B4-0504, 0510, 0529 and 0556/94

Resolution on the human rights situation in Sudan

The European Parliament,

-having regard to its previous resolutions on the civil war and the ensuing human rights abuses in Sudan,

A.preoccupied that the continuing civil war between the Sudan Government and the two factions of the armed opposition Sudan People's Liberation Army (SPLA), which is mainly being fought in the south and adjacent parts of the country, is still giving rise to immense human suffering, hunger, refugees, and the collapse of social and economic structures,

B.concerned by the continuing deadlock in the Nairobi peace negotiations conducted under the initiative of the IGADD group of Heads of State,

C.regretting that the Sudanese Government has so far failed to facilitate any mediation for a peaceful settlement of the civil war crisis in southern Sudan,

D.disturbed by the Sudanese Government's campaign of destruction of squatter settlements in the Khartoum area, which left at least five squatters dead on 15 October 1994,

E.alarmed by reports from various humanitarian organizations,

F.having regard to the continuing violation of human rights in Sudan, in particular the detention of political prisoners without charge or trial in secret detention centres, the use of torture, 'disappearances' and extra-judicial executions of hundreds of people, and the forced displacement of people in the Nuba mountains and in the south, as well as grave human rights abuses committed by armed opposition groups,

G.concerned that children are recruited by the government and by the rebels forcing them to fight in this cruel war,

H.shocked by the indiscriminate bombings of civilian targets by the Sudanese airforce of southern Sudan during the dry season offensive of 1994 in violation of the Geneva conventions,

I.noting with concern the worsening situation, which has forced the Government of Eritrea to break off diplomatic relations,

1.Condemns all acts of terror committed in Sudan, whether by government forces or rebel factions, and condemns the Government of Sudan for the continuing civil war in the south and for the killing, massacres, torture and other human rights abuses that it inflicts on the civilian population of southern Sudan and on displaced people throughout the country, particularly in the Khartoum area; also deplores the conflict between the two rival factions of SPLA that is causing additional suffering, hunger and refugees;

2.Re-emphasizes its support for the IGADD initiative for peace in the Sudan and urges the Government of Sudan and all factions of the SPLA to declare and observe an immediate ceasefire and conclude peace negotiations under the auspices of IGADD at the Nairobi peace talks;

3.Expresses its desire to cooperate with the IGADD host governments in order to make European Union support for IGADD appropriate and complementary to the established regional peace initiative;

4.Calls on the Government of Sudan to put an end to the use of detention without charge or trial, torture and ill-treatment in secret detention centres, and to release without delay all political prisoners; also calls on the government to halt its violent campaign against the inhabitants of the squatter settlements in and around Khartoum;

5.Calls on the international community to reinforce the sanctions against the Khartoum regime, to bring pressure to bear on the Sudanese Government to stop the massacre of its southern population and respect human rights, including freedom of religion, throughout the entire country;

6.Asks the OAU to intensify its efforts through the established mechanism for conflict prevention, management and resolution to bring an end to the conflict;

7.Urges the international community and in particular the EU to give their strongest backing to this initiative to help resolve the Sudanese conflict;

8.Calls on the Member States to extend their arms embargo on Sudan to include the transfer of military, security and police equipment, intelligence, technology, personnel and training, and calls on the Commission and the Council to establish effective mechanisms to monitor the implementation of the Union's established arms embargo against Sudan by individual Member States;

9.Calls on the Sudanese Government to grant access to the United Nations Human Rights Committee's Special Rapporteur so that he may carry out impartial investigations into allegations of human rights violations;

10.Instructs its President to forward this resolution to the Council, the Commission, the OAU and UN Secretaries-General and the warring parties in Sudan.