Council welcomes progress in peace process

The UN Security Council has welcomed the progress being made in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) peace process and called on the parties to the conflict to "redouble" their efforts to promote it further.

In a statement released on Wednesday by the Council's president, Jagdish Koonjul, Council members reminded all parties of their obligation to facilitate the deployment of the UN Mission in the DRC (known by its French acronym, MONUC), particularly in the eastern part of the country. It also called on the Goma-based Rassemblement congolais pour la democratie (RCD-Goma) and Rwanda to cooperate with MONUC in this regard.

Council members recalled the importance of the disarmament, demobilisation, repatriation, resettlement and reintegration of armed groups, and encouraged the parties "to bring forward the disarmament and repatriation of the fighters gathered in the Kamina base". Kamina is in Katanga Province, southern Congo.

The Council expressed concern over the continuing fighting in the eastern part of the country, including battles between rebel groups, in which civilians were the first victims, and demanded an end to the violence, and respect for humanitarian law, Koonjul said. Council reiterated its call for the total withdrawal of foreign forces, an end to all forms of support from armed groups, and urged all Congolese to show real political will for their engagement in the upcoming inter-Congolese dialogue.

Welcoming the recent improvement in the relations between the Congo and Burundi, Council members invited all parties to the conflict to intensify their bilateral contacts.

"In this regard, they welcomed the outcome of the recent Southern African Development Community (SADC) summit held in Blantyre [Malawi], which demonstrates the commitment of the SADC for peace in the region," Koonjul added.