S/PV.6024
6024th meeting
Wednesday, 26 November 2008, 10.45 a.m.
New York
The situation concerning the Democratic Republic of the Congo
Mr. Dabbashi (Libyan Arab Jamahiriya) (spoke in Arabic): First of all, I would like to thank Mr. Alan Doss, the Special Representative of the Secretary-General, for his briefing.
Deterioration of the security situation in the eastern part of the Democratic Republic of the Congo has led to a grave humanitarian situation. The civilian population has faced killings, rapes and child recruitment into armed groups, all of which are crimes that we condemn, and we call for the perpetrators to be investigated and brought to justice. That should be done impartially, whether the perpetrators are rebels, security forces, national Congolese army or civilians. In that regard, we commend the cooperation between the United Nations Organization Mission in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (MONUC) and non-governmental organizations in the Democratic Republic of the Congo.
We also note the increase in internally displaced persons (IDPs) and refugees to 1,350,000, owing to the various conflicts between the Congolese army and the Congrès national pour la défense du peuple (CNDP) in the eastern region of the Democratic Republic of the Congo. As is well known, the Security Council and the international community have condemned the new outbreaks of conflict, killings and atrocities committed against civilians, as well as the obstruction of humanitarian assistance trying to reach the IDPs in their camps.
What is happening in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, as we all know, is an ethnic conflict that has become very complex and difficult, owing to its long duration, with no solution or settlement in sight and competing regional and international interests in an area that is very rich in natural resources.
Against that background, the dispute between the two brotherly States, Rwanda and the Democratic Republic of the Congo, and the fact that each is accusing the other of committing crimes have led, unfortunately, to an escalation of the humanitarian and security crisis in Eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo and the Great Lakes region as a whole. However, we commend the mutual and reciprocal visits of ministers of those two countries, although we regret that direct talks between President Kabila and President Kagame did not take place during the recent Nairobi summit, thereby losing an important opportunity that would have inevitably contributed to settling the issue in the eastern region of the Democratic Republic of the Congo.
We welcome the joint communiqué issued by the Nairobi summit on 7 November 2008, concerning the eastern region of the Democratic Republic of the Congo, and the call for an immediate ceasefire and the establishment of a mechanism to achieve a political settlement of the crisis and its root causes in the Democratic Republic of the Congo. We commend the various leaders of the region and the Special Envoy of the Secretary-General, President Obasanjo, who discharged his duty and visited Goma on 15 November and met with Mr. Nkunda, who agreed to commit to the recommendations of the Nairobi communiqué and the Goma statements of commitment.
We also welcome the ceasefire of 18 November and the CNDP’s withdrawal from some of the positions it had occupied. We hope that the Special Representative of the Secretary-General will be able to make more progress in his efforts towards a lasting peace. In that regard, we would like to welcome the appointment of Mr. Obasanjo as Special Envoy of the Secretary-General for the Great Lakes Region. We support his efforts that, we hope, will lead to a meeting of the points of view of the two brotherly countries, the Democratic Republic of the Congo and Rwanda, as one of the main pillars towards solving the problem in the Democratic Republic of the Congo.
A positive development is MONUC’s support of the Congolese national army, the Forces armées de la République démocratique du Congo, in places such as Ituru and South Kivu, and we would like to register our satisfaction and support for the Government forces extending their control and administration over the natural resources, protection of the civilian population and provision of management, health and judicial services within the humanitarian assistance plan for 2008, as well as preparation for the 2009 plan for those services.
We also appreciate the efforts in implementing the national priorities that have been declared by the Government of the Democratic Republic of the Congo. We have noted that MONUC has tried to implement some of its objectives, particularly with regard to the Goma statements of commitment and the Nairobi communiqué, by supporting the capacities of the security forces and the Congolese national army, as well as by carrying out infrastructure projects and the organization of the return of IDPs and refugees to their homes. Regretfully, those efforts, part of the strategic framework of the United Nations for providing stability and security, have been halted, because of the recent hostilities.
The current situation has made the mandate of MONUC very difficult, particularly in the light of the ongoing fighting and the lack of capacity of the Government forces compared to the relative advantage of the rebel forces. We hope that the plan to redeploy and reconfigure MONUC is successful and that with its additional force, recently agreed by the Council, MONUC will be able to discharge its mission. However, we must all realize that protection of civilians is, in fact, the responsibility of the national army forces and the national Government.
In conclusion, we call upon the leaders in the region, particularly the Presidents of the two brotherly countries, the Democratic Republic of the Congo and Rwanda, to put operational pressure on the parties to solve the conflict, the cause of which is well known to all. That would inevitably need the support of neighbouring countries and international partners, as well as those who have a stake in the Great Lakes region. There will certainly not be a military solution, because it is an ethnic and economic issue that goes beyond the eastern region of the Democratic Republic of the Congo.
We would like to voice our support for the proposal of the Secretary-General to renew the mandate of MONUC until 31 December 2009 and to ensure that it should have all necessary means to defend and protect civilians in the eastern region of the Democratic Republic of the Congo, because that is where the rebel groups, not the State, have control. The clear political intentions of all those who signed the Goma Agreement and the Nairobi communiqué are the basis for the success of the mission of the Special Representative of the Secretary-General and the peace endeavours undertaken by African and non-African personalities and bodies.
