European Parliament resolution on the situation in Togo
Date: 2001-09-06
Institutions: European Parliament
Subjects: Togo, election, human rights, political prisoner

C 72 E/344

Official Journal of the European Communities

EN

21.3.2002

Thursday 6 September 2001

I. whereas the guilty verdict handed down against Mr Melainine is entirely without judicial foundation,

J. whereas the decisions dissolving the opposition parties are an infringement of the democratic process,

K. whereas the Constitution guarantees individual and collective freedoms,

in particular freedom of

association, assembly and expression, and the right of citizens freely to choose their government,

L. whereas respect for human rights and democratic principles are essential conditions for EU assistance,

M. whereas dialogue between the government and the opposition is the best means of establishing rules

of electoral transparency and guaranteeing free expression of the popular will,

1.

2.

Deplores the long-standing harassment of political opponents;

Calls for the immediate and unconditional release of Mr Melainine and the two other MPF members;

Calls for a re-run of the trial, before a new court and with international observers,

3.
guarantee the legitimate right to a fair trial of the three members of the MPF;

in order to

Calls on the Government of Mauritania to respect the Constitution, guarantee the right of free

4.
expression and allow the formation and registration of political parties;

Urges the Government of Mauritania to take the opportunity of the forthcoming elections to demon-

5.
strate its scrupulous respect for democratic rules;

Considers that the legislative and municipal elections scheduled for October 2001 must be postponed
6.
to enable all those who are politically active to stand; calls on the government of Mauritania to guarantee
the democratic rights of all opposition parties and representatives and to establish without delay an inde-
pendent national electoral commission;

Calls on the Government of Mauritania to agree that the next elections should be held in the pre-

7.
sence of international observers, including a delegation of Members of the European Parliament;

Calls on the Government of Mauritania to take immediate steps to put an end to the continued

8.
practice of slavery;

9.
Calls on the Council and the Commission to open consultations with Mauritania in accordance with
the procedure laid down in Article 96 of the Cotonou Agreement, if the government of Mauritania does
not provide an adequate and rapid response to the concerns outlined above;

10.
Instructs its President to forward this resolution to the Council, the Commission, the Government of
Mauritania, the Secretary-General of the United Nations and the Co-Presidents of the ACP-EU Joint Parlia-
mentary Assembly.

16. Human rights: Togo

B5-0546, 0557, 0566, 0578, 0586 and 0595/2001

European Parliament resolution on the situation in Togo

The European Parliament,

(cid:129) recalling its previous resolutions on Togo,

A.

alarmed by the conviction and imprisonment for six months, on 3 August 2001, of Mr Yawovi
Agboyibo, chairman of the Action Committee for Renewal, one of the main opposition groups, for
(cid:145)attacking the honour of the Prime Minister(cid:146),

21.3.2002

EN

Official Journal of the European Communities

C 72 E/345

Thursday 6 September 2001

B. whereas serious doubts persist as to the fairness of the trial and as to the independence of the Court,

whose President also represents the ruling party in the National Electoral Commission,

C. having regard to the Prime Minister(cid:146)s proposal to postpone the general election originally scheduled
for 14 and 28 October 2001 and his declared approval of revising Article 59 of the Constitution, in
order to allow President Eyadema to stand again in the presidential elections, despite undertaking in
public in July 1999 not to seek a new term of office as president,

D. whereas the general election, initially scheduled for the year 2000, and the departure in 2003 of
President Eyadema, who has been in power since 1967, are at the heart of the framework agreements
of LomØ, concluded in July 1999 between the regime and the opposition, in order to put an end to a
decade of unrest,

E. whereas since President Eyadema took power in 1967 those responsible for acts of violence have

never been brought to justice for the crimes they have committed,

1.

Calls for the immediate and unconditional release of Mr Yawovi Agboyibo;

Requests that his conviction be removed from his police record, so as to enable him to stand as a

2.
candidate in the forthcoming elections;

Calls on the authorities to hold, as soon as possible, free and transparent elections, which the Togo-

3.
lese people have been waiting for since the beginning of 2000;

Requests that the EU, with the participation of the European Parliament, monitor the elections and

4.
send observers;

5.

Condemns any attempt to amend Article 59 of the Constitution;

Calls on President Eyadema to ensure that his government complies with the LomØ framework agree-

6.
ment signed by the opposition parties and the President(cid:146)s regime in July 1999;

7.
Calls on the Togolese authorities to put an end to the climate of impunity in Togo and to identify
and bring to justice those responsible for the human rights violations as established by the UN-OAU
inquiry;

8.
Calls on the EU to continue scrutinising respect for human rights and democratic principles in Togo,
and to make the resumption of normal cooperation relations conditional on substantial progress to be
achieved in these areas;

Instructs its President to forward this resolution to the Commission, the ACP-EU Council of Ministers

9.
and the Togolese Government.

17. Human rights: Cambodia

B5-0558, 0564, 0572, 0587 and 0596/2001

European Parliament resolution on Cambodia

The European Parliament,

(cid:129) having regard to its previous resolutions on Cambodia,

(cid:129) having regard to the Cambodian law of 16 August 2001 on the special Cambodian Tribunal, which is

of an international nature, to prosecute members of the Khmer Rouge,

(cid:129) having regard to the Paris Accords of October 1993 and the commitment to democracy contained

within,