Global Courant 2023-05-07 15:03:20
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At a time when more than 100 armed groups are ravaging communities in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) with serious human rights violations and sexual violence, the UN chief said on Saturday that swift, stepped-up efforts must end the chronic cycle of conflict in the natural resource-rich region of the African Great Lakes.
“It is time to end the violence,” the UN said Secretary General Antonio Guterres said at the high level Meeting of the Regional Monitoring Mechanism of the Peace, Security and Cooperation Framework for the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) and the region, held in Bujumbura, Burundi.
Since the resurgence of the M23 armed group in the DRC in 2021, more than 500,000 people have fled the violence, he said, also expressing concern over the current “extremely worrying” security situation in Ituri province.
The current crisis calls for action
“The current crisis shows that much remains to be done,” he warned, adding that the ongoing violence threatens the stability of the entire Great Lakes region.
The framework, signed in 2013 in Addis Ababa, had “raised high hopes” for ending decades of violence, he said, and encouraged redoubled efforts by signatory countries, the African Union, the International Conference on Human Rights Great Lakes Region and the South African Development Community. (SADC).
‘Put your arms down’
He reiterated his appeal to armed groups, saying: “Put down arms immediately and rejoin the progress of demobilization, disarmament and reintegration.”
Within the framework, enhanced efforts should now focus on building a basis for dialogue between the parties to find lasting solutions to differences, ending impunity for perpetrators of cross-border crimes, and inclusively promoting peace, stressed he.
For peace to last, he said the voices of women, youth and displaced persons must be fully heard in all political, security and judicial processes.
Peace and development go ‘hand in hand’
Regarding the region’s abundance of rich natural and cultural resources, he said the DRC is home to the world’s second largest rainforest, accounting for 10 percent of global biodiversity.
“We must make it a source of wealth and development, not of conflict, rivalry and unsustainable exploitation,” he said. “Peace and development must go hand in hand.”
“The UN remains fully engaged, by your side,” he said, welcoming the Peace and Peace initiative Security Council of the African Union in February to revive the framework.
“Only together can we achieve the common goals of peace, security and cooperation of the Addis Ababa framework,” he said. “The people of the region are counting on us.”
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