{{Mary Robinson, the Special Envoy of the Secretary-General for the Great Lakes Region of Africa, began in Kinshasa today her first trip to the region in this capacity, referring to a recent 11-nation agreement for peace as a “framework of hope” and pledging to help build trust to ensure it is implemented.}}
The Special Envoy was appointed by United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon to support the implementation of the “Peace, Security and Cooperation Framework for the Democratic Republic of the Congo and the region” adopted in February in Addis Ababa.
The agreement seeks to end the recurring cycle of conflicts and crisis in the eastern DRC and to build peace and development.
In Kinshasa today, the Special Envoy met with President Joseph Kabila, Prime Minister Augustin Matata, and Foreign Affairs Minister Raymond Tshibanda.
She commended the government’s role in forging the agreement and its expressed commitment to its implementation.
Robinson said she was looking forward to working with President Kabila and all signatories of the agreement to translate the framework into concrete plans and actions for peace.
The Special Envoy said the agreement offered renewed hope and a new opportunity to resolve the conflict and its causes, and to bring a peace dividend to the countries and peoples of the Great Lakes.
“That is why I call it a framework of hope, and I hope it will be implemented in that spirit of progress moving forward for the peoples of the region,” she said in remarks to the press.
The Special Envoy’s agenda also included meetings in Kinshasa with civil society organizations including women’s groups, and religious leaders, in addition to the leadership of the UN peacekeeping mission (MONUSCO), the UN country team in the DRC, and members of the diplomatic corps.
Robinson said implementation will require efforts by all concerned – the 11 nations who signed the agreement, the donor community, and the four witnesses, the United Nations, the African Union, the International Conference on the Great Lakes Region, and the Southern African Development Community.
The Special Envoy is emphasizing the importance of involving civil society throughout the region as advocates and partners in the implementation of the agreement.
The Special Envoy travels tomorrow to the eastern city of Goma where she concludes her visit to the Democratic Republic of the Congo.
She will continue to Rwanda (1 May), Uganda (2 May), Burundi (2-3 May) and South Africa (4 May), before concluding her mission at the African Union in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia (5 May).
The Special Envoy announced she would return soon to the region to visit the remaining signatory countries.
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