Annan says atmosphere “much more hopeful”

UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan said in a press conference at UN headquarters in new York on Thursday that the “there is now a much more hopeful atmosphere in the Democratic Republic of the Congo,” and there was “a good prospect” that the UN Mission in the DRC (MONUC) would at last be able to deploy an observer force to support the country’s military disengagement and troop withdrawal plan. The parties to the DRC conflict have been engaged in military disengagement measures since 15 March, as called for by the UN Security Council on 22 February. The disengagement process is due to continue until 28 March as troops from Angola, Zimbabwe, Namibia, Uganda and Rwanda relocate to new defensive positions, 15 km from the frontlines. MONUC monitoring teams are due to begin verification on 29 March to check on the armies’ new positions and investigate any alleged violations of the plan. All sides will then be required to provide the exact location and strength of any units located within 50 km of another army’s position. The UN Security Council on Thursday expressed its determination to intensify its efforts to ensure peace and security in Africa, including strengthening peacekeeping operations. It announced its intention to consider and act on a series of reports on maintaining peace, including a forthcoming report on conflict prevention from Kofi Annan and another on its own working group on sanctions. This was all part of the development of a strategy and shared vision on addressing the challenges to international peace and security, including the root causes of conflict, the Council said.