The last few days in eastern Congo have been particularly bloody, and the human drama currently unfolding there, which includes sexual violence, refugees, famine and the kidnapping of children, means that the international community has to take its responsibilities.
For this reason, Development Cooperation Minister Charles Michel is calling for this issue to be urgently placed on the agenda of international meetings, particularly that of the General Affairs Council of the European Union scheduled for 10 and 11 November in Brussels. Michel has written a letter to this effect to the EU's French Presidency.
It is vital that the European Union debate these issues as soon as possible and that the discussions between the respective Ministries of Foreign Affairs, Ministries of Defence and Ministries of Development cooperation are properly coordinated.
With a view to the aforementioned meeting, Minister Michel has decided to contact his French, British and Dutch counterparts straight away, those countries being the ones most prominently involved in development cooperation in the DRC, along with Belgium.