01 May 2000
U.N. Security Council Mission Leaving for DRC
(Holbrooke leading team to bolster Lusaka agreement) (850) By Judy Aita Washington File United Nations Correspondent United Nations -- The United Nations Security Council Mission to the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), which plans to meet with representatives of all the signatories to that country's cease-fire agreement, is viewed as a benchmark undertaking by many of its participants. Led by U.S. Ambassador Richard Holbrooke, the mission was scheduled to depart May 2 and plans to return from Lusaka on May 8 after having visited Kinshasa, Kigali, Harare, and Kampala. Holbrooke said the DRC mission, and an earlier one to Kosovo in late April, "show the emerging centrality of the Security Council as an organization which doesn't just sit in New York and talk but follows up." "That is our goal," he said. "We believe in the importance of the Security Council and we think that we are evolving towards a useful process which, while it puts great physical pressures on the 15 members of the Security Council, has increasing value in conflict resolution and conflict prevention. The mission was set up to help encourage the parties to fulfill their commitments to the Lusaka Cease-fire Agreement. "Concerned by developments in the Democratic Republic of the Congo since the signing of the agreement, the Security Council mission is visiting the region to facilitate the parties' agreement on concrete ways to ensure the rapid and full implementation of the agreement," according to the mission statement released by the council. The mission will focus on the conditions necessary for the full deployment of MONUC, such as the need for strict adherence to the cease-fire, including ending the re-supply of weapons to the combatants; an adequate status of forces agreement with the U.N.; reliable guarantees of security and freedom of movement for U.N. personnel; and relocation of the Joint Military Commission (JMC) to Kinshasa and its establishment as a permanently sitting body, the statement said. The mission will also review the working relationship developing between MONUC and the JMC and look for concrete progress by all sides on the disengagement of forces agreed to on April 8. Zambian President Frederick Chiluba considers the mission "a benchmark important event" and the Joint Military Commission set up under the agreement is ready to receive the council members, Holbrooke reported to the council April 27. Holbrooke also conveyed to the council Chiluba's "appreciation for leadership in getting this project under way." Security Council members making the trip in addition to Holbrooke are Ambassador Jean-David Levitte of France, Ambassador Moctar Ouane of Mali, Ambassador Martin Andjaba of Namibia, Ambassador A. Peter van Walsum of the Netherlands, Ambassador Said Ben Mustapha of Tunisia, and Ambassador Jeremy Greenstock of the United Kingdom. As members prepared for the trip, U.N. Special Representative in the Congo Kamel Morjane told the council that "prudent optimism" exists for the disengagement agreement holding and that there is no reason MONUC preparations should not proceed quickly. "The situation today is certainly the best I have ever witnessed since I have been there," Morjane said at a press conference at U.N. Headquarters April 25. While things could change at any moment, there had been 10 consecutive days with no fighting in the DRC, he said. It was under Holbrooke's presidency of the Security Council in January that the DRC peace process was given the boost needed to bring the international community on board the Lusaka agreement. Holbrooke, who set aside January as "the Month of Africa," reserved one week to discuss the DRC. He also brought together the signatories of the Lusaka agreement, including DRC President Laurent Kabila, Angolan President Jose Eduardo dos Santos, Zambian President Frederick Chiluba, Zimbabwean President Robert Mugabe, Ugandan President Yoweri Museveni, Rwandan President Pasteur Bizimungu, Mozambican President Joaquim Chissano, Namibian Foreign Minister Theo-Ben Gurirab, and former President of Botswana Sir Ketumile Masire, who is the facilitator for the inter-Congolese political negotiations. On February 24, the Security Council approved the United Nations plans for the second phase of MONUC, unanimously adopting resolution 1291, which mandated the deployment of 5,537 troops. In the resolution, the council said that phase II deployment should be based on three considerations: the parties' respect for the cease-fire agreement and council resolutions; the development of a valid plan for the disengagement of forces and redeployment; and the parties' providing firm and credible assurances for the security of the U.N. troops. After the vote on the resolution, Holbrooke said the Security Council had "taken a critical step toward helping the Congo and the region come to the peace that its people so desperately need." "We call on all parties to realize the opportunities for peace provided by the Lusaka Agreement. We strongly endorse Lusaka as the best and only viable process leading to a durable resolution of the Congo conflict. ... It is a blueprint for peace, democratization, and lasting reconciliation.," the ambassador said. (The Washington File is a product of the Office of International Information Programs, U.S. Department of State. Web site: http://usinfo.state.gov)
|
NEWSLETTER
|
| Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list |
|
|
|
