MOTION FOR A RESOLUTION on the massacres in eastern Congo

The European Parliament,

–  having regard to its previous resolutions on the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC),

–  having regard to the resolution of the ACP-EU Joint Parliamentary Assembly of 15 June 2016 on the pre-electoral and security situation in the DRC,

–  having regard to the statements by the Vice-President of the Commission / High Representative of the Union for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy (VP/HR), and by her spokesperson, on the situation in the Democratic Republic of the Congo,

–  having regard to the Council conclusions on the Democratic Republic of the Congo of 23 May 2016,

–  having regard to the EU Annual Report on Human Rights and Democracy in the World in 2014, adopted by the Council on 22 June 2015,

–  having regard to the decisions and orders given by the International Court of Justice in the framework of the cases ‘Armed Activities on the Territory of the Congo’ (Democratic Republic of the Congo v Uganda), ‘Armed Activities on the Territory of the Congo (New Application: 2002)’ (Democratic Republic of the Congo v Rwanda), ‘Armed Activities on the Territory of the Congo’ (Democratic Republic of the Congo v Rwanda), and ‘Armed Activities on the Territory of the Congo’ (Democratic Republic of the Congo v Burundi),

–  having regard to the Peace, Security and Cooperation Framework for the DRC and the Region, signed in Addis Ababa in February 2013,

–  having regard to the UN Security Council resolutions on the DRC, in particular resolutions 2198 (2015) on renewing the DRC sanctions regime and the mandate of the Group of Experts, and 2277 (2016),

–  having regard to the report of the UN Group of Experts on the DRC of 12 January 2015,

–  having regard to the annual report of the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights on the situation of human rights and the activities of the United Nations Joint Human Rights Office in the DRC, of 27 July 2015,

–  having regard to international humanitarian law,

–  having regard to the Geneva Conventions on armed conflicts, and in particular to the Fourth Geneva Convention of 1949, and the Protocols thereto,

–  having regard to the Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court,

–  having regard to the statement of 9 November 2015 by the President of the UN Security Council on the situation in the DRC,

–  having regard to the UN Secretary-General’s reports of 9 March 2016 on the United Nations Organisation Stabilisation Mission in the DRC and on the implementation of the Peace, Security and Cooperation Framework for the DRC and the Region,

–  having regard to the African Charter on Human and Peoples’ Rights of June 1981,

–  having regard to the African Charter on Democracy, Elections and Governance,

–  having regard to the revised Cotonou Partnership Agreement,

–  having regard to the Congolese Constitution of 18 February 2006,

–  having regard to Rule 123(2) of its Rules of Procedure,

A.  whereas numerous sources have reported atrocities, massacres, war crimes and crimes against humanity in the north-eastern part of the Democratic Republic of Congo, including widespread sexual violence and the recruitment and use of children by armed groups;

B.  whereas, between October 2014 and May 2016, in the territories of Beni, Lubero and Butembo many civilians were subjected to sexual violence, houses, hospitals and schools were burnt down, more than 1160 people were killed and more than 1470 people disappeared;

C.  whereas this old and still unresolved conflict has caused the internal and external displacement of more than two million people;

D.  whereas many territories in the area are now occupied by various armed groups;

E.  whereas the responsibility for these killings is to be attributed to the armed groups acting in the region; whereas the extent of the government’s control over these groups is unclear;

F.  whereas on some occasions crimes have been committed in close proximity to positions held by the national army (FARDC) and bases of the UN peacekeeping mission in the DRC (MONUSCO);

G.  whereas the Congolese army and MONUSCO (whose mandate has been renewed and reinforced) are present in the region to maintain stability, fight armed groups and protect civilians;

H.  whereas significant and extensive responsibility for this wide-ranging, complex and deep-rooted problem also lies with those public and private entities which profit from instability and aim to exploit the natural resources of the region;

1.  Is alarmed by the deteriorating humanitarian situation in the eastern part of the DRC and by the violent armed conflicts that have lasted now for more than 20 years;

2.  Strongly deplores the indifference of the international community and the media silence despite the decisions and ordinances issued by the International Court of Justice and numerous official acts of the United Nations and other international institutions;

3.  Denounces the longstanding and still ongoing widespread violation of the most basic human rights, including the loss of lives, and expresses its sympathy with the people of the DRC;

4.  Strongly calls on the UN, the African Union and MONUSCO to urgently and effectively address the situation, in cooperation with the DRC Government, in order to prevent further crimes from being committed in the area;

5.  Urges that a thorough, independent and transparent investigation be launched by the international community into the massacres;

6.  Calls for an emergency meeting of the Team of International Envoys and Representatives for the Great Lakes region of Africa on elections in the DRC and for them to take appropriate action to this end, such as mobilising the UN Security Council;

7.  Reiterates that there can be no impunity for perpetrators of war crimes and crimes against humanity and calls for the identification and prosecution of all those responsible for such acts;

8.  Expects the Prosecutor of the International Criminal Court to be put in charge of an investigation into the crimes against humanity and war crimes committed in this area in order to bring to justice those responsible for the atrocities committed over the last few decades;

9.  Denounces the role of private and public entities that profit from instability in order to exploit local resources;

10.  Denounces the grave responsibilities of those who provide weapons to the armed group directly or indirectly;

11.  Strongly calls for the immediate neutralisation of all armed groups in the region and calls for the Government of the DRC and the international community to make this a priority;

12.  Calls for the AU and the EU to ensure a permanent political dialogue between the countries of the Great Lakes region in order to prevent any further destabilisation; regrets that only limited progress has been made in the implementation of the Peace, Security and Cooperation Framework Agreement of February 2013 and calls on all parties to actively contribute to stabilisation efforts;

13.  Urgently asks for an evaluation report on the actions of MONUSCO to be drawn up and made publicly available; welcomes UN Security Council Resolution 2277 (2016), which renewed MONUSCO’s mandate and reinforced its competences in the field of civilian protection and human rights;

14.  Deplores the lack of clarity in MONUSCO’s mandate and urges MONUSCO to make full use of its mandate to protect the civilian population; urges that the mandate be genuinely clarified, in order to promptly grant MONUSCO the possibility to effectively protect the population under attack from armed groups;

15.  Acknowledges the efforts made by the Congolese authorities in the fight against impunity and in preventing the recruitment of children, sexual violence and violence against children, but is worried by the slowness of progress;

16.  Calls for greater involvement of civil society in the protection of civilians and in conflict resolution and mediation processes;

17.  Calls for the protection of human rights activists and civil servants;

18.  Underlines that this situation should not prevent elections from taking place as constitutionally planned and recalls the importance of complying with the limits on the length of mandates, especially when established by the Constitution;

19.  Stresses the duty of the EU and its Member States to ensure coherence and transparency in all their policies, including with regard to the arms trade and the trade in raw materials; urges national, European and international institutions to agree to binding rules on these subject, including the establishment of monitoring bodies, in order to avoid fuelling inhuman conflicts through commercial activities;

20.  Calls for the EU to consider imposing targeted sanctions on those responsible for the violent crackdown in the DRC, including travel bans and asset freezes, with a view to preventing further violence;

21.  Invites the EU and the UN to urgently agree on the framework to send an observer to evaluate the humanitarian situation and report to the international community on the extent of these massacres;

22.  Invites the Vice-President of the Commission / High Representative of the Union for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy to focus on this issue and to report regularly to Parliament on the situation in this area of the RDC, in order to ensure that the EU continues to closely monitor the problem;

23.  Calls on the EU and its Member States to maintain their assistance to the people of the DRC in order to improve the living conditions of the most vulnerable sections of the population, notably internationally and internally displaced people;

24.  Welcomes the Congolese authorities’ efforts to implement the legislation which forbids trading in and processing of minerals in areas where there is illegal exploitation of minerals, such as those controlled by armed groups; calls on the Congolese authorities to step up the implementation of the legislation and urges the DRC to continue its efforts to comply with the Extractive Industries Transparency Initiative;

25.  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 African Union, the ACP-EU Council, the Secretary-General of the UN, the UN Human Rights Council and the President, Prime Minister and Parliament of the DRC.