European Parliament resolution on the situation in the Democratic Republic of the Congo
Date: 2004-12-16
Institutions: European Parliament
Subjects: Democratic Republic of the Congo, EU relations, Rwanda, UN Security Council, military intervention, settlement of disputes, the EU's international role, war crime

15.9.2005

EN

Official Journal of the European Union

C 226 E/359

Thursday 16 December 2004

E. whereas the main opposition party, the Movement for Democratic Change (MDC), is reluctant to con-
firm participation in the March 2005 elections until the basic conditions for free and fair elections have
been guaranteed,

F. whereas the MDC leader Morgan Tsvangirai, who has been subject to constant intimidation by the
Zimbabwean authorities, was again subject to harassment on his recent return to Zimbabwe from visits
to the European Parliament and European and African capitals,

G. whereas deep splits have recently emerged in Zimbabwe's ruling party, the Zimbabwe African National

Union — Patriotic Front (Zanu-PF),

Insists that all political interference in the distribution of international food aid be halted without

1.
delay, to prevent the Zanu-PF government from using food as a political weapon;

2.
Insists that repressive legislation such as the Public Order and Security Act be repealed and that the
forthcoming elections in Zimbabwe be held in accordance with the SADC principles and guidelines govern-
ing democratic elections, including those agreed in Mauritius on 17 August 2004, with unimpeded access
for international observers and an end to intimidation of opposition supporters;

Demands the immediate release of Roy Bennett MP and the cessation of all violence and intimidation

3.
towards his family and employees;

4.
Calls upon Zimbabwe's neighbours, and in particular President Thabo Mbeki of South Africa, who
recently addressed the European Parliament, to undertake on behalf of the people of Zimbabwe to bring
about change for the better and ensure that the Zimbabwean Government fully cooperates with the SADC
and the wider international community to guarantee free and fair elections and a robust and timely inter-
national monitoring presence;

5. Welcomes the steps taken by the African Commission on Human and People's Rights to report on
abuses in Zimbabwe, and stresses that the African Union must continue to monitor, and also act in regard
to, the human rights, civil rights and political situation in Zimbabwe and to keep up this process of peer
review throughout Africa;

6.
Reiterates its demand to the Council and the Commission that loopholes in the EU's targeted sanctions
against the Mugabe regime be closed, and that the sanctions be rigorously enforced; also requests that the
Council and the Commission provide maximum support for international efforts to ensure free and fair
elections in Zimbabwe, and in particular technical support to local, regional and international observer
missions;

7.
Instructs its President to forward this resolution to the Council, the Commission, the Governments of
the Member States, the Government and Parliament of Zimbabwe, the Government and Parliament of South
Africa, the UN Secretary-General, the Chairpersons of the Commission and Executive Council of the African
Union and the Secretary-General of the SADC.

P6_TA(2004)0113

Situation in the eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo

European Parliament resolution on the situation in the Democratic Republic of the Congo

The European Parliament,

— having regard to Rule 115(5) of its Rules of Procedure,

A. having regard to the solemn undertakings given at the UN Conference on the African Great Lakes in

Dar es Salaam in the presence of 16 African heads of state,

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B. whereas less than a week after the end of the conference, Rwandan troops again entered the Demo-

cratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), for the third time in ten years,

C. whereas as a result of the resumption of hostilities the civilian population of eastern DRC are daily
being made victims of war crimes and grave human rights violations, whereas Parliament is shocked
by the sexual violence and rape used as weapons of war against Congolese women and whereas most
of the victims do not have access to the health care which their condition necessitates,

D.

shocked by the news of rapes, paedophile acts and other acts of violence perpetrated by certain
members of the military and civilian personnel of the United Nations Mission in the Democratic
Republic of the Congo (MONUC) against the civilian population,

E. whereas the DRC is struggling to recover from a devastating six-year conflict that has caused over
3 million deaths and continues to destabilise central Africa and cause immense suffering to the
country's civilian population,

F. whereas the DRC is in an extremely delicate transitional phase, with the difficult task of setting up
viable institutions, and stressing that the cooperation of all parties concerned is needed for the success
of the transition,

G. whereas for the past 10 years the presence of Rwandan armed forces emanating from the authorities
which fell from power in 1994 has served as a pretext for the presence in the DRC of troops of the
current Rwandan authorities,

H. whereas the need for action against the Interahamwe and the ex-FAR (Rwandan armed forces) has been

underestimated by the international community,

I. whereas the report of the UN Commission of Inquiry of August 2004 stresses the role played by
Rwanda in supporting and arming rebel forces fighting the Government of the DRC, particularly
those which occupied the town of Bukavu in June 2004, and the storage of arms in Kivu by Rwandan
forces,

J. whereas, by August 2003, the United Nations estimated that 3,4 million Congolese had been internally

displaced as a result of armed conflict, the majority in eastern DRC,

K. having regard to the African Union's intention of participating more actively in the disarmament of the

illegal armed groups, particularly those which are Rwandan, based in the east of the DRC,

L. whereas, according to the report by the United Nations Security Council, illegal arms continue to flood

into the DRC from abroad,

M. whereas it is more vital than ever to disarm the armed groups which are within the territory of the

DRC, as provided for in the Lusaka Agreement of 1999 and the Pretoria Agreement of 2002,

N. whereas the district of Ituri and the provinces of North and South Kivu are still not at peace and

whereas the persistent illegal exploitation of natural resources continues to foment the conflict,

Condemns the unilateral military action by Rwanda and calls for the immediate and unconditional

1.
withdrawal of its troops from Congolese territory;

Considers that this unilateral action may have serious consequences for the peace process and stability

2.
in the Great Lakes region; stresses that all commitments must be respected;

3.
Calls on the Government of Rwanda to respect the territorial integrity of the DRC, and on all parties
to the conflict to respect and comply with the 2003 peace agreements and United Nations Security Council
resolutions;

4.
Stresses that at the International Peace and Security Conference on the Great Lakes, held on 20 Nov-
ember 2004 in Dar Es Salaam, Tanzania, the heads of state committed themselves to ending conflicts in the
region;

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Strongly condemns the numerous instances of sexual violence and rapes committed in the DRC by

5.
armed groups and by certain members of the military and civilian personnel of MONUC;

Calls on the Government of the DRC to implement an emergency medical programme for victims of

6.
sexual violence in the eastern part of the DRC;

Calls on the Government of the DRC, in the context of the restoration of the rule of law, to bring to

7.
justice all the individuals responsible for acts of violence;

8. Welcomes the decision by the United Nations to carry out an inquiry into the allegations of acts of
sexual violence against women and, pending the conclusions of the inquiry, calls for the persons involved to
be suspended;

9.
Calls on the Council to take all measures to support the African Union which are necessary in order
to organise, in liaison with MONUC and under a UN mandate, the disarmament of the illegal armed groups
within the territory of the DRC, particularly those emanating from the former Rwandan authorities (the
Interahamwe and ex-FAR);

Hopes that the armed forces of Member States of the European Union will participate actively in the

10.
formation of the peace-keeping forces of the African Union and of the Congolese unified national army;

Urges the Council to consider, as a matter of urgency, a new European Union mission to the DRC,
11.
along the same lines as the Artemis operation, to increase security in the east of the country, particularly
along the border between Rwanda and the DRC;

Calls for the arms embargo to be respected and for effective arrangements to be instituted to control

12.
international and national arms shipments;

13.
Calls on the United Nations Security Council to impose sanctions (travel restrictions, bans on bank-
ing services) on persons who are known to have participated in the pillaging of assets and on any person
whose actions jeopardise the peace process;

Calls for the timetable for the elections to be respected so that the people of the DRC can freely and

14.
democratically choose their leaders;

Instructs its President to forward this resolution to the Council, the African Union, the Governments

15.
of the DRC and Rwanda and the Secretary-General of the United Nations.

P6_TA(2004)0114

Bhopal

The European Parliament,

European Parliament resolution on Bhopal

— having regard to Rule 115(5) of its Rules of Procedure,

A. whereas 2004 is the 20th anniversary of the Bhopal tragedy, which was the worst industrial disaster in

history,

B. whereas, on the night of 2 December 1984, over 35 tons of toxic gases leaked from a pesticide plant in
Bhopal owned by the US-based multinational Union Carbide Corporation (UCC)'s Indian subsidiary,
Union Carbide India Limited (UCIL), consisting in the main of at least 24 tons of extremely poisonous
methyl isocyanate,