POW release should begin by year-end

The Joint Military Commission (JMC), charged with implementing the Lusaka ceasefire accord, has proposed that the repatriation of prisoners of war should begin by 25 December. In a concept paper adopted after the just-ended third plenary session in Harare, received by IRIN, the JMC agreed that all parties to the conflict should submit a list of POWs and detained persons to the JMC chairman and ICRC before 15 December. However,the rebel Rassemblement congolais pour la democratie (RCD) has expressed reservations over the dates, given the situation on the ground. The paper also said humanitarian corridors would be set up subject to the results of independent and transparent humanitarian assessments. On the subject of disarmament, the paper says the UN has the primary responsibility and obligation to track down armed groups, while the JMC, UN and OAU will jointly determine the practical modalities for this. Information would be sought from Burundi, which is not represented in the JMC, but which has rebel armed groups operating out of the DRC.