Luanda — The efforts of the Angolan President João Lourenço towards easing political tension between the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) and Rwanda were highlighted Wednesday, in New York, by the Permanent Representative of Angola to the United Nations, Francisco da Cruz.
The diplomat, who was speaking at the meeting of the 1533 Sanctions Committee on the DRC, emphasised that, as part of his responsibilities as Champion of the African Union for Peace and Reconciliation in Africa and current President of the International Conference on Great Lakes Region (ICGLR), the Angolan statesman has led mediation initiatives to pacify the region since the resurgence of M23 military activities, with the occupation of several areas of Congolese territory.
The Angolan diplomat spoke of the Luanda Roadmap on the Pacification Process of the Eastern Region of the DRC and the Joint Action Plan for the Resolution of the Security Crisis adopted within the framework of the ICGLR.
"These mechanisms established a set of decisions to end hostilities and the withdrawal of M23 from the occupied areas to cantonment centres on Congolese territory, as well as to facilitate dialogue for the normalisation of political and diplomatic relations between the DRC and Rwanda", Cruz said.
The diplomat added that Angola has committed to deploying a contingent of the Angolan Armed Forces (FAA) in the DRC to secure the cantonment areas of the M23 forces, and to support the activities of the Ad-Hoc Verification Mechanism.
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"It is in this context that the 10th Extraordinary Summit of the ICGLR held in Luanda, Angola, on June 3, 2023, mandated the Ministers of Foreign Affairs of Angola, DRC, Rwanda and Burundi to meet periodically to assess the implementation of the commitments arising from the Luanda Roadmap and the Joint Action Plan for the Pacification of the Eastern Region of the DRC", Cruz said.
The diplomat said Angola will continue to support the ongoing peacemaking efforts in the eastern region of the DRC, calling on all parties involved to implement the decisions taken at the various summits in order to ensure the credibility and confidence of the process and maintain lasting peace in the region.
The meeting aimed to promote an exchange of views on the final report of the Group of Experts and the implementation of the sanctioning measures, namely the arms embargo on all non-governmental entities and individuals operating on the territory of the DRC and the asset freeze and travel ban on 36 individuals and nine entities.
The Security Council Committee established under the resolution 1533 (2004) on the DRC oversees the sanctions imposed by the Security Council.
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