Aru, 22 August 2011 – The territory of Aru, some 300 km northeast of Bunia, near Uganda's western border, in Province Orientale, was the venue for meetings between staff members of the Public Information Division of the United Nations Stabilization Mission in the Democratic Republic of Congo (MONUSCO) and representatives of the local community to discuss the Mission's new mandate.

The meetings gave the UN staff an opportunity to clarify a number of areas of the Mission's new mandate voted by the UN Security Council on 28 June 2011. The local representatives who included students, religious and community leaders were told that Rasolution 1991 hinges mainly around three priority areas: Protection of Civilians, Stabilization and Peace Consolidation, and Technical and Logistical Support to the Congolese government, and especially to the National Independent Electoral Commission, which is the guarantor of the electoral process.

The participants said they were gratified by the presentations, and subsequently received didactic material to relay the information received to the rest of the population using their own language.

Amadou Maiga/MONUSCO