South Africa ‘well placed to help with peacekeeping’

As a team of South African officials returns from UN headquarters in New York to report in the coming days on South Africa’s proposed participation in a UN peacekeeping mission to the Democratic DRC, Cedric de Coning of the country’s Centre for the Constructive Resolution of Disputes (ACCORD) told IRIN that South Africa was better prepared, in terms of training and policy, than most countries. South African troops would be part of a UN Peacekeeping Force, interpositioned between the belligerent parties and exercising control over certain areas to “create a secure environment for humanitarian relief and protect humanitarian aid by for instance, providing security for food convoys,” he said. The mission would be in support of the larger Lusaka peace process and South Africa’s contribution of troops would strengthen its hand in the mediation process, “because it shows our commitment and that we are willing to put our money where our mouths are,” de Coning said.