Europaparlamentets resolution om Togo
Date: 2005-02-24
Institutions: European Parliament
Subjects: EU relations, Togo, common foreign and security policy, coup d'état, freedom of the press, human rights, international sanctions, political situation

1.12.2005

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Official Journal of the European Union

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Thursday 24 February 2005

30.
Considers that corporate social responsibility applies both to society and companies themselves; calls
on employers and trade unions to ensure that the legislation protecting female workers is duly implemented
and, in particular, to help them reconcile family and working life; also calls on the social partners to create
favourable conditions and a suitable working environment for pregnant women and nursing mothers;

Finds it unacceptable that three countries have not complied with their reporting obligations on the

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implementation of the provisions relating to fixed-term work contracts;

Considers that there is still a considerable need for specific and increased information and instruc-

32.
tions and for technical support to businesses;

Instructs its President to forward this resolution to the Council and Commission, and the govern-

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ments and parliaments of the Member States.

P6_TA(2005)0057

Togo

The European Parliament,

European Parliament resolution on Togo

— having regard to the Presidency Declaration of 9 February 2005 on behalf of the EU on the political

situation in Togo following the death of President Eyadema,

— having regard to the statement of 8 February 2005 by the Co-Presidents of the ACP-EU Joint Parlia-
mentary Assembly on the events in Togo following the death of President Eyadema on 5 February
2005,

— having regard to the declarations made by Ecowas, the African Union and many African leaders on the

situation in Togo,

— having regard to the Declaration of the ‘Organisation Internationale de la Francophonie’,

— having regard to the African Charter on Human and Peoples' Rights,

— having regard to Article 65 of the Togolese Constitution, which provides that ‘should the Presidency of
the Republic become vacant owing to death, the presidential duties shall be provisionally exercised by
the Speaker of the National Assembly’,

— having regard to Article 76 of the Constitution, which states that ‘the office of member of the govern-

ment shall be incompatible with the performance of parliamentary duties’,

— having regard to Article 144 of the Constitution, which states that ‘no revision procedure may be

initiated or continued during an interim period’,

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

A. whereas, following the sudden death of President Gnassingbe Eyadema on 5 February 2005 after
38 years in power, the Togolese armed forces installed his 39-year-old son, Faure Gnassingbe, as Presi-
dent,

B. whereas, according to the country's Constitution, power should have passed to Fambare Ouattara Nat-
chaba, the Speaker of Togo's National Assembly, who would be charged with organising presidential
elections within 60 days,

C. whereas Togo's National Assembly, which is dominated by Eyadema's Rally of the Togolese People
(RPT) party, was hastily convened on 6 February 2005 to retroactively legitimise Gnassingbe's seizure
of power and to amend the country's Constitution in order to allow Gnassingbe to rule for the next
three years by serving out the remainder of his father's term,

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D. whereas, despite the fact that the Assembly has reinstated the former Constitution which applied before
his father's death, Faure Gnassingbe has still not responded to international demands for his resignation
in order to allow an interim president to organise a presidential election within the 60-day constitu-
tional deadline,

E. whereas the European Union will refuse to recognise the validity of any election organised under the

authority of an illegitimate president who has come to power through a military ‘coup d'état’,

F. whereas Ecowas Heads of State, meeting in Niamey (Niger) on 9 February 2005, strongly condemned as
a ‘coup d'état’ the military intervention which led to Faure Gnassingbe being installed as President,
condemned the subsequent manipulation of the Constitution by the National Assembly and demanded
that the Togolese authorities restore the former Constitution so that presidential elections could be held
within two months, or else face sanctions,

G. having regard to the statements by the President of the Commission of the African Union, Alpha
Oumar Konaré, according to whom ‘the African Union cannot endorse a takeover of power by force’,

H. whereas the ‘Organisation Internationale de la Francophonie’ has also condemned the ‘coup d'état’ in
the strongest terms and has decided to suspend Togo from all its bodies and to suspend its multilateral
cooperation with the country, with the exception of programmes directly benefiting the civilian popu-
lation and those which may contribute to restoring democracy;

I. whereas EC cooperation with Togo has been suspended since 1993,

Condemns as a ‘coup d'état’ the military interference in the succession to the Presidency of Togo by

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Mr Faure Gnassingbe, rather than by the Speaker of the National Assembly, Fambare Ouattara Natchaba;

2.

Calls for Faure Gnassingbe to stand down immediately;

3.
Notes that the Constitution was revised on 21 February 2005, but stresses that a return to constitu-
tional order will only be possible if Mr Nachaba, Speaker of the National Assembly, is appointed to act as
interim President and to organise elections, as provided for by the Togolese Constitution;

4. Welcomes the sanctions applied by Ecowas against Togo after ten days of fruitless mediation efforts,
which include the expulsion of Togo from Ecowas, the recall of Ambassadors and a ban on the arms trade
and on visas;

5. Welcomes also the similar statements and decisions made by the UN, the African Union, the European
Union and the ‘Organisation Internationale de la Francophonie’;

6.
Calls on the Togolese National Assembly and other authorities to take immediate steps to remedy the
situation and to ensure that free and fair elections, with full provision for international observation, are held
within the next two months, in accordance with the Constitution;

7.
Reiterates its belief that any return to constitutional legality must include a resumption of the dialogue
between Togolese political forces and a revision of the electoral code on the basis of consensus with a view
to holding free, transparent and democratic elections;

8.
Condemns the decision to forbid all public demonstrations for a period of two months, the closing
down of eight private TV and radio stations, and the undue army pressure on the independent media,
warning journalists about their coverage; calls for the Togolese armed forces to remain in their barracks
and to refrain from activities that could lead to further unrest;

9.
Calls for the right to demonstrate peacefully and engage in political campaigning to be guaranteed,
and for those responsible for killings and other human rights violations perpetrated against demonstrators
who protested against the military ‘coup d'état’ to be tried and punished;

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Thursday 24 February 2005

10.
Recalls that the self-appointed Togolese authorities must take full responsibility for any attacks made
against the physical safety of civilians, in particular representatives of opposition political parties, human
rights activists and journalists;

Calls on the Commission not to restart negotiations with a view to a gradual resumption of coop-

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eration until after free and transparent presidential and parliamentary elections have been held;

12.

Calls on the Commission to propose targeted sanctions against those responsible for the ‘coup d'état’;

13.
Instructs its President to forward this resolution to the Council, the Commission, the Secretaries-
General of the UN, the AU and Ecowas, the Co-Presidents of the ACP-EU Joint Parliamentary Assembly,
and the President, Government and National Assembly of Togo.

P6_TA(2005)0058

Nepal

European Parliament resolution on Nepal

The European Parliament,

— having regard to its previous resolutions on Nepal,

— having regard to the European Union Declaration of 3 February 2005 on the royal take-over in Nepal,

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

A. whereas on 1 February 2005 King Gyanendra, in an unconstitutional act, dismissed the government,

assumed direct power and declared a state of emergency,

B. whereas by the suspension of key parts of the constitution which protect fundamental rights and free-
doms, the placing of party leaders under house arrest, the incarceration of thousands of political and
human rights activists, journalists and trade unionists, the enforcement of complete media censorship
and the cutting of all communication lines, the country was effectively brought under military rule in a
‘coup d'état’,

C.

concerned that Nepal is among the poorest countries in Asia, with almost 40 % of its twenty-three
million people living below the poverty line, and that the conflict has had a devastating impact on
the already desperately poor rural population,

D. whereas in January 2005 the Nepalese Government ordered the closure of the Tibetan Refugee Welfare
Office (TRWO) in Kathmandu, which provided relief services to Tibetan refugees as an implementing
partner of the UNHCR,

1.
Strongly condemns the seizure of power by King Gyanendra on 1 February 2005 and the subsequent
campaign of arbitrary arrests, censorship and general repression, as well as the suspension of fundamental
constitutional rights, including freedom of assembly and expression, the right to information and privacy,
and the prohibition of arbitrary detention;

2.
Underlines that any search for a solution by military means will merely add to and prolong the
suffering of the Nepalese people and firmly believes that a negotiated and democratically based solution is
the only sustainable way to end the current conflict, recommends that a neutral third party, such as the UN
or the EU High Representative for the CFSP, Mr Javier Solana, be involved in arbitrating such negotiations;

3.
Calls on King Gyanendra to lift the state of emergency and to restore all fundamental freedom and
calls for all parties, once that is done, to work together with a view to re-establishing parliamentary democ-
racy and to start a process to resolve the armed conflict;