Last updated at: (Beijing Time) Thursday, January 16, 2003
UN Urges Congolese Parties to Implement Peace Accord
The United Nations Security Council on Wednesday called on all warring parties in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) to implement the peace accord signed last December in the South African capital of Pretoria.
The United Nations Security Council on Wednesday called on all warring parties in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) to implement the peace accord signed last December in the South African capital of Pretoria.
In a statement issued after the council consultations on the DRC, French UN Ambassador Jean-Marc de La Sabliere said the peace agreement should be carried out "without delay" in order to establish a transitional government which should lead to electionsin the country.
The council expressed deep concern at the renewed fighting in eastern DRC and urged the parties to observe a ceasefire signed onDec. 30, said de La Sabliere, whose country currently holds the rotating council presidency.
The council condemned "in the strongest terms" the massacres and systematic violations of human rights perpetrated by the Congolese Liberation Movement (MLC) and its ally, the Congolese Rally for Democracy-National (RCD-N) in Ituri province, eastern DRC, he noted.
The statement also called on MLC Jean-Pierre Bemba to ensure that these massacres and violations of human rights cease immediately and to hold the perpetrators accountable.
Under the mediation of the United Nations and South Africa, theCongolese government and other related parties signed the Pretoriapeace accord on Dec. 17. But the signing was soon followed by military offensives launched by the MLC and RCD-N against a pro-government armed group in Ituri province.
According to a recent report by the UN Observer Mission in DRC,the advancing rebel troops have in recent weeks committed a seriesof atrocities in Ituri, such as looting, systematic rape, summary executions and kidnapping.
The preliminary report has been submitted to the Security Council and the UN Commissioner for Human Rights.