Local view for "http://purl.org/linkedpolitics/eu/plenary/2010-09-22-Speech-3-310"
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"en.20100922.23.3-310"2
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"Mr President, in this House, we are once again addressing the difficult issue of the situation in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), which seems to be getting worse all the time.
In June, we adopted a resolution to condemn the murder of Floribert Chebeya and expressed concern about the disappearance of Fidèle Bazana Edadi. Since then, another human rights defender, Salvator Muhindo Vunoka, has been assassinated. Minister, you can add him to your list. This summer, it took the gang rape of several hundred people for the UN to decide to take action.
It must be said that the MONUSCO peacekeeping force, which is in Congo to protect civilians, humanitarian personnel and human rights defenders, and to help combat impunity, was just a few kilometres from where these rapes were being committed, and it took no action.
Ban Ki-moon himself took exception to the passivity of the MONUSCO troops. The Congolese Government has finally been challenged by UN officials. A new report was due to be published in early October on the violence committed, but on the violence committed between 1996 and 2003. What a waste of time! How many more victims must be killed, raped and tortured? How many more children must be forcibly conscripted before the international community takes note of the situation and acts accordingly?
I feel like asking: what is Europe doing? Huge sums have been invested in Congo. EUSEC and EUPOL missions are there. In addition to humanitarian aid, one of the European Union’s most important objectives is, on paper, to train the security forces there and to help reform the country’s security.
What are the results of these policies? The DRC is a large country; it is Africa’s third largest country in terms of population. It is a country with enormous wealth potential, but 80% of its population lives below the poverty line. What is worse, it is becoming ever poorer due to rampant corruption.
There is just one thing I would like to ask you: how long are we going to allow this situation to continue with complete impunity? As you said, Minister, we know that the security forces are also involved in the violence. Do you not think it is time to take a different stance?
I imagine that things are not straightforward in the Council of Ministers, where a few big European countries, or at least their political representatives, whose commitment to human rights we are all aware of, are not really open to genuine intervention because they are able to roll out the red carpet for Mr Kabila.
Therefore, you can count on the European Parliament to take the measures that are needed, and please stop allowing the economic interests of the few to prevail, without a thought for the civilian populations that cannot take any more."@en1
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