East African leaders to deploy regional force to DRC

Nairobi, Kenya (PANA) – East African leaders have ended a Summit on the armed conflict in eastern Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) with a decision to deploy a special armed force and a declaration for the start of peace talks to end the conflict in the troubled region.

The East African leaders who attended the Second Regional Heads of State Conclave on DRC, Congo which convened in Nairobi on 21 April, also endorsed Kenyan President Uhuru Kenyatta to spearhead the talks.

President Kenyatta was joined by Félix Antoine Tshisekedi, President of DRC, Évariste Ndayishimiye of Burundi and Yoweri Museveni of Uganda.  Rwandan president Paul Kagame was represented by the Rwandan Foreign Minister.

The East African leaders welcomed bilateral interlocutors such the United States and France to join in as observers to the peace talks.

The leaders mandated a Secretariat be formed to oversee the implementation of the agreements of the meeting.

The Secretariat will be administered by the Special Envoy in the Office of the President of the DRC and the Special Envoy in the Office of the President of Kenya.

President Kenyatta advised the Principal Secretary of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Kenya to play the role on an interim basis.

The leaders committed to progress the work of the meeting along two tracks: political and military and security enforcement.

On the political track, the meeting agreed that a political process be commenced under the leadership of President Kenyatta to facilitate consultations to be undertaken between the DRC and local armed groups in the DRC.

Further to the outcome of the first Heads of State Conclave, the meeting recalled that a consultative dialogue between the President of the DRC and the representatives of local armed groups in the DRC was to take place at the earliest possible time.

The President of the DRC will chair such a consultative meeting on 22 April, 2022 in Nairobi.

The meeting further agreed that the President of the DRC would subsequently inform his colleagues of the outcome of the consultations at the next sitting.

On the military and security enforcement track, the leaders agreed to accelerate the establishment of a regional force to help contain and, where necessary, fight the negative forces.

The meeting directed the urgent deployment of such a force and said that planning should commence with immediate effect with the full consultation of relevant authorities in the region.

The leaders directed all armed groups in the DRC to participate unconditionally in the political process to resolve their grievances.

The Summit warned that failure to do so, all Congolese Armed groups would be considered as negative forces and handled militarily by the region.

The Summit resolved that all foreign armed groups in the DRC must disarm and return unconditionally and immediately to their respective countries of origin.

The leaders resolved to meet within one month to evaluate progress on the implementation of work.

-0- PANA AO/MA 22April2022