Annan Urges Kinshasa, Kigali to Put Peace Agreement into Action

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Last updated at: (Beijing Time) Friday, August 09, 2002

Annan Urges Kinshasa, Kigali to Put Peace Agreement into Action

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UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan Thursday hailed the recent peace accord between the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) and Rwanda, and urged the two neighboring African countries to take the necessary steps to put the agreement into action.

Speaking at the outset of an open UN Security Council meeting on the country formerly known as Zaire, Annan called the agreement,signed in South Africa on July 30, "an important political milestone, which could help pave the way towards a lasting resolution of one of Africa's most complex conflicts."

The international community must provide all necessary support for the accord, he said, adding that he has instructed the UN Organization Mission in the DRC (MONUC) to determine what actions it can take within its current mandate and resources to help the parties carry out the agreement.

"However, the parties need to be perfectly clear in the tasks to be performed, and provide the necessary information, in order for MONUC to define its specific role," he said.

The secretary-general also welcomed the presence in the councilof South African Foreign Minister Nkosazana Dlamini-Zuma, whose country helped to broker the agreement, Foreign Minister Leonard She Okitundu of the Kinshasa government, and the Rwandan special envoy for Congo, Patrick Mazimhaka.

"I look forward to a very serious dialogue, not only here in the council, but also with various UN departments," Annan said. "Ithink this reflects the value of the new partnership between the African Union and the United Nations."

The agreement was signed by Congolese President Joseph Kabila and Rwandan President Paul Kagame in Pretoria, South Africa.

The deal, the latest in a string of efforts to end the war, commits Rwanda to pull its 30,000 troops from Congo in exchange for Congo rounding up, disarming and repatriating thousands of Rwandan rebels who have used the country as a base for attacks on Rwanda.

In her remarks to the council, Zuma said the agreement was at the center of the peace process and signaled the strong political will of both sides to expedite reconciliation.

For his part, Okitundu said the Congolese government had undertaken to implement faithfully its obligations regarding the process of disarmament, demobilization, reintegration, reunification and repatriation.

Meanwhile, Mazimhaka said the Pretoria agreement provided solutions to what had up to now been intractable problems in the Lusaka accord by addressing the two core issues that had plagued both sides: how to resolve the problem of the Interahamwe, and thewithdrawal of all foreign forces from Congolese territory.

War broke out in former Zaire in August 1998 when Rwanda and Uganda backed Congolese rebels seeking to oust then-President Laurent Kabila, accusing him of supporting rebels who threatened their security. Angola, Zimbabwe and Namibia sent troops to support the government.

An estimated 2.5 million people have died - mainly from war-induced hunger and disease - in the conflict in Congo, a resource-rich central African nation.

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