Council Common Position 2004/85/CFSP of 26 January 2004 concerning conflict prevention, management and resolution in Africa and repealing Common Position 2001/374/CFSP
Date: 2004-01-26
Institutions: Council of the European Union
Subjects: Africa, EU aid, peacekeeping, settlement of disputes, the EU's international role, war

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(Acts adopted pursuant to Title V of the Treaty on European Union)

COUNCIL COMMON POSITION 2004/85/CFSP

of 26 January 2004

concerning conflict prevention, management and resolution in Africa and repealing Common
Position 2001/374/CFSP

THE COUNCIL OF THE EUROPEAN UNION,

Having regard to the Treaty on European Union and in particu-
lar Article 15 thereof,

Having regard to the conclusions of the European Councils of
Cologne, Helsinki, Feira, Nice and the EU Programme for
Prevention of Violent Conflicts,

(7)

(8)

The European Community and its Member States
entered into a Partnership Agreement with the ACP
States at Cotonou on 23 June 2000.

The European Parliament adopted on 30 November
2000 a Resolution on Participation of Women in
Peaceful Conflict Resolution; and the ACP-EU Joint
Parliamentary Assembly adopted on 21 March 2002 a
Resolution on Gender Issues.

Whereas:

The primary responsibility for prevention, management
and resolution of conflicts on the African continent lies
with Africans themselves.

(9)

On 8 December 2003 the Council adopted Guidelines
on Children and Armed Conflict,

The United Nations Security Council has the primary
responsibility for the maintenance of international peace
and security under the Charter of the United Nations.

HAS ADOPTED THIS COMMON POSITION:

In the drawing up of UN Security Council decisions, the
defense of European Union positions and interests is
fully ensured by the application of Article 19 of the
Treaty on European Union.

On 14 May 2001 the Council adopted Common Posi-
tion 2001/374/CFSP concerning conflict prevention,
management and resolution in Africa (1).

The promotion of peace, security and stability on the
continent is one of the objectives of the African Union
(AU) and the peaceful resolution of conflicts among
Member States is one of the principles enshrined in the
Constitutive Act of the AU. The prevention, manage-
ment and resolution of conflicts have been the subject of
dialogue with the Organisation of African Unity (OAU)
and its successor, the AU, and are included in the Cairo
Declaration and Plan of Action.

There is a link between conflict prevention and democ-
racy, human rights, the rule of law and good govern-
ance, where development cooperation has a strategic
role to play in strengthening capacities
to manage
conflicts in peaceful ways.

(1) OJ L 132, 15.5.2001, p. 3.

Article 1

1.
The objective of this Common Position is to contribute to
the prevention, management and resolution of violent conflicts
in Africa by strengthening African capacity and means of
action in this field,
in particular through enhanced dialogue
with and support for the AU and subregional organisations and
initiatives, and civil society organisations. In doing this, the EU
shall take further steps to promote coordination between the
many actors that may be involved, including a closer coordina-
tion of the measures taken by the Community and its Member
States.

The EU shall, as it strengthens its capacity in the areas of
2.
crisis management and conflict prevention, improve its close
cooperation with the UN and relevant regional and subregional
organisations in order to achieve the above objective. Coopera-
tion with the UN on crisis management shall be taken forward
in line with and as a part of the implementation of the Joint
Declaration on UN-EU Cooperation in Crisis Management of
24 September 2003. The EU, notwithstanding its commitment
to African ownership,
remain prepared to become
involved, whenever necessary, in crisis management in Africa
with its own capabilities.

shall

(1)

(2)

(3)

(4)

(5)

(6)

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The EU shall develop long-term conflict prevention and
3.
peace-building initiatives, recognising that progress in these
areas is a necessary precondition also for African States to build
and sustain capacity to deal effectively with terrorism.

4.
The EU shall develop a proactive, comprehensive and
integrated approach, which shall also serve as a common
framework for actions of individual Member States. As a part
of this, and to enhance capacity for early action, a yearly survey
shall continue to be drawn up by the Presidency assisted by the
Secretary General/High Representative and the Commission, so
as to identify and monitor potential violent conflicts and
presenting the policy options necessary to prevent
their
outbreak or recurrence.

Article 2

Successful conflict prevention relies on preparedness to take
action before a situation deteriorates into violence. Thus, while
recognising the need to respond to existing crises, the EU's
policy shall focus on preventing the outbreak and spreading of
violent conflicts through early action, and on preventing the
recurrence of violent conflict. In this context, EU action shall
cover:

— conflict prevention by seeking to address the more struc-
tural root causes while targeting the direct causes — trigger
factors — of violent conflicts,

— crisis management by addressing acute phases of conflicts
and supporting efforts to bring the violence to an end,

— peace-building by

for
containing violent conflict and to prepare for, and sustain,
peaceful solutions to such conflicts,

seeking to support

initiatives

— support for the ratification and full implementation of the
Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court, which
can play an important role in shaping national institutions
for the fight against impunity. This includes the reinforce-
ment of
institutions which have an important
complementary role in this context.

judicial

Article 4

Recognising that the AU and African subregional organisations
constitute the central actors in the prevention, management
and resolution of conflicts in Africa:

strengthening the rule of

1. the EU shall seek to increase its support to regional arrange-
ments and efforts in conflict prevention by enhancing
corporate responsibility,
law,
training in conflict prevention, building capacities for, inter
alia, political and economic analyses, early warning systems,
improving international sanc-
negotiation/mediation skills,
tioning and enforcement mechanisms, developing mechan-
isms that address economic factors that fuel conflicts, and
strengthening linkages between regional organisations them-
selves as well as with local, national and regional non-State
actors and other members of the international community.
Efforts to support regional and subregional organisations in
the area of conflict prevention shall be carefully coordinated
by the Community and its Member States so as to develop
including through joint
initiatives and synergies,
joint
programming where appropriate;

2. the EU's support for and cooperation with the AU in the
field of conflict prevention, management and resolution
shall be pursued with a view to developing a long-term part-
nership, particularly in the framework of the follow-up to
the Cairo Summit.

— reconstruction by supporting the economic, political and
social re-building of post-conflict States and societies to
prevent
the re-escalation of violence and to promote
sustainable peace.

Article 5

Article 3

In order to better contribute to conflict management as well as
to respond to existing crises, the EU shall take into account:

— development of international legal systems, dispute resolu-
tion mechanisms, and cooperative arrangements at
the
regional level,

— institution building by increasing the effectiveness of
African national security and judicial institutions including
for counter-terrorism activities as well as by identifying
specific action to assist African countries in implementing
their commitments under the existing international instru-
including the fight against
fields,
ments in all relevant
terrorism and illicit trafficking,

Acknowledging that effective conflict prevention requires stra-
tegies to create enabling conditions for a stable and more
predictable international environment, and comprehensive and
balanced aid and developmental assistance programmes to alle-
viate the pressures that trigger violent conflict, the EU shall
seek:

— to support

the mainstreaming of conflict prevention
perspectives within the framework of Community develop-
ment and trade policy and its associated country and
regional strategies,

— to introduce, as appropriate, conflict indicators and peace
and conflict impact assessment tools in development and
trade cooperation so as to reduce the risk of aid and trade
fuelling conflict, and to maximise its positive impact on
peace-building,

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— to ensure that tangible dividends reach swiftly the popula-

tion as a whole,

— to improve the coordination between the efforts of the
Community and those of its Member States in this field,

Economic Community of West African States, the South
African Development Community and the Intergovern-
mental Authority on Development,
the Economic Com-
munity of Central African States and the Economic and
Monetary Community of Central Africa, regarding African
peace support operations capabilities;

— to improve development and trade cooperation with
regional, subregional and local actors in order to ensure
consistency between initiatives and to support African
activities,

5. Member States and the Commission shall systematically
invite each other or the Presidency, as appropriate, to parti-
cipate in exercises and seminars they organise with a view
to reinforcing African peacekeeping capabilities;

— to coordinate its efforts with the international

financial

institutions.

6. coordination and exchanges on enhancement activities shall
be sought with interested third parties, notably the United
States, Canada and Japan in particular in the framework of
the political dialogue with these countries;

Article 6

With regard to the strengthening of African peace support
operations capabilities:

1. the EU shall support, over the long term, the enhancement
of African peace support operations capabilities, at regional,
subregional and bilateral levels as well as the capacity of the
African States to contribute to regional integration, peace,
security and development. Notwithstanding such capacity
enhancement, the Community and its Member States shall
continue, on a case-by-case basis, to consider deploying
their own operational means for conflict prevention and
crisis management in Africa, in accordance with the princi-
ples of the UN Charter and in close cooperation with UN
activities in the region, as successfully demonstrated through
operation Artemis in the Ituri region of the Democratic
Republic of Congo. Such considerations shall
take into
account the scope of capabilities developed under the EU
crisis management capabilities, including the deployment of
civilian personnel
to peace-
building;

longer-term responses

for

2. Member States and the Commission shall exchange informa-
tion on all action taken to support African peace support
operations capabilities with a view to improving coordina-
tion and developing synergies. This information shall be
summarised in the annual review of this Common Position
provided for in Article 14;

3. Member States and the Commission shall give higher
priority to country and regional strategies and risk assess-
ment. Country strategies can be developed with the use of
standardised indicators and the assistance of expert groups.
Risk assessment and country strategies would benefit from
greater use of local knowledge, including information from
local experts trained in early warning and risk assessment;

7. the EU shall endeavour to improve further its coordination
with the UN, and in particular with the Department of
Peacekeeping Operations, on all
at
strengthening African peace support operations capabilities;

activities

aiming

8. the EU shall analyse how best to coordinate Member States'
efforts in areas of training, equipment and exercises. This
analysis shall
the
Brahimi report on UN peace operations, including intero-
perability of troops and command and control structures;

take into consideration key areas of

9. on an ad hoc basis, the EU shall consider in due course initi-
ating, where there is value added, capacity enhancement
programmes in its own name, separately or in conjunction
with programmes initiated by individual Member States.
Such action might range from small-scale observer missions
to more comprehensive
during peacekeeping exercises
training programmes.

Article 7

Member States shall continue to conduct a restrictive policy
with regard to arms exports, fully applying the 1998 EU Code
of Conduct on Arms Exports. Recognising that the availability
and accumulation of arms exceeding legitimate security needs
may be a factor contributing to instability, and that the curbing
of the illicit trafficking in arms is an important contribution to
the easing of
the
Member States and the Commission shall:

tension and the reconciliation processes,

— cooperate in promoting international

for arms
embargoes and other relevant decisions by the UN Security
Council and support initiatives to implement such measures
effectively,

respect

4. Member States and the Commission shall seek to achieve
improved coordination of bilateral action in support of the
AU and African subregional organisations, in particular the

— continue to support and actively respect regional initiatives
contributing to the prevention and combating of illicit traf-
ficking in arms,

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further consider support

— cooperate to encourage associated countries to align them-
selves with principles adopted and measures taken by the
EU. The EU shall
for African
efforts to improve controls on arms manufacture, import
and export, and support
for controlling or eliminating
surplus small arms, as well as support for African efforts to
tackle problems relating to small arms in accordance with
Council Joint Action 2002/589/CFSP of 12 July 2002 on
the European Union's contribution to combating the desta-
bilising accumulation and spread of small arms and light
weapons (1),

— actively work towards finding means to suppress illegal
exploitation of natural resources which contributes to
the eruption, escalation and continuation of violent
conflicts,

— where appropriate, use restrictive measures,

including
economic and financial sanctions, targeted at actors who
profit
In this
from and exacerbate violent conflicts.
context, there is a need to further reflect on the (positive
or negative) role to be played by the private sector in
the area of conflict prevention and resolution.

— continue to support the UN Programme of Action on the
Illicit Trade in Small Arms and Light Weapons in All Its
Aspects as well as the negotiations of the Protocol Against
the Illicit Manufacturing and Trafficking in Firearms, their
Parts and Components and Ammunition, supplementing
the UN Convention against Transnational Organised Crime,
adopted by the UN General Assembly on 31 May 2001.

Article 8

Recognising the importance of economic factors in conflicts in
Africa, as well as the potential of diplomatic and economic
measures for the prevention and resolution of violent conflicts:

1. the EU shall:

— seek to address economic factors that fuel conflicts,

— seek to promote the further integration of Africa into
the world economy, and to support even access to the
benefits and opportunities of this across societies,

— support economic and political cooperation, such as
regional stabilisation arrangements, to strengthen rela-
tions between parties as a preventive and post-conflict
peace-building measure,

— work to ensure that regional trade integration measures,
within a policy context comprising safety nets for
vulnerable groups, support conflict prevention and reso-
lution;

2. the EU shall also:

— cooperate in promoting universal respect for embargoes
related to the illegal exploitation of and trade in high
value commodities and for other relevant decisions by
the UN Security Council; and support
initiatives to
implement such measures effectively,

(1) OJ L 191, 19.7.2002, p. 1.

Article 9

Throughout the different phases of the conflict cycle, the EU
shall:

— evaluate the important role that ‘non-State actors’ can play
either fuelling conflict or helping to resolve or prevent it.
Either way, their role and the positive contribution they
may make, needs to be accounted for,

— encourage the application of UN Security Council Resolu-
through
tion 1325 on Women, Peace and Security,
ensuring that a gender perspective informs planning, imple-
menting and evaluating the impact of conflict, the needs of
the different actors in conflict and the level and nature of
participation in decision-making in the prevention, manage-
ment and resolution of conflicts, including peace processes
and negotiations,

— address the short, medium and long term impact of armed
conflict on children in an effective and comprehensive
manner, making use of the variety of tools at its disposal,
and building on past and ongoing activities, in accordance
with the EU Guidelines on Children and Armed Conflict. It
shall also try to influence third country actors (governments
as well as non-State actors including armed groups) to take
effective measures to protect the rights of children affected
by armed conflict.

Article 10

To reflect the need to maintain focus on a conflict even after it
has become less acute, and to contribute to a more coherent
and systematic approach to post-war situations in Africa, the
EU shall:

— stand ready to support security sector reform within the
framework of democratic principles, respect
for human
rights, the rule of law, and good governance, in particular
in countries in transition from violent conflict to sustain-
able peace,

— continue and consolidate its

tackling the
support
the destabilising accumulation and uncon-

for

problems of
trolled spread of small arms,

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— enhance its support for the disarmament and sustainable
reintegration of demobilised ex-combatants with particular
attention to gender-based needs and the needs of children
recruited to take part in military activities,

— increase its assistance to the removal of existing landmines,
as well as it shall promote mine awareness and encourage
the development of African capacities in de-mining,

— continue to support actions aimed at facilitating the reinte-
gration of up-rooted populations in post-conflict situations,
the relevant Guiding Principles on
taking into account
Internal Displacement, of
the UN
Secretary General,

the Representative of

— encourage reconciliation and support reconstruction needed
to allow countries emerging from conflict to relaunch poli-
cies for long term development,

— in accordance with the Council Common Position 2003/
444/CFSP of 16 June 2003 on the International Criminal
Court (1), reiterate in its political dialogue with its African
counterparts its strong commitment to support the Interna-
tional Criminal Court and its position regarding the US-
proposed non-surrender bilateral agreements.

Article 11

Given that a particular area of concern in Africa is the relation-
ship between the radicalisation of religious groups and their
vulnerability to terrorist recruitment,
the EU shall evaluate
possible cooperation at national and regional levels in this area
suggesting avenues, utilising a range of instruments, to address
this problem in a conflict prevention and peace-building
perspective. In this context, the EU recalls the Joint Declaration
on Terrorism adopted by the EU-Africa Ministerial Conference
of Brussels (11 October 2001), as well as the Joint Declaration
on Terrorism adopted by the EU Ministerial Conference of
Ouagadougou (28 November 2002).

Article 12

Given the importance of HIV/AIDS and the scale of
the
epidemic in the African continent, the EU shall ensure that
tackling HIV/AIDS is an integral part of EU strategies to
In this context, assistance to
prevent and mitigate conflict.
peace support operations shall ensure elements on awareness
and training for prevention of HIV/AIDS.

Article 13

The Council notes that the Commission intends to direct its
action towards achieving the objectives and priorities of this
Common Position, where appropriate by pertinent Community
measures.

Article 14

On the basis of a report by the Presidency, in association with
the Secretary General/High Representative and the Commission,
this Common Position and the implementation thereof shall be
reviewed annually and amended as appropriate.

Common Position 2001/374/CFSP is hereby repealed.

Article 15

Article 16

This Common Position shall
adoption.

take effect on the day of

its

Article 17

This Common Position shall be published in the Official Journal
of the European Union.

Done at Brussels, 26 January 2004.

For the Council

The President

B. COWEN

(1) OJ L 150, 18.6.2003, p. 67.