SECRETARY-GENERAL WELCOMES 'BREAKTHROUGH' IN IMPASSE WHICH FACED INVESTIGATIVE TEAM IN DEMOCRATIC REPUBLIC OF CONGO
Press Release
SG/SM/6389
SECRETARY-GENERAL WELCOMES 'BREAKTHROUGH' IN IMPASSE WHICH FACED INVESTIGATIVE TEAM IN DEMOCRATIC REPUBLIC OF CONGO
19971110 Expresses Appreciation to President Kabila, U.S. Ambassador RichardsonThis statement was issued today by the Spokesman for Secretary-General Kofi Annan:
The Secretary-General wishes to refer to the joint Press Statement issued by the United States Special Envoy, Bill Richardson, and the Minister for Reconstruction and Emergency Planning of the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Etienne Richared Mbaya, in Kinshasa on 25 October, in connection with the Investigative Team appointed under his authority to investigate the serious violations of human rights and international humanitarian law alleged to have been committed in the Democratic Republic of the Congo since March 1993.
At the press conference on the same day, President Laurent-Desire Kabila confirmed the Government of the Democratic Republic of the Congo's commitments contained in that Statement which builds on the Secretary-General's letter to President Kabila of 15 July setting forth the Team's mandate.
These public statements represent a breakthrough in the impasse which has confronted the Investigative Team in its efforts to fulfil its mandate. The Secretary-General congratulates Ambassador Richardson for this significant achievement.
On 29 October, Ambassador Richardson met the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights, Mary Robinson, in Geneva. At that meeting, Ambassador Richardson appraised the High Commissioner of the discussions in Kinshasa and other capitals in the region and the Government of the Democratic Republic of the Congo's commitments regarding the implementation of the mandate of the Investigative Team. Ambassador Richardson advised the High Commissioner that his discussions in Kinshasa and the joint Press Statement confirmed the mandate of the Team as set out in the Secretary-General's letter to President Kabila on 15 July.
The Secretary-General wishes also to express his appreciation to President Kabila for his public statement committing his Government to cooperating with the Investigative Team in a way which will allow the Team to carry out the mandate entrusted to it.
The members of the Team are currently en route to Kinshasa to pursue their investigation. * *** *