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UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 03 KINSHASA 000758
SIPDIS
E.O. 12958: N/A
TAGS: PGOV PREL MOPS PHUM PREF KPKO CG
SUBJECT: Chairman's summary of September 1, 2008 Special
Envoys meeting of the Joint Monitoring Group
Following is the English version of the chairman's summary of the
September 1, 2008 meeting at Special Envoys level of the Joint
Monitoring Group. A reporting cable on the meeting will be sent via
septel.
Begin text of chairman's summary
Joint Monitoring Group for the Nairobi Communique of 9 November
2007
Fifth meeting of Special Envoys
Kinshasa, Democratic Republic of Congo, 1 September 2008
SUMMARY BY THE PRESIDENCY
1. Introduction
Representatives of the signatories of the Nairobi Communique of 9
November 2007 met on 1 September 2008 in Kinshasa, capital of the
Democratic Republic of Congo, to assess progress made in the
implementation of the Communique. This was the fifth meeting at
Special Envoy level of the Joint Monitoring Group (JMG) for the
implementation of the Nairobi Communique, and the second chaired by
the European Union. The four previous meetings, of which three were
chaired by the United Nations, were held in Goma on 16 December
2007, in Brussels on 15 February 2008, in New York on 18 April 2008
and in Rubavu (formerly Gisenyi) on 4 June 2008.
Participants at the meeting in Kinshasa, which was chaired by
Ambassador van de Geer, European Union Special Representative for
the Great Lakes Region, included Ambassador Seraphin N'Gwej, Special
Envoy of the Democratic Republic of Congo for the Great Lakes
Region, Ambassador Richard Sezibera, Special Envoy of Rwanda for the
Great Lakes Region, Mr Doss, Special Representative of the United
Nations Secretary-General in the Democratic Republic of Congo,
Ambassador Bah, African Union Representative for the Great Lakes,
Ambassador Mulamula, Executive Secretary of the International
Conference for the Great Lakes Region, Ambassador Mamabolo, Special
Envoy of South Africa for Central Africa, and Mr Tim Shortley,
Senior Adviser for conflict resolution to the Assistant Secretary of
State for African Affairs of the United States Government.
Ms Frazer, Assistant Secretary of State for African Affairs of the
United States Government, who was on an official visit to the DRC
came to meet the Joint Monitoring Group and took an active part in
proceedings for part of the afternoon.
2. Increasing actions directed towards Rwandan armed groups to
encourage them to lay down their arms peacefully and return to
Rwanda
The DRC delegation gave a presentation to the Special Envoys on
current efforts to convince Rwandan armed groups to opt for
disarmament and voluntary repatriation.
The DRC delegation informed the Special Envoys about the ongoing
disarmament of RUD fighters: about sixty fighters handed in their
weapons on 31 July 2008 in the transit camp set up by the DRC in
Kasiki, with the support of the Eglise du Christ au Congo (ECC) and
funding from the Norwegian Government. The weapons were handed over
to MONUC for destruction. The DRC, which had encountered problems
in using biometric identification equipment involving iris
recognition, was currently increasing its reception capacity so that
it could handle a greater number of fighters, and was seeking other
financial help from the international community. Registration
operations, and the search for a relocation site in the DRC outside
the area occupied by the RUD would begin shortly. The Rwandan
delegation wished to obtain information about the identity of the
disarmed fighters and hoped that their stay in the Kasiki camp would
be limited.
The DRC delegation also took stock of discussions under way with
FOCA, with ECC mediation: at a meeting of DRC representatives with
FOCA representatives in Nyabiondo on 6 August 2008, the latter
accepted the principle of disarmament. A further meeting is due to
be held to establish the practical arrangements for implementation.
The Rwandan delegation described the improvements which it was
intending to make to its communication strategy, particularly by
making more use of the testimonies of fighters who had been
repatriated, as well as by organising reconnaissance visits for
delegations of families who were waiting to return.
The Special Envoys welcomed the beginning of the RUD's disarmament
as a promising sign, and encouraged the DRC to pursue its efforts
with FOCA. They called on both countries to continue their efforts
to raise awareness at all levels, including the highest level.
KINSHASA 00000758 002 OF 003
The DDRRR section of MONUC is playing and must continue to play a
key role in the awareness-raising operations. It was noted in
particular that the dropping by MONUC helicopters of pamphlets over
the zones occupied by ex-FAR/Interahamwe fighters was another method
which had recently proven to be very effective in obtaining
defections from amongst the Rwandan armed groups.
3. Increased military pressure on Rwandan armed groups to make them
return to Rwanda
MONUC and the DRC reported on the measures they had taken to step up
the military pressure on the Rwandan armed groups, and on the
adaptations made to the initial plan following the meeting held
under the aegis of MONUC between the Chiefs of Staff of the Armed
Forces of the DRC (the FARDC) and the Rwandan Defence Forces (RDF).
The concept of four triangles had been replaced with that of four
considerably larger zones. The deployment of battalions had been
delayed, and was still limited to eight. Two battalions which had
finished their training would be deployed in September 2008, and
four others were still being trained. It was stressed that the
FARDC contribution was the key element in the success of this plan;
the speed with which it was executed would largely depend on the
rate at which the FARDC provided the necessary forces to make up the
26 battalions which were due to be deployed in total (in principle
by the middle of 2009). Depending on the resources made available,
operations in each of the four zones would pass progressively
through three stages, namely a "yellow" phase aimed at containing
the FDLR, an "orange" phase of increased pressure, and a "red" phase
of using force.
The plan must be implemented in parallel with the re-establishment
of the authority of the State in the zones concerned.
A meeting of military experts was due to set indicators to evaluate
the results of the implementation of the plan.
Rwanda asked for attention to be paid as a priority to the FDLR
units near the border, which might attempt to disrupt the
parliamentary elections to be held in a few days' time.
4. Stepping up measures against the external leaders of the
ex-FAR/Interahamwe
The European Union Special Representative explained that European
countries had recently enhanced their cooperation in this area in
the framework of Eurojust, and in particular had arrested the
Secretary General of the FDLR, Calixte Mbarushimana; the FDLR
President, Ignace Murwanashyaka was under house arrest, but
unfortunately this did not prevent him from continuing to act via
the internet.
The Congolese side stressed the extent to which the arrest of Mr
Mbarushimana had destabilised the military leadership of the FDLR
and was therefore a very positive step.
The United States had issued wanted notices under their Reward for
Justice programme for 13 individuals suspected of participating in
the 1994 genocide who were active in the FDLR. The US
representative, Mr Shortley, also said that the United States was
pressing for the speedy adoption by the United Nations Security
Council, as a complement to Resolution 1804 adopted on 13 March 2008
on the ex-FAR/Interahamwe, of an updated list of individuals against
whom international sanctions should be applied.
5. JMG working group based in Goma
Veronique Aulagnon, political adviser to the EU Special
Representative, gave an overview of the activities of the working
group, the JMG Task Force, which meets every week either for
discussions in Goma or for visits on one side of the border or the
other. At this stage, it is the only permanent contact point
between the DRC and Rwanda. Recently its work has covered the
beginning of the RUD's disarmament, the awareness-raising programmes
set up by MONUC, the DRC and Rwanda, the deployment of the FARDC and
MONUC in and around the four triangles, and the counting of the
number of repatriated fighters. The Task Force also provided its
support to the beginning of the RUD's disarmament by being present
at Kasiki on 31 July 2008.
The Special Envoys encouraged the Task Force to continue its work,
particularly its visits on the ground and the harmonisation of
statistical tools.
KINSHASA 00000758 003 OF 003
6. Other items
Two other points in particular were discussed: the question of
whether it was appropriate for Rwanda to issue an international
arrest warrant against Mr Rafiki Yasseen (alias John Mwindo) who,
according to the DRC, was playing a positive role in raising
awareness to encourage the disarmament and repatriation of
ex-FAR/Interahamwe; and the prospects for the re-establishment of
diplomatic relations between Kinshasa and Kigali.
7. The Nairobi and Goma processes and Security Sector Reform
The Special Envoys stressed that progress in implementing the
Nairobi Communique of 9 November 2007 and progress in implementing
the acts of engagement signed in Goma on 23 January 2008 between the
DRC Government and the Congolese armed groups were mutually
reinforcing. They also stressed that Security Sector Reform was the
third essential element for the stabilisation of the region. During
discussions on these processes, the Rwandan side solemnly declared
that Rwanda had not assisted and would not assist the CNDP, a matter
on which the Congolese side expressed doubts.
8. Next meeting
It was decided that the next Special Envoys meeting of the JMG would
be held on Monday 10 November 2008 in Kigali, the capital of Rwanda.
During October the chairman of the JMG will distribute a draft
evaluation report on the implementation of the Nairobi Communique.
End text of Chairman's summary
GARVELINK