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STORY: UN / DRC
TRT: 02:28
SOURCE: UNIFEED
RESTRICTIONS: NONE
LANGUAGE: ENGLISH / FRENCH
DATELINE: 12 APRIL 2017, NEW YORK CITY
RECENT - NEW YORK CITY
1. Wide shot, UNHQ exterior
12 APRIL 2017, NEW YORK CITY
2. Wide shot, Security Council
3. SOUNDBITE (English) Said Djinnit, Special Envoy of the United Nations Secretary-General for the Great Lakes Region:
“The persistent activities of the illegal armed groups remain one of the main threats to the security of the populations and to the stability of the DRC and the region. We should continue to beef up efforts aimed at neutralizing the illegal armed groups, including the Democratic Forces for the Liberation of Rwanda (FDLR), the Allied Democratic Forces (ADF) and others, building on the progress made so far by the DRC Armed Forces with the support of MONUSCO.”
4. Med shot, Congolese ambassador
5. SOUNDBITE (English) Said Djinnit, Special Envoy of the United Nations Secretary-General for the Great Lakes Region:
“I appeal to the parties to diligently implement the 31 December Agreement in order to create the conditions for transparent, inclusive and peaceful elections through dialogue while constantly searching for consensus. I urge them to refrain from any action likely to lead to violence. I reiterate the readiness of the United Nations to support and accompany the Congolese parties in the implementation of the 31 December Agreement, in accordance with Security Council resolution 2348.”
6. Wide shot, Security Council
7. SOUNDBITE (French) Ignace Gat Mavita, Permanent Representative of the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) to the United Nations:
“If the efforts of my Government, which had even proposed the unconditional repatriation of the M23 were not successful, it is because of the refusal of the leadership that took these former rebels hostage, but also because of a lack of open cooperation with the neighbouring countries that harbour them. That is why my country has always sought the involvement of the Council in order to make such cooperation possible with a view to definitively settling this situation.”
8. Wide shot, Security Council
9. SOUNDBITE (French) Ignace Gat Mavita, Permanent Representative of the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) to the United Nations:
“My delegation is of the view that the Council should refrain from becoming involved in the conflict within the Rassemblement. This is a kind of conflict of which the Council does not know the ins and outs. If you speak in favour of one wing of the Rassemblement, as was done by some of you have done, you risk reigniting this conflict.”
10. Wide shot, Security Council
UN Special Envoy for the Great Lakes region Said Djinnit appealed to Congolese parties to implement the 31 December agreement for political transition in the country and urged them to “refrain from any action likely to lead to violence.”
Presenting the Secretary General’s report today (12 Apr) on the implementation of the Peace, Security and Cooperation Framework for the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) and the region, Djinnit told the Security Council DRC President Joseph Kabila’s appointment of a Prime Minister led to a reaction from the Rassemblement opposition group led by Felix Tshisekedi and Pierre Lumbi. He appealed to the parties to “create the conditions for transparent, inclusive and peaceful elections through dialogue and the constant search for consensus.”
Djinnit also said the persistent activities of the illegal armed groups in the country remained “one of the main threats to the security of the populations and to the stability of the DRC and the region.” He stressed that efforts aimed at “neutralizing the illegal armed groups, including the Democratic Forces for the Liberation of Rwanda (FDLR), the Allied Democratic Forces (ADF) and others” should continue to be beefed up. He said the recent incursion by the elements of the former M23 rebel group from Uganda into the DRC was a setback to efforts made by regional leaders. He added that efforts to resume talks on the implementation of the Nairobi Declarations, aimed at ending the hostilities between the two sides, would continue to be pursued.
The Special Envoy noted that there were promising steps towards strengthening economic cooperation between countries in the Great Lakes region despite relations being affected by the activities of illegal armed groups, which have generated suspicion and mistrust, and encouraged them to take decisive steps to address the outstanding problem of these groups.
Congolese ambassador Ignace Gat Mavita said his government, through judicial cooperation in the region, had apprehended several senior FDLR members and extradited them to Rwanda as part of its commitment not to harbour or provide protection to those accused of war crimes and crimes against humanity. He said despite several arrest warrants sent to countries in the region by the DRC, efforts to locate Congolese presumed to be the perpetrators of crimes against humanity and war crimes have so far remained unresolved. He added that these individuals not only continued to roam freely within neighbouring countries but were carrying out destabilizing activities in the DRC. He said if the DRC’s efforts to repatriate M23 members failed, it was due to “the refusal of the leadership that took these former rebels hostage, but also because of a lack of open cooperation with the neighbouring countries that harbour them.”
Turning to the political situation in the country, Mavita said President Kabila appointed Bruno Tshibala, a member of the Rassemblement, as Prime Minister following consultations with the political opposition and the presidential majority. He said the Council “should refrain from becoming involved in the conflict within the Rassemblement” as it risked “reigniting” the conflict between them if it spoke in favour of “one wing” over others.
