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UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs

DRC: UN urges Kinshasa to speed DDR, police and military reform

NAIROBI, 12 December 2003 (IRIN) - The UN Security Council on Thursday urged the transitional national government of the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) to adopt a national disarmament, demobilization, reintegration (DDR) programme, and to accelerate reform of the armed and police forces.

Likewise, Council members called on all foreign armed groups to participate in disarmament, demobilization, reintegration, repatriation and resettlement, and encouraged those with influence to urge them to do so.

In a statement to the press, Security Council President Stefan Tafrov of Bulgaria also asked the international community to give its full support for the effective implementation of the arms embargo imposed by Resolution 1493, and for efforts to end the illegal exploitation of the DRC's natural resources.

While Council members "took note of the progress made" by the Congolese government, they urged the Congolese government to conduct national consultations on the formation and composition of the Truth and Reconciliation Commission (TRC) and adopt a revised TRC law, which upheld human rights principles.

In a similar vein, the Council urged all parties to the recent conflict, including the Congolese government, "to undertake all necessary measures to stop violations of human rights and international humanitarian law and bring to justice those who have committed, ordered, solicited, facilitated or in other way contributed to the commission of such crimes".

They also stressed the need to adopt legislation establishing various institutions in support of democracy, in particular for enabling the Independent Electoral Commission and the High Authority for Media to function.

Tafrov's statement followed a briefing of the Security Council by UN Under-Secretary-General for Peacekeeping Operations, Jean-Marie Guehenno, on the current situation in the DRC.

Theme(s): (IRIN) Conflict, (IRIN) Governance, (IRIN) Human Rights

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