Resolution on the humanitarian crisis in South Sudan
Date: 2018-06-20
Institutions: ACP–EU Joint Parliamentary Assembly
Subjects: South Sudan, arms trade, civil war, human rights, humanitarian aid, hunger, international cooperation, international humanitarian law, refugee, transfer of population








C_2018415EN.01002201.xml










15.11.2018   


EN


Official Journal of the European Union


C 415/22






RESOLUTION (1)

on the humanitarian crisis in South Sudan
(2018/C 415/05)

The ACP-EU Joint Parliamentary Assembly,







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meeting in Brussels (Belgium) from 18 to 20 June 2018,










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having regard to Article 18(2) of its Rules of Procedure,










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having regard to the final report of 12 April 2018 of the UN Security Council Panel of Experts on South Sudan,










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having regard to the 26 March 2018 Communiqué of the 61st extraordinary session of the Intergovernmental Authority on Development (IGAD) Council of Ministers on the situation in South Sudan,










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having regard to the UN Security Council’s resolution on South Sudan 2406 (2018) as well as all previous UN Security Council resolutions on South Sudan,










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having regard to the statement of 8 May 2017 issued by the Troika (the US, the UK and Norway) and the EU on the security situation in South Sudan,










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having regard to the conclusions of the Council of the European Union of 16 April 2018 on South Sudan,










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having regard to the statements of 23 March 2017 and 14 December 2017 issued by the President of the UN Security Council on South Sudan,










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having regard to the joint press statement of 29 January 2017 by the African Union (AU), IGAD and the UN on South Sudan,










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having regard to the European Parliament resolution on South Sudan (2017/2683(RSP)) as well as all previous resolutions of the European Parliament on South Sudan,










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having regard to the signature of the Cessation of Hostilities, Protection of Civilians and Humanitarian Access Agreement (CoHA) on 21 December 2017,










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having regard to the IGAD Agreement on the Resolution of the Conflict in the Republic of South Sudan (ARCSS) of 17 August 2015,










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having regard to the Global Report on Food Crises 2018,










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having regard to the revised Cotonou Agreement,










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having regard to the Universal Declaration of Human Rights,










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having regard to the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights,










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










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having regard to the Arms Trade Treaty regulating the international trade in conventional arms,










A.


whereas since December 2013, South Sudan has been in a state of civil war between forces loyal to President Salva Kiir and rebels led by former Vice President Riek Machar;










B.


whereas all parties to the conflict continue warfare, in violation of the Agreement on the Resolution of the Conflict in the Republic of South Sudan (ARCSS) signed in August 2015; whereas there continues to be a total disregard for international human rights and humanitarian law and a lack of accountability for violations and abuses committed in the conflict, even concerning war crimes, and whereas the conflict is increasingly escalating into an outright ethnic war;










C.


whereas attempts to revive the 2015 peace deal led to an IGAD-brokered ‘Agreement on Cessation of Hostilities, Protection of Civilians, and Humanitarian Access’ (ACOH) in December 2017, but whereas violations of the ceasefire have been perpetrated by all parties;










D.


whereas according to the UN, 7 million South Sudanese will need humanitarian assistance in 2018; whereas famine warnings have been persistent since early 2017, with up to 2,4 million on the brink of starvation, more than 260 000 children severely malnourished and the number of people facing severe food insecurity reaching 7,1 million in 2018;










E.


whereas the worsening food insecurity is primarily driven by continued conflict and displacements, which have contributed to reduced crop production; whereas the famine is considered to be entirely man-made and the result of war tactics, as highlighted in a UN report;










F.


whereas as a result of the conflict there are now over 2,4 million South Sudanese refugees in neighbouring countries and another 2 million internally displaced, with 85 % estimated to be children and women;










G.


whereas more than 14 000 soldiers, police, security and civilian personnel are currently deployed in the UN Mission in South Sudan (UNMISS); whereas as of February 2018, UNMISS was protecting 204 247 internally-displaced persons in protection sites;










H.


whereas according to the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs, due to the conflict only 22 % of medical facilities in South Sudan are operational; whereas cholera, malaria, and other illnesses have already caused the death of many people as a result of extreme poverty and lack of access to health care;










I.


whereas all parties to the conflict have attempted to disrupt the distribution of humanitarian assistance and extract taxes and fees from humanitarian partners, leading to their operations being hindered and fuelling warfare; whereas at least 101 humanitarian personnel have been killed since 2013;










J.


whereas in spite of these difficulties, humanitarian aid operations reached some 5,4 million people in 2017 against a target of 6,2 million people deemed to be in need of assistance, mainly through the presence of the United Nations Mission in South Sudan;










K.


whereas women and children have been most affected by the conflict; whereas rape and sexual violence have been used as a weapon of war by all sides; whereas 70 % of children are out of school; whereas child abduction by armed groups is on the increase; whereas an estimated number of 19 000 children, mostly boys, have been recruited or used as soldiers by armed forces and groups in the country;










L.


whereas there is a chronic lack of women’s representation in South Sudan, with women playing no role in peace talks;










M.


whereas the EU and its Member States have contributed more than 43 % of the humanitarian funding for South Sudan; whereas in 2017 the Commission mobilised EUR 248 million to address the crisis inside South Sudan and in neighbouring countries of asylum;










N.


whereas the EDF-financed African Peace Facility constitutes the main source of funding to support the African Union’s and the African Regional Economic Communities’ efforts in the area of peace and security;










O.


whereas the UN Security Council has failed to impose an arms embargo; whereas the EU imposed such an embargo in 2011; whereas brokers in EU Member States and in third countries, including state-owned companies, have transferred helicopters, machine guns, mortars and other arms to various factions in the conflict, in violation of the EU embargo and the Arms Trade Treaty, thus prolonging warfare and increasing its destructiveness;










P.


whereas South Sudan has not ratified the revised Cotonou Agreement;












1.


Expresses its deep concern about the continuing conflict and the deteriorating humanitarian situation in South Sudan; calls on all parties to immediately cease hostilities, keep their obligations under the ARCSS and ACOH and to resume their dialogue on national conciliation; insists that there can be no military solution to the conflict;












2.


Insists that in order to be meaningful and inclusive, the process of national dialogue should feature neutral leadership, the inclusion of opposition groups, women’s representation and south Sudanese citizens outside of the country;












3.


Underlines that the AU, supported by the EU and its Member States, must take an active role in mediating a political solution to achieve lasting peace in South Sudan, including by devoting more resources to the AU’s envoy to South Sudan; urges the EU and its Member States to scale up non-military humanitarian support, the main priority being to answer the UN’s call for funding and stop the food insecurity, in accordance with UN actions and the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs);












4.


Welcomes the recent advances made in establishing a hybrid court for South Sudan and recalls that this is a fundamental part of the 2016 peace agreement and essential in bringing war criminals to justice; calls on the AU, with assistance from the UN and the EU, to finalise its establishment, with priority being given to the creation of its investigative branch, as a matter of urgency;












5.


Condemns human rights abuses perpetrated by all parties to the conflict, including killings and torture, rape and other acts of sexual violence, as well as child abductions, attacks on schools, child conscription and abuse; underlines that recruitment of children by parties to a conflict and rape as a weapon of war constitute war crimes punishable under international law;












6.


Acknowledges the contribution of neighbouring countries in providing humanitarian corridors; urges the continued granting of free, safe and unhindered access to all areas, in accordance with international humanitarian law, which is indispensable to prevent a recurrence of famine in 2018;












7.


Condemns all attacks conducted on humanitarian personnel and facilities and calls on all parties to the conflict in South Sudan to ensure a safe and secure environment, enabling the delivery of humanitarian assistance; calls for strong collective actions by all donors, UN agencies and NGOs in order to respond in a more systematic and resolute manner;












8.


Calls on the authorities to ensure that any return or relocation of internally-displaced persons is conducted in a safe and dignified manner; calls for the use of targeted sanctions against any key political or military figures in the government or opposition who commit human rights abuses;












9.


Welcomes the decision of the 61st Council of Ministers of IGAD on 26 March 2018 to take targeted sanctions against individual violators of the CoHA and encourages the AU to implement this decision;












10.


Deeply regrets that all attempts to establish a UN Security Council weapons’ transfer embargo to South Sudan have failed; calls on all Security Council members to support such a ban;












11.


Calls on the EU to continue applying its autonomous arms embargo against South Sudan; deplores any brokering or transfer of arms and technology carried out in the EU or its partners’ territories to warring parties in South Sudan; calls urgently on the Member States to investigate any such accusations and to punish those responsible in an appropriate way;












12.


Welcomes the decision of the UN Security Council to strengthen the mandate of the UNMISS and to increase the maximum personnel and resources available to it, including to the Regional Police Force;












13.


Calls on the European External Action Service (EEAS) and the EU Member States to step up their efforts within the framework of the Common Foreign and Security Policy/Common Security and Defence Policy (CFSP/CSDP) and the IGAD+ group in order to bring about a resolution of the conflict, including strengthening the capacity of UNMISS;












14.


Strongly condemns the high levels of corruption and illicit financial flows that fuel the conflict; calls on the Sudanese authorities to take action on greater financial accountability and transparency, notably in the oil sector, adherence to international financial standards and responsible engagement with the regional and international financial sectors and encourages South Sudan to join the Eastern and Southern African Anti-Money Laundering Group;












15.


Instructs its Co-Presidents to forward this resolution to the Council, the Commission, the Vice-President of the Commission/High Representative of the Union for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy, the Secretary-General of the United Nations and the President of the General Assembly, the African Union, the ACP-EU Council and the Government of South Sudan.






(1)  Adopted by the ACP-EU Joint Parliamentary Assembly on 20 June 2018 in Brussels (Belgium).