European Parliament resolution on the situation in Angola
Date: 2001-09-06
Institutions: European Parliament
Subjects: Angola, civil war, cooperation policy, peace, political situation, terrorism, vehicle on rails

21.3.2002

EN

Official Journal of the European Communities

C 72 E/349

Thursday 6 September 2001

4.
Recalls that Australia in the meantime has negotiated that New Zealand agree to receive 150 of the
refugees on board the Tampa and that Nauru take 283, until their requests for asylum have been pro-
cessed;

5. Welcomes the fact that a solution could be found to break the deadlock over the 433 refugees, which
will enable those deemed to have valid claims to be resettled in neighbouring countries;

6. Welcomes the readiness of New Zealand and Nauru to temporarily accept them on their territories in
order for their asylum claims to be assessed;

Is worried by the growing number of refugees and displaced people world-wide and by increasing

7.
tendencies to resort to inhumane refoulement measures;

Calls on the Taliban regime to facilitate the activities of non-governmental organisations in their

8.
provision of emergency humanitarian and food aid for the Afghan people;

9.
Invites the Council and the Commission to address this issue in the framework of the United Nations
by identifying solutions which may include some form of shared responsibilities between States at regional
and international level;

10.
Calls on the Council and the Commission to take the necessary measures to lay down an obligation
for coastal states in the seas in which such situations arise to assist the stranded and ensure that they are
treated in accordance with the procedures provided for in the International Convention on the Status of
Refugees of 28 July 1951;

Instructs its President to forward this resolution to the Commission, the Council and the govern-

11.
ments of Australia, Norway, Nauru, New Zealand and Indonesia and the UN Secretary-General.

19. Human rights: Situation in Angola

B5-0544, 0560, 0567, 0576, 0589 and 0598/2001

European Parliament resolution on the situation in Angola

The European Parliament,

(cid:129) having regard to its previous resolutions on the situation in Angola,

(cid:129) having regard to the statement of the Belgian Presidency on behalf of the European Union in August
2001, the statement of the Swedish Presidency in May 2001 and the statement of the Portuguese
Presidency in January 2000,

A. having regard to the terrorist attack on a passenger train involving mines and rocket launchers and a
machine-gun attack on the fleeing survivors, which left 252 dead and 165 injured and will go down
as one of the most murderous of such attacks in history,

B. whereas Jonas Savimbi(cid:146)s Unita has claimed responsibility for this attack,

C. having regard to the UN Security Council statement on 16 August 2001 condemning the Unita attack

on civilian train passengers,

D. whereas a week later a similar attack was perpetrated on a bus, leaving 50 dead and 12 injured;
whereas a further 29 civilians died and 52 were injured when two more buses were attacked at Gabela
on 2 September 2001,

E. whereas these attacks have been perpetrated in the wake of Unita(cid:146)s murderous attack on Caxito which
claimed 150 lives in April 2001, and the shooting-down in flight of an Angolan aircraft, with
48 passengers on board, in October 2000,

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Thursday 6 September 2001

F. whereas the UN Food Programme had to suspend its flights this summer after several of its aircraft

were shot down by Unita,

G. whereas UN agencies, including the World Food Programme, continue, in an unstable military situ-

ation, to provide food rations for one million displaced people living in Angola,

H. whereas the Unita leaders are persisting in their violations of the commitments which they entered

into in the framework of the peace process and, notably, the Lusaka Protocol,

I. whereas the Angolan government must bear its share of responsibility for the prolonged suffering of

the Angolan people,

J. whereas there can be no lasting settlement of the Angolan conflict as long as the diamond trafficking

which finances Unita allows it to acquire arms,

K. having regard to resolution 1295 (2000) of the UN Security Council on the implementation of
measures against Unita, calling for the reinforcement of those measures, notably via the institution
of a monitoring mechanism,

L.

having regard to the joint communiquØ of the SADC Heads of State issued on 14 August 2001 in
Blantyre, Malawi, on increased enforcement of UN sanctions against Unita, including the prohibition
of the illegal sale of diamonds as a means of financing the civil war,

M. having regard to the conclusions of the 18th Angola-Zambia joint permanent defence and security

commission of 31 August 2001,

N. having regard to the significant decision of President dos Santos not to stand in the next presidential

elections, supposedly scheduled for either 2002 or 2003,

O. having regard to the conclusions of the US consortium for elections and strengthening of political

processes of 20 August 2001,

P. whereas the future elections must be held in a climate of peace and freedom at all levels, with the

freedom of the media guaranteed,

Q. whereas the revision of Angola(cid:146)s constitution and electoral law, which is expected to be completed at
the end of 2001, must enshrine respect for human rights, the rule of law, good governance, free and
fair elections, and the freedom of the press,

R. worried by the continued civil war between the government of Angola and Unita, which has lasted for

over 25 years and the failure of the Lusaka peace agreement due to the lack of good will,

S.

having regard to the recent statements by President JosØ Eduardo dos Santos to the effect that the
Angolan government is willing to initiate a dialogue on means of achieving peace on the basis of
implementation of the Lusaka Protocol,

T. whereas African leaders at next month(cid:146)s (cid:145)Summit of hope(cid:146) to be held in Abuja, Nigeria between 26
and 30 November 2001 must focus on Angola(cid:146)s continued civil war and call for a binding ceasefire,

U. whereas, despite Angola(cid:146)s considerable natural resources, the population is still living in conditions of

extreme poverty and inflation is running at 173 %,

Condemns unequivocally the terrorist acts perpetrated by Unita and expresses its solidarity with the

1.
victims and their relatives;

2.
Stresses that the continuation of such a course of action does not contribute to creating the con-
fidence-building measures necessary for a serious and effective dialogue that can lead to peace and national
reconciliation in Angola;

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Thursday 6 September 2001

3.
Calls on Unita, as a matter of urgency, to cease perpetrating such acts against civilians, to respect the
letter and spirit of the Lusaka Protocol and to make serious efforts towards reaching peace by means of
concrete actions;

4.
Reaffirms the importance which it attaches to the effective application of the UN Security Council
sanctions against Unita, and calls on the UN Security Council to condemn those countries and companies
which are acting in breach of the ban laid down in resolution 1295 (2000) and, by buying diamonds, are
contributing to the fuelling of this war;

Underlines its commitment to a political solution on the basis of the Bicesse peace agreement, the

5.
Lusaka Protocol and the relevant UN Security Council resolutions;

6.
Urges the EU Presidency, EU Foreign Ministers and the Commission to prioritise the resolution of the
continued crisis in Angola and to reinforce action to stop supplies of land mines, surface-to-surface mis-
siles and other weapons reaching a war that has so far claimed one million lives;

Deplores the increase in mine-laying activity in Angola, a country which is a signatory to the Ottawa

7.
Convention and which has been a major focus of EU-funded demining efforts;

8. Welcomes the increased cooperation at both regional and continental level between African states, as
reflected in SADC and the creation of the African Union, and urges the Commission to help these African
organisations create conflict prevention strategies and units;

9. Will monitor closely whether the Commission and the Member States are effectively cooperating and
sharing expertise with the UN and NGO field-workers to alleviate the suffering experienced by Angola(cid:146)s
poorest people in the ongoing 26-year civil war;

Urges the parties to the conflict once again to cooperate fully with the humanitarian organisations

10.
and ensure the protection of their personnel;

Underlines the urgent need for all parties to the Angolan conflict to open an inclusive dialogue

11.
leading to a sustainable peace in which human rights are promoted and protected;

12.
Reiterates its endorsement of the efforts being made by the churches and by various civil society
organisations to achieve peace, the consolidation of democracy and respect for human rights, and encour-
ages all initiatives, whatever their origin, aimed at attaining peace throughout the territory of Angola;

13.
Stresses that a lasting and representative solution for Angola(cid:146)s future cannot be limited to the two
warring parties and will necessarily involve an inclusive dialogue with the other parties represented in the
parliament, civil society organisations and the churches;

Calls on the Angolan authorities and leading political parties to fix a date for both the general and

14.
presidential elections, and on the EU to provide technical support and election observers;

15.
Reiterates the importance it attaches to the government(cid:146)s commitment to holding free and fair
elections and to creating the objective conditions for such free and fair elections to be held with proper
participation levels in Angola, despite the present poor prospects of their being preceded by a ceasefire, the
re-establishment of freedom of movement throughout Angola, the necessary establishment of peace, and a
period of intensive preparation with a view to developing a culture of freedom, including freedom of the
media and mutual respect;

16.
Instructs its President to forward this resolution to the Commission, the Council, the UN Secretary-
General, the Secretary-General of the OAU, the Member States and the candidate countries, the govern-
ment and parliament of Angola, the States party to the Cotonou Partnership Agreement and Unita.