Local view for "http://purl.org/linkedpolitics/eu/plenary/1999-11-18-Speech-4-251"
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"Mr President, I shall take the statements that I must answer in order, first on the subject of Rwanda, then Burundi.
As far as Rwanda is concerned, the Commission shares the concerns which have been expressed regarding the effectiveness of the system of justice, if I may use this diplomatic term, to judge those responsible for genocide. No national reconciliation is possible without proper court procedures, and that involves both the Rwandan national justice system and the International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda.
To answer Mrs Ries, regarding the Rwandan national system of justice, the Commission targeted its interventions at institutional support to the government departments in the area of reinforcement of defence rights and civil cases, in the area of improving living standards in prisons and in the area of support for the survivors of genocide, as well as in the area of respect for human rights. Nonetheless, there are still 130,000 prisoners in prison, accused of crimes related to genocide, awaiting trial.
The Rwandan Government is looking for alternative formulae which do not leave room for impunity, and which go in the direction we would like. It is working on defining a system of courts of arbitration along the lines of traditional practice, where the courts are made up of citizens elected to the various levels of local administration, and they would be established to judge three categories of defendant: firstly, ordinary murderers, secondly, those who assaulted but did not kill, and thirdly, finally, the looters, leaving the instigators and ideologists of the genocide and massacres to be judged effectively by ordinary courts, which must be organised in some way to be able to take on this task.
With the other backers, the Commission is currently assessing the opportunities and methods to contribute to the establishment of this system within the framework of our cooperation. As far as the International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda is concerned, the Commission allocated finance from the very creation of this tribunal, totalling EUR 1.5 million to date. The Commission is going to initiate an evaluation of human rights programmes in developing countries. Particular attention will be paid to the countries or projects we have supported, such as the one I have just mentioned. This evaluation will include support for the International Criminal Tribunal and its conclusions will enable us to identify any new support according to the methods we shall assess in the light of this investigation.
As far as Burundi is concerned, we, too, are extremely concerned at the situation of increasing violence in this country. What are we doing in response to this? I know and I can see that it is always ridiculous to cite aid figures in the face of such calamities. I nonetheless believe that these are the only real proof we can offer to show what we are doing to act on these concerns of yours. The real criticism you might make, which would hit home, is that we are passive in this type of situation. I believe we are not being passive in this particular instance. I should like to give you some examples of this.
We have supported the peace process by financing the talks taking place in Arusha, with a contribution of EUR 2 million, which is far from being the largest contribution and which should, along with other external finance, be sufficient for the successful conclusion of these talks. It is true that the passing of the facilitator, ex-President Nyerere, is one more obstacle to add to the complexity of the process itself. We think that it is essential for the talks to continue while seeking a new facilitator at the same time.
The intensification of the confrontations, in recent months, has given rise to the displacement of some tens of thousands of people who have, in effect, as has been mentioned in this debate, been forcibly detained in camps by the government since last July. We intervened immediately to provide humanitarian aid, with aid of more than EUR one million over three operations, and we are prepared to continue to intervene in order to meet the most urgent needs next year. The total ECHO contribution to Burundi reached around EUR 10 million this year. At a meeting in New York at the start of the year, the backers of Burundi decided to contribute towards improving the living conditions of the most vulnerable sectors of the population and to target their support at the rehousing of displaced persons.
In the context of these positions, the Commission approved a redevelopment programme of around EUR 50 million, which may be implemented according to the security conditions in the country. We feel that the complete resumption of cooperation is linked to the results of the peace process, and to the establishment of a political and constitutional framework which will lead, finally, to democratisation. This is the answer which I wished to give you, Mr President."@en1
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