Summary of the resolutions adopted by the General Assembly
of EU humanitarian aid and development NGOs
AUTOR : NGO Liaison Committee
12 April 1997
Against the tightening of the embargo against Cuba The General Assembly
of European NGOs opposes the inhuman embargo imposed on Cuba by the United
States and denounces the tightening of this embargo through the application
of the Helms-Burton law and the unacceptable pressure which the US administration
is
exerting on the European Union. It invites the members of the EU, the
European Commission and the European Parliament to react and to develop
completely
independent political, economic and trading relations with Cuba, and
to support the action of the NGOs. 2.
On the cessatian of all economic relations between the EU and Burma
The GA calls on the Council of Ministers and the Governments of the EU
Member States: - to
promote the immediate initiation of dialogue between the SLORC (the
State Law and Order Restoration Council), the NLD (the democratic opposition),
and the
leaders of the ethnic groups in order to end internal conflicts and
lead to a new constitution and democratic government, and notably the immediate
release by the
SLORC of all political prisoners and prisoners of conscience, and the
full respect of human rights; - to act on the European Parliament Resolution
calling for the
implementation of economic sanctions against the SLORC by ending all
links between the European Union and Burma. 3. Against racism, xenophobia
and
anti-semitism The GA urges that the fight against racial discrimination
be enshrined in the new "Treaty of Union" (IGC).
It calls on the national and local governments of Europe:
a) to offer systematically in schools teacher training curricula which
specifically study the values of tolerance, dialogue, knowledge of and
respect for other people's
cultures;
b) to include in their legislation a crime of "racism", punishable by severe penalties, in order to help discourage racist behaviour towards minorities;
c) to ensure that immigrants who have residence permits have parity of rights and duties with European citizens.
Agrarian reform in Brazil The GA calls upon the European Commission:
- in negotiating agreements with the Brazilian Government, to stress the
need for the effective
implementation of Agrarian Reform, in agreement with representatives
of the Landless Peasants' Movement (MST) and the other social groups struggling
for
Agrarian Reform and the implementation of the 1988 Constitution and
the 1993 Law on Land Reform; - to adopt a serious stance on the scandalous
buying up of
huge tracts of land in Brazil by European firms which are speculating
on the land - to the detriment of the 12 million landless peasant farmers
- and which are
connected with the exploitation of the natural ressources of Amazonia;
- to pay particular attention to all development projects linked to the
Agrarian Reform
("acampamentos", assentamentos", SCA (Co-operative Agrarian Reform
System), etc.) which may be submitted to the European Commission for cofinancing
- to
demand the following when negotiating agreements with the Brazilian
Government: * respect for the Status of Indians as provided in the 1988
Brazilian Constitution
and in Decree 22/91 on demarcations * full participation of Brazilian
indigenous organisations in any process to review their status.
East Timor The GA requests the European Commission: a. to support the
effective participation of the Timorese in the negotiating process, in
particular in the person
of their leader, Mr Xanan Gusmao, who must be released in order to
take part in this process; b. to demand that the Government of Indonesia
should establish a
permanent United Nations presence in East Timor, in order to ensure
the safety of the Timorese and to make preparations for the holding of
a referendum on the
political status of the territory. It calls upon the Member States
of the EU to stop arms sales to Indonesia in the present circumstances.
The European NGOs: solidarity and political dialogue in full autonomy
and independence Against the background of the current North-South inequality,
the NGOs'
top priority is the interest of the peoples in the South, leading them
to support NGOs in the South, including ensuring the freedom of association.
NGOs are not
driven by commercial interests, nor are they instruments for European
foreign policy. This is why the GA appeals to the Governments of the Member
States and to
the European Commission to fully recognise NGOs' specific nature and
mission, their task and role in political dialogue, and their independence
and autonomy,
without contradiction or limitation arising from the use of European
public funds.
Charter of basic priciples of development and himanitarian aid NGOs
in the European Union The GA calls on the European Commission, the other
European
institutions and official donors to encourage all officials who come
into contact with NGOs to make an effort to improve their understanding
of NGOs, the values
behind their work, their approach to development co-operation and their
structure. The GA endorses the Charter of EU development and humanitarian
aid NGOs,
which emphasises the role of NGOs in the achievement of social justice,
equity and universal respect for human rights (text available from the
secretariat of the NGO
Liaison Committee).
Future relations between the EU and the ACP countries The GA welcomes
the European Commission's initiative of opening a debate on the future
of EU-ACP
relations by publishing its Green Paper. However, it is concerned by
the Green Paper's failure to integrate and take as its basis the policy
commitments referred to
below.
The GA calls on the Commission and the governments of the Member States of the EU:
in the coming discussions and negotiations, to adopt as a central objective
the implementation of the international agreements made at Rio, Vienna,
Cairo,
Copenhagen, Beijing and Rome and the EU's existing development policy
commitments, *to give particular priority to the implementation of the
EU's policy on
gender and development, and support to: -the basic social services
identified in the 20:20 compact;
income-generating activities for the poor in
rural areas and the urban informal sector;
strengthening social and civil organisations.
Poverty and gender impact assessments should be integrated into all EU
development programmes and trade
policies.
The GA seeks the achievement of policy coherence within the different
components of development cooperation (social investment, aid for trade,
structural
adjustment, government and legal reform, conflict prevention and management,
food security and humanitarian aid) and the taking of concrete steps to
bring policies
on trade, agriculture, fisheries, and the CFSP into coherence with
the objectives of development cooperation; in particular, to review and
phase out subsidies on
agricultural exports to the South which lead to destructive dumping
practices, as is presently the case with beef in South Africa and Namibia.
The negotiations with
the ACP Group should be approached in the Lome spirit of partnership.
On the creation of a European association statute The GA is dismayed
by the considerable delay in the adoption by the relevant Community institutions
of a statute
for European associations. It requests the European Commission, together
with the European Parliament, the Council and the Economic and Social Committee,
to fill
the present gap in the law as regards the existence of associations
with a European brief by accelerating the procedure for the adoption of
a statute for European
non-profit-making associations which accommodates the needs and requirements
of NGDOS.
On the respect of human rights in Colombia The GA urges the European
Parliament and the governments of the EU Member States: - to reiterate
to the Colombian
government their concern about the deterioration in the human rights
situation and the escalation of the internal armed conflict; - to intervene
with the Colombian
government to urge it: .to support the mission of the United Nations
High Commission on Human Rights in Colombia, particularly given that its
mandate ends in a
little aver one year. Its representatives need to be able to act on
a basis of complete independence: freedom to interview the victims, freedom
of movement, freedom
of investigation, publication of all reports and the opportunity for
all victims to appeal direct to the High Commissioner. It will also be
necessary to obtain its full
collaboration, in addition to the collaboration of the "Fiscalia general
de la Nacion" and of the control bodies of the "Procuraduria" and the "Defensoria
del Pueblo".
The armed forces and the national police will likewise need to pledge
themselves to this path of conciliation; .to take urgent measures to combat
the activities of the
legal and illegal paramilitary groups, by repealing Decree 356 of 1994
which legalised the 'CONVIVIR' security co-operatives, and by ordering
an enquiry into the
violations carried out and the prosecution of those responsible for
these paramilitary groups; .to withdraw from the draft reform of the Constitution
the above points
which are detrimental to the rule of law; in general terms, to honour
its international commitments in the field of human rights. The GA calls
upon the European
Commission: - to employ all the means at its disposal in support of
the mission of the office of the United Nations High Commission on Human
Rights in Colombia
and the actions of the Colombian NGOs in their work on victim support
and citizenship education; - to make its co-operation with Colombia conditional
on
adherence to the international conventions on human rights.
Proposal for renewing cooperation in Albania The GA seeks a redefinition
of Albania's position with regard to the EU cooperation instruments with
the Eastern
countries; taking account in particular of the fact that the Phare
programme was defined for countries with more effective economic and social
structures, Albania,
however, should be considered as a developing country which needs more
flexible instruments which are accessible to the different sectors of society
and also
priority budget lines for European NGDOs. It calls upon all the national
governments to abide by international conventions regarding the rights
of people fleeing
Albania to seek asylum. For more information:
The text of the resolutions is available from, NGO Liaison Committee,
10 square Ambiorix, 1000 Brussels. Tel 32 2 743 8787, fax 32 2 732 1934,
e-mail:
sbiesemans@clong.be.
FONTE : http://europa.eu.int/en/agenda/igc-home/instdoc/ngo/devngo.htm