C 167/56
EN
Official Journal of the European Union
11.5.2023
Thursday 24 November 2022
5.
Expresses its deep concern at the full range of threats and human-rights violations and abuses experienced by women and girls in armed conflict, and recognises that women and girls are particularly at risk as they are often specifically targeted and at an increased risk of violence in conflict and post-conflict situations, which prevents their participation in peace processes; urges the international community to accelerate its efforts to eradicate the scourge of sexual and gender-based violence in armed conflicts in eastern DRC, to protect victims, to put an end to impunity for the perpetrators, and to guarantee access to justice, reparations and redress for survivors; 6.
Urges the international community to take concrete steps to stop the ongoing violence, especially by encouraging the promotion of dialogue and non-violent solutions, and by supporting the regional mediation process, the Luanda process, initiated by the President of Angola João Lourenço; emphasises that all State Parties of the East African Community (EAC), the Southern African Development Community (SADC) and the International Conference on the Great Lakes Region (ICGLR) must uphold the principles agreed through the East African Heads of State Conclave and the Luanda mediation process; firmly underlines the need for cross-border cooperation in the African Great Lakes region; 7.
Calls for the creation of a formal vetting mechanism as part of broader security sector reform efforts, to investigate candidates for removal and to ensure that security forces act in a manner consistent with international human rights and the standards of humanitarian law; 8.
Urges the Commission and the EU Members States to ensure that the upcoming EU strategy for the African Great Lakes adequately reflects the numerous and serious human rights and humanitarian challenges at both country and regional level, in particular in the DRC; 9.
Calls on countries neighbouring the DRC to step up efforts to combat smuggling of conflict minerals through their countries and the illicit trade in natural resources that is fuelling the conflict; stresses the importance of making further efforts to cut off financing for armed groups involved in the illicit trade in natural resources, including gold and wildlife products; calls on the Commission to assess the impacts and efficiency of Regulation (EU) 2017/821 in its review of the functioning and effectiveness of this regulation; 10.
Instructs its President 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 European External Action Service, the African Union, the ACP-EU Council of Ministers, the ACP-EU Joint Parliamentary Assembly, the Secretary-General of the United Nations and the Government and Parliament of the Democratic Republic of the Congo as well as of other countries of the East African Community.