Africa-Press – Angola. The efforts of the President of the Republic, João Lourenço, to ease the political tension between the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) and Rwanda were highlighted, on Wednesday, in New York, by the Permanent Representative of Angola to the United Nations, Francisco da Cruz.
The diplomat, who was speaking at the meeting of the 1533 Sanctions Committee on the DRC, stressed that, within the scope of the responsibilities of Champion of the African Union for Peace and Reconciliation in Africa and current President of the CIRGL, the Angolan statesman has led mediation initiatives, with a view to pacifying the region since the resurgence of military activities by the M23, with the occupation of various areas of Congolese territory.
In this context, he referred to the Luanda Roadmap on the Pacification Process of the East Region of the DRC and the Joint Action Plan for the Resolution of the Security Crisis, both adopted within the scope of the CIRGL.
“These mechanisms established a set of decisions for the cessation of hostilities and the withdrawal of the M23 from the occupied areas to the cantonment centers in Congolese territory, as well as to facilitate dialogue for the normalization of political and diplomatic relations between the DRC and Rwanda”, he underlined.
In his speech, he stressed that, within the scope of its mediation initiatives, Angola committed to deploying a contingent of the Angolan Armed Forces (FAA) in the DRC, in order to secure the cantonment zones of the M23 forces, and support the activities of the Ad-Hoc Verification Mechanism.
“It was in this context that the 10th Extraordinary Summit of the CIRGL held in Luanda, Angola, on June 3, 2023, mandated the Ministers of Foreign Affairs of Angola, DRC, Rwanda and Burundi to meet periodically to assess the implementation of the commitments arising from the Roadmap of Luanda and the Joint Action Plan for the Pacification of the Eastern Region of the DRC”, he highlighted.
During his address, the Angolan diplomat highlighted the Quadripartite Summit held in Luanda on 27 June 2023 under the auspices of the African Union and with the participation of the United Nations, involving the Community for the Development of Southern Africa (SADC), the East African Community (EAC), the Economic Community of Central Africa (ECCAS) and the CIRGL, with the aim of enhancing coordination efforts.
Francisco da Cruz said it was an unprecedented event, as, for the first time, Regional Bodies and Mechanisms met to discuss existing peace initiatives, strengthen coordination to avoid duplication of efforts and optimize resources, as well as find the best way to face the security challenges in the eastern region of the DRC.
The diplomat emphasized that Angola will continue to support the pacification efforts underway in the eastern region of the DRC, calling on all parties involved to implement the decisions taken at the various summits, in order to ensure the credibility and trust of the process and maintain lasting peace in the region.
The meeting aimed to promote an exchange of views on the final report of the Group of Experts and the implementation of sanctioning measures, namely the arms embargo on all non-governmental entities and individuals operating in the territory of the DRC and the freezing of assets and travel bans for 36 natural persons and nine entities.
The Security Council Committee established pursuant to resolution 1533 (2004) concerning the DRC oversees sanctions measures imposed by the Security Council.
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