B4-0097, 0117, 0133, 0138, 0151 and 0163/94

Resolution on the situation in Haiti

The European Parliament,

-having regard to its previous resolutions on the situation in Haiti, in particular those of 10 October 1991, 9 April 1992, and 28 October 1993,

A.whereas in December 1990 Jean-Bertrand Aristide was elected president, polling 67% of the vote,

B.whereas in September 1991 the military, led by General Cédras, seized power in a coup d'état,

C.whereas, under pressure from Washington's sanctions and the UN oil and arms embargo, General Cédras signed the Governors' Island agreement in July 1993, thereby undertaking to leave power within four months, hold free and democratic elections, and pave the way for the return of the ousted President,

D.whereas in May 1994, in view of the failure to honour the promise made at Governors' Island, the UN decided to impose a total trade embargo and, in July 1994, gave the go-ahead for American military intervention, supported by 25 other countries,

E.whereas, faced with the threat of a military invasion, the Haitian dictatorship concluded a last-minute agreement on 18 September 1994 with a US diplomatic delegation headed by ex-President Jimmy Carter,

F.whereas that agreement opens the way for the return of President Aristide and the establishment of democracy in Haiti but leaves unpunished the serious violations of civil rights committed by an illegal dictatorship which is not recognized by the United Nations,

G.whereas the military junta and General Cédras are to blame for the massacres perpetrated against supporters of the rule of law which have claimed some five thousand victims,

H.recognising that the arrival of forces from the United States and from Caribbean states, acting with the authority of the UN Security Council, has been received with joy by many of the Haitian people,

I.having regard to UN Security Council resolution 940,

1.Notes the diplomatic agreement between the US delegation led by Mr Carter and the Haitian military regime, which has averted a military invasion of the island and an inevitable bloodbath, and reiterates its advocacy of all forms of peaceful solutions to conflicts;

2.Condemns the brutality of the Haitian security forces in putting down demonstrations in support of President Aristide, which has already claimed a number of casualties since 18 September;

3.Calls for the pacific occupation forces now stationed in Haiti to be empowered to intervene when human rights - including the right to stage a peaceful demonstration - are violated, thereby ensuring that the Haitian people will be protected against any form of police brutality; points out that the mission of the occupying forces is temporary and designed to pursue limited objectives;

4.Calls on the Member States of the European Union which are members of the UN Security Council to ensure that the provisions of United Nations resolution 940 are put into effect; calls in particular for guarantees to be given regarding amnesty laws and the physical protection of President Aristide, who should return to Haiti as soon as possible;

5.Calls on the European Union to provide special technical and financial assistance to Haitian democratic institutions, in particular the country's Parliament;

6.Considers that EU Member States could make a particularly valuable contribution in training and retraining the police;

7.Calls for any measure to lift the embargo to be subject to specific actions on the part of the Haitian military authorities to implement the Governors' Island accords and the agreement reached on 18 September, not the least of which must be the reinstatement of President Aristide;

8.Believes that the Haitian people will have to construct their own democratic system while recognizing that substantial economic and technical aid will have to be provided to rescue the people from destitution;

9.Instructs its President to forward this resolution to the Council, the Commission, the Secretary-General of the United Nations, the United States Administration, the Haitian authorities and the Co-Presidents of the ACP-EC Joint Assembly.