UN Security Council delegation arrives in South Africa

A delegation from the UN Security Council arrived in Johannesburg, South Africa, on Wednesday to begin a nine-nation mission aimed at promoting the peace process in the Great Lakes region. Upon arrival in Johannesburg, delegation leader French Ambassador Jean-David Levitte, told reporters that Council members were travelling to the area to support progress being made in the Lusaka peace process, and noted that their presence underscored the region’s importance to the UN. “We hope to have a plan for a timetable for the withdrawal of all foreign forces, a plan for the disarmament of negative forces and a plan for dialogue which is in the hands of president Masire,” Levitte said.

The delegation, comprised of ambassadors from 12 Council member states, held separate meetings on Thursday with Sir Ketumile Masire, the former president of Botswana and the facilitator of the Inter-Congolese dialogue; former South African President Nelson Mandela, facilitator of the Burundi peace process; and current South African President Thabo Mbeki. The delegation was scheduled to fly to Kinshasa later in the day to meet DRC President Joseph Kabila. The mission will end on 25 May, after visits to South Africa, DRC, Angola, Namibia, Zambia, Burundi, Tanzania, Rwanda and Uganda.