Annan calls for urgent troop contributions

UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan has called on member states to urgently contribute military personnel to the UN mission
in the DRC (MONUC).

In a report to the Security Council on Thursday, Annan noted that the recent adoption of a disengagement plan by the Political Committee overseeing implementation of the Lusaka ceasefire agreement would "lend impetus" to the deployment of some 5,500 troops and military observers under the second phase of MONUC. Given the "assumption of cooperation" from the warring parties, there was now an urgent need for countries to
contribute the necessary military personnel to MONUC.

Under the disengagement plan, adopted on 8 April in Kampala, the parties agreed to a 15 km withdrawal of all forces from the confrontation line and the creation of a 30 km wide "zone of disengagement" by the end of June. In the report, Annan also expressed concern over the targeting of certain ethnic groups in eastern DRC. He said humanitarian needs in the country had attained "massive proportions", and the situation in the east had
deteriorated rapidly since the start of the year. In addition to some 1.3 million internally displaced people and 300,000 refugees, a further estimated 14 million people were in need of humanitarian assistance.

"I am particularly disturbed at the repeated warnings that have been received from knowledgeable observers that certain populations in the Kivus and in the Ituri district may be the victims of widespread ethnic violence," he said. He urged local leaders to help reduce the level of tension in the east and seek peaceful solutions.

Annan proposed the establishment of an expert panel of five people to investigate the possible illegal exploitation of resources from the DRC. The UN Security Council in February had expressed serious concern at reports of illegal exploitation of natural resources and "other forms of wealth" in the DRC. Annan said the panel, to be chaired by an "eminent personality", would submit a report and recommendations for further action at the end of its proposed six-month mandate.