UN Security Council conference proposal made public

A supplementary UN Security Council proposal for a regional summit on security and development in Africa's Great Lakes region says the agreement of "all countries concerned" in conflicts in the area should be obtained on "principles and procedures" capable of ensuring peace and stability. The proposal is an addendum to the final report of the Council's mission to the region from 27 April to 7 May. The Council submitted the document - "International Conference on Peace, Security, Democracy and Development in the Great Lakes Region" - to parties to the conflict for their consideration. The proposal aims at "laying the foundations for just and lasting peace and stability in the Great Lakes Region by dealing in global and long-term fashion with the factors able to help in achieving" the objectives of peace, security, democracy and development. The Council said it would be up to the parties to the conflict to decide when the conference should start, "keeping in mind that the process could begin as soon as the withdrawal of each of the foreign contingents currently deployed on the territory of the DRC has started being implemented". Noting that the organisation of the conference was "a matter for the African countries alone to decide", the Council suggested that it could be lead by the Organisation of African Unity (OAU), with UN backing. With regard to participants, the Council suggested that the OAU invite the countries in the region directly concerned with the conflict - namely Angola, Burundi, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Namibia, Rwanda, Uganda and Zimbabwe - and those with past involvement in mediation attempts; as well as those hosting refugees stemming from conflicts in the region. The UN, the Southern African Development Community, international financial institutions, the EU and interested countries, including donors, could also participate "under a status that could vary depending on the issues tackled and the assistance they could provide to support the implementation of the outcome of the conference". The proposal can be found at http://www.un.org/Docs/sc/missionreports/537e1.pdf