The African Union Peace and Security Council during its 671st meeting express its deep concern over the increase in violence and the spread of insecurity in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC).
The meeting, which took place on Monday, has also expressed concern about the repeated violations of human rights which has contributed to the worsening of the humanitarian situation.
The Council has also strongly condemns the killings of 39 Congolese police officers in Kasai Province, as well as other acts of violence committed by armed groups and negative forces against civilians and the destruction of property including churches.
“The Council calls upon the Congolese authorities to take the necessary measures and, if necessary, with the support of relevant international institutions, to find and bring before the relevant jurisdictions the perpetrators of these crimes. In this context, Council denounces and condemns the actions of some elements of the former M23 Movement aimed at resuming the armed confrontation in violation of the Nairobi Declaration of 13 December 2013,” the Council said in its press statement distributed to the media today.
“Further expresses its concern over the slow progress in the implementation of the Comprehensive Political Agreement of 31 December 2016 and calls upon all the Congolese stakeholders to show commitment, political will and take up their responsibilities, in order to reach an agreement on the position of the Prime Minister and power sharing arrangements, without further delay, in order to preserve stability and end the present impasse in their country. In this regard, Council underlines the need for the full implementation of the Political Agreement of 31 December 2016,” it said.
The Council has also stresses the need and urgency of making the necessary resources available to the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) for the completion of the electoral process, in conformity with the timelines of 31 December 2017.
“In this regard, Council urges the AU Member States and the partners of the DRC to contribute to the efforts to mobilize the necessary resources for the organization of the elections. Within this context, Council requests the Chairperson of the Commission to dispatch an evaluation mission to the DRC to assess the ways and means in which the AU could support the electoral process,” the statement said.