UN urges rapid selection of venue for inter-Congolese dialogue

The Holbrooke-led Security Council mission also emphasised the importance of the inter-Congolese dialogue on a new political dispensation for the DRC, as provided for in the Lusaka peace agreement. “Without a political track, the parties will inevitably focus on the military track,” the mission’s report stated. Holbrooke said the deployment of MONUC and the progress of the inter-Congolese dialogue went hand in hand since MONUC, an observer mission, could not succeed without progress in political reconciliation among the parties. The delegation encouraged Masire to “address the question of the venue for the first stages of the dialogue with renewed vigour”, and proposed that a compromise should be reached on the venue before a planned visit of the Political Committee overseeing Lusaka to the Security Council in mid-June.