Luanda — The Extraordinary Summit of the International Conference on the Great Lakes Region (ICGLR) held Saturday in Luanda called for the immediate cessation of hostilities in the eastern region of the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) and in Sudan.
The decision is expressed in the final communiqué of the XI Extraordinary Summit of the Statesmen or their representatives from ICGLR.
It (Summit) called for urgent need to improve the coordination and operation of the mechanism to monitor and evaluate the implementation of the ceasefire and the withdrawal of M23 from the territories they hold.
In the document read by the Angolan minister of Foreign Affairs, Téte António, the participants expressed solidarity with the victims of the conflicts in the two countries and reaffirmed their support for the revival of the Framework Agreement for Peace, Security and Cooperation for the Great Lakes Region.
On the DRC, the parties were encouraged to commit to the implementation of the Luanda and Nairobi understandings and called on M23 to prioritise the cantonment process.
The meeting acknowledged the reduction in armed violence against the population in eastern DRC, particularly in North Kivu, following deployment of the East African regional force, but said more needed to be done for lasting peace in the region.
In the communiqué, the participants condemned any attempt by the M23 and other armed groups to reinforce themselves to re-launch hostilities in the occupied zones, calling for the urgent abandonment of arms as well as the unconditional repatriation of "foreign gangs".
The delegations welcomed Angola's initiative to deploy a military contingent in order to ensure security in the M23 cantonment areas and support the activities of the ad hoc verification mechanism.
The meeting encouraged the DRC Government to speed up the implementation of the disarmament, demobilisation, community reintegration and stabilisation process, and said it was crucial for the resolution of the conflict in that country's eastern region.
The Summit underlined the need to re-activate the humanitarian programme for displaced populations to their areas of origin and allow the registration of the voting population in the territories previously occupied by the M23.
It called for the reopening of access roads to facilitate humanitarian assistance to internally displaced populations.
The top diplomats from Angola, DRC, Rwanda and Burundi, supported by the ad-hoc verification mechanism, were directed to meet periodically, for joint assessment of the process and progress in implementing the commitments of the Luanda roadmap and the Joint Plan of Action for the pacification of the eastern region of DRC and the normalisation of political-diplomatic relations with Rwanda.
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The communiqué said the summit welcomed the SADC decision to deploy an intervention force as a regional response to support efforts for peace and security in eastern DRC.
As for the Sudan, the meeting called for the need to revive the peace process aimed to find a lasting solution to the conflict and support a democratic and inclusive transition, recognising that there is no military solution to the crisis.
The summit called on the international community to provide the necessary assistance to the populations of eastern DRC and Sudan, as well as to continue monitoring the situation in both countries.
The participants congratulated the Angolan Statesman on his commitment to the search for peace and stability for the continent.
According to the statement read by Minister Téte António, Angola should host, on a date yet to be determined, a summit between ICGLR, SADC, ECCAS and the Community of East African States, with the participation of the UN.
The meeting, expected to be coordinated by the African Union (AU), will initially focus on the improvement of the coordination of efforts to ensure peace on the continent.
The summit gathered heads of State or their representatives from the ICGLR and took place under the motto "For a stable Great Lakes region, towards sustainable development".
The ICGLR was created in 1994 and comprises Angola, Burundi, the Central African and Democratic Republics of Congo, as well as Congo, Kenya, Uganda, Rwanda, Sudan, South Sudan, Tanzania and Zambia. JFS/AFL/AL/ADR/DAN/NIC
