EU Council adopts common position on Africa

The European Council of Ministers this week discussed the situation in the Great Lakes region, as well as a common European policy towards Africa in general. In a report on the proceedings, the Council said it adopted a new common position on conflict prevention, management and resolution in Africa, which included features such as strengthening African capacities for conflict prevention, improving support for African capabilities in the field of peacekeeping, and emphasising the strategic role of development cooperation in conflict. On the DRC, the Council reaffirmed its support for the Lusaka peace accord and for the UN Mission in the DRC (MONUC). However, it expressed concern over obstructions to the ongoing troop disengagement “in particular by the FLC [Front de liberation du Congo]”. The Council also noted the “vital importance” of the disarmament, demobilisation, reintegration and repatriation of armed groups operating in or from the territory of the DRC. “In particular, the Council called on the governments of Zimbabwe and the DRC to cease all support to such armed groups and on Rwanda to continue to honour its commitments with a view to repatriation and reintegration,” the report stated. “The Council recognised the need to differentiate between different categories of members of these armed groups and the need to urgently tackle the question of groups of Rwandese origin.” Expressing concern over the humanitarian situation in the DRC, the Council welcomed the decision by the European Commission to provide 35 million euro in humanitarian assistance “and expressed the EU willingness to further contribute to the easing of the humanitarian situation, when conditions permit”. “The Council recognised that, beyond the immediate implementation of the Lusaka Ceasefire Agreement, there is a need to address root causes of the conflicts in the regions of the Great Lakes and Central Africa,” the report said. The Council also underlined the potentially destabilising effect of arms flows in the region. On Burundi, it expressed profound concern over the stalemate in the peace process, the continued violence and the humanitarian situation. It called on the armed rebel groups to cease hostilities unconditionally and join the peace process without further delay. It also called on the signatories to the Arusha peace accord to work towards reconstruction and development. “The Council reiterated the European Union’s call on all governments in the region to immediately cease all forms of direct and indirect assistance and cooperation with the armed groups and to put pressure on them to join the peace process,” the report added.