RESOLUTION B3-1617/92

The European Parliament,

A. noting that the Bureau of the ACP-EEC Assembly is due to examine the development of the situation in the Sudan at its meeting of 7-8 December in the presence of the Ambassador of this state which is a signatory to the Lomé Convention,

B. having regard to the continuing civil war in the Sudan and the sufferings of the civilian population,

C. having regard to human rights violations by the Islamic fundamentalist junta, whose victims are mainly Christians and inhabitants of the southern part of the country,

D. whereas the refusal of the Sudanese leadership to countenance freedom of opinion and belief has resulted in Christian missionaries and bishops being placed under house arrest or expelled from the country,

E. outraged at reports by persons who have been expelled from the country that the junta in the southern part of the country is engaged in ethnic cleansing, that dissidents are being eliminated and that the number of civilians killed in Juba in the south of the country alone has reached 300 over the last few months,

1. Calls on the ACP Assembly to place the human rights situation in the Sudan on the agenda of its next meeting;

2. Calls on the Sudanese government to put an end to the persecution and repression of non-Muslims, notably Christians and animists, and to ease pressure on citizens to convert to Islam;

3. Expresses its support for all those striving to bring about the peaceful co-existence of different religions and to ease the plight of the civilian population;

4. Considers that international and local NGOs have an indispensable role to play in this situation and urges them to be allowed to operate without hinderance;

5. Calls for a delegation consisting of members of the European Parliament's Subcommittee on Human Rights to be sent to monitor current human rights violations in the country;

6. Considers that human rights violations by the Sudanese authorities should be investigated by the UN;

7. Instructs its President to forward this resolution to the Commission, the Council, the ACP Assembly, the United Nations and the Sudanese Government.