Africa-Press – Botswana. Botswana support efforts to bring peace to Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) and stabilisation of the region.
President Dr Mokgweetsi Masisi said Saturday during a courtesy call by the United Nations’ Under-Secretary-General for Peace Operations Mr Jean-Pierre Lacroix.
“We are informed about your mission in the region, we are in applause of it, we stand behind your efforts,” President Masisi said to the UN senior peacekeeping official.
He said DRC conflict had lingered for too long, adding that instability in any part of the region and the world was a deep concern.
The President said Botswana’s foreign policy promoted peace globally, hence he appreciated help to bring peace to the region.
He said Botswana during her tenure as the chair of the SADC Organ on Politics, Defence and Security played a primary role in ensuring that SADC deployed a multinational force in Mozambique. He said the deployment of Southern African Development Community Mission in Mozambique (SAMIM) was necessitated by the deploring conditions caused by insurgents.
“I think similar conditions exist and perhaps are even more desperate in the Congo DRC,” he said.
He further expressed worry over human suffering, tension escalations within the country and unabaiting tensions between DRC and its neighbour, despite gallant efforts to quell them.
Notwithstanding that, Dr Masisi expressed that challenges such as being underfunded and ill-equipped to carry out the mission faced during SAMIM, existed in the DRC mission.
For his part, Mr Lacroix thanked Botswana for its consistency, approach, support and collective efforts to bring peace in the DRC.
He said DRC conflict was almost a regional conflict due to interference from the neighbouring countries and complexities of relations in the region, adding that the conflict was leading to tragic human consequences.
He said the conflict destabilised the region hence regional responses were expected and provided for.
He said UN was wholeheartedly supporting Southern African Development Community Mission in DRC (SAMIDRC) as their efforts and those of the UN were complementary.
Further, he said his office last year advocated at the Security Council for a limited operational and logistical support for SAMIDRC, of which Security Council requested them to come back with options.
The UN peacekeeping forces alongside SAMIDRC have been deployed in DRC to support government efforts to restore peace and security in the eastern part of the country, which has been characterised by increased conflicts and instability caused by resurgence of armed groups.
The DRC conflict has led to displacement of about seven million people as well as dire humanitarians’ crisis according to the UN’s International Organisation for Migration (IOM).
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