Annan appoints Special Representative

UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan has appointed Kamel Morjane of Tunisia as his Special Representative for the DRC. Morjane, 51, who has most recently served as Tunisia’s ambassador to the UN in Geneva, has extensive prior experience throughout Africa with the UNHCR, a UN press release stated on Thursday.

The appointment of a special representative was seen by UN officials as an opportunity to give new momentum and “political drive” to the Lusaka peace process by initiating “frank and uninhibited dialogue” with the authorities in Kinshasa, diplomats told IRIN. This included dispelling the mistrust and stalling that has so far beset MONUC, the UN Observer Mission to the Congo. It was also depicted as “a signal from the UN of its willingness to act out its role” under the Lusaka agreement and an opportunity to promote consensus on a humanitarian agenda linked to the Lusaka process.