P9_TA(2022)0419

Forced displacement of people as a result of escalating conflict in Eastern Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC)

European Parliament resolution of 24 November 2022 on the forced displacement of people as a result of the escalating conflict in eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) (2022/2957(RSP))

(2023/C 167/08)

The European Parliament,

—	having regard to its previous resolutions on the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC),

—	having regard to the report of the Secretary-General of the UN of 10 October 2022 on children and armed conflict in the Democratic Republic of the Congo,

—	having regard to the Convention on the Elimination of all Forms of Discrimination Against Women of 18 December 1979 (CEDAW),

—	having regard to the fourth Geneva Convention relative to the Protection of Civilian Persons in Time of War of 1949 and its additional protocols of 1977 and 2005,

—	having regard to the Universal Declaration of Human Rights of 10 December 1948,

—	having regard to the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child (UNCRC) of 20 November 1989,

—

having regard to the OHCHR-MONUSCO report of July 2020 entitled ‘Report on violations of human rights and international humanitarian law by the Allied Democratic Forces armed group and by members of the defence and security forces in Beni territory, North Kivu province and Irumu and Mambasa territories, Ituri province, between 1 January 2019 and 31 January 2020’,

—	having regard to the declaration of the Vice-President of the Commission / High Representative of the Union for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy, Josep Borrell, of 4 July 2022 on the situation of the eastern part of the Democratic Republic of Congo,

—	having regard to Regulation (EU) 2017/821 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 17 May 2017 laying down supply chain due diligence obligations for Union importers of tin, tantalum and tungsten, their ores, and gold originating from conflict-affected and high-risk areas (1),

—	having regard to Regulation (EU) 2021/947 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 9 June 2021 establishing the Neighbourhood, Development and International Cooperation Instrument — Global Europe (2),

—	having regard to the Cotonou Agreement,

—	having regard to Rule 132(2) and (4) of its Rules of Procedure,

whereas the security situation in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) continues to deteriorate, particularly in the north-eastern part of the country, due to armed foreign and domestic groups, including the M23 with links to Rwanda; whereas some rebel groups have links with Uganda and Burundi as well as reported allegiance to ISIS and have been implicated in numerous massacres, causing the displacement of thousands of civilians, and there are reports that armed groups have been recruiting children and perpetrating widespread sexual and gender-based violence;

B.	whereas since 20 October 2022, advances by the M23 have led to the displacement of thousands of people from Rutshuru to Kanyaruchinya and Kibati, north of the city of Goma, and to Lubero territory, adding to the six million persons already internally displaced;

whereas since 20 October 2022 an estimated 183 000 people, mostly women and children, have been displaced, bringing the total to more than 232 000 civilians in the eastern part of the country; whereas 2,4 million Congolese children under the age of five are suffering from global acute malnutrition; whereas many children have been separated from their parents and guardians as people flee rebel attacks; whereas an estimated 7,5 million people currently need assistance and have no access to water and sanitation facilities;

D.	whereas the DRC’s eastern provinces of Ituri and Kivu have suffered two decades of cyclical conflict characterised by massacres of civilians and violence by armed groups, while government authorities have failed to hold non-state groups accountable for past crimes;

E.	whereas in October 2022 it was reported that in the recent conflict with M23 rebel forces Congolese army units and their allies were responsible for massive human rights violations; whereas serious abuses such as child labour have also been reported;

F.	whereas journalists covering the conflict face increasing harassment, threats and arrests;

whereas the Luanda process facilitated by Angola aims to mediate between DRC and Rwanda regarding the conflict in eastern DRC; whereas the East African Community (EAC), of which the DRC became a member in March 2022, has initiated a two-track process aimed at ending instability in Eastern Congo: political discussions with rebel groups that have expressed a willingness to stop fighting and disarm, coupled with the deployment of an East African military force;

Expresses its deep concern about the escalation of violence and the alarming and deteriorating humanitarian situation in the DRC, caused in particular by the armed conflicts in the eastern provinces; deplores the loss of life and expresses its sympathy with the people of the DRC; deplores that the conflict has left an estimated 27 million Congolese in need of humanitarian assistance and the number of internally displaced persons in the DRC is rising, with up to six million estimated to have been displaced to date, including 515 000 refugees;

Calls for the EU and other international partners to provide humanitarian aid to the region; insists that EU-funded humanitarian aid should be targeted on helping vulnerable people, such as survivors of sexual violence and improving social determinants of health; calls for the EU to continue increasing its development and humanitarian funding for the DRC for the programming period 2021-2027; urges all sides to allow and facilitate humanitarian access to all those in need and make the voluntary and safe return of displaced persons possible;

Strongly condemns the ongoing brutal aggression by armed groups; calls for the M23 armed group to withdraw from its positions, disarm, and for all armed groups in the region to re-join the Inter-Congolese dialogue (Nairobi process) in preparation for disarmament, demobilisation, and community reintegration; calls on all state actors in the region to cease all cooperation with M23 and other armed groups in the region; urges all governments concerned to ensure that any political settlement does not include an amnesty for those responsible for grave international crimes and that M23 commanders who have committed abuses are not allowed to integrate into DR Congo’s armed forces;

Urges Rwanda not to support the M23 rebels; calls for the EU and its Member States to impose sanctions against perpetrators of human rights violations in eastern DRC through the Global Human Rights Sanction Mechanism; calls for sanctions against senior M23 commanders to be maintained and expanded to include those newly found responsible for serious abuses, as well as senior officials from across the region complicit in the armed group’s abuses;

Expresses its deep concern at the full range of threats and human-rights violations and abuses experienced by women and girls in armed conflict, and recognises that women and girls are particularly at risk as they are often specifically targeted and at an increased risk of violence in conflict and post-conflict situations, which prevents their participation in peace processes; urges the international community to accelerate its efforts to eradicate the scourge of sexual and gender-based violence in armed conflicts in eastern DRC, to protect victims, to put an end to impunity for the perpetrators, and to guarantee access to justice, reparations and redress for survivors;

Urges the international community to take concrete steps to stop the ongoing violence, especially by encouraging the promotion of dialogue and non-violent solutions, and by supporting the regional mediation process, the Luanda process, initiated by the President of Angola João Lourenço; emphasises that all State Parties of the East African Community (EAC), the Southern African Development Community (SADC) and the International Conference on the Great Lakes Region (ICGLR) must uphold the principles agreed through the East African Heads of State Conclave and the Luanda mediation process; firmly underlines the need for cross-border cooperation in the African Great Lakes region;

Calls for the creation of a formal vetting mechanism as part of broader security sector reform efforts, to investigate candidates for removal and to ensure that security forces act in a manner consistent with international human rights and the standards of humanitarian law;

Urges the Commission and the EU Members States to ensure that the upcoming EU strategy for the African Great Lakes adequately reflects the numerous and serious human rights and humanitarian challenges at both country and regional level, in particular in the DRC;

Calls on countries neighbouring the DRC to step up efforts to combat smuggling of conflict minerals through their countries and the illicit trade in natural resources that is fuelling the conflict; stresses the importance of making further efforts to cut off financing for armed groups involved in the illicit trade in natural resources, including gold and wildlife products; calls on the Commission to assess the impacts and efficiency of Regulation (EU) 2017/821 in its review of the functioning and effectiveness of this regulation;

10.

Instructs its President to forward this resolution to the Council, the Commission, the Vice President of the Commission / High Representative of the Union for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy, the European External Action Service, the African Union, the ACP-EU Council of Ministers, the ACP-EU Joint Parliamentary Assembly, the Secretary-General of the United Nations and the Government and Parliament of the Democratic Republic of the Congo as well as of other countries of the East African Community.

(1) OJ L 130, 19.5.2017, p. 1.

(2) OJ L 209, 14.6.2021, p. 1.