The House held a debate, pursuant to Rule 115 of the Rules of Procedure (debates on cases of breaches of human rights, democracy and the rule of law), on clashes in the eastern border areas in Democratic Republic of Congo.

The debate was followed by a vote on a motion for a resolution.

Following the debate that took place on the same date, the European Parliament adopted a resolution on clashes in the eastern border areas in Democratic Republic of Congo. The resolution had been tabled for consideration in plenary by the EPP-ED, PES, ALDE, UEN, and Greens/ALE groups. It comes in response to the fighting between the Congolese Army, the rebel troops of ousted General Laurent Nkunda, the fighters of the Democratic Forces for the Liberation of Rwanda (FDLR) and troops of Uganda's Lord's Resistance Army (LRA), which has been causing the civilian populations of the eastern provinces of the DRC tremendous hardship for many months. The conflict affecting the DRC has claimed the lives of 5 400 000 people since 1998 and is still causing, either directly or indirectly, approximately 1500 deaths each day.

Parliament states that it is extremely concerned about the renewed fighting between the Congolese Army and resurgent militias in North Kivu and the previously pacified region of Ituri. It expresses its deep outrage at the massacres, crimes against humanity and acts of sexual violence against women and girls which have continued for too many years in the eastern provinces of the DRC. All relevant national and international authorities must systematically bring the perpetrators to justice, whoever they may be. Members call on the UN Security Council, as a matter of urgency, to take all measures capable of genuinely preventing any further attacks on the civilian population of the eastern provinces of the DRC. Parliament reaffirms its support for the Congolese authorities in their efforts to find a political solution to the crisis and calls on all parties to respect the ceasefire.

Members call on the Congrès National pour la Défense du Peuple (CNDP - National Congress for the People's Defence) to return immediately and unconditionally to the peace process to which it committed itself in Goma in January 2008. The Government of the DRC is asked to develop a plan with Rwanda and the UN Mission in the DRC (MONUC) to isolate and capture the leaders of the genocide among the FDLR and offer resettlement in the DRC or reintegration in Rwanda to those who were not involved in the genocide and are willing to demobilise. The international community and the UN Security Council are asked to strengthen MONUC by providing appropriate materials and staff to enable it to fulfil its mandate. Parliament calls on MONUC to investigate accusations that the Congolese Army is colluding with the FDLR over control of North Kivu's lucrative mineral trade and to put an end to this practice. It wants effective establishment of monitoring mechanisms, such as the Kimberley Process for the certification of the origin of natural resources imported into the EU market.

Members note with concern that elements from the LRA have recently launched attacks on 16 localities in the DRC's eastern territories of Dungu, Province Oriental and Ituri, where UNHCR reports of about 80 missing children are confirming fears of new forced recruitment campaigns involving child soldiers. They call for zero tolerance of the sexual violence against girls and women which is used as a weapon of war and for severe criminal penalties to be imposed on the perpetrators of these crimes. Members stress that the grouping of people along ethnic lines during the displacement process is potentially dangerous in the current circumstances. The Council and Commission are asked to implement with immediate effect large-scale medical assistance and reintegration programmes for the civilian populations in the eastern parts of the DRC, with particular focus on assistance for women and girls affected by crimes of sexual violence.

The resolution goes on to call on the governments of the DRC and Rwanda to stop the recent verbal hostilities, return to a constructive dialogue and put an end to the conflict. All the governments of the Great Lakes region must initiate a dialogue with the aim of coordinating their efforts to lower tensions and stop the violence in the eastern parts of the DRC before this conflict spreads to the region as a whole.

Lastly, Parliament calls on the Prosecutor of the International Criminal Court to investigate atrocity crimes committed in the Kivus and Ituri since June 2003 and prosecute those most clearly responsible, ensuring that this includes the principal militia chiefs who have not been arrested and those responsible for massacres and sexual violence.