A3-0348/93

Resolution on the situation in Somalia

The European Parliament,

-having regard to the motions for resolutions by:

(a)by Mr Kostopoulos, on the famine in Somalia (B3-1278/92),

(b)by Mr Mitolo and others, on the situation in Somalia (B3-1282/92),

(c)by Mr Arbeloa Muru and others, on Somali 'boat people' in Aden (B3-1348/92),

-having regard to its resolutions on the civil war and famine in Somalia, in particular its resolution of 24 June 1993, and the resolution on Somalia adopted by the ACP-EEC Joint Assembly in Botswana on 1 April 1993,

-having regard to the report of the Committee on Development and Cooperation (A3-0348/93),

A.whereas the civil war in Somalia and the huge numbers of victims of the fighting and famine have necessitated intervention by the international community, including military means, aimed at disarming the population and guaranteeing the shipment of aid to the civilian population,

B.whereas under such circumstances of political anarchy and administrative chaos, the UN has a particular responsibility in the re-establishment of order and peace by peaceful means for the people of Somalia, notwithstanding the fact that the primary responsibility for giving the country a civilian administration will lie with the people themselves through their freely chosen representatives,

C.whereas many UN member states have responded to important resolutions adopted by the Security Council and to appeals by the Secretary-General and agreed to provide humanitarian aid and military support for intervention aimed, inter alia, at ensuring the distribution of food aid and other forms of assistance,

D.having regard to the continuation of the civil war in Somalia despite the presence of UN troops,

E.alarmed at the worsening security situation, especially in Mogadishu, and the persisting violence which is still causing casualties every day among UN personnel, humanitarian aid workers and the Somali people,

F.whereas the intervention of UNOSOM II forces has not led to the disarmament of the various factions responsible for the anarchy and famine,

G.deploring the large number of victims among the civilian population and the UN troops in the conflict,

H.having regard to the serious criticisms made by humanitarian organizations and the governments of certain member states concerning the way the UN forces have intervened,

I.stressing the justified nature of the criticisms made about certain aspects of the intervention by UN forces, in particular as regards the mortal dangers to which the civilian population of Mogadishu has often been exposed,

J.whereas the Security Council has decided to halt UN intervention, whatever the outcome of the mission, at the beginning of 1995,

K.whereas emergency humanitarian action and negotiations with the parties involved in the conflict must be carried out in parallel in order to find a global political solution for Somalia,

L.whereas outside Mogadishu the situation is relatively calm and the conditions are therefore right for starting the reconstruction phase,

M.having regard to the need to guarantee the coordination and consistency of UN activity in Somalia, with clarification of the objectives being pursued by UNOSOM II forces and by other UN agencies,

N.having regard to the unique contribution of the International Committee of the Red Cross and other non-governmental organizations in Somalia and recalling their valiant efforts, particularly in the period prior to UN involvement,

O.having regard to the unique contribution made by non-governmental organizations working in Somalia, the precarious conditions under which they are forced to work and the fact that many volunteers have been killed or injured while carrying out humanitarian tasks,

P.having regard to the European Community's considerable contribution to the humanitarian aid effort,

Q.having regard to the decision of the Council of Development Ministers of 25 May 1993 on a rehabilitation programme for Africa,

R.having regard to the special nature of the situation in Somaliland and noting the region's declaration of independence,

S.having regard to the outcome of the fourth conference on humanitarian aid to Somalia, held in Addis Ababa between 29 November and 1 December 1993,

1.Considers that the effectiveness of UN intervention in Somalia has to a great extent been undermined by the lack of clear political objectives to be pursued and the lack of coherence of the means used, and that these problems have, inter alia, caused serious differences of opinion between the countries whose forces are operating under the UN mandate;

2.Calls on all UN member states, in particular the Member States of the European Union, to contribute actively to the current review of the UN strategy in Somalia while allowing the UN itself to act in full compliance with all the relevant sections of the UN Charter;

3.Regrets the loss of many lives among the Somali civilian population and the UN troops;

4.Considers nevertheless that the presence of UN troops in Somalia is necessary with the sole aim of ensuring the delivery of humanitarian aid, beginning reconstruction work and promoting reconciliation in the country;

5.Urges that the planned withdrawal from Somalia of a large number of military forces must not at all mean giving up pursuit of the military and political objectives laid down by the UN; requests in particular that all necessary steps be taken to guarantee safety for the work of the Somali and foreign non-governmental organizations and the civilians involved in emergency aid and reconstruction; calls for the UN Security Council to be asked to recommend how this is to be achieved;

6.Insists that a political solution can only be effective if it is devised by the Somalis themselves; therefore appeals to all the political forces and the representatives of civil society in Somalia to find a political, democratic and peaceful solution to the conflict themselves; calls upon the UN, the European Community and its Member States to renew their diplomatic efforts and be ready to offer their good offices in order to promote genuine negotiations;

7.Considers that the UN should inform the international community as soon as possible about the political achievements of the UNOSOM II mission and its impact on the objectives set, in particular the disarming of the various factions;

8.Emphasizes the need to disarm rival Somali factions and regrets the lost opportunities in this respect; urges the European Community to support mine- clearing operations in order to permit the rehabilitation of agricultural and grazing land;

9.Calls on the Commission to implement the European Council's decision to reopen a Commission office in Somalia without delay and urges the Commission to take full account of the situation in the different regions when allocating aid and not to concentrate unduly on the situation in Mogadishu;

10.Calls on the NGOs providing humanitarian aid to continue their rescue operations in Somalia and calls on the EC and its Member States to continue to provide them with technical and financial aid;

11.Welcomes the Commission's attempts to involve NGOs in the planning of future rehabilitation strategy and requests that attempts be made to directly associate regional authorities within Somalia with such initiatives where such authorities exist and are sufficiently representative of the people, or, in their absence, local groups and associations of proven reliability;

12.Supports the strategy initiated by the UNHCR in order to prevent, as far as possible, refugee movements, yet recognises that the Somali people have been forced to leave their country in large numbers because of the security situation and that host countries of Somali refugees require international aid in support of their humanitarian assistance programmes;

13.Recognises the particular contribution that women's groups have made within Somalia and calls for their involvement in the negotiation process on the future institutions of the country;

14.Calls on the Community to mobilize all the resources needed under the national indicative programme for Somalia and the budget already allocated to it under Lomé III as well as other sources of funding in order to undertake sustained structural development in the rest of the country, which is relatively peaceful;

15.Stresses the need to release the funds earmarked for Somalia under the Lomé IV Convention; hopes that to this end a provisional authority can soon be found which is in a position to ratify the convention;

16.Expresses its support for the rehabilitation programme for Somalia drawn up by the Commission in the context of the more general initiative for rehabilitation in various African countries and calls on the Commission to endeavour to ensure that it is implemented rapidly and coherently;

17.Considers that the criteria to be used in the rehabilitation programme should include the following priorities:

(a)the use, as far as possible, of skilled Somali personnel, one of the reasons being the prospect of technicians and intellectuals returning to the country,

(b)the development of food and production programmes capable of replacing external aid,

(c)measures in the veterinary field based on the training and equipping of Somali veterinary surgeons,

(d)involving staff of 'Institutional Building' locally and regionally in the reorganization of health services, education and other sectors,

18.Calls on the Community to act under the UN system in order to contribute to the formulation of a plan for social and economic assistance to make humanitarian aid effective and to begin the reconstruction of Somalia;

19.Insists on the need to guarantee as a priority basic social and health services, education, training and the recovery of agricultural and pastoral activity for the domestic and export markets;

20.Stresses the urgent need formally to set up an international 'inter-agency' committee, on which the European Community would be represented, responsible for continuous monitoring of the progress of rehabilitation plans, not least to guarantee the necessary consistency in the methods and aims of the various projects;

21.Reaffirms the need to define a UN strategy on the prospects for the Conference of National Reconciliation and on the role of:

-the regional organizations and countries in the area,

-the various branches of Somali organizations,

-the rehabilitation programmes in the context of the process of national reconciliation;

22.Stresses that the difficulties which emerged during the fourth conference on humanitarian aid, held in Addis Ababa from 29 November to 1 December 1993, show once again the impossibility of achieving the objective of peace in the country without a clear and uniform strategy on the part of the international community with regard to:

-the resources available,

-the short- and medium-term objectives,

-who to negotiate with in Somalia,

-the geographical distribution of aid measures,

-arrangements for checking the measures carried out;

23.Is convinced of the need to launch an action plan aimed at guaranteeing respect for human rights in Somalia, with particular reference to respect for the rights of women, as requested by Amnesty International and other NGOs;

24.Instructs its President to forward this resolution to the Commission, the Council and the Secretary-General of the United Nations.