EU strategy for the Horn of Africa

The European Parliament adopted by 570 votes to 56, with 58 abstentions, a resolution on the EU’s Strategy for the Horn of Africa.

Parliament recalls that the Horn of Africa faces a dual problem: the closely interconnected problems of historically high levels of poverty due to food insecurity and recurrent human insecurity related to a lack of governance. It also recalls that the region has a long history of conflicts and that poverty and underdevelopment operate as conflict-generating factors. According to the Parliament, there is a threefold European and wider international interest in the security situation in the Horn of Africa, relating to: (i) the threat posed by international terrorism and the funds channelled to terrorist organisations from piracy and kidnappings; (ii) the economic threat to international trade and the need to facilitate the safe passage of shipping; and (iii) the need to assist the UN in its objectives, for example in protecting World Food Programme vessels in the region.

In this context, Members welcome the EU’s Strategy for the Horn of Africa which is based on five prongs:

• building democratic, robust and accountable political structures in all countries of the Horn of Africa;
• working with the countries of the region and with regional and international actors and organisations to resolve conflicts;
• ensuring that existing insecurity in the region does not threaten the security of other neighbouring states;
• supporting efforts to promote economic growth and reduce poverty; and
• supporting political and economic regional cooperation.

Welcoming the appointment of the European Union Special Representative (EUSR) for the Horn of Africa, Parliament calls on the EU to actively support the work of the EUSR by ensuring adequate financial and human resources.

A number of international and/or institutional bodies are called upon to mobilise themselves to help the countries of the region, at the same time as the EU, both to strengthen the development of governance but also of the exploitation of essential natural resources, such as water. Members make reference in particular to the Inter-Governmental Authority on Development (IGAD) and AMISOM, (the African Mission to Somalia) that are combating Al Shabaab (Islamist militia).

Democratic transition: Parliament calls on the Union institutions to remain vigilant and active in response to the political transition in Somalia, as well as in Ethiopia and Kenya. Election observation measures (EOM) are also called for in relation to the forthcoming vote in Kenya. Although it welcomes the agreement reached between Sudan and South Sudan concerning petroleum resources, Parliament hopes that this agreement will also finally resolve the problem of transit arrangements for oil from South Sudan.

Parliament considers it desirable to seize the opportunity presented by the various democratic changes to:

1. work on promoting respect for constitutional norms, the rule of law, human rights, and gender equality through cooperation and dialogue with the Horn partners; 
2. continue work on institutional development, democracy-building and democratisation;
3. monitor the follow-up of the recommendations of the Electoral Observation Mission (EOM) and provide support for their implementation where relevant,
4. reinforce political dialogue at country and regional level, and continue to raise issues of human rights, including wherever appropriate extrajudicial killings, arbitrary arrest and imprisonment, and the fight against impunity;
5. support an independent civil society that is able to express social agendas.

Piracy and the security policy framework: Parliament deplores the very many acts of piracy that are committed in the region, as well as the impunity from which the perpetrators benefit, which means that most have still not been arrested or judged. It warmly welcomes the UN report dated 25 January 2011 highlighting the proposals made by Jacques Lang, Special Adviser to the UN Secretary-General on legal issues related to piracy off the coast of Somalia. It urges the HR/VP, the EUSR to act on these proposals.

Members also call: (i) for money flows to be monitored and for sums paid in ransoms to be confiscated if they are paid using European bank accounts; (ii) for the development of cooperation between the Atalanta (military and diplomatic mission set in place by the European Union, in the context of the European naval force – EUNAVFOR) on the one hand, and EUROPOL and Interpol, on the other; (iii) for strengthened collaboration between countries in the region and the International Criminal Court; (iv) on the International Maritime Organisation, flag states and the maritime industry to work together in order to further develop and implement clear, consistent and enforceable internationally agreed standards regarding the use of privately contracted armed security personnel on board ships.

Parliament particularly welcomes the Council decision of 23 March 2012 prolonging EUNAVFOR Atalanta to December 2014 and extending its mandate to target the operational bases of pirates onshore. It invites Member States to ensure that EUNAVFOR ATLANTA is properly supported with adequate surveillance and patrol ships, so that progress made against piracy can be maintained.

Members call for strengthened cooperation between the Atalanta operation and other international missions active in the region, in particular the AMISOM land-based operation and NATO’s Ocean Shield operation with a view to providing a truly global strategy to combat piracy in the Horn of Africa. Parliament notes the importance of cooperation between EU NAVFOR and the other international missions operating in the area, notably the AMISOM land-based operation, and considers that good relations and close cooperation, including information-sharing, are the key towards ensuring a stable Somalia.

Reinforcing the comprehensive approach: Parliament welcomes the EU strategy for the Horn of Africa, encompassing as it does not only security and humanitarian policy but also longer-term development policy. It calls on the Commission and the Member States to coordinate their policies in this respect and to employ joint programming for the various countries and the region as soon as possible. Parliament believes that a stable and secure Horn of Africa would have positive political and security impacts beyond the region, also in terms of investment and secure shipping routes in the Indian Ocean. It takes the view, therefore, that a reflection on strategies should be started at G-20 level.

Given the Horn of Africa’s strong potential, in particular in terms of minerals and agriculture, Members call on the Council, the Commission, the EEAS and the EIB, in coordination with other multilateral donors and financial institutions, to identify projects of common interest for the countries of the region, which could promote cooperation and positive interdependence, e.g. in the areas of energy supply and natural resources.

Members call on the Commission to carry out an in-depth analysis of the dimension and impact in economic, environmental and social terms of practices of land-renting to third countries in the Horn of Africa, and to propose possible safeguard strategies and mechanisms.

Parliament stresses that, while the food crisis in the Horn of Africa (as in the Sahel) is attributable to repeated droughts, crop failures and rising prices, other very significant factors, aside from these cyclical elements, should also be taken into account.

Members take the view that boosting regional security and combating terrorism and piracy, while essential, must not eclipse the absolute necessity of supporting as a first priority the eradication of poverty in the region, particularly since the EU has an obligation under its founding Treaty to take account of the objectives of development cooperation. They note that all the countries of the Horn of Africa are developing countries, and as such – apart from Sudan and South Sudan, which have not signed the Cotonou Agreement – have received EUR 2 billion in development aid (of which EUR 644 million went to Ethiopia alone) for indicative national and regional programmes under the 10th EDF. They consider that the EU, as the world’s main development aid and humanitarian aid distributor in the region, thanks in part to the centralisation of its diplomatic activity in the EEAS and the EUSR, the success of Operation Atalanta, and the diplomatic and military presence in the region of certain Member States, could do more to eradicate the endemic poverty in the region and the pockets of anarchy and lawlessness that exist there.

Several initiatives are envisaged in this context to:

• support agriculture, pastoralism and cattle breeding in this region;
• support programmes for access to water; and
• improve drought-preparedness and crop yields.

Parliament insists that whenever possible assistance by the EU in the Horn of Africa should not take the form of direct budgetary support, but should be granted in order to achieve specific targets on the basis of clear performance indicators. It considers that when assistance has to take the form of budgetary support, this should be made conditional on the attainment of specific objectives. It believes that programmes directed at supporting the EU Strategy for the Horn of Africa should be able to benefit from the blending of resources, i.e. that funding for such programmes should be open to other international donors on the basis of clear common standards, so as to facilitate a coordinated, uniform approach by all donors. The EU should be able to participate in the funding of third-party programmes in the region, provided full respect for the rules on EU financial assistance to third countries can be ensured.

The resolution also calls for humanitarian aid to vulnerable populations to be neutral, impartial and independent.

Once again, Parliament stresses the importance of respect for human rights and fundamental freedoms constitute an invariable element of the foundations of the Union’s engagement with third-country partners. It is therefore deeply concerned at the reports of arbitrary arrests, mistreatment of prisoners and violence against demonstrators, as well as repressive measures against political opposition including censorship and the arbitrary detention of journalists and activists. Members stress the need to strengthen the rights of women, children, LGBT people and religious minorities and note that sectarian Islamism has spread in parts of the Horn of Africa and is threatening minority freedoms. They also underline the importance of European support for civil society.

Lastly, Parliament emphasises point by point the efforts to be made in each of the countries in the region stressing the importance of the actions undertaken both at international level as well as EU, and the need to ensure the visibility of the EU’s action in this context.

• Sudan and South Sudan: Parliament calls for: (i) measures to strengthen the national and international human rights framework in these two countries; (ii) the effective application of an official moratorium on executions with a view to abolishing the death penalty; (iii) the end of abuses against civilians by the military forces in the demilitarisation process; (iv) the establishment of a unified approach to addressing the protection of civilians in Darfur, Southern Kordofan and Blue Nile; (v) the end to any support provided by either Sudan or South Sudan to any armed group other than their respective regular armed forces;
• Somalia: welcoming the transition in Somalia, Parliament calls on politicians in this country to ensure the formation of inclusive, broad-based governing institutions, stabilisation, the rule of law and good governance, economic recovery, peace-building and reconciliation. It also calls on the High Representative and the EUSR for the Horn of Africa to critically review the Djibouti Peace Process and to consider deploying a team of mediators. Members also call for the establishment of an accountable, transparent and integrative police force, since this will consolidate trust of the population and solid economic structures. They stress the importance of the establishment of efficient oil and gas exploitation in this region. Further actions are also called to provide support to legitimate and democratic authorities in the field of institutional capacity building, using the positive example of Somaliland, so as to create a sustainable, stable and prosperous Somali federal state;
• Ethiopia and Eritrea: as far as these two countries which are undergoing fragile democratic transition, Parliament calls for more dialogue, including between these two countries in order to effectively address border issues. The resolution points out the key role of Ethiopia for the political and economic stability of the entire region. It notes that in his inaugural speech, Hailemariam Desalegn, the new Prime Minister of Ethiopia, stressed the importance of strengthening human rights and democratic institutions in the country. Parliament believes that the emergence of a new Ethiopian government provides the opportunity to engage Ethiopia on all issues of common interest or concern. The resolution also emphasises that all EU assistance which does not pursue humanitarian objectives should be made strictly conditional on a commitment by the Eritrean authorities to facilitate a democratic transition and the improvement of the human rights situation in the country. In this respect, Parliament calls for the immediate release of political prisoners.

It should be noted that an alternative motion for a resolution tabled by the GUE/NGL group was rejected in Plenary.