WRITTEN QUESTION E-2861/02 by José Ribeiro e Castro (UEN) to the Commission. Angola — transparency of public accounts.
Date: 2002-10-10
Institutions: European Parliament, Provisional data
Subjects: Angola, economic reconstruction, management accounting, management of resources, public accounting, public finance

C 33 E/12

Official Journal of the European Union

EN

6.2.2004

honour’ applied by (illegal) tribal courts in Pakistan. After being raped, Mai returned to her house on foot,
semi-naked, in full view of hundreds of neighbours. Two of the rapists were subsequently sentenced to
death in late August.

In the light of this case and of others like it which, regrettably, are becoming increasingly common in
Pakistan, what action could the European Union take to prevent this use of tribal law, which constitutes a
violation of human rights? What development and cooperation projects might be used to counter these so-
called ‘crimes of honour’?

Answer given by Mr Patten on behalf of the Commission

(16 October 2002)

The Commission is seriously concerned by human rights violations in Pakistan,
discriminatory ‘laws of honour’ applied in some cases by Pakistani tribal juries.

in particular by the

In addition to official demarches to the Pakistani authorities, the Union, through the Delegation of the
Commission in Pakistan, together with Member States Embassies tries to draw the attention of the
Pakistani authorities to such issues at every appropriate opportunity. An official Union demarche to the
Pakistani Minister of Law and Justice focusing on human rights including the issue of laws of honour is
expected to take place in the coming weeks.

implementation of our programmes has a significant

The Commission, as a rule, in all development projects related to education, health, agriculture and social
and rural development increasingly takes account of gender equity as a cross-cutting theme so that the
impact on issues related to gender
actual
discrimination. An example of this is the ‘Rural Social Development Programme’
in Pakistan
which is addressing gender related issues through education, advocacy and raising of awareness through
funding of small local non-governmental organisations (NGOs), which can operate in remote rural areas
where codes of honour are still practised.

(RSDP)

Moreover, Pakistan has been declared a priority country under the ‘European Initiative for Human Rights
and Democracy’. In this connection, a call for proposals has been issued, with the specific objective of
strengthening the capacity of civil society organisations and providing support to the legal system,
emphasising on institutional strengthening and legal assistance for victims of domestic and gender-based
violence.

(2004/C 33 E/012)

WRITTEN QUESTION E-2861/02

by José Ribeiro e Castro (UEN) to the Commission

(10 October 2002)

Subject: Angola (cid:1) transparency of public accounts

According to the media, the World Bank Vice-President for the Africa Region, Calisto Madavo, declared in
Luanda on 12 September last that the World Bank suspected that USD 1 000 million had disappeared
from the Angolan State budget. At the same time he advocated the transparent management of accounts
as being essential to reduce the high levels of poverty.

He also said it was significant that it was the Head of State Eduardo dos Santos who had referred to the
issue of the transparency of Angola’s public accounts during an interview he gave him. According to
Mr Madavo it was up to politicians and civil society to take steps to throw light on the real state of the
public accounts.

With regard to World Bank support for the process of structural reforms in Angola, he said that aid would
be provided in stages and that it was essential that the appropriations be used for the projects for which
they were intended.

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Official Journal of the European Union

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In the resolution adopted on 4 July last (P5_TA(2002)0375) the European Parliament ‘calls on the Angolan
Government and its industrial and trade partners to set up transparent, responsible mechanisms for
managing Angola’s natural resources,
in particular oil production and diamonds, so that the revenue
therefrom is used to combat poverty and to finance global, sustainable, fair and lasting development’.

This concern has, moreover, been expressed in various European Parliament resolutions, not only on
Angola, but on other similar situations or as regards the European Union’s cooperation policies in general.

Can the Commission say whether it has followed developments in this important issue of the transparency
of public accounts in Angola and their accuracy? What is its current assessment of the present situation
and the prospects for the immediate future, both in the sphere of oil and diamond revenue and the public
accounts in general?

(2004/C 33 E/013)

WRITTEN QUESTION E-2862/02

by José Ribeiro e Castro (UEN) to the Commission

(10 October 2002)

Subject: Angola (cid:1) 2003 budget

The international community and NGOs closely acquainted with the situation in Angola have frequently
commented on and criticised the Angolan Government’s low level of commitment in social areas, one of
the symptoms of this being the low level of budgetary resources allocated, year after year, to areas such as
health, social assistance, education, housing, hygiene, etc. The protracted civil war is supposed to be the
decisive factor in all this, contributing to the paradoxical situation pointed out by the last ACP-EU Joint
Parliamentary Assembly (‘the inhuman paradox of a potentially very rich country whose population lives
in conditions of extreme poverty, which has been a feature of the suffering of the Angolan people for
many years’) and by the European Parliament in its resolution of 11 April this year (cid:1) P5_ TA(2002)0192
(‘the inhuman paradox of a potentially very rich country whose population lives in conditions of extreme
poverty, which has been for long years a feature of the suffering of the Angolan people’).

At times the Angolan Government has shown some receptiveness to the criticisms and a willingness to
change this state of affairs. This was the case during the drafting and adoption of the State Budget for
2002, when the Angolan Minister for Planning declared, in November 2001, that for the first time since
Angola’s independence the defence sector was being relegated to third place, whilst health and education
were to be allocated a larger share.

Now a profound and even more pronounced change is to be expected in the 2003 budget, with two
factors being taken into account: firstly, the war is over, and secondly, support and assistance is being
sought by millions of displaced persons and refugees, because of the resettlement of the population and
the simple return to normality for the civilian population, who are eager for normal living conditions and
development.

Without prejudice to the aid which must continue to be provided by the international community, in
particular the EU and the Member States, if this new approach with a marked social bias is adopted
it would be likely to encourage future donor conferences
unequivocally by the Angolan authorities,
considerably, since it would constitute an important sign of good governance and an indication that the
enormous wealth, capacity and potential of Angola are finally being used for the benefit of the whole
population and for the overall progress of the country.

In view of all this, can the Commission say whether it has followed the developments in the Angolan
budgets, in particular as regards the implementation of the 2002 budget and the preparation of the budget
for 2003? What is its opinion of the implementation of the 2002 budget and the preparation of the
forthcoming budget for 2003, in particular as regards social areas and responsibilities and the importance
they are or are not given?