ReliefWeb

An important delegation from the international community arrived, on 31 October 2008 in Goma, the provincial capital of North Kivu, to get a first-hand impression of the security and humanitarian situation, and how the crisis was being handled following the recent clashes in the region between the Armed Forces of the DR Congo (FARDC) and the Congrès National pour la Défense du Peuple (CNDP).

The delegation, which included resident ambassadors representing United Nations Security Council Member States, was led by the UN Assistant Secretary General for Peacekeeping Operations, Edmond Mulet, who was accompanied by Alan Doss, the UN Secretary-General's Special Representative for the DRC and MONUC Head of Mission.

The United States Assistant Secretary of State for African Affairs, Jendayah Frazer, the representative of Sweden in the Great Lakes of region of central Africa, Lena Sundh, as well as a representative of the African Union were also part of the delegation.

"The security and humanitarian situation in North Kivu continues to be a matter of concern to the international community," Alan Doss said at a press conference he held in the afternoon. The need for a sustainable resolution for the crisis in eastern DRC was emphasised during the conference held in the presence of the ambassadors of UN Security Council Member States.

Mr. Doss insisted that the Amani (Peace) Programme for the Kivus and the Nairobi agreements between the DRC and Rwanda remain the only frameworks for resolving the crisis. The members of the international community called on the Congolese people to safeguard the new institutions emerged from elections.

The members of the international community called on the Congolese people to safeguard the new institutions emerged from elections.