B4-0273, 0297 and 0311/94

Resolution on the situation in Rwanda

The European Parliament,

A.having regard to its resolution of 15 September 1994 on the situation in Rwanda and the resolution of the ACP-EU Joint Assembly of 5 October 1994 and to the fact that some of the action items in these resolutions have still not been followed up properly and others are subject to considerable delay,

B.deeply concerned by the persistent suffering of the refugees from the genocide perpetrated in Rwanda during April and May 1994,

C.disturbed by reports that elements of the Rwandese Patriotic Army (RPA) have also engaged in arbitrary killings and summary executions,

1.Stresses the importance which it attaches to the role of UNAMIR, whose neutral and independent presence is crucial in creating the conditions of security necessary for the return of the refugees, and calls therefore on the UN Security Council to bring the peace-keeping force up to its full complement of 5500 men immediately;

2.Calls on the Council and the governments of the Member States as a matter of urgency to exert whatever pressure is needed to prevent the ex-government forces and the Interahamwe militia from regrouping on a war footing and to prevent their members from perpetrating any massacres leading to a flare-up in the civil war which could degenerate into a regional conflict;

3.Reaffirms its belief that a return to normality in Rwanda and the stabilization of the subregion involves the return home of the refugees and displaced persons, and stresses that such a return will be possible if there is an end to the acts of violence and intimidation by supporters of the former government towards the refugees in the camps who wish to return home;

4.Stresses that the return home of the refugees also depends to a large extent on the situation in the interior and that initiating confidence-building measures will help in the success of this operation;

5.Calls on the Rwandan Government to enter into a constructive dialogue with all the democratic forces and representatives of civil society;

6.Calls on the European Union and the Member States to recognize the new Rwandan Government which has shown a determination to make a success of national reconciliation within the spirit of the Arusha Accords with the assistance of the democratic forces of the country and which has displayed a willingness to facilitate the return of the refugees;

7.Calls on the Rwandan Government to investigate the reports of arbitrary killings and summary executions carried out by the RPA and to guarantee the human rights of all citizens;

8.Stresses to the donor countries the need to lose no time in revitalizing Rwandan farming and restoring the food distribution network in order to prevent famine;

9.Calls for decisions to be taken immediately in the manner indicated in its abovementioned resolution of 15 September 1994 and calls more particularly on the Commission, as a matter of urgency, to give the new government the technical assistance it needs to restore all aspects of the administration, and in particular the judicial system;

10.Believes that application of the national indicative programme for Rwanda involves conditions which the Rwandan Government cannot at present fulfil in the absence of an adequate amount of aid from the international community;

11.Calls, therefore, for the appropriations in the national indicative programme for Rwanda to be released and for all unreasonable preconditions to be dropped;

12.Calls for a prompt decision to be taken concerning the sending of European Union observers to Rwanda;

13.Instructs its President to forward this resolution to the Commission, the Council, the governments of Rwanda, Burundi, Tanzania, Uganda and Zaire, the Secretary-General of the United Nations, the Secretary-General of the OAU and the Co-Presidents of the ACP-EU Joint Assembly.