A United Nations Security Council delegation
has stressed cooperation among Central Africa's leadership, and urged
close neighbours - particularly nations bordering the troubled Democratic
Republic of the Congo (DRC) - to play a "positive role" in ending
the violence and civil conflict that has destabilized much of the Great
Lakes region.
The 15 Council diplomats ended the six-country
mission with visits to Uganda and Tanzania yesterday before returning to
New York, according to a UN spokesman. The weeklong mission was led by
Ambassador Jean-Marc de La Sablière of France.
On Sunday evening, the delegation met at Entebbe Airport for an hour with President Yoweri Museveni of Uganda. Talks focused on the DRC and Burundian peace processes, as well as the 'positive role' that neighbouring countries should play on both issues.
That morning, the delegation met in Dar es Salaam with Tanzanian President Benjamin Mpaka. The discussions included Tanzania's support for the Burundian peace process and "good neighbouring relations" in the region. Also in Dar es Salaam, the delegation met with a Burundian rebellion movement, the National Council for the Defence of Democracy-Forces for the Defence of Democracy (CNDD-FDD), one of the two rebel groups who are still fighting against the Government.
On Saturday, the mission left Burundi for Rwanda, where a 90-minute meeting took place with President Paul Kagame. They discussed the political process in the DRC, fighting in eastern DRC and Ituri, and the deployment of the Interim Multinational Force in Bunia. They also discussed allegations of a Rwandan presence in the troubled eastern DRC territory, the role of neighbouring countries in the DRC peace process, and the possibility of holding a conference on the Great Lakes.
In New York, a UN spokesman said Secretary-General Kofi Annan has entrusted his Special Representative for the Great Lakes region, Ibrahima Fall, to coordinate the preparation of the conference, as called for by the Security Council. Mr. Fall briefed the Council mission in Central Africa on the progress of the preparations.