B4-0498, 0503, 0511 and 0512/94

Resolution on the human rights situation in Togo and the disappearance of Mr David Bruce

The European Parliament,

A.disturbed by reports reaching it concerning the human rights situation in Togo, in which there has been no change since the installation of the new Government,

B.considering that the new Government has not created a favourable climate of respect for human rights by acknowledging and investigating past and present abuses,

C.whereas Mr Akué Atsa, director of the ASECNA, was murdered outside his home on 25 September 1994,

D.whereas seven charred corpses were discovered 30 km from Lomé between 24 and 27 September 1994,

E.concerned at the involvement of members of the Togolese armed forces in the killing of a newly elected opposition Member of Parliament in February 1994, a crime for which no one has been held responsible or prosecuted,

F.concerned at the disappearance of Mr David Bruce, the former head of the Private Office of the President of the High Council of the Republic, who was kidnapped on 6 September 1994 on a main road in broad daylight,

G.recalling its previous resolutions on Togo,

1.Calls on the Council and the Commission to seek clarification from the Togolese authorities regarding the murders in question and to bring those responsible to justice;

2.Calls on the Council and the Commission to seek clarification from the Togolese authorities concerning the abduction and disappearance of Mr David Bruce;

3.Condemns all these human rights violations and calls upon the authorities of Togo, a signatory of the Lomé Convention, to respect human rights;

4.Instructs its President to forward this resolution to the Commission, the Council, the Togolese authorities, the Co-Presidents of the ACP-EU Joint Assembly and the Secretary-General of the OAU.