Communiqué of the 1078th meeting of the PSC held on 19 April 2022, Follow-Up on the 10th Regional Oversight Mechanism of February 2022 in Kinshasa, Democratic Republic of Congo

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PEACE AND SECURITY COUNCIL 1078™ MEETING 19 APRIL 2022 ADDIS ABABA, ETHIOPIA

PSC/PR/COMM.1078(2022)

COMMUNIQUE

COMMUNIQUE

Adopted by the Peace and Security Council at its 1078^th meeting held on 19 April 2022, on the Follow-Up on the 10^th Regional Oversight Mechanism of February 2022 in Kinshasa, Democratic Republic of Congo,

The Peace and Security Council,

Also recalling all its previous decisions and pronouncements on the situation in the Great Lakes Region, particularly communique [PSC/PR/COMM.1005(2021)] adopted at its 1006^th meeting held on 21 June 2021; communique [PSC/PR/COMM.(CMLXXIV)] adopted at its 974^th meeting held on 22 January 2021; and communique [PSC/PR/COMM. (CMIII)] adopted at its 903^rd meeting held on 10 January 2020;

Recalling the Peace, Security and Cooperation Framework (PSCF) Agreement for the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) and the Region, signed on 24 February 2013 in Addis Ababa, as well as the Communique of the meeting of the Guarantors of the Peace, Security and Cooperation Framework for the Democratic Republic of Congo and the Region, held on 27 January 2017;

Noting the opening statement made by the Permanent Representative of the Republic of Burundi to the African Union (AU), H.E. Ambassador Willy Nyamitwe, in his capacity as the Chairperson of the PSC for the month of April 2022; and the briefing by H.E. Adeoye Bankole, Commissioner for Political Affairs, Peace and Security;

Also noting the statements made by H.E. Christophe Lutundula Apala Pen'Apala, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Democratic Republic of Congo; and H.E. Tete Antonio, Minister of External Relations of the Republic of Angola, Chair of the International Conference on the Great Lakes Region (ICGLR);

Further noting the presentation made by Ms. Michelle Ndiaye, Special Representative ofthe Chairperson of the Commission and Head of AU Liaison Office in the Democratic Republic of Congo; Special Representative of the Secretary-General of the United Nations in the DRC and the Special Envoy of the Secretary-General of the United Nations for the Great Lakes Region;

Acting under Article 7 of its Protocol, the Peace and Security Council:

1. Welcomes the positive developments achieved in the Great Lakes Region, the various initiatives to further enhance inter-state cooperation, promote stability, peace and development and building mutual trust and confidence between and among the countries of the Region;

2. Endorses the Conclusions of the 10^th Regional Oversight Mechanism (ROM) held in Kinshasa, Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), held in Kinshasa, on 24 February 2022, which reiterated the relevance of the PSCF Agreement to address stability challenges in the Great Lakes region;

3. Congratulates H.E. President Felix Antoine Tshisekedi Tshilombo and the Government of the DRC for hosting this Summit; and commends the Leaders of the countries of the Great Lakes Region for their unwavering commitment to promote good neighborliness, regional peace, security, stability and socio-economic development with the support of the Guarantors of the PSCF Agreement;

4. Underscores the critical role of the Guarantors of the PSCF Agreement and other relevant stakeholders to ensure full implementation of the Framework Agreement;

5. Expresses deep concern over the security situation in the eastern part of the DRC and welcomes the efforts deployed by the DRC and the neighbouring countries in addressing the security challenges posed by the presence of armed and terrorist groups; requests the Commission to continue engaging the DRC and neighbouring countries to support their efforts;

6. Expresses serious concern over the resurgence of ex-M23 Movement in the Kivu and Ituri and

strongly condemns the atrocities committed by the ex-M23, as well as the Allied Democratic Forces (ADF) and other armed and terrorist groups which result in the loss of lives and sufferance to the civilian population; and in this respect, calls for an immediate and unconditional surrender of weapons by the armed groups to the DRC authorities; commends the joint efforts deployed by the Government ofthe DRC, and the Republic of Uganda in eliminating the threat posed by ADF, who are also affiliated to ISIS and Daesh, in Eastern DRC; and calls upon all armed groups to engage in the implementation of the recently adopted National Strategy of the Programme for Disarmament, Demobilization, Community Reintegration and Stabilization;

7. Recognizes the situation and the atrocities in Eastern DRC as terrorism and calls for its inclusion on the agenda ofthe upcoming AU Extraordinary Summit in May 2022, in Equatorial Guinea;

8. Commends the DRC for its efforts in promoting voluntary disarmament programmes in the country aimed at collecting illegally-owned weapons from civilians and requests the AU Commission to provide the necessary support to the DRC, including through rapid deployment of Disarmament, Demobilization and Reintegration Programme (DDR)/Security Sector Reform (SSR) experts in line with the AU's initiatives to silencing the guns, within the framework of the Africa Amnesty Month;

9. Directs the AU Commission to work closely and support the Expanded Joint Verification Mechanism (EJVM) and the Joint Intelligence and Fusion Center (JIFC), based in Goma, DRC and the Joint Follow-up Mechanism (JFM) on the Allied Democratic Forces (ADF-MTM) in Kasese, Uganda, as part of AU's commitment as Guarantor to the Framework Agreement;

10. Welcomes the roll out by the Government of DRC of a DDR Programme, as well as community development plans to address the issue of ex-combatants and voluntary return of the refugees, among others; in this regard, appeals to the AU Member States and partners to support the efforts of the DRC through the provision of financial and technical expertise;

11. Emphasizes the need to identify sustainable mechanisms of funding for the implementation of the Action Plan of the PSCF Agreement;

12. Applauds the positive efforts of countries in the region in enhancing bilateral cooperation, including the signature of a Memorandum of Understanding between Burundi and the DRC, aimed at strengthening peace and security at their shared border in July 2021; calls on the Member States of the region to continue to explore economic opportunities, in particular trade facilitation and cross- border infrastructure and cooperation, to strengthen the regional integration necessary for the consolidation of peace and security in the Great Lakes Sub-Region, in line with the AU Convention on Cross Border Cooperation adopted in 2014, as well as the AU Better Integrated Border Governance

Strategy adopted in 2020; while also encouraging them to continue consultations through the mechanisms of the Framework Agreement to ensure the consistency of various efforts aimed at promoting efficiency and confidence building;

13. Underscores the imperative for the AU Member States and the Commission to urgently contribute support, particularly to non-military solutions to the challenges facing the region, including the development of a strategy for the region to enhance support for post-conflict reconstruction and development activities that improve living conditions and promote regional integration and development, through the involvement of the PCRD Center in Cairo, within available budget resources;

14. Underlines the critical role of youth and women in the post-conflict reconstruction and development activities and reaffirm the essence of empowerment and lead contributory roles for the youth and women towards peace building in the region, as well as take into consideration the welfare of children; in this connection, re-emphasizes the importance of dialogue and establishment of the healing and reconciliation mechanisms in the community with a view to address trauma of conflict, including trauma suffered by those affected by sexual violence;

15. particularly stresses the need to evaluate and assess the implementation of the Framework Agreement in order to enhance its effectiveness to address the challenges facing the DRC and the region; in this regard, requests the Guarantors to the Framework Agreement to initiate the process, in consultation with the relevant key stakeholders;

16. Appeals to the AU Member States and the international community to scale-up the support to the Government of the DRC and the region in general, in order to address the humanitarian challenges, including provisions for the needy populations especially returnees, refugees and IDPs;

17. Expresses profound gratitude to United Nations Organization Stabilisation Mission in Democratic Republic of Congo (MONUSCO), the Southern Africa Development Community (SADC) Force Intervention Brigade (FIB), and their Troop and Police Contributing Countries (T/PCCs), for their commitment to restore lasting peace, security and stability in the DRC and the region as a whole; in the same context, pays tribute to the MONUSCO and SADC FIB personnel for their sacrifices and expresses condolences to the families of those who paid the ultimate sacrifice and wishes speedy recovery to those who sustained injuries;

18. Commends the DRC for joining the East African Community and thereby enhancing efforts at regional integration and cooperation;

19. Welcomes the invitation by the Government of the DRC and decides to undertake a field mission to the eastern part of the DRC and the Great Lakes Region as a whole, as soon as possible, within available resources;

20. Decides to remain actively seized of the situation in the Great Lakes Region.