Communiques – en

Rwandan Government Should Ensure Returnee’s Safety, Fair Trial

Mary Robinson, Special Envoy of the UN Secretary-General to the Great Lakes Region, Martin Kobler, Special Representative of the UN Secretary-General in the Democratic Republic of Congo and the Head of MONUSCO, Boubacar Diarra, AU Special Representative for the Great Lakes, Russell Feingold, U.S. Special Envoy for the Great Lakes and the DRC, and Koen Vervaeke, EU Senior Coordinator to the Great Lakes Region, are concerned about the renewed outbreak of violence between the M23 and the Government of the DRC. They take note of the announcement of the M23 of cessation of hostilities as a first and necessary step to peace.

27 October 2013

U.S. DEPARTMENT OF STATE
Office of the Spokesperson
October 26, 2013
2013/1296

STATEMENT BY JEN PSAKI, SPOKESPERSON

Renewed Fighting in Eastern DRC

One peacekeeper died today following fightings with M23 in Kiwanja

Towards an EU initiative on responsible sourcing of minerals originating from conflict and high-risk areas

(New York, October 3, 2013) – United Nations Security Council members should use their visit to the Great Lakes region of Central Africa to help end human rights abuses and impunity for the worst crimes in eastern Democratic Republic of Congo, Human Rights Watch said in a letter to Security Council members sent on October 2, 2013. Security Council members are to leave on October 3 for a 6-day trip to Congo, Rwanda, Uganda, and Ethiopia.

I welcome today’s report from the Court of Auditors on the EU support to governance in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC). I am glad to see that the Court acknowledges that the Commission's work is part of a sound cooperation strategy that addresses the main needs of the country.

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We, signatories to the Peace, Security and Cooperation Framework for the Democratic Republic of the Congo and the Region, held our second meeting of the regional oversight mechanism of the Peace, Security and Cooperation Framework for the Democratic Republic of the Congo and the Region on 23 September in New York, on the margins of the sixty-eighth General Assembly of the United Nations. This high-level meeting was jointly convened by the United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon, and the Chairperson of the African Union Commission, Nkosazana Dlamini-Zuma. The purpose of the meeting was to review developments in the region and progress in the implementation of the Framework, including benchmarks drafted by the Technical Support Committee.