The members of the Security Council strongly condemned the violence witnessed in the Kasaï region over recent months. They expressed grave concern at the recent reports of serious violations of international humanitarian law committed by local militia in that region, including unlawful recruitment and use of child soldiers, and of killings of civilians by members of the security forces of the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), all of which might constitute war crimes under international law.

They recalled that the Government of DRC bears the primary responsibility to protect civilians within its territory and urged the Government of DRC to constantly exercise maximum restraint and proportionate lawful use of force in its efforts to restore order. They called on the Government of DRC to immediately dispatch a credible and impartial investigation and to bring to justice and hold accountable all those responsible. They welcomed the announcement by the Government of DRC in this regard. They encouraged the Stabilization Mission in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (MONUSCO) to provide support to the Congolese authorities, if requested, in the conduct of this investigation, developments in which they will follow very closely. They further called on MONUSCO to monitor and report on violations and abuses of international human rights law and violations of international humanitarian law and to update its contingency plans in this regard. In the longer term, they encouraged the Government of DRC to continue its efforts for the extension of state authority, ensuring credible governance with capable institutions, especially in the security sector, to prevent and deter violence.

The members of the Security Council expressed their concern at recent incursions of former M23 combatants in DRC and recalled the commitments by all States of the region under the Peace, Security and Cooperation (PSC) framework for the DRC and the region. They noted with appreciation the communique of the third meeting of the guarantors of the PSC Framework on 27 January 2017 in that regard and urged them to continue advancing their commitments.

The members of the Security Council reaffirmed their strong support for the 31 December 2016 political agreement, and its pursuit of peaceful, credible, free, fair and inclusive elections by December 2017, leading to a democratic transfer of power. They expressed their increasing concern regarding the continuing lack of progress in the dialogue among the political stakeholders in DRC related to the implementation modalities of the agreement. They expressed concern that, two months after the signing of the agreement, the appointment of a Prime Minister presented by the Rassemblement coalition, as well as the installation of a new transitional government and of the Comité National de Suivi de l’Accord (CNSA) have yet to take place. They stressed the need to maintain the political goodwill that led to the signing of the agreement in order to avoid further insecurity in the DRC.

In this context, the members of the Security Council called on all stakeholders in the DRC, including President Kabila, the presidential majority and the opposition, to redouble, in good faith, their efforts towards a speedy conclusion of the ongoing talks on the “arrangements particuliers” of the agreement, in order to urgently nominate a Prime Minister presented by the Rassemblement, as per the 31 December agreement, to put in place the CNSA and to fully im-Your data has been truncated.

Source : un.org