UN
United Nations Peacekeeping
3 Mar
2009
Jean-Marie Guéhenno continues his visit to the DRC
ress Briefing of October 20, 2004
*Original in French
Jean-Marie Guéhenno continues his visit to the DRC
The Head of the UN Peacekeeping Operations, Jean-Marie Guéhenno, is in Kinshasa since October 16 where he has begun and continues to supervise consultations inside MONUC and with external partners including the United Nations Operation in Burundi (ONUB), MONUC spokesman Mamadou Bah said at a weekly news briefing on Wednesday.
Mamadou Bah said a team of experts from the UN Department of Peacekeeping Operations (DPKO) had arrived in the Congolese capital a few days before of Mr. Guéhenno. The delegation and MONUC are working together to develop a new concept of operations for the UN Mission in the DRC. 'The aim is to see how MONUC can best carry out the new talks assigned by Security Council Resolution 1565,' said Mr. Bah, adding that 'Mr. Guéhenno in expected, in the name of the Department of Peacekeeping, to brief the UN Security Council, on November 1st at the latest, on the necessary changes to the structure and deployment of MONUC.'
The head of UN peacekeeping operations met with the Vice President s of the Democratic Republic of the Congo this Wednesday, and will meet with President Joseph Kabila tomorrow Thursday.
On Monday October 18, Jean-Marie Guéhenno and MONUC chief William Swing held talks with the Special Representative of the UN Secretary-General for the Great Lakes region, Ibrahima Fall, at MONUC headquarters in Kinshasa. Mr. Fall is in the Congolese capital for the second meeting of the Regional Preparatory Committee for the International Conference on the Great Lakes, which being held here on October 19-23, 2004.
According to Mr. Fall's press officer, George Ola-Davies, participating delegations represent 11 countries: Angola, Burundi, Congo-Brazzaville, Kenya, Uganda, The Democratic Republic of the Congo, the Central African Republic (CAR), Rwanda, Sudan, Tanzania and Zambia. Mr. Ola-Davies outlined the different phases of the International Conference. He first recalled that the priorities were set during the first preparatory meeting held in Bujumbura a month ago. The new members -- Angola, CAR, Congo-Brazzaville and Sudan'which have joined the countries of the sub-region here in Kinshasa, are expected to voice their views on those priorities. The 11 member countries will next finalise the political proposals put forward at the Bujumbura meeting and give concrete expression to, and make clear, the priorities for the Great Lakes region. That will be prior to the meeting in Kampala where the Dar-es-Salaam Declaration will be drafted. The Tanzania capital will, in fact, host, from 19 to 20 November, the International Conference on the Great Lakes, during which the member-countries will sign the Pact on Stability, Security and Development (SSD). 'Accompanying arrangements will be put in place to ensure that the Pact would not remain a dead letter,' George Ola-Davies concluded.
Also during Wednesday's briefing, MONUC spokesman Mamadou Bah announced the celebration of United Nations Day for October 24, 2004. ' Because the date falls on a Sunday this year, MONUC will mark it on Friday October 22. And like every year, the Public Information Division of MONUC will disseminate the UN Secretary-General, Kofi Annan's message, and will organise several activities across the DRC, reflecting the work that staff members of the UN Mission and other agencies of the UN family are doing in the country.'
Mr. Bah also reminded the audience that the Office of the UN High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) has launched this Wednesday October 20 the repatriation operation for Congolese refugees in the Central African Republic (CAR). 'The operation will involve transferring to the DRC, precisely to the HCR transit centre at Libenge, about 3,000 persons currently at the UNHCR-run camp of Mulange in CAR. UNHCR is targeting three rotations per week. Upon their arrival in the DRC, UNHCR will provide the former refugee returnees with non-food assistance while the World Food Programme will offer each of them enough food to feed themselves for three months,' MONUC spokesman explained.
'UNHCR has also indicated that it will, by the beginning of next year, launch another operation to repatriate DRC refugees from Congo-Brazzaville to their region of origin, namely, Equateur province. It is estimated this group comprises between 60,000 and 80,000 persons, many of them natives of the same area as those to be repatriated from CAR,' Mr. Bah concluded.
The head of UN peacekeeping operations met with the Vice President s of the Democratic Republic of the Congo this Wednesday, and will meet with President Joseph Kabila tomorrow Thursday.
On Monday October 18, Jean-Marie Guéhenno and MONUC chief William Swing held talks with the Special Representative of the UN Secretary-General for the Great Lakes region, Ibrahima Fall, at MONUC headquarters in Kinshasa. Mr. Fall is in the Congolese capital for the second meeting of the Regional Preparatory Committee for the International Conference on the Great Lakes, which being held here on October 19-23, 2004.
According to Mr. Fall's press officer, George Ola-Davies, participating delegations represent 11 countries: Angola, Burundi, Congo-Brazzaville, Kenya, Uganda, The Democratic Republic of the Congo, the Central African Republic (CAR), Rwanda, Sudan, Tanzania and Zambia. Mr. Ola-Davies outlined the different phases of the International Conference. He first recalled that the priorities were set during the first preparatory meeting held in Bujumbura a month ago. The new members -- Angola, CAR, Congo-Brazzaville and Sudan'which have joined the countries of the sub-region here in Kinshasa, are expected to voice their views on those priorities. The 11 member countries will next finalise the political proposals put forward at the Bujumbura meeting and give concrete expression to, and make clear, the priorities for the Great Lakes region. That will be prior to the meeting in Kampala where the Dar-es-Salaam Declaration will be drafted. The Tanzania capital will, in fact, host, from 19 to 20 November, the International Conference on the Great Lakes, during which the member-countries will sign the Pact on Stability, Security and Development (SSD). 'Accompanying arrangements will be put in place to ensure that the Pact would not remain a dead letter,' George Ola-Davies concluded.
Also during Wednesday's briefing, MONUC spokesman Mamadou Bah announced the celebration of United Nations Day for October 24, 2004. ' Because the date falls on a Sunday this year, MONUC will mark it on Friday October 22. And like every year, the Public Information Division of MONUC will disseminate the UN Secretary-General, Kofi Annan's message, and will organise several activities across the DRC, reflecting the work that staff members of the UN Mission and other agencies of the UN family are doing in the country.'
Mr. Bah also reminded the audience that the Office of the UN High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) has launched this Wednesday October 20 the repatriation operation for Congolese refugees in the Central African Republic (CAR). 'The operation will involve transferring to the DRC, precisely to the HCR transit centre at Libenge, about 3,000 persons currently at the UNHCR-run camp of Mulange in CAR. UNHCR is targeting three rotations per week. Upon their arrival in the DRC, UNHCR will provide the former refugee returnees with non-food assistance while the World Food Programme will offer each of them enough food to feed themselves for three months,' MONUC spokesman explained.
'UNHCR has also indicated that it will, by the beginning of next year, launch another operation to repatriate DRC refugees from Congo-Brazzaville to their region of origin, namely, Equateur province. It is estimated this group comprises between 60,000 and 80,000 persons, many of them natives of the same area as those to be repatriated from CAR,' Mr. Bah concluded.
