PRESS BRIEFING BY SECRETARY-GENERAL’S SPECIAL REPRESENTATIVE FOR DEMOCRATIC REPUBLIC OF CONGO

PRESS BRIEFING BY SECRETARY-GENERAL’S SPECIAL REPRESENTATIVE

FOR DEMOCRATIC REPUBLIC OF CONGO

The recent high-level meeting convened by the Secretary-General to discuss the ongoing peace process in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) has initiated a new phase of improved relations among the countries in the Great Lakes region of Africa, William Lacy Swing, the Secretary-General’s Special Representative for the Democratic Republic of the Congo, told correspondents at a press briefing at Headquarters this afternoon.

Mr. Swing said the declaration issued at the high-level meeting last Thursday -- which brought together representatives from the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Uganda, Rwanda and Burundi -- introduced “a phase in which we look forward to improving the neighbourhood, to improving good neighbourly relations” in the Great Lakes region.

He said the declaration was a substantial step forward in addressing the necessary confidence-building measures to develop a better understanding in the region, and that it had set the tone for an upcoming international conference being planned for the coming year to discuss peace, stability, development, and democracy in the Great Lakes region of Africa.

Mr. Swing spoke with reporters following a meeting with the budget commission in which he presented a new budget for the United Nations Organization Mission in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (MONUC).  He said the budget increase from the previous year was needed to cover MONUC’s new obligations imposed in July by Resolution 1493, which included assisting the Government of National Unity and Transition in Kinshasa in demobilizing armed groups, overseeing an arms embargo and planning national elections to be held in two year’s time.

He noted MONUC had increased its multinational peacekeeping force from 8,700 to 10,800 troops, which would be split almost equally between Ituri and the Kivus, where much of the fighting had taken place, and where a good deal of violence was still occurring.  He said the west, north, and central part of the country were calm, and that MONUC had removed most of its troops from these areas.

In Ituri, there were presently 2,500 troops on the ground, and he expected there would be about 4,800 troops by November, roughly four times the strength of Operation Artemis, the French-led European Union force, which he noted was very successful in stabilizing the situation in Bunia.  But, he said, unlike Artemis, MONUC forces would have responsibility beyond Bunia, and would be deployed throughout the entire Ituri district, roughly the size of Sierra Leone.  There was a new and large investment on the part of the Government of National Unity in Kinshasa to get involved in stabilizing the situation in Ituri.

Responding to a question about the budget increase, Mr. Swing said the current budget request was for $670 million, an 11 per cent increase over last year’s budget, and that it reflected the enlargement of the peacekeeping force, and the additional costs of electoral assistance, acquisition of additional aircraft and infrastructure improvements necessary to carry out MONUC’s mandate.

He said the multinational force consisted of troops from Pakistan, Bangladesh and Uruguay —- the world’s three largest troop contributors —- as well as troops from Morocco, Tunisia, Ghana, Senegal and other countries.

Regarding Europe’s role in the peacekeeping efforts, he said, in addition to signing for $305 million for a European Development Fund programme over three years, the Europeans recently contributed 5 million Euros to help with the training of a new integrated police unit, and the French had agreed to rehabilitate the prison in Bunia.

Asked if there had been a contribution from India, he said that country provided a company of Indian officers to operate Indian attack helicopters, which were a very significant contribution.

On the question of security concerns in the wake of the attack on the United Nations compound in Baghdad, Mr. Swing said, “We don’t feel any sort of imminent threat.  But we have reviewed our security posture and we have taken a few steps to improve that.”

In response to a question about the issue of child soldiers, Mr. Swing said child soldiers were an ongoing concern for MONUC, that the numbers were in the thousands, that the mission was dealing with the problem through its human rights and demobilization programme and that MONUC had child protection officers throughout the country.

Asked how sincere he thought all the parties were in their commitment to the peace process, Mr. Swing said he had seen a great deal of improvement in Kinshasa from what he had seen there two years ago when the country was at war.  “Today, all those who were fighting are now in the same government”, he said, adding that the 500-member National Assembly and the 120-member Senate were functioning, and a council of ministers was meeting every week.  The flag was flying throughout the country; the national currency was circulating; and the Congo River system had been reopened to commercial traffic.

He added that international support for the transition process was stronger than it had been since independence, and that international finance institutions had agreed to write off the greater percentage of the country’s $14 billion debt to enable it to use its resources for development and reconstruction.

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