Brussels, 15/04/2003 (Agence Europe) - On 14 April, the Greek Presidency adopted the following declaration on behalf of the EU:
'The EU strongly condemns the recent acts of military aggression in and around Drodro, in the Ituri Region (North-Eastern part of the Democratic Republic of Congo), which culminated in the massacre of hundreds of civilians and expresses serious concern about the grave humanitarian consequences for the Congolese population. It asks all parties to facilitate humanitarian access to the population affected by the conflict, and to bring the perpetrators of those crimes immediately to justice. The EU stresses that major progress has been made in resolving the Congolese conflict, with the recent conclusion of the inter-Congolese dialogue in Sun City, as well as with the Luanda Agreement, and calls on all Congolese parties in the region to take the opportunity presented to join in the political process in their country, rather than resorting to violence. The EU calls on all parties to cooperate fully within the Ituri Pacification Commission, to comply with UN Security Council resolution 1468 (2003) and urges Uganda to complete, in accordance with its earlier commitment, the withdrawal of all its forces no later than 24 April 2003. In this respect, it welcomes President Mbeki's pertinent statement on April 9th 2003. The EU also calls upon all other states in the region to contribute equally to peace and stability in this area and to cease all support to the parties engaged in the conflict. The EU supports the efforts of MONUC to investigate the recent atrocities, to contribute in improving stability in the region and supports UNSC's request, in resolution 1468, that MONUC's presence in the Ituri area be increased.
The Acceding Countries Cyprus, the Czech Republic, Estonia, Hungary, Latvia, Lithuania, Malta, Poland, the Slovak Republic and Slovenia, the Associated Countries Bulgaria, Romania and Turkey and the EFTA countries, members of the European Economic Area, align themselves with this declaration.'