UGANDA 8/7/2003 18:03 EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT CALLS FOR AN END TO VIOLENCE IN NORTH UGANDA Politics/Economy, Standard
The European Parliament today condemned "the serious and repeated human rights violations perpetrated by all the parts involved" in the conflict that has been devastating the districts of North Uganda for over 15 years, calling for "an immediate cessation of the atrocities such as slavery, torture, rape, killings" and all the other forms of abuse the civil population is systematically subjected to. On initiative of the Euro-parliamentarian Mario Mauro (Ppe-De/FI), the legislative body of the 15 member nations approved a resolution which in particular deplores the offensive of the rebel LRA (lord's Resistance Army) for its violence against the defenceless people, "for the continuing abductions of children to transform them into soldiers or for sexual exploitation" and for "the growing number of attacks perpetrated against Catholic missions, as also the recent order issued by the LRA leader - Joseph Kony - to destroy Catholic missions and kill all the priests and missionaries"! . The European parliament - continues the text - "encourages the government and Ugandan military to adopt immediate measures to guarantee the protection of all civilians and all aid workers from abduction and other violations of their fundamental rights, as well as creating a safe environment for the assistance work of humanitarian groups consenting them to save lives". The resolution therefore urges the government of President Yoweri Museveni to "apply good administration and political pluralism as to eliminate any motivation of resorting to armed conflict; calling also that it sanction abuse committed by its forces and more precisely that recently committed against civilians by the VCCU anti-crime unit". In the same resolution, the European Parliament also welcomes "the pledge by Sudan to not provide ulterior support" to the LRA, exhorting the government of Khartoum to respect and implement the pledge in its territory. The international community, foremost the Office for ! Humanitarian Aid of the European Union (ECHO), in the text is urged "t o promptly intervene in face of the incumbent humanitarian crisis, reinforcing emergency aid for the displaced, in particular food and medical assistance, also instituting support programmes for the freed prisoners to ensure their reintegration into society". The United Nations Security Council is called to "study possibilities of intervention of the international community for the protection of the civil populations of North Uganda, including an eventual application of Chapter VII of the UN Charter if requested by its Secretary General Kofi Annan". The EU Council is in conclusion called to "study the possibilities of a European intervention in the optic of the Mutual Political and Security Policies (PESC) to monitor the security of the populations admitted to the humanitarian aid distributed by the ECHO", while the EU is exhorted "to consider the nomination of a special representative to support current peace efforts, such as the Acholi Religious Leaders Peace Initiative) a! nd carefully monitor the situation of minors affected by the armed conflict in the region". [BO]
