European Parliament resolution on measures to promote a commitment by non-State actors to a total ban on anti-personnel landmines
Date: 2001-09-06
Institutions: European Parliament
Subjects: EU action, anti-personnel weapon, arms limitation, arms policy, company constituted under civil law, cooperation policy, humanitarian aid, non-governmental organisation

C 72 E/352

Official Journal of the European Communities

EN

21.3.2002

Thursday 6 September 2001

20. Anti-personnel mines

B5-0542, 0561, 0568, 0575, 0590 and 0599/2001

European Parliament resolution on measures to promote a commitment by non-State actors to a
total ban on anti-personnel landmines

The European Parliament,

(cid:129) having regard to its resolutions of 17 December 1992 on the injuries and loss of life caused by
mines (1), of 29 June 1995 on landmines and blinding laser weapons (2) and on anti-personnel land-
mines: a murderous impediment to development (3), of 18 December 1997 on the 1997 Convention
on the prohibition and destruction of anti-personnel mines (4) and of 25 October 2000 on anti-per-
sonnel landmines (5),

(cid:129) having regard to the communication from the Commission to the European Parliament and the Coun-
cil on action against anti-personnel landmines: reinforcing the contribution of the European Union;
and the proposal for a European Parliament and Council Regulation concerning action against anti-
personnel landmines (COM(2000) 111),

A. whereas the use of anti-personnel landmines, in addition to resulting in the loss of human life, espe-
cially among the civilian population, represents a serious obstacle to the social and economic recovery
of affected countries,

B. whereas today the majority of landmines are laid in the context of armed conflict and/or civil war
where both State armed forces and non-State armed groups may be involved in the use of landmines,

C. whereas the 1997 Mine Ban Treaty has been ratified by 119 States and signed by 141,

D. whereas 52 States have not yet signed and ratified the Ottawa Convention,

E.

having regard to the importance of the Conference of States signatories to the Ottawa Convention to
be held from 18 to 22 September 2001 in Managua,

F. whereas the international community has a moral duty to seek commitments from all the parties
involved in such conflicts, States and non-State actors, to ban the use of anti-personnel landmines, in
order to achieve a truly world-wide ban on these inhumane weapons,

G. whereas this does not imply support for, or recognition of the legitimacy of, non-State actors or their

activities,

H.

recognising the efforts made by governments, international institutions and specialist NGOs to encour-
age non-State actors to ban the use of anti-personnel landmines,

Asks the European Union to consider all possible means of putting pressure on those non-State

1.
actors openly reluctant to undertake to adhere to a total ban on anti-personnel landmines;

Calls for the elimination of the use, production, stockpiling and transfer of anti-personnel landmines

2.
by non-State actors;

Urges the Council and the Commission to identify the sources of supply of anti-personnel landmines

3.
to non-State actors;

(1) OJ C 21, 25.1.1993, p. 161.
(2) OJ C 183, 17.7.1995, p. 44.
(3) OJ C 183, 17.7.1995, p. 47.
(4) OJ C 14, 19.1.1998, p. 201.
(5) OJ C 197, 12.7.2001, p. 193.

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Official Journal of the European Communities

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Calls for increased resources for humanitarian demining and mine awareness and landmine victim

4.
rehabilitation and assistance programmes;

5. Welcomes proposals to seek commitments from non-State actors, for example through a Deed of
Commitment for Adherence to a Total Ban on Anti-Personnel Landmines and for Cooperation in Mine
Action;

Calls on the Managua Conference to support the efforts to obtain strong commitments from non-

6.
State actors;

7.
Calls on the States party to the Ottawa Convention to give closer attention to the problem of anti-
personnel mines in relation to non-State actors and to support the efforts made by specialist NGOs and
international institutions to commit non-State actors to the mine ban process;

8.
Instructs its President to forward this resolution to the Commission, the Council, the governments of
the Member States, the Secretary-General of the United Nations, the International Committee of the Red
Cross, the Committee for the International Campaign to Ban Landmines, the ACP-EU Joint Parliamentary
Assembly, and the governments of the United States of America, the Russian Federation and the People(cid:146)s
Republic of China.

21. Drought in Central America

B5-0547, 0562, 0569, 0574, 0591 and 0600/2001

European Parliament resolution on the drought in Central America

The European Parliament,

(cid:129) having regard to its previous resolutions on Central America, in particular its resolution of 15 June

2000 on a Community action plan for the reconstruction of Central America (1),

A. having regard to the disastrous consequences of the drought which has been affecting Central America
for more than three months and has prompted the United Nations to classify the situation as more
serious than that caused by Hurricane Mitch,

B.

C.

stressing the worsening of the already difficult human and social situation in the region following the
natural disasters it has suffered (Hurricane Mitch and the El Salvador earthquake) and the adverse
effect this will have on the prospects for socio-economic development in the countries concerned,

alarmed at the forecasts made by those running the UN World Food Programme (WFP) estimating that
more than one and half million people are affected by famine and the exhaustion of food reserves,
which could lead to a rapid spread of famine,

D. whereas, moreover, this is not an isolated climatic phenomenon, but is repeated year after year in
Central America, with growing intensity, the link between cause and effect being well established,
with climate changes caused by the greenhouse effect and global warming,

E.

noting that faced with this process of chronic deterioration the usual response consists in concentrat-
ing, year after year, on the need for emergency food aid in the form of ever larger consignments of
foodstuffs, but with few preventive measures aimed at sustainable development projects for the far-
ming populations concerned being carried out by either local government or international aid,

(1) OJ C 67, 1.3.2001, p. 297.