JOINT ASSEMBLY OF THE CONVENTION CONCLUED BETWEEN THE AFRICAN, CARIBBEAN AND PACIFIC STATES AND THE EUROPEAN COMMUNITY (ACP-EC)

RESOLUTION () on the situation in Rwanda

The ACP-EU Joint Assembly,

- meeting in Luxembourg from 23 to 26 September 1996,

A. having regard to its previous resolutions on the situation in Rwanda,

B. having regard to the serious consequences of genocide, massacres and crimes against humanity in April 1994, in violation of international conventions,

C. whereas reports from the UN mission for observing human rights and the UNDP refer to an increase in violence in Rwanda in recent months,

D. welcoming the progress achieved in the past two years by the government of national unity,

E. concerned at the insecure situation that has continued to prevail within parts of Rwanda that partly affects the voluntary repatriation of Rwandan refugees found in the neighbouring countries,

F. concerned that the continuing presence of a large number of refugees in the Great Lakes region and by the reports confirming that some of the refugees are receiving military training and arms of illicit origin with a view to destabilizing Rwanda and sowing unrest in the surrounding countries,

G. deploring the power which is still being exercised in the refugee camps by Rwanda's former armed forces and militia,

H. concerned at the incursions by such forces, which planned and executed genocide in Rwanda, with the aim of removing witnesses and consequently increasing insecurity and violations of human rights,

I. concerned about the fate of the Rwandan refugees scattered throughout the Great Lakes region that still demand considerable humanitarian assistance from the International Community and the EU in particular,

J. welcoming the policy of the government of Rwanda in favour of the unconditional return of all refugees, and welcoming in particular the successful repatriation of Rwandan refugees from Burundi,

K. horrified by the continuing genocide, massacres and other criminal acts which are continuing to be committed in the regions of northern and southern Kivu,

L. gravely concerned about the inhuman conditions under which Rwandan prisoners are held in prison without being brought to court,

1. Encourages the Rwandan Government to continue its policy and initiatives for the voluntary repatriation of refugees and calls on the governments of the region and the international community to support it in these endeavours;

2. Calls on the Rwandan authorities to step up their efforts to further improve the general security situation within Rwanda in order to facilitate and promote the voluntary repatriation of the refugees;

3. Calls on the International Community and the EU in particular to respond to the urgent need for assistance of Rwandan refugees;

4. Recommends that the European Union and the ACP countries regard Rwanda as having emerged from the humanitarian assistance phase, but asks them to maintain their efforts for the reconstruction and development of Rwanda, in order to enable the refugees to return;

5. Recommends that for efficient utilization, the resources intended for the reconstruction and development of Rwanda are directly transferred to the government institutions without passing through intermediaries;

6. Calls on the Rwandan Government to implement without delay all the new laws recently adopted for trial of crimes of genocide and other crimes against humanity;

7. Calls on the ACP States and the Member States of the European Union to cooperate with the International Tribunal in Arusha and to take all the measures and adopt all the laws that will enable it to function effectively;

8. Calls on the European Union and the ACP States, especially those in the region, to find ways of increasing the operational effectiveness of the UN Committee of International Inquiry, and of facilitating the implementation of its recommendations, in order to accomplish its mandate under Resolution 1013 of 1 September 1995;

9. Calls on the international community and the governments of the region to prevent any form of armed reorganization of those responsible for the genocide and massacres and to separate the criminals from innocent refugees and to facilitate the repatriation of the latter;

10. Reaffirms the need to convene the Regional Conference on Peace and Stability in the Great Lakes region, under the aegis of the OAU and the UN;

11. Calls on the international community, and particularly the European Union, to provide the financial and technical assistance required to rebuild the Rwandan legal system and enable the conditions in which the prison population is being held to be improved;

12. Welcomes the action taken by the International Organizations and NGOs to help lost children to find and return to their families, and calls on the European Union to provide support for these lengthy procedures;

13. Instructs its Co-Presidents to forward this resolution to the ACP-EU Council, the Commission, the Secretaries-General of the UN and the OAU, the President of the International Criminal Tribunal in Arusha and the governments of Rwanda, Burundi, Zaire, Uganda, Tanzania and Kenya.