Annan calls on parties to fulfill their responsibilities

UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan has called on all parties to the 1999 Lusaka peace accord to "fulfill their important responsibilities", noting that "the peace process in the Democratic Republic of Congo may be at a turning point".

In remarks on Friday to the UN Security Council meeting on the DRC, he told the Council’s Political Committee of the Lusaka agreement that the UN Mission in the DRC (MONUC) stood "ready to make a decisive contribution" by deploying to the east, and urged an end to the fighting.

"No one should give any further support to the armed groups that continue to fight in the east, and no one should take any further aggressive action against them," he said. "At the same time, everything possible must be done to create conditions that will encourage former combatants to return voluntarily to their homes and enable them to be safely settled."

He repeated the UN's call for the demilitarisation of Kisangani and said he intended to reinforce MONUC's presence in the northeastern city.

Annan expressed his concern about the recent decision of the Rwandan-backed Rassemblement congolais pour la democratie (RCD-Goma) and the Ugandan-backed Mouvement pour la liberation du Congo (MLC) armed opposition movements to base a joint military force in Kindu to "find and neutralise" armed elements in the east. Kindu, he added, was to serve as a MONUC base as it entered its third phase of operation, thereby creating "a climate of security to encourage armed groups to disarm". He hailed the withdrawal of Namibian and Ugandan troops from the DRC, and urged Angola, Rwanda and Zimbabwe to hasten the withdrawal of their troop pullout.

The reopening of the Congo River and its tributaries would be, he said, "the most important single step that can now be taken to reunite the country and stimulate economic and social life". Therefore, he called on all parties to help MONUC do its part by removing all barriers to free movement. In addition, he urged members of the Political Committee to support Ketumile Masire, the facilitator of the inter-Congolese dialogue, and thanked the government of South Africa for its willingness to host the dialogue when it resumes, at a date and location yet to be announced.

Finally, he called for improved human rights, increased access for humanitarian relief, and great action to address the plight of children.