Local view for "http://purl.org/linkedpolitics/eu/plenary/2003-07-03-Speech-4-199"
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"en.20030703.13.4-199"2
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".
Mr President, we share the view that, despite having gone on for so long, the crisis in Uganda is to a certain extent a forgotten one. The Commission is therefore pleased with Parliament's initiative to expose the suffering of the people of that region.
We agree with Parliament that we must condemn the campaign of terror being carried out by the Lord's Resistance Army, with its murders and kidnappings. The lack of security created by its activity is a significant obstacle to humanitarian aid, since it restricts access and endangers both the humanitarian aid workers and the civilian population, in addition to all the other problems you have pointed out very effectively.
You have raised the issue of what the Union is doing. At the moment the Union is providing significant humanitarian assistance and support, by means of the European Community Humanitarian Office (ECHO), in so far as the security measures allow it. The assistance is being provided in the form of health care and food support, increasing the availability of drinking water and improving the sanitation system, providing seed and tools, in order to guarantee food security, and distributing basic necessities such as shelters and blankets. This week, the Director of ECHO has been in the area participating in the tasks of increasing our resources, in order to deal with the current needs, and the assistance we are providing this year will be equivalent to EUR 4 million, double that of last year, and it will be increased by a further 2 million.
Providing aid is clearly not everything, however. We will also have to see to what extent this aid can be used as a lever for achieving other results. The main donor countries are holding a dialogue with the Ugandan Government in order to promote a policy in the north to facilitate the full integration of the northern districts into the rest of the country. The Commission's delegation is chairing the group of donors which is studying the problems affecting the northern region and, especially, trying to resolve the problem of the children.
We are naturally using the lever of financial resources to make progress in the right direction. The first tranche of budgetary aid, from the Eighth European Development Fund (EDF), was released once the condition not to spend more than 2% of the total budget for military purposes was fulfilled, and the decision to release further tranches will depend on what agreement can be reached with the government of Uganda on the appropriate conditions for its use.
Furthermore, the Commission is preparing, together with the government, a programme for the rehabilitation of the north, a particularly difficult area. We believe that the difference in standard of living between the north and the rest of the country is one of the fundamental causes, as well as the consequence, of the persistent instability and insecurity. However, we believe that, if we had other external support, our actions would be much more effective. The Commission would therefore be very glad to see greater involvement by the African Union in the efforts to find a lasting solution to the problem, which would then allow us to deal with the problems faced in other areas which you have referred to in your speeches."@en1
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