Agreement in Brussels among non-belligerents

Representatives of the political opposition and civil society of the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) - meeting in Brussels this week to discuss the future of their country - signed a 14-page document on Thursday aimed at paving the way towards the inter-Congolese dialogue. Only the Parti lumumbiste unifie, or PALU, of Antoine Gizenga abstained during the vote, but finally signed . The round table, which began Tuesday, was organised by Belgium. "You have proven that the Congolese can listen to each other, respect each other and reach agreement on the basic questions to rebuild the country," Louis Michel, the Belgian minister of foreign affairs, told the 85 Congolese attending the conference. His role at the roundtable was that of a "technical moderator", he said. "I was not expecting such a positive result, as the basic problem was the question of the transition," Aldo Ajello, European Union representative for the Great Lakes region told the participants. "You are going to be subject to heavy pressure in your country. But if you remain unified, you will be undeniable." Items on the agenda were institutions for the transition; the constitution and the question of nationality; the electoral process; and the future Congolese army. A consensus was reached on a transitional period of no longer than 30 months. Consensus was also reached that the future president should be popularly elected, and that there should be no vice-presidents. "The government will be led by a prime minister named by consensus during the inter-Congolese dialogue," the conclusions stipulated. The transition should also benefit from "institutions for consolidation of the citizenry", such as an independent electoral commission, a supervisory authority for the media (guaranteeing "professionalism, objective and complete information, and access for all segments of society"), a truth and reconciliation commission, an observatory for human rights, and a commission to supervise contracts signed during the two-war in the DRC. Signatories agreed that the DRC should have a constitution during the transitional period, pending a permanent and definitive document to be discussed during the inter-Congolese dialogue and then drafted by the transitional parliament, and finally approved by referendum. The core idea of this constitution should be a "decentralised but unique and unified state", the text says. Also, the judicial branch of government should be independent. On the question of nationality, a "large convergence" was reached on the following points: that no one be deprived of their nationality; that nationality cannot have ethnic, racial or regional connotations; that nationality is not be given to groups, but rather that it be obtained through voluntary and personal action; and that nationality be attributed to all abandoned children on Congolese soil. Delegates also agreed on the principle of beginning first with local elections, followed by presidential polls. To organise free and fair elections, they said there was need to respect "certain basic conditions" such as free circulation of persons and goods throughout the national territory; elaboration of the legal system; citizenship and the census; basic civic education; and technical and financial aid of the international community. The future Congolese army should be free of any ethnic or political constituency, and held accountable to civil authorities. "The text is quite weak on that point, but the question is linked to the issues of demobilisation of armed groups and withdrawal of foreign troops, which we don't have the power to solve," one of the delegates said. Michel added that he would go to Botswana on Sunday to meet the facilitator of the inter-Congolese dialogue, former Botswana President Ketumile Masire> Michel's mission would be to brief Masire on the meeting's results and seek information from Masire regarding the cost of the dialogue, which has been postponed several times. Michel would then travel to South Africa, where the inter-Congolese dialogue is due to begin in the coming weeks. The DRC government was represented as an observer at the Brussels round table. Michel said he was ready to meet leaders of the groups who had been invited to Brussels, but who did not attend, in an effort to brief them on the progress made. These groups included the Union pour la democratie et le progres social of Etienne Tshisekedi and the Forces novatrices pour l'union et la solidarite of Joseph Olengankhoy, as well as the two main armed opposition groups - the Rwandan-backed Rassemblement congolais pour la democratie-Goma and the Ugandan-backed Movement de liberation du Congo - which had been invited to attend the round table as observers. A follow-up committee is to be established soon. "It would surprise me greatly," said Michel, if the results of the Brussels round table "do not set the direction" for the inter-Congolese dialogue, "because it wouldn't be easy to do any better". The signing ceremony of the final document was held in the presence of Belgian Prime Minister Guy Verhofstadt, UN Under-Secretary-General for political affairs Ibrahima Fall and representatives of the EU, the OAU, the inter-Congolese facilitation team, and the Sant'Egidio community, a Catholic mediation organisation.