PRESS BRIEFING ON SECURITY COUNCIL MISSION TO DEMOCRATIC REPUBLIC OF CONGO

Jean-David Levitte, France’s permanent representative to the United Nations, briefed correspondents at Headquarters today on the Security Council's upcoming mission to the Democratic Republic of the Congo, scheduled for 27 April to 7 May.

He said that the Council had decided to maintain its long visit to the Great Lakes region, in spite of circumstances in the Middle East.  Members realized, on the one hand, that if there were a terrible deterioration of the situation in the Middle East, they could return quickly, because they had rented an aircraft. 

In addition, Council members thought it was very important, with respect to their African partners, to show them that the Middle East crisis, even though it was "front and centre" in their concerns, would not lead them to forget the other topics on the Council's agenda. 

Furthermore, he said, the crisis in the Great Lakes region, according to the non-governmental organizations, had resulted in 3 million deaths in the Democratic Republic of the Congo in three years; 200,000 due to hostilities, and others during the collapse of the economic and health structures. 

Council members were leaving tomorrow afternoon and would arrive in Pretoria, South Africa on Sunday, when they would meet with Mahmoud Kassem, Chair of the Expert Panel that investigated the illegal exploitation of resources in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, which was one of the reasons for the continuing conflict.

He said that the study, done at the Council's request, had been completed, and additional information had been gathered by the Kassem panel.  Immediately following, members would have an important meeting with the leadership of the Congolese Rally for Democracy (RCD) -- important because that was the armed group that had not signed or consented to the "Sun City" agreement on sharing powers. 

Highlights of the agenda, which was handed out to correspondents in the briefing room, were as follows: 

29 April –- in South Africa and Zimbabwe, members would meet with Deputy President Zuma, and Burundian rebel groups, as well as with President Mugabe, followed by a working session with the United Nations Organization Mission in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (MONUC). 

30 April –- in Kinshasa, they would hold a working dinner with MONUC, and meet with President Kabila and ministers, and also, civil society.  They would also witness a weapons destruction ceremony.

1 May –- in Kisangani, there would be MONUC briefings and a visit to MONUC headquarters in downtown Kisangani.

2 May -– in Angola, members would meet with President Dos Santos, and have a luncheon with ministers of the Political Committee.  They would also have a joint meeting with the Political Committee of the Lusaka Ceasefire Agreement.

3 May -– in Uganda, members would meet with President Museveni, and with Jean-Pierra Bemba.

4 May –- in United Republic of Tanzania, members would meet with President Mkapa and then hold a joint press conference.

5 May -– in Burundi, members would meet with deputy President Domitien Ndayizeye, as well as with the Senate President.  They would have lunch with Burundian authorities on economic concerns, and then meet with the Implementation and Monitoring Committee of the Arusha Agreement.  They would also meet with the President of the National Assembly, as well as with President Pierre Buyoya.

6 May –- in Rwanda, members would meet with President Kagame and Rwandan authorities.  They would also hold a meeting with an exploratory delegation of former Rwandan armed groups.

7 May – delegations were scheduled to arrive in New York City.

He added that they would come back "full of energy and enthusiasm" to contribute to the success of the summit on children. 

Concerning the background and timing of the mission, he said it was the follow-up period of the Sun City accord.  That was an agreement, which was Congolese, and the result of months of efforts under the leadership of the ex-President, with a very strong commitment on the part of the South African President. 

The Sun City dialogue had produced very significant progress, he continued.  Thirty-seven texts had been unanimously adopted, which allowed members to look ahead with a true consensus among Congolese on the basics, such as how their society was organized, the economy, the army, political power, and so forth. 

At the end of that long sequence of negotiations, he explained, there was an accord, which, at the current phase, was not able to bring in all of the partners.  It had been signed by 80 per cent of the participants, in particular President Kabila and Jean-Pierre Bemba on power-sharing during the transition period.

He said that President Kabila would remain President of Congo; Jean-Pierre Bemba would become Prime Minister.  And the accord called for RCD-Goma to preside over the Assembly, with the portfolio of Minister for Defence.  At present, RCD-Goma had not signed the accord, nor had some of the political parties, which were spread among the whole configuration of Congolese political parties. 

"Our message to all is very simple –- it is to proceed on what has been accomplished at Sun City," he said.  That was a good basis, a framework on which other progress could be made.  It was extremely important, therefore, for everyone to do what they could so that all of the Congolese nation could come together and build their future. 

The Security Council had not gotten into the details of the mechanisms because the Lusaka Accord gave to the Organization of African Unity (OAU) and the Congolese, themselves, the task of determining the future of the Congolese.  The Council's role concerned the military side, namely peace and security issues for the Congo and the region in its entirety. 

From that perspective, he said Members would take up two files that were not new, but were suffering a bit:  the disarming of the Rwandan armed forces that were in Congo, and their return or repatriation to the country of origin; and the total retreat of all foreign troops still on Congolese soil.  From that standpoint, they would come with a viewpoint that, little by little, a true partnership had been built with all actors in that regional crisis. 

He noted that the Council had sent more than 3,000 people from MONUC into Congo, and was ready to do more.  That would be discussed with its African partners.  "We are prepared to go further as long as they, too, go further," he added.  So, the Council was in the process of taking up phase III, namely to deploy, towards the east, some elements that would accompany the disarming of Rwandan armed groups. 

At the same time, it was absolutely essential for all foreign troops to withdraw from Congolese soil, he said.  Members would come with specific proposals, which they would discuss with all the heads of State and ministers that they would meet during the visit.  They also intended, in each capital, to discuss the pillaging of the copious natural resources of that poor country.  They would also speak about respect for human rights. 

In preparation for that, Council members yesterday organized meetings with three non-governmental organizations, which were present on the ground –- Oxfam International, Amnesty International, and Human Rights Watch.  They had provided first-hand information on the humanitarian situation throughout the Congo.  The day before, members had had a long working meeting with the specialized agencies of the United Nations.

He said "the absolute priority right now is to bring the armed groups that have not yet been drawn into the transition to stop the hostilities and to accompany the process, to enter into negotiations".  He was going to launch another urgent appeal to the rebel groups that had not laid down their arms to do so and join the peace process.  "That's our message to Pretoria," he added.

Finally, members would also talk about the economy, in both Congo and Burundi.  Those who had chosen peace must perceive that the peace dividend would quickly follow, namely a boost to the economy.

He emphasized that the Council was not selecting its partners, not dividing them up between good and bad.  "They are all our partners in the pursuit of peace in the Great Lakes region."  It was in that spirit that the Council would re-launch a project for a series of regional Great Lakes conferences.  That was only sensible if it was accompanied by the withdrawal of troops from the Congo.

Asked what kind of pressure the Council could exert to get the Congo and the Burundian rebels to actually sign onto both agreements, Mr. Levitte said there was no intention to impose sanctions.  Members would arrive in a spirit of dialogue, which could lead to good results, if taken in the right spirit. 

He said he believed there was a "true peace dynamic" in the Great Lakes region, and, therefore, those that had not joined the process must understand that "the peace dynamic was moving, the trains have not left the station, and they could join it as it proceeds".  He was optimistic, because there was a true commitment to peace in the region. 

Another correspondent said the Ambassador had talked about the systematic pillaging of the continent, and asked what the consequences were for those countries that had pillaged Africa.  Mr. Levitte said that was not in the programme because, until now, none of the Congolese protagonists had mentioned that perspective.  It was the Council that had taken up the initiative of creating an expert panel to make an inquiry into the realities of the pillaging.  One report had been delivered and now an additional one was about to be concluded.  It was on the basis of those findings that the Council would take a position.

He said the Council had shown that "slowly but surely, this pillaging is the motor that feeds the conflict".  Therefore, the pillaging must cease. 

To a question about the list of delegations going on the trip, he said the majority of the Ambassadors would be present.  One country, Singapore, would assume the Council in presidency in May, so the Ambassador would remain in New York.  Others would be represented by a permanent representative or political representative.

Replying to request for more detail about the reconstruction process,

Mr. Levitte said debates were currently under way among the Congo, the International Monetary Fund (IMF), and the European Union.  A national programme adopted by the Congo was opening the door to financing by the Union, but debates would be undertaken to identify precise projects. 

The Democratic Republic of the Congo was in a preliminary phase, but for the first time in years, it had a "true budget", which the IMF had verified, he said.  There was a quantitative movement developing among different partners, with projects developing in different areas.  Those included point actions that were urgently required to aid distressed peoples.  There were also infrastructure projects, such as the river route or river highway, which was the main economic infrastructure in the country.  That had to be rebuilt, so that the country would have "economic breath" again.

With respect to the economic situation in Burundi, a meeting of donors in Paris had decided to assign $400 million to help the country in its reconstruction.  The problem now was the urgency of the disbursement of that money.  That was another message that would be taken to the World Bank and the IMF, despite the uncertainty involved.  Nevertheless, those projects must be undertaken to show Burundians that the option for peace was a wise choice and a choice that would benefit them.  The aim was to remind those who had stood aside to come back into the flow, so that everyone could benefit from the peace dividend.

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