<H2>B5-0892/2000
<H3>RESOL>European Parliament resolution on the situation in Afghanistan
The European Parliament,
–having regard to the Council Common Position of 15 November 1999 concerning restrictive measures against the Taliban, adopted with a view to the implementation of United Nations Security Council resolution 1267/99,
–having regard to the Council Common Position of 24 January 2000,
–having regard to European Parliament and Council Regulation (EC) No 1880/2000[1] of 17 July 2000 extending Council Regulation (EC) No 443/97 on operations to aid uprooted people in Asian and Latin American developing countries,
–having regard to its previous resolutions on Afghanistan,
–reiterating the terms of its resolution of 5 October 2000[2] in every respect,
–having regard to the UN proposal for open-ended peace talks which have been accepted by the Taliban movement as well as by the northern alliance let by Ahmed Shah Massood,
–having regard to the decision of the European Commission of 26 October to allocate 3.9 euros million of humanitarian aid to Afghanistan in order to continue assisting 30 000 displaced families,
A.deeply concerned at the offensives launched by the Taliban in the summer, which has led to a fresh upsurge in the fighting,
B.mindful of the unspeakable suffering borne by the Afghan people during so many years of conflict; highlighting the fact that the most recent fighting is adding to the plight of civilians already badly affected by the drought across the region,
C.whereas a million Afghans have been maimed by landmines,
D.considering that Afghanistan is facing the threat of famine from the worst drought in 30 years and considering that it is counted among those countries predictably most heavily affected by the ongoing climate change,
E.mindful of the millions of uprooted people living in camps or fleeing the systematic human rights violations committed by the Taliban regime on a daily basis,
F.concerned about reports that tens of thousands of Afghan refugees have been blocked at the borders towards Pakistan and Tajikistan in recent days,
G.protesting at the extreme forms of psychological and physical repression meted out to women when the Taliban seized power in 1996,
H.deploring the abuses, arbitrary justice and discriminatory policy to which women are subject in Taliban-controlled territory,
I.mindful of the rational analysis of Moslem intellectuals, which condemns the Taliban’s arbitrary and barbaric interpretation of Sharia law and the systematic violation of the most basic human rights,
J.whereas the Taliban have refused to allow NGOs to distribute aid to the Afghan people on a basis of equality between the sexes and have expelled them from Kabul,
K.warning of the risks inherent in all forms of extremism and fundamentalism,
L.deploring the exponential growth in drug production by the Taliban, the trade in which goes to finance its war against the Northern Alliance, in spite of UNDCP programmes,
M.whereas the European Union has never funded any UNDCP programme for the development of alternative crops in Afghanistan, and whereas such cooperation ultimately benefits the Taliban regime,
N.deploring the Taliban’s defence of international terrorism,
O.mindful of the Taliban regime’s expansionist designs, which pose a threat to peace and stability in the region,
P.mindful of the fact that the European Union is the main supplier of humanitarian aid to Afghanistan,
Q.noting nonetheless that people in Afghanistan do not benefit equally from emergency humanitarian aid programmes,
R.aware of the uncertainty surrounding the effectiveness of the United Nations resolution and the numerous reported attempts at circumventing it,
S.convinced that no military solution can restore peace to the country without inflicting further considerable suffering on its population,
T.noting that neither the Council nor the Commission has hitherto clarified its intentions, despite emphatic calls from Parliament to do so,
1.Holds that the Taliban’s obscurantist ideology is the root cause of the constant human rights abuses in Afghanistan;
2.Condemns the apartheid practised by the Taliban regime on Afghan soil;
3.Condemns the Taliban regime’s overt support for international terrorism;
4.Condemns the unacceptable discriminatory policy to which women are subject in Taliban-held territory;
5.Condemns all foreign interference in Afghan affairs which fans the flames of war, and especially that of Pakistan;
6.Calls on the neighbouring countries of Afghanistan to keep their borders open for Afghan refugees and calls on the Commission and the EU member states to urgently lend their financial support to recipient countries;
7.Reaffirms its commitment to efforts to bring about a political settlement whereby the foundations of a government representing the entire Afghan people can be laid and peace, stability and respect for international law and human rights can be restored;
8.Calls on the Taliban to implement United Nations Security Council resolution 1267 forthwith and unconditionally;
9.Calls on the Security Council to make all the arrangements required to ensure that its resolution is indeed implemented and, if need be, made more forceful, above all where flight restrictions and the freezing of funds for the Taliban are concerned;
10.Calls on the UN Drugs Control Programme to acknowledge the ineffectiveness of its own projects within Afghanistan and to halt any kind of direct funding for schemes intended to replace opium poppies by other crops, especially in view of the fact that poppy production has tripled during the project implementation period;
11.Calls on the Council to impose an embargo on arms sales to the Taliban;
12.Calls on the Pakistan authorities to halt all forms of military assistance to the Taliban, including troop command, recruitment or deployment, in accordance with the sanctions imposed on Aghanistan by the United Nations Security Council, and to ensure that women and religious minorities are protected and enjoy equal treatment;
13.Calls on the Council to confirm its genuine resolve to isolate the Taliban regime diplomatically;
14.Urges the Council to tighten the restrictive measures against the Taliban and its representatives for as long as they continue to terrorise the population;
15.Urges the Council to work strenuously towards seeking a politically negotiated peace settlement by coordinating its diplomatic moves with Afghanistan’s neighbours;
16.Calls on EU Member States to refuse to establish or continue any economic contacts with the Taliban regime other than humanitarian aid and, in this connection, to strengthen political and humanitarian cooperation with Afghanistan’s neighbouring states, which are under threat from the fundamentalist terrorism activities supported by the Taliban;
17.Calls on each Member State to bring its influence to bear on Afghanistan’s neighbours, and Pakistan in particular, with a view to halting any interference which may undermine peace efforts;
18.Calls on the Council to adopt a new common position which takes account of the developments in the situation and attests to its willingness to act;
19.Calls on the Commission to take the necessary emergency humanitarian measures and to take special care in ensuring that they are applied evenly throughout Afghan territory;
20.Calls on the Commission to take urgent steps to dispatch an envoy to ascertain at first hand the most pressing needs of the population from all the parties on the ground;
21.Calls on the Commission to look into how an emergency food depot for people in northern Afghanistan might be set up quickly in Dushanbe;
22.Asks in particular the European Union and its Member States to help in the establishment of safe areas in the northern provinces, where the Taliban have so far failed to extend their influence;
23.Calls for direct implementation of the Ottawa Treaty on Afghan soil and the implementation of special EU assistance to rid the entire country of anti-personnel mines;
24.Instructs its President to forward this resolution to the Council, the Commission, the United Nations Security Council, the Taliban authorities, the official Government of Afghanistan, and the governments of Pakistan, Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, India, China, Russia, Iran, Uzbekistan and Tajikistan.
[1]OJ L 227, 7.9.2000, p 1.
[2]Texts Adopted, Item 11.