A3-0203/94

Resolution on ethnic 'cleansing'

The European Parliament,

-having regard to the motion for a resolution by Mr Sapena Granell on the effects of ethnic 'cleansing' (B3-1649/92),

-having regard to all Parliament's resolutions on this subject,

-having regard to the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and the Genocide Convention, both of 1948,

-having regard to the declarations adopted by the UN in 1992 on the rights of persons belonging to national or ethnic religious and linguistic minorities and on the protection of all persons from enforced disappearance,

-having regard to the work of the Conference on Security and Cooperation in Europe, particularly the CSCE Conference on the Human Dimension (Paris 1989, Copenhagen 1990, Moscow 1991) and the Paris Charter (21 November 1990),

-having regard to the work of the EU mediator Lord Carrington and in particular his provisions for the Convention,

-having regard in particular to the declaration adopted by European Political Cooperation on 16 December 1991 concerning guidelines for the recognition of new States in Eastern Europe and the Soviet Union,

-having regard to the statement by the Belgian President-in-Office of the Council, Mr Claes, that Community action would be based on the principle of respect for human rights,

-having regard to the Vienna Declaration issued by the Heads of State of the Member States of the Council of Europe concerning national minorities,

-having regard to the preamble to the EC Treaty, the preamble to the Single European Act, third and fifth paragraphs, and the provisions concerning a common foreign and security policy in the EU Treaty, especially Article J.1(2),

-having regard to the report of the Committee of Inquiry into Racism and Xenophobia (A3-0195/90),

-having regard to Rule 45 of its Rules of Procedure,

-having regard to the report of the Committee on Foreign Affairs and Security (A3-0203/94),

A.whereas 'ethnic cleansing' entails the extermination (genocide) or the physical political and cultural obliteration of the presence of one or more ethnic groups by that section of the population which has the power to carry it out through forcible assimilation or expulsion or restriction of their civil, legal, educational, religious or other rights, or compulsorily separating ethnic groups instead of promoting their coexistence,

B.whereas differences between ethnic groups always have the potential both for amicable cooperation and for polarization; whereas the suggestion that mutual hatred is inevitable is nothing but political manipulation,

C.convinced that the right to ethnic identity and ethnic difference on the one hand and harmonious coexistence between ethnically different persons and groups on the other are inseparably linked,

D.convinced that neither compulsory inclusion (assimilation, denial of difference, etc.) nor compulsory exclusion (ghettos, discrimination, expulsion, extermination) of ethnic groups constitutes an acceptable policy,

E.whereas inciting ethnic hatred sets in train a downward spiral which can sometimes be halted only by means of outside intervention,

F.whereas ethnic 'cleansing' and expulsions, which have caused great suffering to various regions and nations of Europe throughout history, have left deep and lasting wounds and yet are still rampant as the 20th century draws to a close,

G.shocked at the impotence of the Council, which has acquired a monopoly on the conduct of foreign and security policy but has proved incapable of acting effectively and unanimously against the barbaric practices of ethnic 'cleansing' in the former Yugoslavia, by all those responsible, in the Caucasus, Asia Minor or the Middle East, or against similar acts of inhumanity on any continent,

H.stressing that the significant progress made in establishing human rights legislation since 1945 has not been matched by practical achievements and that the Universal Declaration on Human Rights is clearly not yet backed up by the necessary political will to apply them universally,

I.noting that, in itself, participation in an ethnically mixed society is no problem, as in many cases indigenous groups have been mutually integrated for centuries and new minorities have in various cases been integrated without difficulty,

J.regarding the existence of such multi-ethnic societies as an expression of civilization and as offering support to the European ideal, and observing that a living culture is open to outside cultural influence and thus displays a spontaneous tendency towards mixing, which even determines the character and history of many States and peoples,

K.noting that ethnically mixed societies are sometimes viewed adversely by people who are familiar only with a monocultural situation and who frequently are guided by racist concepts such as 'racial purity', 'purity of the species' etc.,

L.observing that those who have memories of ethnic 'cleansing', whether as 'cleansers' or as victims, and those who have been influenced by stories or by 'ethnicist' teaching of history can readily be persuaded to participate in ethnic 'cleansing' or lend political or moral support to it,

M.noting that 'ethnicist' manipulation is more likely to succeed if the threatened mixed (in many cases urban) community or ethnic group enjoys a higher standard of living or otherwise occupies or used to occupy a privileged position, while the tendency towards ethnic conflict likewise increases if a population group fears it may be deprived of its privileged position,

N.whereas experience has shown that the character of totalitarian structures and ideologies can, on collapse of the latter, all too easily degenerate into ethnic totalitarianism,

O.regarding ethnic 'cleansing' therefore as an extreme consequence of the absence of political and social democracy and a lack of awareness of constitutional principles,

P.observing that ethnic 'cleansing' causes extremely grave physical, psychological, social and cultural damage to a society for a very long time,

Q.noting that, despite severe personal suffering, very many citizens have persevered in the belief that different ethnic groups should live together in peace and amity,

R.recalling that it is generally impossible to make State borders coincide with ethnic boundaries and that attempts to do so never rank as successful solutions to conflicts but time and again lead to a subsequent violent settling of scores,

S.drawing attention to the pledge repeatedly given and broken by the Council and EPC that in former Yugoslavia territorial gains achieved by means of violence will not be recognized,

T.whereas the right of self-determination can be realized only in a constitutional democracy and may under no circumstances be based on ethnic considerations,

U.whereas ethnic violence poses a threat to peace and security and giving in to such violence - even when it occurs beyond its frontiers - endangers the stability and security of the Union,

As regards the consequences of ethnic 'cleansing',

1.Demands that the Council do everything in its power to break the vicious circle of ethnic violence, particularly in the regions of Europe where the Union bears prime responsibility;

2.Demands that the Council do its utmost to secure the prosecution of those who instigate ethnic 'cleansing' and those who carry it out, to make it clear that their violence will not pay;

3.Calls on the Commission and Council to make provision for receiving military personnel, police officers, deserters and conscientious objectors who refuse to serve in armed forces, militias and other units which perform or collaborate in ethnic 'cleansing';

4.Demands that the Union unambiguously oppose efforts to establish ethnically homogeneous states, stress and defend the values of ethnically mixed societies and support governments which represent these values and that this be officially embodied as a basic principle of a European constitution when the Treaty on European Union is next revised;

5.Condemns any attempt to form ethnically homogeneous states by force or the unlawful persecution of minorities and considers it essential to impose sanctions on states which treat minorities in an unacceptable manner;

6.Calls on the Council and Member States to provide generous reception facilities for victims of ethnic 'cleansing', both in their own country and in Europe generally, and to prevent their becoming concentrated in ghettos;

7.Calls on the Commission to initiate aid programmes to alleviate the material and psychological suffering of victims of ethnic 'cleansing' and to take timely action to facilitate their return before de facto situations arise making this right historically impossible;

8.Calls on the Commission to draw up special training programmes for refugees to ensure their successful return or, where return and reintegration are not possible, to ensure their integration in the country of reception;

9.Condemns indifference and neutrality towards 'ethnicist' or racist groups and demands that the Council and Commission unambiguously oppose all forms of ethnic 'cleansing' and all political exploitation of ethnic differences;

10.Believes that the Union should not accept the idea that racist hatred is inevitable and calls for reconciliation projects to be initiated in consultation with democratic forces in the places concerned;

11.Recommends that humanitarian aid be used and distributed so as to encourage coexistence and penalize ethnic 'cleansing', clearly demonstrating that coexistence can produce benefits while ethnic assimilation and 'cleansing' lead to isolation;

12.Calls on the Commission, once ethnic conflicts are over, to release appropriations quickly for the reconstruction of communications infrastructure, hospitals, homes and the cultural heritage, and for social counselling, so that displaced people can return to their places of residence;

As regards a preventive policy to forestall ethnic 'cleansing'

13.Wishes the Commission to coordinate its general policy with the CSCE and the CSCE High Commissioner for national minorities so as to ensure that its foreign policy effects do as much as possible to help prevent ethnic conflicts, partly to encourage the Council to pursue an appropriate policy;

14.Observes that the Union should set an example to the international community and should therefore advocate both in word and in deed anti-apartheid, pluralist social structures, parliamentary democracy and the rule of law and that it must therefore call a halt to xenophobia and to the progressive erosion of the democratic culture in the Union and the Member States;

15.Wishes the Union to encourage social research into the causes of ethnic tensions and possible ways of preventing them, and into the way in which multi-ethnic communities can be used to help cultures thrive;

16.Considers it absolutely essential that work begin as soon as possible on a charter of rights of ethnic groups and on developing effective monitoring, arbitration and enforcement machinery in collaboration with the Council of Europe;

17.Calls on the Council to give every assistance to the international tribunal for former Yugoslavia and to help it evolve into a permanent international tribunal;

18.Demands that the Council should not time and again take refuge in debates on new plans but on the contrary provide more resources in support of existing initiatives so that effective action can be carried out and, to this end, cooperate with other international organizations;

19.Warns the Council and Commission against planning or supporting measures promoting ethnic polarization and 'cleansing' operations, or which could later be used as a pretext for such operations (for example ethnic or religious censuses or registration, identification, recognition policy etc.);

20.Calls on the Council, as part of the common foreign and security policy, to further develop the actual exercise of the right of humanitarian intervention so that international institutions are made aware of the situation in time and ethnic 'cleansing' processes can be nipped in the bud by appropriate means;

21.Stresses that the use of armed force to bring 'ethnic cleansing' to an end must first be approved by the United Nations;

22.Demands that, when entering into or renewing association agreements, the Union take respect for human rights and the rejection of 'ethnicism' and/or racial segregation policies as decisive criteria and points out that the actions taken by the international community against the apartheid system in South Africa have finally led the authorities in that country to review their policy and hold democratic elections;

23.Calls on the Union to make resources available for social organizations, including churches, religious communities, non-military negotiating bodies, civic associations and the media in Eastern and Western Europe which actively support the principle of harmonious, multi-ethnic communities;

24.Cautions against ethnically polarizing forms of education, training, art and reporting, and calls on the ministers responsible in Central and Eastern Europe and the CSCE High Commissioner for National Minorities to respond vigorously against any such trends;

25.Wishes PHARE and TACIS funds to be used to strengthen awareness of democracy and the rule of law in education, the media and culture;

26.Proposes that the Commission, in cooperation with Parliament, periodically make an award to a town or region which provides examples of successful multi-ethnic coexistence and to institute a prize to promote research into social integration processes;

27.Instructs its President to forward this resolution to the Commission, the Council, the Secretaries-General of the WEU, the Council of Europe, the CSCE and the United Nations, the legitimate government of Bosnia-Herzegovina and all governments of the successor states in the territory of the former Yugoslavia and the former Soviet Union.