07/05/13/African Union – H. E. Mary Robinson and H.E. Dr. Nkosazana Dlamini-Zuma discuss "Framework of Hope" for the DR Congo
Meeting on Saturday, 4th May 2013, at the Waterkloof Diplomatic
Guesthouse in Pretoria, South Africa, Mary Robinson and her
delegation, briefed the AUC Chairperson on the series of consultations being
undertaken since her appointment.
H. E. Mary Robinson has held consultative meetings with Heads of State
of the Region, the AU Commission Chairperson's Special Representative to the
Great Lakes Region, and civil society organisations, particularly Women's
groups, who bear the brunt of the protracted conflict in DR Congo and the rest
of the region. The UN Special Envoy sought from the AUC Chairperson an
opportunity of seizing the OAU/AU 50th anniversary celebrations to provide a
platform for further discussions on the framework.
Fixing a meeting in the morning of 26th May 2013, before the AU Heads of
State summit, H.E. Dr. Dlamini Zuma stressed the need to focus on addressing
the root causes of the conflict in the Great Lakes,
to prevent its recurrence once and for all. She strongly recommended an
inclusive, integrated and multidisciplinary approach to overcoming the peace,
security and development challenges. The countries involved, she noted, need to
be interdependent, and also see themselves as such.
Both Dr. Dlamini-Zuma and Mary Robinson agreed to the need for a more
collaborative, coordinated and guarded approach by various stakeholders to
confront the challenges and meeting the needs of the DRC.
The Peace, Security and Cooperation Framework for the Democratic
Republic of Congo and the Great Lakes Region, was adopted on 24th February 2013, in Addis Ababa,
Ethiopia, by 11 African countries (Angola, Burundi, Central African Republic,
Democratic Republic of Congo, Republic of Congo, Rwanda, South Sudan, South
Africa, Tanzania, Uganda and Zambia). The agreement is an instrument to address
the root causes of the instability in the Great Lakes
region, and particularly in the Democratic Republic of Congo.