Kigali, Kinshasa recommit to repatriation deal

The governments of the Democratic Republic of the Congo and Rwanda recommitted themselves on Thursday to complete the repatriation of Rwandan Interahamwe militia and former soldiers in the Congo within a year, according to a communique issued in Pretoria at the end of a Great Lakes summit.

South African President Thabo Mbeki hosted the summit on the UN Third Party Verification Mechanism (TPVM), which was established after the signing of an agreement on 30 July 2002 between the Congo and Rwanda on the withdrawal of Rwandan troops from Congolese territory and the dismantling of the Interahamwe and former Rwandan Armed Forces (ex-FAR).

Besides Congolese President Joseph Kabila and Rwanda's Paul Kagame, Joaquim Chissano of Mozambique attended the summit in his capacity as chairperson of the African Union (AU). The Special Representative of the UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan to the DRC, William Swing, attended the summit on behalf of the verification body.

The verification mechanism was set up following the signing of the DRC-Rwanda agreement, known as the Pretoria Agreement, under which the UN Secretary-General and the South African government were assigned the responsibility of the Third Party.

It was established to act as the secretariat of the Third Party and mandated to monitor and verify the implementation of the agreement.

During Thursday's summit, the leaders evaluated the work done by the verification mechanism, and noted that while much had been achieved, a lot of work still needed to be done.

"It was agreed that the signatories to the Pretoria Agreement, namely the governments of the Democratic Republic of the Congo and the Republic of Rwanda, commit themselves to finding new ways to finalise the work started by the TPVM," the communiqué read.

The Congolese and Rwandan governments committed to work bilaterally, with the continued assistance of the AU and the support of the UN, both of which pledged to continue their political, material and logistical support to the process.

"It is envisaged that this process should be finalised as soon as possible, not exceeding 12 months," the communique read.

The leaders agreed that members of ex-FAR and Interahamwe armed groups in eastern Congo must "be persuaded to depart from the territory of the DRC" as they constitute a threat to peace and stability in the region.