Communiqué of the Peace and Security Council of the African Union (AU), at its 406th meeting on the situation in the Eastern DRC

AFRICAN UNION

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Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, P.O. Box: 3243 Tel.: (251-11) 5513 822 Fax: (251-11) 5519 321

Email: situationroom@africa-union.org

PEACE AND SECURITY COUNCIL 406™ MEETING

13 NOVEMBER 2013

ADDIS ABABA, ETHIOPIA

PSC/PR/C0MM.2(CDVI)

COMMUNIQUE

COMMUNIQUE

The Peace and Security Council of the African Union (AU), at its 406^th meeting held on 13 November 2013, adopted the following decision on the situation in eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC):

Council,

1. Takes note of the briefings given by the Commissioner for Peace and Security and the Special Representative of the Chairperson of the Commission for the Great Lakes region. Council also takes note of the statements made by the representatives of the DRC, Uganda, in its capacity as Chair of the International Conference on the Great Lakes Region (ICGLR), Malawi, Chair of the Southern African Development Community (SADC), the United Nations (UN) and the European Union (EU), as well as by France, Rwanda, the United Kingdom and the United States of America, in their capacity as members of the UN Security Council;

2. Recalls its earlier communiques and press statements on the situation in eastern DRC, as well as its visit to the DRC, including Goma, from 11 to 14 May 2013;

3. Reiterates its commitment to the relevant AU principles, including the respect for the unity, territorial integrity and sovereignty of the DRC and total rejection of recourse to armed rebellion to further political claims;

4. Welcomes the restoration of State authority in the areas previously controlled by the March 23 Movement (M23) rebellion, following the offensive launched by the DRC Armed Forces, with the support of the Intervention Brigade of the United Nations Organization Stabilization Mission in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (MONUSCO) established by UN Security Council resolution 2098 (2013). Council encourages the DRC Armed Forces and the Intervention Brigade to pursue and intensify their efforts, in order to neutralize the other negative forces, including the Democratic Forces for the Liberation of Rwanda (FDLR), the Allied Democratic Forces/National Army for the Liberation of Uganda (ADF/NALU) and the MaT-MaT;

5. Takes note of the decision made by the M23 on 5 November 2013, to put an end to its armed rebellion and to seek solutions to the root causes of the situation that led to its creation through exclusively political means;

6. Pays tribute to President Yoweri Museveni, Facilitator of the Dialogue between the Congolese Government and the M23, for the progress made in the negotiations, as reflected in the document initialed on 4 November 2013. Council regrets that the signing ceremony of the negotiated document, which was scheduled on 11 November 2013, could not take place, and urges the Parties to reach the necessary compromise in order to promote peace, security, stability and reconciliation;

7. Welcomes the progress made in the implementation of the Addis Ababa Peace, Security and Cooperation Framework for the DRC and the Region, in particular the outcome of the second meeting of the Regional Oversight Mechanism, held in New York, on 23 September 2013, under the auspices of the Chairperson of the Commission and the UN Secretary-General. Council notes with satisfaction the encouraging momentum already created in the DRC and the region by the Framework, and urges all parties to implement their commitments in good faith. Council welcomes the conclusions of the National Dialogue in the DRC, and expresses its support for their implementation, in line with the commitment made by the President of the Republic during his address to the Parliament, on 23 October 2013;

8. Further welcomes the holding of the Joint SADC/ICGLR Extraordinary Summit in Pretoria, South Africa, on 4 November 2013, and encourages the two organizations to actively follow-up on the conclusions reached during the Summit;

9. Notes with satisfaction the continued efforts of the Commission in support of the implementation of the Framework, along with the other Guarantors, and encourages them to pursue their efforts. In this respect, Council welcomes the working visit to Kinshasa of the Chairperson of the Commission, from 20 to 23 October 2013, as well as the efforts of the Special Representative of the Chairperson of the Commission for the Great Lakes Region;

10. Decides to remain actively seized of the matter.