls on the Commission and the EU member states to urgently lend their financial support to recipi-
ent countries;

7.
Reaffirms its commitment to efforts to bring about a political settlement whereby the foundations of
a government representing the entire Afghan people can be laid and peace, stability and respect for inter-
national law and human rights can be restored;

Calls on the Taliban to implement United Nations Security Council Resolution 1267 forthwith and

8.
unconditionally;

Calls on the Security Council to make all the arrangements required to ensure that its resolution is
9.
indeed implemented and, if need be, made more forceful, above all where flight restrictions and the freez-
ing of funds for the Taliban are concerned;

Calls on the UN Drugs Control Programme to acknowledge the ineffectiveness of its own projects
10.
within Afghanistan and to halt any kind of direct funding for schemes intended to replace opium poppies
by other crops, especially in view of the fact that poppy production has tripled during the project imple-
mentation period;

11.

Calls on the Council to impose an embargo on arms sales to the Taliban;

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Thursday 30 November 2000

12.
Calls on the Pakistan authorities to halt all forms of military assistance to the Taliban, including
troop command, recruitment or deployment, in accordance with the sanctions imposed on Aghanistan
by the United Nations Security Council, and to ensure that women and religious minorities are protected
and enjoy equal treatment;

13.

Calls on the Council to confirm its genuine resolve to isolate the Taliban regime diplomatically;

Urges the Council to tighten the restrictive measures against the Taliban and its representatives for

14.
as long as they continue to terrorise the population;

Urges the Council to work strenuously towards seeking a politically negotiated peace settlement by

15.
coordinating its diplomatic moves with Afghanistan’s neighbours;

16.
Calls on EU Member States to refuse to establish or continue any economic contacts with the Tali-
ban regime other than humanitarian aid and, in this connection, to strengthen political and humanitarian
cooperation with Afghanistan’s neighbouring states, which are under threat from the fundamentalist ter-
rorism activities supported by the Taliban;

Calls on each Member State to bring its influence to bear on Afghanistan’s neighbours, and Pakistan

17.
in particular, with a view to halting any interference which may undermine peace efforts;

Calls on the Council to adopt a new common position which takes account of the developments in

18.
the situation and attests to its willingness to act;

Calls on the Commission to take the necessary emergency humanitarian measures and to take spe-

19.
cial care in ensuring that they are applied evenly throughout Afghan territory;

Calls on the Commission to take urgent steps to dispatch an envoy to ascertain at first hand the

20.
most pressing needs of the population from all the parties on the ground;

Calls on the Commission to look into how an emergency food depot for people in northern Afgha-

21.
nistan might be set up quickly in Dushanbe;

Asks in particular the European Union and its Member States to help in the establishment of safe

22.
areas in the northern provinces, where the Taliban have so far failed to extend their influence;

Calls for direct implementation of the Ottawa Treaty on Afghan soil and the implementation of

23.
special EU assistance to rid the entire country of anti-personnel mines;

24.
Instructs its President to forward this resolution to the Council, the Commission, the United Nations
Security Council, the Taliban authorities, the official Government of Afghanistan, and the governments of
Pakistan, Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, India, China, Russia, Iran, Uzbekistan and Tajikistan.

12. Gender-related aspects of prevention of armed conflicts

A5-0308/2000

European Parliament resolution on participation of women in peaceful conflict resolution (2000/
2025(INI))

The European Parliament,

(cid:1) having regard to the United Nations Universal Declaration of Human Rights of 10 December 1948,
and to the Vienna Declaration and Program of Action resulting from the World Conference on
Human Rights of 14-25 June 1993, in particular paragraphs I 28-29 and II 38 on systematic rape,
sexual slavery and forced pregnancy in situations of armed conflict,