New government body to deal with UN observer mission

The government in Kinshasa has also decreed the establishment of a general commissariat to deal with all issues related to the UN Observer Mission to the DRC (MONUC). It appointed Professor Leonard Humphrey Ntwaremba as General Commissioner in charge of UN affairs in the country. The new commissariat was charged with executing directives related to the presence of MONUC, as well as dealing with and reporting to the government on "the
assessments, evaluations and conceptions" of the UN mission. Three sub-commissioners for MONUC affairs would deal with the issues of UN troops deployed in the DRC, the application of UN decisions, and identification issues concerning all UN personnel in the DRC. Foreign Minister Abdoulaye Yerodia was given the responsibility of putting the new commissariat in place, Congolese television reported.