UN
United Nations Peacekeeping
3 Mar
2009
Press briefing of Oct. 13th, 2004 -Jean-Marie Guéhenno on working visit to the DRC
The Under-Secretary-General of the United Nations for Peacekeeping Operations, Jean-Marie Guéhenno, will undertake, from October 1, 2004, a working visit to the Democratic Republic of the Congo. This visit is undertaken in the context of the development of a new operational concept of MONUC, as the mission?s strength has increased by an additional 5,900 personnel under Security Council resolution 1565 adopted on October 1, 2004. MONUC spokesman Mamadou Bah made that announcement during a news briefing held Wednesday at the mission?s headquarters in Kinshasa.
The Special Representative of the UN Secretary-General for the Democratic Republic of the Congo, William Swing, is since the beginning of this week on official mission to Europe. His European tour due to end October 16, 2004 will include Belgium, Switzerland and Italy. In Brussels, Mr. Swing will hold talks with Belgian authorities, including the Minister of Defence, André Flahaut. He will also meet with Mr. Koen Versaecke, political advisor for Javier Solana, High Representative of the European Union Common Foreign and Defence Policy.
In Geneva, Mr. Swing will participate in the meeting of Special Representatives of the UN Secretary-General and chiefs of peacekeeping mission. He will hold talks with the UN High Commissioner for Refugees and the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights as well as with officials of other UN agencies.
Broaching the events in Uvira where Congolese refugees returning from Burundi were prevented from going home, Mr. Bah recalled that at the end of September, 366 repatriated from Burundi had been installed in a transit centre in Uvira, which they left 10 days after arrival.
On October 7, another group of 1,500 Congolese refugees were blocked in the buffer zone of the Burundi-DRC border. 'For three days they were prevented from entering the DRC by Congolese authorities,' MONUC spokesman indicated.
Their return was punctuated by several incidents demonstrations directed at MONUC and in which two blue helmets were slightly injured. 'In the centre-town of Uvira, a church and a school of the Banyamulenge community were looted,' Indicated Mr. Bah, adding that the situation got out of hand on October 10, when a UN humanitarian convoy moving toward the border was attacked. 'MONUC responded by firing into the air using tear gas in order to disperse the demonstrators,' he explained.
During the meeting chaired by the Congolese Minister of the Interior, Paul Musafiri, and attended by representatives of the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) in attendance, civilian authorities and officials of MONUC in Uvira, all principal actors committed themselves to assuming their responsibilities and supporting the transfer of refugees toward the new transit centre. 'Finally, order was restored and the refugees return could be organised. They all were transported by trucks up to the transit centre, under the protection of the FARDC (Armed Forces of the Democratic Republic of the Congo) and with the assistance of blue helmets.'
MONUC deplores and condemns this violence, which, quite obviously, enjoys the complicity of some local authorities, MONUC spokesman said.
Reviewing the Disarmament and Community Reinsertion (DRC) process, Mr. Bah stated that the programme was moving 'little by little in the right direction.' 201 ex-combatants have already entered the process. Some 1,311 arms and ammunitions have been collected.
The second meeting of the regional preparatory committee of the International Conference on the Great Lakes will be held in Kinshasa on October 19-23, 2004, MONUC spokesman announced. The Special Representative of the UN Secretary-General for the Great Lakes, Ibrahima Fall, will be in attendance, Mr. Bah added.
For his part, MONUC military spokesman, Commander François Ouedraogo, told the briefing of the support the mission has brought to several reconciliation meetings among military authorities ' meetings organised at the level of the 8th military region (North Kivu). These meetings were between officers from the Armed Forces of the DRC (FARDC), the Maï Maï, the ex-ANC (former armed branch of the Congolese Rally for Democracy, RCD) and the ex-APC (former forces of the RCD-KML).
Commander Ouedraogo also mentioned the upcoming deployment of a 3,000-strong Indian battalion, as part of the reinforcement of MONUC force. In this regard, an Indian prospection and reconnaissance mission is in the DRC since October 3 in order to identify deployment sites. The Indian troops due to arrive in the DRC in mid-November will essentially be deployed in North and South Kivu, the military spokesman pointed out.
In Geneva, Mr. Swing will participate in the meeting of Special Representatives of the UN Secretary-General and chiefs of peacekeeping mission. He will hold talks with the UN High Commissioner for Refugees and the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights as well as with officials of other UN agencies.
Broaching the events in Uvira where Congolese refugees returning from Burundi were prevented from going home, Mr. Bah recalled that at the end of September, 366 repatriated from Burundi had been installed in a transit centre in Uvira, which they left 10 days after arrival.
On October 7, another group of 1,500 Congolese refugees were blocked in the buffer zone of the Burundi-DRC border. 'For three days they were prevented from entering the DRC by Congolese authorities,' MONUC spokesman indicated.
Their return was punctuated by several incidents demonstrations directed at MONUC and in which two blue helmets were slightly injured. 'In the centre-town of Uvira, a church and a school of the Banyamulenge community were looted,' Indicated Mr. Bah, adding that the situation got out of hand on October 10, when a UN humanitarian convoy moving toward the border was attacked. 'MONUC responded by firing into the air using tear gas in order to disperse the demonstrators,' he explained.
During the meeting chaired by the Congolese Minister of the Interior, Paul Musafiri, and attended by representatives of the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) in attendance, civilian authorities and officials of MONUC in Uvira, all principal actors committed themselves to assuming their responsibilities and supporting the transfer of refugees toward the new transit centre. 'Finally, order was restored and the refugees return could be organised. They all were transported by trucks up to the transit centre, under the protection of the FARDC (Armed Forces of the Democratic Republic of the Congo) and with the assistance of blue helmets.'
MONUC deplores and condemns this violence, which, quite obviously, enjoys the complicity of some local authorities, MONUC spokesman said.
Reviewing the Disarmament and Community Reinsertion (DRC) process, Mr. Bah stated that the programme was moving 'little by little in the right direction.' 201 ex-combatants have already entered the process. Some 1,311 arms and ammunitions have been collected.
The second meeting of the regional preparatory committee of the International Conference on the Great Lakes will be held in Kinshasa on October 19-23, 2004, MONUC spokesman announced. The Special Representative of the UN Secretary-General for the Great Lakes, Ibrahima Fall, will be in attendance, Mr. Bah added.
For his part, MONUC military spokesman, Commander François Ouedraogo, told the briefing of the support the mission has brought to several reconciliation meetings among military authorities ' meetings organised at the level of the 8th military region (North Kivu). These meetings were between officers from the Armed Forces of the DRC (FARDC), the Maï Maï, the ex-ANC (former armed branch of the Congolese Rally for Democracy, RCD) and the ex-APC (former forces of the RCD-KML).
Commander Ouedraogo also mentioned the upcoming deployment of a 3,000-strong Indian battalion, as part of the reinforcement of MONUC force. In this regard, an Indian prospection and reconnaissance mission is in the DRC since October 3 in order to identify deployment sites. The Indian troops due to arrive in the DRC in mid-November will essentially be deployed in North and South Kivu, the military spokesman pointed out.
