06 05 14 Press Availability on the D.R.C. and the Great Lakes Region

SECRETARY
KERRY: Well, good
morning, everybody. I’ve just come from a productive, good meeting with
President Kabila and Foreign Minister Tshibanda. We spoke candidly about the
enormous opportunities and the challenges that are faced by the Democratic
Republic of the Congo, and we spoke very candidly also about the ways in which
we can make progress going forward. I congratulated the president on the
accomplishments that he and his government have achieved, together with the work
of MONUSCO, but we also talked about the steps that now need to be taken to
provide further stability; increased, broader democracy; greater justice; and a
greater amount of economic development for the Congolese
people.

The president
expressed his vision and his commitment to each of these efforts, and I think
it’s fair to say that he leaned forward on his commitment to make sure that the
accords – the Kampala accords as well as the peace and security agreement are
well implemented over the course of the days ahead.

The suffering in
the Great Lakes region of Africa and the crisis in the eastern part of the
Democratic Republic of Congo really continues to trouble all of us. The eastern
D.R.C. has been the scene of some of the most horrific crimes of violence
against women and girls that are imaginable. And it’s a powerful reminder of the
obligations that we all face, that we all share with respect to not only ending
the killing and the fear, but in order to work for the birth of a new generation
of stability and of hope.

Achieving a
lasting peace in the D.R.C. is a priority of President Obama and a priority of
mine. And that is why we appointed a close colleague of mine from the Senate for
18 years, Senator Russ Feingold, who is here with us today, as the United States
Special Envoy for the African Great Lakes region and the Democratic Republic of
Congo. Russ brings enormous intellect, passion, commitment to this issue. And
already, he has been able to have an impact on the ground. He has been working
with the UN Representative Mary Robinson, with the leaders in the region, and we
are very pleased that the Nairobi Declarations were achieved, as well as a
reduction in violence.

But he would be
the first to say that we have further steps to take in order to complete this
task, and we all understand what they are. The efforts to disarm, to demobilize,
to reintegrate – these are the priorities of the moment. I want to commend the
Congolese military and MONUSCO for defeating the M23 and for taking the fight to
the Allied Democratic Forces – the ADF, as we know them – and many other
Congolese armed groups. The United States welcomes the Kabila government’s
commitment to focus on the Democratic Forces for the Liberation of Rwanda, and
we discussed with President Kabila the steps that need to be taken with respect
to that.

But I need to be
clear: Military force alone will not deliver stability to the D.R.C. Lasting
peace will not grow out of the barrel of a gun. It will come from restoring
state authority and state services, and providing the capacity building that is
necessary in those areas that have been recaptured from armed groups. It will
also come from demobilizing the combatants and returning them to civilian life.
I welcome the government’s initial efforts on this front, and we look forward to
working with them as we continue programs that will advance that
initiative.

The United States
also strongly supports the Peace, Security, and Cooperation Framework peace
process. Now I can’t emphasize enough how important that process is in
identifying and resolving the root causes of the conflict in the D.R.C. as well
as in the entire Great Lakes region. It’s imperative that all of the signatories
fully implement their commitments and support the ongoing broader process of
bringing peace to the region. Peace cannot be delayed or deferred or denied, and
I think the people of Congo – of the Democratic Republic of Congo made that
clear.

It is not enough
just to focus on the military side of this equation, and it’s not enough to
focus only on the political stability or economic development side of it. We
need to work on all of these at the same time, and we need to keep the pressure
on the FDLR and the other armed groups. We need to support the parties as they
try to implement the framework agreement. So we must provide partnership and
leadership as we urge all of the parties to come together to create a political
solution.

And that means
free, fair, timely, and transparent elections. I encouraged President Kabila to
work with his government and the parliament in order to complete the election
calendar and the budget. And they need to do so in accordance with the
constitution. The United States is committed to supporting the Congolese people,
the government, and other donors as they work towards decisions that are
credible, timely, and consistent with the current constitution. And obviously,
it is very clear that the dates and the process need to be set and fully
defined, and the sooner, the better.

As a sign of our
commitment, I am pleased to announce that $30 million will be immediately made
available from the United States in additional funding in order to support
transparent and credible elections as well as recovery and reconstruction
programs in the eastern D.R.C. This contribution comes on top of already
substantial U.S. assistance for economic development for the Congolese people.
USAID plans to invest $1.2 billion over the next five years in the D.R.C.,
focusing on improving political and economic governance and on promoting social
development. Our programs will strengthen Congolese institutions and improve
their ability to respond to the peoples’ needs, and that includes the delivery
of critical healthcare and education services.

I also spoke with
President Kabila about another issue which has been a concern of late, and that
is the question of adoption for families in the United States and friends of
mine in the Senate who know that there is important, required attention to this
question of international adoption. Here in the D.R.C. since 2009, the number of
American families able to provide a house to children who have lost their
parents has grown each year. And today, I urged President Kabila to move as
rapidly as possible in the review of the situation that raised some concerns,
and also to lift the new freeze on international adoption from the D.R.C. We
want to enable Congolese children, who seek to, to be able to be matched with
parents abroad who are eager to provide them with a secure and happy future. And
as someone – I have seen this firsthand. My sister has adopted a young child
from China. I know how positive and important this can be for everybody
concerned, and I think it’s an issue that’s important to all of us as a matter
of basic human decency.

And we have to
admit, all of us, we can have no illusions about the challenges that lie ahead.
But even as we look down a complicated road, we cannot lose sight of the fact
that the Democratic Republic of the Congo is a place of enormous potential. Its
people provide enormous potential. And the people of Congo want a better future.
The fact is that together, we have an ability to be able to work to support the
people of the Congo, to build a more secure and prosperous future, which is a
responsibility that belongs to all of us.

I can guarantee
you that the United States, through the immediate efforts of our ambassador on
the ground, our embassy, and particularly our special envoy, we will continue to
work in every way that we know how to be a good partner in this effort, and we
look forward to working with the people of Congo in that in furtherance of that
objective.

So I’d be
delighted to answer a couple of questions if there are a
few.

MS.
PSAKI: Great. The first
question will be from Mimie Engumb from Radio Oakpi.

QUESTION: (In
French.)

SECRETARY
KERRY: (In
French.)

QUESTION: (In
French.)

SECRETARY
KERRY: Well, I think I
just mentioned it, to be honest with you. There will be elections in many
countries in Africa over the course of the next year or so. I think there are 15
presidential elections and some 37 elections in countries in Africa. And so
every election is really critical and important, and it is important for the
people to be able to know what the process is, to have confidence in that
process.

And the United
States position is very clear: We believe that the elections need to be free,
fair, open, transparent, accountable; and the sooner the process is announced,
the sooner that the date is set, the sooner people have an ability to be able to
participate; and we believe that it ought to be done in keeping with the
constitutional process of the country.

MS.
PSAKI: The next question
will be from Nicolas Revise from AFP.

QUESTION: Thank you very
much, Mr. Secretary. You just announced your financial support for D.R.C. for
its demobilization plan, but is there some conditions to this support? What are
specifically these conditions? Did you ask specifically to President Kabila to
give this green light to go after the FDLR still active in eastern Congo? And
politically, is the U.S. support tied to the respect of the constitution? So did
you ask specifically to President Kabila not to change the constitution and not
to run for a third term? Thank you.

SECRETARY
KERRY: Well, let me
discuss all of that. But first of all, with respect to the conditions, obviously
the demobilization is taking place in accordance with the agreement. And that
agreement requires people to go back to their homes, where possible, where they
sign, appropriately, an amnesty for those who qualify. And I think for those who
don’t, it is clear that there remains – that is, people who may have been
engaged in crimes against humanity, war crimes – those people remain liable for
that. But others who sign the agreement and sign the amnesty are committed to
and encouraged, obviously must return to their homes. That’s an important part
of this demobilization effort.

With respect to
the election process, the constitution, and the FDLR, we want to see the process
of providing stability and completing the task of disarming the armed groups in
the east completed. So that includes not just the completion of the efforts with
the ADF, but also obviously, indeed making sure that the FDLR is held
accountable and that the initiative with respect to them will
commence.

The president – we
did discuss it. The president made it clear that he intends to do that, and I
think that there is a schedule. I don’t want to discuss it because I think it
would be inappropriate to do so. But the answer is the president gave his word
that that is not just on the agenda, but that he has a specific process in mind
and timing.

And with respect
to the constitutional process, we talked about the election. I believe the
president’s legacy is a legacy that is very important for the country, and that
he has an opportunity, which he understands, to be able to put the country on a
continued path of democracy. And I believe it is clear to him that the United
States of America feels very strongly, as do other people, that the
constitutional process needs to be respected and adhered to. That’s how you
strengthen a country.

I have no doubt
that President Kabila’s legacy will be defined by the progress he has made in
the – particularly the last year in addressing the security issues of the east,
the economic issues of the country. And he’s a young man with an enormous amount
of time to be able to continue to contribute to his country. And I’m quite
confident that he will weigh all of those issues as he makes a decision about
the future.

But clearly, the
United States of America believes that a country is strengthened, that people
have respect for their nation and their government, when a constitutional
process is properly implemented and upheld by that government. And we obviously
believe – we’re a country with term limits. We live by them. We had several
hundred years of transformation under that process, and we encourage other
countries to adhere to their constitution.

MS.
PSAKI: Thank you,
everyone.

SECRETARY
KERRY: Thank
you.