The Special Envoy of the United Nations Secretary-General for the Great Lakes Region has called for an urgent meeting of Heads of States from the region to help end the crisis in eastern DRC.
Expressing concern at the “rapidly deteriorating” security situation in the region, envoy Huang Xia in a statement on January 7 called for the urgent convening of the 12th High-Level Meeting of the Regional Oversight Mechanism of the PSC Framework to also examine the draft Action Plan for the revitalisation of the Addis Ababa Framework Agreement.
This, his office said in the statement, will help in tackling the root causes of the conflict and putting an end to the cycles of violence in order to establish lasting peace in the Great Lakes region.
The meeting would bring together Heads of State and Government from the signatory countries of the framework agreement, high representatives of the Guarantor institutions — AU, UN, ICGLR and SADC—, observers from the international community and the Advisory Board for Women, Peace and Security in the Great Lakes region.
CONDEMNS FIGHTING
Huang also “strongly condemned” the escalation of tensions, the territorial expansion of the M23 and the breakdown of the ceasefire.
The envoy took note of renewed clashes between the coalition of Armed Forces of the DRC (FARDC) and the March 23 Movement (M23). M23 rebels on Saturday seized control of Masisi, a key town in the mineral-rich DRC.
The fighting has displaced more than 100,000 people over the last week, according to the United Nations humanitarian affairs office on Tuesday.
“Between 1 and 3 January 2025, intense clashes between the Congolese army and a non-state armed group in Masisi Centre, North Kivu province, displaced an estimated 102,000 people, according to local reports,” the U.N. Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs said.
These developments, the envoy noted, are worsening an already extremely precarious humanitarian situation for the civilian population in the region.
“The Special Envoy urges the parties to the conflict to prioritize dialogue within the framework of the Luanda and Nairobi regional peace processes, and to refrain from any acts likely to constitute violations of national and regional commitments under the Peace, Security and Cooperation (PSC) Framework for the DRC and the region, signed in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, in 2013, including violation of the territorial integrity of States and support for armed groups,” the statement said.
He further noted that the persistence of hostilities compromises collective efforts to promote stability and sustainable development in the Great Lakes region.
“The Special Envoy pledges to continue his good offices, on behalf of the UN Secretary-General, and to support the Luanda and Nairobi peace processes to achieve a peaceful resolution of the conflict in eastern DRC and put an end to the suffering of the population, which has gone on for far too long,” he noted.
Huang also reaffirmed the UN commitment to work with the governments of the region, the other Guarantors of the PSC Framework — the AU, the International Conference on the Great Lakes Region (ICGLR) and the Southern African Development Community (SADC) — and international partners, to revitalize the Addis Ababa Framework Agreement and to achieve full implementation of the commitments made by the signatory states.
ADDIS ABABA FRAMEWORK
The Addis Ababa Framework Agreement was signed in Addis Ababa in February 2013 by the DRC, Angola, Congo, South Africa, Tanzania, Uganda, Central African Republic, Burundi, Rwanda, South Sudan and Zambia with the objective of promoting peace and stability in DRC and stabilizing the Great Lakes region
The UN Secretary-General, the Chairperson of the AU Commission, the SADC Chairperson and ICGLR Chairperson signed the agreement as witnesses and guarantors.
While marking the eight anniversary since the signing of the agreement, the guarantors in February 2021 regretted the persistence of the activities of “negative forces”, illegal exploitation of natural resources, strained relations between states in the region, high number of refugees and displaced persons and violation of human rights.
