From irin@dha.unon.org Wed Nov 13 14:08:28 1996 Date: Sun, 10 Nov 1996 22:11:30 +0300 (GMT+0300) From: UN DHA IRIN - Great Lakes To: irinwire@dha.unon.org Subject: Zaire: EUROPEAN NGOs' appeal to EU member states 96.11.9 CRISIS IN THE KIVU APPEAL TOWARDS THE EUROPEAN UNION AND ITS MEMBER STATES European NGO's from all backgrounds call upon the European Union and its member states to take up their responsibility in view of the crisis which is deteriorating the region of the Great Lakes. AN IMMEDIATE RESPONSE TO THE HUMANITARIAN CRISIS In first instance the EU should help to facilitate humanitarian aid to the hundreds of thousands of Rwandese, Zaïrese en Burundese refugees who are the victims of this new armed conflict. At their regional summit in Nairobi on 5 November, the African Heads of State and government leaders requested the United Nations to deploy, in cooperation with the OAU, a neutral force in order to protect the refugees and to establish hamanitarian corridors so that aid can be provided. The EU must use every means in its power to respond quickly to this demand. In this regard, France and Great Brittain, permanent members of the Security Council, have a specific responsibility. We call upon every member state of the UN to mobilizeall necessary ressources to give this neutral force the necessary support so that it can operate from the moment the Security Council grants authority. Clear political signals in order to prevent a further escalation of the war In the current crisis, the seeds of a regional war are already present. To prevent such a catastrophy, it is imperative for the EU and its member states to send clear political signals to all the parties involved in the conflict. These NGO's ask the EU and its member states to take following measures: - impose an arms embargo on all states in the region - demand that all states involved in the conflict respect humanitarian and international conventions concerning the protection of human rights, esp. the right of asylum for refugees and minority groups. - to reaffirm the principal of territorial integrity and inviolability of frontiers in conformity with the the Charter of the OAU. Tackle the causes of the conflict The purely humanitarian approach of the Rwandese refugee problem in Zaïre which has been implemented up till now, has led to a stalemate. The EU has the means to develop a political strategy to tackle, in the medium to long term, the real causes of the conflicts which should facilitate the voluntary and gradual return of the refugees to their country. Such a strategy must have 4 objectives: - Security: The presence, close to the border of Rwanda, of the former Rwandan army and militia amongst the refugees, represents a real danger for this country. The camps must be demilitarised and relocated further from the border, and the intimidators and those responsible for the genocide must be separated from the rest of the refugees. - Justice: the impunity of those who are responsible for the genocide and he massacres of 1994 on one hand , and the non-functioning of the judicial system, the situation in the prisons and the human rights abuses in Rwanda on the other hand, hinder any real chances for reconciliation and a voluntary return of the refugees. Everything possible should be done to enable the International Tribunal to fulfill its mandate. At the same time, the government of Rwanda should be pressed to fulfill its responsibilities in matters of justice and human rights. The same problem exists in Burundi where a similar solution must be found. - Democratization: a sustainable solution to the conflicts in the region can only succeed when the politics of exclusion of large numbers of the population have come to an end. This obviously implies that the nationality question of minorities in Zaire needs to be resolved. - Sustainable economic development which creates real prospects for all inhabitants of the region. To date (8 November 1996) the following organisations have signed on to this appeal: ACAT - Action des Chretiens pour l'Abolition de la Torture (Paris) * AIDASF - Association Ingenieurs d'Africulture Sans Frontiere (Beauvais) * Broederlijk Delen (Brussels) * Caritas Secours International (Brussels) * CCFD (Paris) * Chrisitan Aid (London) * CIMADE (Paris) * European Justice and Peace Commissions * COZI - Centre d'Information, de Recherche et de Solidarite avec le Zaïre (Lyon) * Entraide et Fraternite (Brussels) * GRET - Groupe de Recherche et d'Echanges Technologiques (Paris) * INTERMON (Madrid) * Koordinierungsstelle der Osterreichischen Bischofskonferenz - KOO (Vienna) * Misereor (Aachen) * NCOS - Flemish NGOs of Belgium (Brussels) * OIKOS (Lisboa) * Pax Christi International * SCIAF (Glasgow) * Solidarite Socialiste (Brussels) * Volontari nel mondo - FOCSIV (Rome) Those willing to sign on to this appeal can contact one of the following persons: Marc-Olivier HERMAN, CCAC (Concertation chretienne pour l'Afrique centrale) - Tel. xx 32 (0)2 502 33 12 - Fax: xx 32 (0)2 502 33 12 - email: ccac@ccac.ngonet.be * Vereena JONES, CHRISTIAN AID - Tel. xx 44 1 71 523 2320 - Fax: 44 1 71 620 0714 * Rik SAMYN, NCOS - T. xx 32 (0)2 539 26 20 - Fax: xx 32 (0)2 539 13 43 - email: rik.samyn@ncos.ngonet.be [IRIN Note: Accented characters may appear peculiar for fax subscribers and users on some e-mail systems.] [Via the UN DHA Integrated Regional Information Network "Wire" mailing list. 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