Cape Town, 26/03/2002 (Agence Europe) - At its meeting in Cape Town last week, the ACP-EU joint Parliamentary Assembly adopted three resolutions on:
West Africa. The Assembly wants to see negotiations start up again between the European Union and Senegal on fisheries, taking account of the country's fish resources. The Assembly took note of the postponing of general elections in Togo. It congratulated the Togolese authorities on this peace gesture and called on all parties to rapidly find solutions to the remaining problems in order to allow free and fair elections to be organised in collaboration with all the country's political forces. It welcomed the release of Mr Agboyibo and said the EU should provide full support for the running of the electoral process. The Assembly welcomed the restoration of peace in Sierra Leone and expects the UN special tribunal to judge war crimes in the country. It wants free and fair elections to be organised and calls on the EU to help the Sierra Leone government create a special fund for war victims. The Assembly hailed the efforts made by the federal government in Nigeria to save the life of Safiya Husseini who had been condemned to death by stoning by Islamic courts, but was acquitted on Monday by the appeal court. The Assembly condemned religious intolerance of all kinds and expressed concern that the implementation of sharia in some states of Nigeria might violate human rights. The Assembly called on the banks of all countries, particularly the EU, where funds siphoned off by previous Nigeria governments were deposited, to restore them to Nigeria as soon as possible and called on the EU governments to wield influence to this effect. The Assembly calls for the freedom to form political parties to be established in Mauritania. It supports the efforts of ECOWAS to find a sustainable and permanent solution to the crisis between the states of the Mano River Union. The Assembly expresses full solidarity with the government of Guinea-Bissau faced with the threats expressed against it. It calls on the Guinean government to find a fair solution to the problem to imprisoned human rights activists.
Southern Africa. The Assembly called on the Angolan government and UNITA to make the current ceasefire irreversible and permanent. It called on all Angolans, particularly UNITA leaders abroad, to commit themselves to the current peace and reconciliation process. It encouraged the full incorporation of UNITA in Angola's political life as an freely reorganised unarmed party. It called on the European Commission and ACP-EU Council to support the minesweeping, humanitarian assistance and social reintegration programmes for displaced persons, war veterans, people who have lost limbs and war orphans; and the organisation of an international donor conference for the rebuilding of a peaceful Angola. The Assembly also called on the Commission to help Zambia and the other countries in the region to set up institutions to consolidate healthy management of public affairs.
Madagascar. The Assembly expressed grave concern at the current political crisis (the presidential election results have not been recognised by the opposition leader, who has pronounced himself the new president, Ed). It supports the OAU's mediation proposals and calls on the Madagascans to enter dialogue with a view to finding a fair political consensus solution that meets the people's democratic aspirations, is accepted by both sides and enables the institutions to start functioning again. It recommends that a joint ACP-EU mission be sent to help in this process, in co-ordination with the OAU.
The Pacific. The Assembly called on all elements of Fijian society to work together in a spirit of reconciliation in order to restore democracy in the Fiji Islands. It welcomed the EU's decision to lift all the sanctions it placed on Fiji after the 19 May 2000 coup d'état and called on the Commission to take all reasonable measures to facilitate the relaunch of development aid projects. The Assembly called on the Commission to continue to follow the situation closely, and the move towards democracy and reform in the Salomon Islands, assisting the government where necessary in its attempts to regulate the situation. The Assembly also called on the Commission to take account of the air transport problems faced by the small Pacific Islands, namely the Cook Islands, Kiribati, Niue, Nauru and Tuvalu.