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UN envoy calls for political will for peace in DRC
Mary Robinson, UN Secretary- General’s Special Envoy for the Great Lakes Region of Africa, on Friday urged leaders in the region to keep working towards the success of the new eastern Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) peace plan, a UN spokesman told reporters here.
Robinson made the statement in Burundi during her first trip to the Great Lakes region, which began on April 29 and wraps up this weekend, said Martin Nesirky, spokesperson for UN secretary- general, at a daily briefing.
She has met with Burundi President Pierre Nkurunziza, as well as the Great Lakes peace envoys for both the African Union and the International Conference on the Great Lakes Region. She also called on leaders to maintain the political will and urgency for peace, said the spokesman.
On the Peace Security and Cooperation Framework for the Democratic Republic of the Congo and the region, Robinson said there had been agreements before but this time had to be different and that implementation should start now.
On Thursday, Robinson held talks with Ugandan President Yoweri Museveni on the implementation of the accord, which was signed by 11 countries in February 2013 to end the cycles of conflict and crisis in the eastern DRC and to build peace in the long-troubled region.
The special envoy stressed that political cooperation through the Framework should remain the central focus of efforts to resolve the conflicts and achieve peace, security and development.
Robinson also met with civil society organizations, including women’s groups, in both Burundi and Uganda, saying that the engagement of women at the national, regional and international levels is crucial for ensuring the success of the Framework.
On Saturday, the special envoy will be in South Africa, where she is expected to meet in Pretoria with Nkosazana Dlamini Zuma, chairperson of the African Union Commission, said the spokesman.
Robinson, former Irish president, was appointed last month by UN Secretary-general Ban Ki-moon to her current position, with the eastern DRC conflict being a priority on her agenda.
The eastern DRC has witnessed armed clashes over the past months, after a newly-formed rebel group M23 launched an insurgency in North Kivu in early 2012.
The M23 rebels seized Goma, capital of the North Kivu province, before pulling out under regional pressure to facilitate peace talks late last year.
In March, the UN Security Council authorized the deployment of an intervention brigade within the UN Stabilization Mission in the DRC (MONUSCO) to carry out targeted offensive operations, with or without the Congolese national army, against armed groups that threaten peace in eastern DRC.
