DR CONGO / SECURITY COUNCIL WRAP

A Security Council delegation returns from a two-day visit to the Democratic Republic of the Congo where they studied options for the future of a UN peacekeeping presence in the country. MONUC

• Categories: News & Features / News Stories / Unifeed
• Video Length: 00:03:01
• Production Date: 17 May 2010
• Asset Language: Original
• Corporate Name: UNITED NATIONS OBSERVER MISSSION IN THE DEMOCRATIC REPUBLIC OF THE CONGO - MONUC
• Subject Topical: PEACE AND SECURITY
• Geographic Subject: DEMOCRATIC REPUBLIC OF THE CONGO
• MAMS Id: U100517a

Description

STORY: DR CONGO / SECURITY COUNCIL WRAP
TRT: 3.01
SOURCE: MONUC
RESTRICTIONS: NONE
LANGUAGE: ENGLISH / NATS

DATELINE: 14 MAY 2010, KINSHASA, DRC

Shotlist

1. Wide shot, Security Council members on MONUC terminal
2. Wide shot, SRSG Alan Doss and French Ambassador to the UN Gérard Araud walking
3. Med shot, Security Council members boarding the plane
4. Wide shot, Security Council members boarding the plane
5. Med shot , French Ambassador to the UN Gérard Araud inside the plane
6. Med shot, SRSG Alan Doss inside the plane
7. Med shot, Security Council members inside the plane
8. Wide shot, Security Council members coming off the plane in Matadi
9. Wide shot, Security Council members boarding the bus
10. Med shot, bus going towards meeting place
11. Med shot, bus arriving at the Inga Dam
12. Med shot, SRSG Alan Doss and French Ambassador to the UN Gérard Araud coming down of the bus
13. Wide shot, Security Council members looking at the dam
14. Wide shot, Inga Dam
15. Close up, French Ambassador to the UN Gérard Araud looking at the dam
16. Wide shot, Inga Dam
17. Wide shot, Inga Dam
18. Wide shot, bus going to meeting place
19. Wide shot, bus going to meeting place
20. Med shot, SRSG Alan Doss and French Ambassador to the UN Gérard Araud walking
21. Med shot, Security Council members waiting for meeting with DRC president Joseph Kabila to start
22. Med shot, SRSG Alan Doss waiting for meeting with DRC president Joseph Kabila to start
23. Wide shot, French Ambassador to the UN Gérard Araud meets DRC president Joseph Kabila
24. Wide shot, DRC president Joseph Kabila welcomes Security Council members
25. Wide shot, DRC president Joseph Kabila welcomes SRSG Alan Doss
26. Wide shot, meeting starts
27. Wide shot, outside view of meeting place
28. Wide shot, DRC president Joseph Kabila and Security Council members walk to take a picture
29. Med shot, DRC president Joseph Kabila waits for the picture
30. Wide shot, French Ambassador to the UN Gérard Araud thanks DRC president Joseph Kabila
31. Wide shot, Security Council members thank DRC president Joseph Kabila
32. Wide shot, Memling Hotel Security Council Press Conference
33. Med shot, arrival of French Ambassador to the UN Gérard Araud
34. Med shot, people waiting for Press Conference to start
35. SOUNDBITE (English) Gérard Araud, Permanent Representative of France to the United Nations:
“The situation remains fragile, especially in the east of Congo. So, we have to look at the transition; a transition, reconfiguration of the MONUC in this context. And, which means, we have had a really, very productive discussions with President Kabila. So, we are going to look at the mandate of the force. It will be renewed at the end of this month, and it will have to be viewed, examined in all its aspects; the figures, but also the areas, the missions; so, that in a sense we try to move from a situation of peacekeeping towards more peace stabilization and state building.”
36. Med shot, reporters

Storyline

Members of the Security Council met with the Democratic Republic of the Congo’s (DRC) President Joseph Kabila and his key ministers on Friday (14 May), the second day of their visit to the Central African nation.

During the two-day visit, which was postponed from earlier this year due to the disruptions to air travel caused by the Icelandic volcano eruption, the Council also met with representatives of civil society and the United Nations peacekeeping force serving in the DRC.

Members also held discussions with senior officials of the UN mission, known by its French acronym MONUC, which has been helping to bring peace to most of the vast African nation since 1999.

MONUC's mandate expires on 31 May and Kabila’s government is calling for a progressive withdrawal beginning 30 June 2010 and to be completed by 31 December 2011.

MONUC peacekeepers have, among other things, been providing logistical support to the Congolese national army in its operations against Rwandan Hutu rebels and other insurgent groups in the eastern provinces of North and South Kivu.

Council members are seeking to obtain a first-hand understanding of the MONUC’s status in the DRC before extending or revising its current mandate. Ambassador Gerard Araud of France told reporters that although the situation has improved, it remains fragile and any reconfiguration of the mission will have to be analyzed within this context.

SOUNDBITE (English) Gérard Araud, Permanent Representative of France to the United Nations:
“The situation remains fragile, especially in the east of Congo. So, we have to look at the transition; a transition, reconfiguration of the MONUC in this context. And, which means, we have had a really, very productive discussions with President Kabila. So, we are going to look at the mandate of the force. It will be renewed at the end of this month, and it will have to be viewed, examined in all its aspects; the figures, but also the areas, the missions; so, that in a sense we try to move from a situation of peacekeeping towards more peace stabilization and state building.”

Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon recommended in his latest report that the 20,000-strong force begin a drawdown of troops by 30 June.