B3-0696, 0700, 0709 and 0745/93

Resolution on the human rights situation in Sarawak and the moratorium on imports of tropical hardwoods and wood products from Sarawak, Malaysia

The European Parliament,

A.Noting the meeting of the Council of ITTO in May 1993 in Kuala Lumpur at which sustainable forestry in Malaysia is supposed to be discussed;

B.Recalling that, in its resolution of 8 July 1988 on the catastrophic environmental impact of large-scale deforestation in Sarawak, it called for a moratorium on the imports of tropical hardwoods from this Malaysian state and subsequently repeated this in later resolutions on the rain forests;

C.Aware that the Council and the Commission of the European Communities have never agreed to implement its call;

D.Stressing that the way of life of the indigenous people of Sarawak continues to be destroyed by logging;

E.Noting that the Dutch Government wants an import ban on non sustainable exploited hardwood from 1995;

1.Calls on the Council and the Commission to consider urgently imposing this moratorium notwithstanding the economic interests of firms from the Community established in Malaysia,

2.Calls on these two EC institutions to implement quickly eco-labelling on all forest woods and products whether of tropical, boreal or temperate origins,

3.Urges the Council and Commission to make representations to the Malaysian Government on the need to respect its obligations to ITTO and the natural rights of the indigenous peoples to the safe possession of their land,

4.Calls on the Japanese Government to discourage Japanese companies, as the largest consumers of Sarawakian forests, from further imports of tropical woods which are a major cause of deforestation;

5.Urges the Council and Commission to cooperate in this matter with the US administration whose Vice-President, when a Senator, supported the right of the indigenous people of Sarawak to the protection of the rain forest,

6.Calls on the Commission to implement an import ban of non-sustainable exploited hardwood at the beginning of 1995,

7.Instructs its President to forward this resolution to the Council, the Commission, EPC, the Governments of Malaysia and Japan and the US Administration.