A
European Civil Peace Corps
Proposal
for a European Parliament recommendation to the Council
on the establishment of a European Civil Peace
Corps
Committee
on Foreign Affairs, Security and Defence
Policy
28 January 1999
A4-0047/99
Rapporteur
Per
Gahrton,
TFF Associate
CONTENTS
Procedural page
A. PROPOSAL FOR A
RECOMMENDATION
B. EXPLANATORY
STATEMENT
Annex: Proposal for
a recommendation B4-0791/98
At the sitting of 17 July 1998 the President of
Parliament announced that he had referred to the
Committee on Foreign Affairs, Security and Defence Policy
the proposal for a recommendation to the Council by Mr
Spencer and 38 other Members on the establishment of a
European Civil Peace Corps (B4-0791/98).
At its meeting of 24 September 1998 the Committee on
Foreign Affairs, Security and Defence Policy considered
the proposal for a recommendation and decided to draw up
a report.
At the meeting of 24 September 1998 the committee
appointed Mr Gahrton rapporteur.
At its meetings of 1 December 1998, 7 January and 20
January 1999 the committee considered the proposal for a
recommendation drawn up by its chairman and adopted it
unanimously.
The following took part in the vote: Cushnahan, third
vice-chairman and acting chairman; Gahrton, rapporteur;
Aelvoet, Bernard-Reymond, Burenstam Linder, Caligaris
(for Bertens), Cars, Frischenschlager (for La Malfa),
Galeote Quecedo, Goerens (for Andre-Léonard),
Gomolka, Habsburg, Hoff, Kristoffersen, Lambrias,
Oostlander, Pack (for Piha), Salafranca Sánchez
Neyra, Schwaiger (for Rinsche), Schroedter (for
Cohn-Bendit), Terrón i Cusi (for Wiersma), Theorin
and Titley.
The proposal for a recommendation was tabled on 28
January 1999.
The deadline for tabling amendments will be indicated
in the draft agenda for the part-session at which the
report is to be considered.
A - PROPOSAL FOR A
RECOMMENDATION
European Parliament
recommendation on the establishment of a European Civil
Peace Corps
The European Parliament
- having regard to the proposal for a recommendation
to the Council by Mr Spencer and 38 other Members on the
establishment of a European Civil Peace Corps
(B4-0791/98),
- having regard to Article J7 of the Treaty on
European Union,
- having regard to Rule 46(3) of its Rules of
Procedure,
- having regard to the report of the Committee on
Foreign Affairs, Security and Defence Policy
(A4-0047/99),
A. whereas the end of the 'cold war' has been
characterised, both in and out of Europe, by an
increasing number of intra and inter-state conflicts with
growing international, political, economic, ecological
and military implications,
B. pointing out that the manifold character of these
conflicts makes them often difficult to understand and to
handle because of the lack of appropriate concepts,
structures, methods and instruments,
C. considering that the military response to
international conflicts often has to be combined with
political efforts to reconcile belligerent parties, to
put a genuine end to violent conflicts and recreate
conditions of mutual confidence,
D. believing that the potential role of civilians in
situations of conflict has still to be fully
evaluated,
E. pointing out that the European Parliament has
adopted several resolutions concerning the eventual
establishment of a European Civil Peace Corps (ECPC),
F. underlining that such initiative should be seen as
a further instrument of the European Union to enhance its
external action in the field of conflict prevention and
peaceful resolution of conflicts,
G. whereas in no way should the ECPC be intended as an
alternative to ordinary peace-keeping missions or give
rise to overlapping with organisations already working in
the field in question, such as the OSCE and UNHCR, but
rather as complementary, when necessary, to conflict
preventive actions of military nature in cooperation with
the OSCE and the UN,
H. emphasising that the prospect of future enlargement
of the Union makes the necessity and urgency to reform
and strengthen the existing common foreign and security
policy even more insistent,
I. underlining that the EU has already set up for the
war in former Yugoslavia an experience like the European
Community Monitoring Mission (ECMM) that could be used as
a first step on the way to establishing an ECPC,
J. insisting however also that the experiences of the
ECMM and the Kosovo verification mission show the
limitations of the concept of the ECPC,
K. whereas the inadequate deployment of unarmed
observers, who could easily be taken hostage, may also
have politically undesirable consequences,
L. emphasising that many specialised NGOs, many of
them with detailed and extensive field experience, could
give a precious contribution to such a project,
M. stressing that any civilians taking part in a peace
corps must be properly trained,
N. whereas the ECPC must not become a large and
inflexible organisational structure, which would entail
high and unproductive costs and prevent the flexible use
of resources from various sources, both governmental and
non-governmental,
1. Recommends to the Council to produce a
feasibility-study about the possibility to establish a
ECPC within the framework of a stronger and more
effective Common Foreign and Security Policy;
2. Recommends that, in so doing, the Council should
consider the possibility of practical peace-making
measures such as arbitration and confidence-building
between the warring parties, humanitarian aid,
reintegration (inter alia by disarming and demobilising
former combatants), rehabilitation, reconstruction and
monitoring and improving the human rights situation;
3. Recommends that the Council make minimum, flexible
arrangements for the sole purpose of reviewing and
mobilising both the resources of NGOs and those made
available by States, and possibly participating in their
coordination;
4. Recommends that the Council instruct the Early
Warning Unit to examine and identify cases in which an
ECPC could be used;
5. Recommends to the Council to report to the EP about
the ECMM making a full evaluation of the role of this
body and its future perspectives and limitations;
6. Recommends to the Council and the Commission, in
the framework of this feasibility study, to organise a
hearing to evaluate in depth the role that NGOs have
played for the peaceful resolution of conflicts and the
prevention of violence in former Yugoslavia and
Caucasia;
7. Instructs its President to forward this
recommendation to the Council and, for information, to
the Commission.
B - EXPLANATORY
STATEMENT
THE CONCEPT OF A
EUROPEAN CIVILIAN PEACE CORPS (ECPC)
Introduction
The newly emerging conflict situation at the end of
the 'Cold War' has been characterised by an increasing
number of intra-state conflicts with growing
international, political, economic, ecological and
military implications. This development has led to an
increasing necessity and legitimacy for outside
intervention, creating an increasing challenge for
international organisations like the European Union (EU)
to become involved. However, they face the problem that
the manifold character of these conflicts makes them very
difficult to understand and to handle. There is a lack of
appropriate concepts, structures, methods and instruments
(including material basis and prepared manpower): it has
become very obvious that a sole reliance on the
traditional resources associated with diplomatic or
military strategies is not adequate. There is a need,
therefore, for a comprehensive peace-building approach,
including humanitarian aid, development cooperation and
conflict resolution. Interventions need to be
co-ordinated on an international level; related to the
needs of the population in the conflict area; compatible
with the civil society and other actors in the field;
non-violent and distinct from enforcement actions;
flexible and practical; and capable of counteracting
violent escalations at an early point.
The ´Bourlanges/Martin' report, adopted by the
European Parliament on 17 May 1995 in its plenary session
in Strasbourg, recognised for the first time this need by
stating that 'a first step towards a contribution to
conflict prevention could be the establishment of a
European Civil Peace Corps (including conscientious
objectors) with training of monitors, mediators and
specialists in conflict resolution'. Several times since
then, the European Parliament confirmed this statement,
for the last time in its latest report on the
implementation of the CFSP.
Since that time the following conceptualisation of a
European Civilian Peace Corps has been developed.
Goals
The first priority of an ECPC will be conflict
transformation of human-made crises, e.g., the prevention
of violent conflict escalation and contribution towards
conflict de-escalation. In any case, the ECPC's tasks
will be exclusively civilian in nature. Special emphasis
will be given to conflict prevention, because it is more
humane and less costly in comparison with post-conflict
reconstruction. However, the Corps might also take up
humanitarian tasks following natural disasters. ECPC
involvement should not be confined to a certain area
(i.e. Europe).
The ECPC will rely on a holistic approach, including,
inter alia, political and economic efforts, and the
enhancement of political participation and of the
economic context of operations. Since conflict
transformation efforts have to address all levels of
protracted conflicts, the tasks of ECPC will be
multifunctional. Concrete examples of ECPC´s
peace-building activities are mediation and confidence
building among the conflict parties; humanitarian
assistance (including food aid, water and sanitation, and
health); reintegration (including disarming and
demobilisation of former combatants and the support of
displaced persons, refugees and other vulnerable groups);
rehabilitation and reconstruction; stabilisation of
economic structures (including the establishment of
economic linkages); monitoring and improving the human
rights situation and empowerment for political
participation (including election monitoring and
assistance); interim administration to facilitate
short-term stability; information and the establishment
of educational structures and programmes designed to
eliminate prejudices and enemy images; and campaigns
informing and educating people about the peace-building
activities at hand. Nothing of this kind can be imposed
directly on the parties, however, through political
support from the outside, their cooperation can be
facilitated.
Success in fulfilling these tasks will depend on the
degree to which the ECPC will be able to improve the
relationship between humanitarian aid, confidence
building and economic cooperation. None of these areas
can be successfully supported without relating them to
the others; e.g., the success of humanitarian aid and
reconstruction after a war depends on the degree of
confidence building among the conflict parties; material
reconstruction, therefore has the task of involving the
conflict parties in joint projects.
The ECPC is meant to be an official body, set up by
the EU and functioning under the auspices of the EU. With
regard to the EU bodies and the EU member states, an ECPC
would ensure that:
- EU funds would be spent on projects compatible with
EU interests;
- EU support would be made visible;
- EU member states would be supported in the
preparation and recruitment of mission personnel;
- coordination between EU member states and other
actors receiving EU funds for peace-building activities
would be facilitated and redundance prohibited; and
- EU funds would be spent efficiently.
The ECPC will function only under a mandate backed by
the UN or its regional organisations: OSCE, OAU or OAS.
It will contribute to the establishment of necessary
links between the realm of diplomatic efforts on the one
hand and the civil society on the other hand. As a
peace-building body, the ECPC will differ from the
peace-making efforts in the diplomatic field. ECPC
missions will rely on the absence of violent military
operations, some sort of a ceasefire agreement and the
consent of the major parties. As an official body, the
ECPC differs from NGOs. However, the ECPC's work will
rely on efficient cooperation with NGOs and will
strengthen and legitimate NGO work. The ECPC will be
structured and organised independently of military
bodies, but will rely on cooperation with the military
where ECPC missions coincide with peace-keeping
operations.
Personnel and
structure
The ECPC will consist of two parts:
1. a core of full-time employed professionals to
fulfil management tasks and ensure continuity (i.e., a
secretariat for administration and management;
recruitment, preparation, deployment, debriefing, and
liaison); and
2. a pool of mission-specific professionals (including
specialists, with or without experience, but all trained
thoroughly), to be called on for specific missions,
either on a part-time employment basis or as short-term
field workers (including conscientious objectors on a
voluntary basis and unpaid volunteers). Conscription will
be based upon proportional representation among the EU
Member States.
Preparation
General
preparation
All personnel will be prepared with regard to the
general character of mission conditions (e.g., a lack of
sufficient material infrastructure, stark prejudices and
enemy images, proneness to violence, inadequate health
care and supply systems which challenge the personal and
social abilities of the personnel who have to cooperate
in a multicultural setting far away from their normal
lives). The general preparation will include the
development of sustainable skills usable under extreme
conditions and applicable to a wide array of conflict
situations. It will aim at the creation of a common
understanding which will include the learning of a joint
mode of communication and provide a conceptual basis for
EU personnel coming from different professional and
cultural backgrounds, to work in countries with peoples
of different cultures. The general preparation should
also provide the trainees with a fundamental knowledge
about peace-building activities and the organisations
involved (i.e. UN, OSCE, NGOs).
Function-specific
preparation
Given that the multidimensional character of conflicts
makes them very difficult to understand and handle,
professional experiences have to be related to the
strategies of conflict transformation and to the
specifics of the various functions involved. Regardless
of which mission the personnel will be assigned to, they
should all receive function-specific preparation which
provides them with details about at least one of the
major functions of missions.
Mission-specific
preparation
Mission personnel also have to be acquainted with the
specific conditions that they will encounter in certain
missions and the specific roles they will have to
perform. Therefore, mission-specific preparation, both
prior to deployment and 'on the job', is required.
Post-mission
debriefing
Finally, post-mission debriefing is important for the
personnel and the ECPC in order to evaluate and integrate
the experiences and to improve the preparation and
performance in the field.
Recruitment
To ensure that only qualified personnel will be
recruited, the ECPC needs to establish:
(a) a comprehensive database of available personnel,
including rosters compatible across EU member states and
training institutions;
(b) comprehensive recruitment procedures, whereby
information about qualified personnel can be transferred
between relevant institutions on a regular basis; and
(c) a basis for recruitment by member states, by
publishing the benefits of ECPC involvement in
peace-building efforts and taking legal and financial
steps in order to provide job security and medical
preparation for missions.
Deployment
A deployment has to be organised according to the
mandate of a mission. The mandate has to be clear and
practicable with regard to available resources.
Procurement of the necessary equipment and the insurance
and travel arrangements of personnel have to be taken
care of.
Funding
Funding will be provided by the EU and it's member
states. In order to facilitate the establishment of the
ECPC according to given resources on the one hand and
overall needs on the other, a continuos growth of the
ECPC is planned, starting with a pilot project, followed
by continuos monitoring and 'fine-tuning'
adjustments.
Institutional
The ECPC should be established as a specific service
in the Directorate General One in the Commission with a
general director accountable to the Commissioner for
Foreign Affairs as well to the newly to be established Mr
or Mrs. CFSP in the Council. To guarantee its necessary
operational flexibility it might be structured with ECHO
as a model.
Conclusions
The potential role of civilians in the field of
conflict prevention and peaceful conflict resolution has
still to be fully evaluated. It happens quite frequently
that at the end of military peace-keeping missions
conflicts start over again because the inner reasons that
brought about violence have not been thoroughly addressed
and solved. The military response, though necessary to
stop violent confrontation, is not sufficient to bring
parties to a real reconciliation. The idea of a ECPC, in
this respect, should be taken into account by the EU as a
further means to enhance and make its external action
more effective. The facilitation of dialogue and the
recreation of conditions of mutual confidence are tasks
too often neglected that should be part of any peace
mission. A stable peace is reached only when a real
reconciliation process is pursued. Civil diplomacy is
softer and more flexible and should be used to side,
continue or conclude military peace-keeping actions. The
EU has an extraordinary opportunity to strengthen its
common foreign and security policy setting up a new
practical instrument that could be made available to
warring parties for the prevention of the escalation of
violence and the peaceful resolution of crises.
ANNEX
B4-0791/98
Recommendation on
the European Civilian Peace Corps
The European Parliament,
- having regard to Article J7 of the Treaty on
European Union,
- having regard to Rule 46 of its Rules of
Procedure,
A. whereas the European Parliament has adopted several
resolutions concerning the eventual establishment of a
European Civilian Peace Corps,
B. convinced that such a Peace Corps should contribute
positively to the Common Foreign and Security Policy and
in particular strengthen the capacities of the Union to
prevent conflicts in and between third countries to
escalate into violence,
1. Recommends that the Council:
(a) follows up the expressed wish of the Parliament
that the Council should without delay request the
European Commission to produce a feasibility study on the
European Civilian Peace Corps, this study to be finished
by the end of 1999 at the latest;
(b) would, in the case of a positive outcome of this
study, establish a pilot project as a first step to the
establishment of the European Civilian Peace Corps.
©
TFF 2000
Tell a friend about this article
Send to:
From:
Message and your name
NONVIOLENCE
FORUM
|
|