ACP-EU JOINT PARLIAMENTARY ASSEMBLY

Transcription

1 ACP-EU JOINT PARLIAMENTARY ASSEMBLY ACP-EU/ /fin RESOLUTION 1 on the Political Impact of the Libyan conflict on neighbouring ACP and EU States The ACP-EU Joint Parliamentary Assembly, meeting in Horsens (Denmark) from 28 to 30 May 2012, having regard to Article 18(1) of its Rules of Procedure, having regard to the African Union Assembly s decision of 25 May 2011 'on the Peaceful Resolution of the Libyan Crisis', which recalled that Libya's African neighbours have borne the brunt of the conflict in Libya, both in terms of security and socio-economic consequences, and stressed that a lasting resolution of the Libyan crisis requires a significant contribution by Africa and the close coordination of all stakeholders, having regard to its resolutions of 18 May 2011 'on the democratic upheavals in North Africa and the Middle East: consequences for the ACP countries, for Europe and for the world' 2 and of 23 November 2011 'on the Arab Spring and its impact on neighbouring sub-saharan states' 3, having regard to the Geneva Conventions of 1949 and their Additional Protocols, having regard to UN Security Council resolution 1970 (2011), having regard to the Declaration by the extraordinary European Council of 11 March , having regard to the Council conclusions on Libya of 21 March, 23 May and 18 July 2011 and 23 March 2012; having regard to the Council decision of 21 December 2011 on the unfreezing of Libyan funds 5, 1 Adopted by the ACP-EU Joint Parliamentary Assembly on 30 May 2012 s in Horsens (Denmark). 2 OJ C 327, , p ACP-EU/ /11/fin.). 4 EUCO 7/1/11.

2 having regard to the Joint Communication of 8March 2011 to the European Council, the European Parliament, the Council, the European Economic and Social Committee and the Committee of the Regions A Partnership For Democracy And Shared Prosperity with the Southern Mediterranean (COM(2011) 200 final), having regard to the Report 'Holding Libya together: security challenges after Qadhafi' by the International Crisis Group of 14 December 2011, having regard to the report of the Committee on Political Affairs (ACP- EU/ /A/fin.), A. whereas the Arab Spring, including the Libyan revolution, presents an opportunity for the EU to contribute to stability, democracy and prosperity in a region essential to the stability of neighbouring EU and ACP countries; whereas the EU and the ACP have a shared interest in supporting democracy-building in this region; B. whereas in spite of the death of Colonel Gaddafi and the fall of his regime, the situation remains fragile in several former strongholds of Gaddafi s supporters; C. whereas it is important to address the humanitarian consequences of the Libyan conflict and the fate of Libyans who are facing difficult circumstances in Libya; D. whereas many foreign nationals are being unjustly accused of being mercenaries in the pay of Gaddafi; E. whereas NATO and its allies from the international coalition, acting under a UN Security Council Resolution to protect the Libyan civilian population, had not fully considered the collateral humanitarian and security consequences of the fall of the Gaddafi regime for the ACP countries, especially those of the Sahel- Saharan region, at the time they intervened in Libya; F. whereas the EU has repeatedly stated its commitment to supporting human rights, civil society and security and political and social reforms aimed at achieving genuine democracy, fighting authoritarian regimes and corruption and ensuring better economic and social conditions in the region; G. whereas Amnesty International has reported serious human rights violations in the occupied regions that people had abandoned, since all hospitals that had been ransacked could not even provide the vital minimum access to care; H. whereas, while fully respecting the fact that the national transition is essentially a Libyan matter, the EU and its Member States should, in cooperation with the United Nations, increase their efforts to provide the necessary assistance and support to the Libyan people, particularly with regard to the protection of human rights, national conciliation, social justice, support for civil society, education and Demilitarisation Disarmament Reintegration (DDR); /11.

3 I. whereas the two sides have expressed their commitment to strengthening relations and cooperation in many areas including security, border management, civil society, healthcare and education; J. whereas one of the political consequences of the Libyan conflict for the EU has been a surge in regular and irregular immigration which has put a disproportionate burden on southern Member States of the EU; K. whereas migratory flows after the Libyan conflict have been horizontal rather than South-to-North; whereas EU Member States assumed a disproportionately small share of the responsibility to assist, receive and shelter refugees from Libya during the events of 2011 compared to the efforts of neighbouring countries in Africa; whereas the efforts of some EU Member States voluntarily to shoulder a larger share of this responsibility should be recognised and applauded; L. whereas the hasty return of ACP migrants to Libya has had economic, social and political consequences for the many families deprived of their main source of income and for the governments of the countries of origin, which are forced to meet the heavy cost of receiving and reintegrating the returnees; M. whereas adequate cooperation is lacking between the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees and the EU in coordinating international action to assist the roughly non-libyan refugees from Libya who are currently still in makeshift camps in Tunisia and Egypt; N. whereas the Libyan conflict has given rise to the proliferation, in the Sahel- Saharan region, of huge quantities of arms which, in the hands of the various terrorist and criminal groups and drug traffickers that are rife in this region, poses a serious threat to the security and stability of the entire subregion; O. whereas the former combatants returning from Libya with large quantities of arms and munitions are potential recruits for rebel movements, groups affiliated to Al- Qaida in the Islamic Maghreb (AQIM) and criminal gangs; P. whereas this development, together with the resurgence of Tuareg irredentism in countries such as Mali and Niger, is highly likely to jeopardise the stability and territorial integrity of the countries of the Sahel-Saharan region, especially Mauritania and Burkina Faso; Q. whereas it is extremely concerned at the occupation of northern Mali, since, with the support of the Islamist group Ansar Eddine, members of AQIM and other rebels, groups of Tuaregs returning from Libya and claiming to belong to the National Movement for the Liberation of Azawad (MNLA), have launched deadly attacks in several towns, causing numerous civilian and military casualties and the flight of thousands of persons towards neighbouring countries; R. whereas during the night of March 2012 the President of Mali, Amadou Toumani Touré, was overthrown in a coup which put an end to a long democratic process which had begun more than two decades ago;

4 S. whereas the perpetrators of the coup claim it was sparked by the former government s incompetence in dealing with the Tuareg rebellion; T. whereas rebels from the MNLA, Ansar Eddine, AQIM and other rebel groups have occupied the three administrative regions in the north of Mali because of confusion at the head of the state of Mali and a breakdown in the Malian army s chain of command, and the MNLA has unilaterally declared the independence of this region it calls Azawad, which covers two-thirds of Malian territory; U. whereas the worsening security situation has caused the collapse of the tourist sector as well as the slowdown, or even shelving, of development projects under way in several countries in the subregion, thus leaving many young people unemployed whose vulnerability is likely to benefit terrorist or criminal groups; V. whereas the enormous size and sparse population of Mali s territory and its long, ill-defined borders necessitate a good regional coordination of information and action; W. whereas the humanitarian and food crisis is worsening, due to the violent attacks by Tuareg rebels, linked to the radical Islamic group AQIM, which have forced people to migrate internally and to neighbouring countries (Mauritania, Niger and Burkina Faso) where a severe drought has caused food and water shortages in recent years; X. whereas the famine is spreading outside the occupied area because of the unprecedented situation; Y. whereas terrorism in the Sahel needs to be fought partly by means of an active policy to promote development, social justice, the rule of law and integration; whereas it is necessary to hold out to local population groups economic prospects which provide an alternative to the criminal economy; Z. whereas the United Nations Security Council has an important role to play in conflict resolution worldwide; AA.whereas in view of Libya's political transition, Libyans should be supported in their attempts to establish a pluralist democracy, without delay and with a constitution drafted following a process of broad-based public consultation; 1. Recalls the shared responsibility of Member States to relocate beneficiaries of international protection and asylum-seekers displaced to the EU by the Libyan conflict, especially in cases where the host Member State's asylum system is under significant pressure; 2. Calls in this context for the formalisation of a system of 'compulsory and irrevocable solidarity' with Member States exposed to specific and disproportionate pressures in the form of intra-eu relocation, together with greater cooperation with Libya;

5 3. Calls on the EU and its Member States for adequate funding to be made available for the purposes of intra-eu relocation; 4. Pays tribute to the UNHCR for its work on behalf of the refugees and displaced persons from the Libyan conflict and calls on it to increase its efforts to ensure the safe and dignified return of migrants and to facilitate the immediate integration of the returnees; 5. Calls on the international community and the EU in particular to mobilise urgent humanitarian assistance to help the population groups in the north of Mali; 6. Believes that there is urgent need to support initiatives aimed at strengthening dialogue and increasing the ability of local communities to resist and counter the appeal of terrorism and the recruitment of young people by terrorist and other criminal groups, including through support for youth employment and training; 7. Calls on the EU and the entire international community to provide the necessary assistance to the affected ACP states to help them set up the structures they need to receive and reintegrate their migrant workers from Libya; 8. Is concerned at the serious human rights violations, looting and other atrocities committed by the occupying forces against vulnerable civilians, the majority of whom have been forced into exile in neighbouring countries; 9. Calls on the new Libyan authorities to take all necessary measures to ensure the safety of African migrant workers in Libya; 10. Welcomes the Council decision of 21 December 2011 to unfreeze all the funds and assets of the Central Bank of Libya and the Libyan Arab Foreign Bank held in the EU with a view to supporting the reconstruction of Libya and the recovery of the Libyan economy and assisting the new Libyan authorities; 11. Calls on the Commission and the Council to speed up the EU's response capability in the field of integrated border management and support for civil society and the media, as agreed at the international conference in Paris on 2 September 2011; 12. Welcomes the EU's response to the Arab Spring and the Libyan conflict, notably the establishment of a Partnership for Democracy and Shared Prosperity with the Southern Mediterranean as the main instrument to support states undergoing reform in Europe s southern neighbourhood; 13. Condemns the proliferation of arms during the conflict, and the looting of existing arms caches, and calls for an urgent strategy to disarm, demobilise and reintegrate rebel fighters and civilians in a manner that is sensitive to political realities and while underlining that disarmament, demobilisation and reintegration must be a priority for the stabilisation of Libya and its neighbouring region; 14. Urges the states of the Sahel-Sahara region, the new Libyan authorities and the competent multilateral agencies to take all necessary measures to stop the

6 proliferation of arms in the region and to establish adequate mechanisms to control and secure national borders across the region, including the transfer of small arms and light weapons and implement programmes for collecting and destroying illegal small arms and light weapons, and institute measures for exchanging information and launching joint security operations in the region; 15. Welcomes the establishment in 2010 of the Joint Staff Operations Committee (CEMOC) by Algeria, Mali, Mauritania and Niger to coordinate the fight against terrorism, organised crime and drug trafficking in the Sahel-Saharan region; 16. Calls on the United Nations Security Council to adopt an emergency resolution within the framework of peace efforts in the Sahel-Saharan region; 17. Highlights the extreme poverty and violence experienced by the population groups of northern Mali, which are exacerbating the humanitarian and food crisis; 18. Condemns strongly the activities of armed gangs in the region, particularly the occupation of northern Mali by rebels from the MNLA, Ansar Dine, AQIM and other groups and calls for their immediate and unconditional withdrawal; 19. Strongly condemns the coup led by sections of the Malian military and calls for an immediate return to democracy and demands the full implementation of the exit strategy envisaged by ECOWAS and the AU; 20. Condemns in particular the atrocities committed especially by the occupation forces against the civilian population, which have been directed against women and children more than other victims, and particularly condemns the use of abduction and rape as weapons of war; calls for an inquiry into the atrocities committed in Mali in recent months; 21. Calls on the EU and its Member States to pay particular attention to the situation of women and girls in the Sahel region and to take all necessary measures to ensure their protection from every type of violence and from violations of their human rights; 22. Re-affirms its commitment to the consolidation of democracy and the territorial integrity of the countries affected by the Libyan conflict; 23. Emphasises the need for the new Libyan authorities to apply the standards of international law; calls therefore on the EU to provide resources and assistance to Libya for this purpose, which would help establish greater legal certainty and secure humanitarian aid for the victims of the conflict; 24. Emphatically rejects the MNLA s declaration of independence of the north of Mali, and considers it null and void; stresses its commitment to the unity and territorial integrity of Mali; 25. Welcomes the initiatives taken by ECOWAS to bring peace to the north of Mali and remove all obstacles preventing the full sovereignty of Mali over this region; invites the international community also to back these initiatives and to take the

7 relevant measures to alleviate the collateral effects of the Libyan conflict in neighbouring countries, particularly with regard to the commitment of NATO and its allies from the international coalition that fought in Libya; 26. Is alarmed at the agreement concluded between the MNLA and the Islamist movement Ansar Dine to create an Islamic state in northern Mali, and calls upon the African Union and the European Union to develop a short, medium and long term strategy to put an end to the occupation of northern Mali by these illegal armed forces; 27. Calls on the international community in general, and the EU in particular, to step up their cooperation with the countries of the Sahel-Saharan region and with the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) in the fight against terrorism and organised crime in the sub-region, especially by increasing the resources available to the Joint Staff Operations Committee (CEMOC) in its mission to secure the Sahel-Saharan strip; 28. Calls on the European Union and its Member States to support efforts to boost the capacities of the states in the region and to mobilise all available resources to protect the people and promote security and development in the region in cooperation with the states in the region and the inter-state organisations ECOWAS and WAEMU; 29. Hopes that a European Security Defence Policy (ESDP) mission will help the countries in the subregion control their borders more effectively and particularly to combat trafficking in arms, drugs and human beings; 30. Calls on the countries of the region to put in place measures to encourage exchanges of security information, in particular in relation to arms seizures, through existing information exchange systems such as those used by the AU s African Centre for the Study and Research on Terrorism, INTERPOL and the United Nations; 31. Underlines that the introduction of a new constitution or legal framework for Libya must respect fundamental human rights; 32. Invites the new Libyan Government to extend cooperation to ECOWAS in order to take all necessary measures to resist attacks from criminal terrorist groups linked to AQIM supporting the Tuareg rebellion in the north of Mali; 33. Calls on the EU to support the Libyan interim authorities in their efforts to achieve an inclusive transition from conflict to peace-building in Libya and calls on the National Transitional Council to pursue a broad-based reconciliation process which reaches out to all Libyans and enables a democratic, peaceful and transparent transition to take place in that country; 34. Instructs its Co-Presidents to forward this resolution to the European Parliament, to the ACP-EU Council of Ministers, to the European Commission, to the institutions of the African Union and to the Secretary-General of the United Nations.