S/PV.4159 Security Council

I would like to recall the decision that was taken at the 4156th and 4157th meetings. The Council extended invitations, in conformity with the Charter and with rules 37 and 39 of its provisional rules of procedure, to the members of the Political Committee for the Implementation of the Ceasefire Agreement of Lusaka and to the representative of Zambia and to the representative of the Organization of African Unity, and to the Special Representative of the Secretary- General for the Democratic Republic of the Congo. The Security Council is meeting in accordance with the understanding reached during its prior consultations. Members of the Council have before them document S/2000/587, which contains the text of a draft resolution established during its earlier consultations. I give the floor to the Minister of State for Foreign Affairs and Regional Cooperation of Uganda, in his capacity as Chairman of the Political Committee of the Lusaka Agreement, Mr. Amama Mbabazi. Mr. Mbabazi (Uganda) I wish, on behalf of the Political Committee, to express our great appreciation once again for the invitation you extended to us when a United Nations team led by Ambassador Holbrooke came to our region. We have appreciated these two days of interaction. As I said, we had come with the hope and confidence that this interaction would give greater impetus to the implementation of Lusaka. I am sure that you all now realize, after this intensive interaction over two days, that the Political Committee once again reaffirms its total commitment to the Lusaka Accord and does appreciate the commitment and support this Council gives to the Lusaka Agreement for the ceasefire in Congo. We therefore will go with the confidence that this interaction will result in faster and effective implementation of Lusaka. We as a Political Committee have issued a statement which I would like to read out to you: “At the invitation of the United Nations Security Council, the Political Committee for the Implementation of the Lusaka Ceasefire Agreement for the Democratic Republic of the Congo met in joint session with the Security Council in New York on 15 and 16 June 2000. The meeting reviewed the implementation of the Ceasefire Agreement, with particular emphasis on cessation of hostilities; conditions for the deployment of the United Nations Organization Mission in Congo (MONUC); disarmament, demobilization, resettlement and reintegration of members of the armed groups; the humanitarian situation, including the release of prisoners of war; and inter-Congolese political negotiations — our national dialogue. “The Political Committee reaffirmed the commitment of the parties to the Agreement as the only viable means to finding a peaceful and sustainable solution to the problem of the Congo. To this end the Committee informed the Council that the Agreement, although it has suffered violations, generally has held. “With regard to cessation of hostilities, the Political Committee briefed the Security Council on the measures taken to address the ceasefire violations. Among these are the adoption of the Kampala disengagement and redeployment plan and the subsequent drawing up sub-plans for each area, which will form the basis of active disengagement of forces. “The Committee regretted the recent fighting in Kisangani between Rwandan and Ugandan forces and briefed the Security Council on the steps taken by the two countries to bring the situation back to normalcy. In this regard the representatives of Rwanda and Uganda confirmed that the fighting had stopped and that the withdrawal of their forces from Kisangani has commenced, with effect from Friday, 16 June 2000, in accordance with the agreement reached between the two countries with the assistance of MONUC. “The non-State parties of the agreement also affirmed that they would respect the demilitarization of Kisangani and would have no forces in the area in a radius of 100 kilometres. The withdrawal will be completed within one week. “On the question of conditions for the deployment of MONUC, the Political Committee reaffirmed the assurances for the security, protection and freedom of movement of MONUC, its personnel and equipment, and therefore called upon the Security Council to expedite the deployment, as this would enhance the security situation in the Democratic Republic of the Congo and thereby accelerate the pace of the implementation of the Ceasefire Agreement. “The Political Committee informed the Council of the adoption, during its recent meeting in Lusaka, of the mechanisms for the disarmament, demobilization, resettlement and reintegration of members of all armed groups. “Regarding the release and exchange of prisoners of war, the Political Committee announced that all the parties had complied with the requirements of the International Committee of the Red Cross and Red Crescent and that the release and exchange of prisoners commenced on 16 June 2000, when a total of 181 prisoners of war were exchanged, mainly involving Rwandan, Zimbabwean, Namibian and Democratic Republic of the Congo forces. “On the national dialogue, the Political Committee informed the Security Council of the efforts of the facilitator to start the inter- Congolese political negotiations, including the recent preparatory meeting in Cotonou, Benin. The Committee regretted that not all of the parties attended the meeting and, in this regard, called on all the Congolese to honour their obligations under the Agreement. “The Political Committee appealed to the Security Council and to the international community at large to provide necessary and adequate resources to the facilitator of the inter- Congolese political negotiations and to the Joint Military Commission to enable them to discharge the important tasks assigned to them under the Ceasefire Agreement. “The Political Committee expressed its appreciation to the Security Council for convening the second joint meeting and looked forward to the continuation of these consultations on the Democratic Republic of the Congo peace process.”

I very warmly thank Mr. Amama Mbabazi, Minister of State for Foreign Affairs and for Regional Cooperation of Uganda and Chairman of the Political Committee for his important statement, the positive nature of which each one of us has been able to see. I suggest that the Mission of Uganda to the United Nations ask that this statement be distributed as a document of the Security Council.

Mr. President, I am very grateful to you for having given me the honour of making a short statement during this meeting. Permit me to take this opportunity to reiterate the deep appreciation of our delegation for your having organized this series of meetings between the Security Council and the Political Committee for the Implementation of the Lusaka Ceasefire Agreement. These meetings have been of great importance. They have been a success and I congratulate you for them. My country hopes that this partnership will develop and lead to peace, security and stability in the Democratic Republic of the Congo and in the region. The deployment of the United Nations Organization Mission in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (MONUC) is of capital importance for the implementation of the Lusaka Ceasefire Agreement. Tunisia has shown its commitment to the Agreement through its contribution to MONUC. The Tunisian military observers are in place. We have placed a support unit at the disposition of MONUC, at its headquarters. As we are about to adopt this important draft resolution, which will make it possible to effectively implement phase 2 of the deployment of MONUC while consolidating the first phase, I would like to announce that that Tunisian unit is ready and is awaiting its departure. If the Department of Peacekeeping Operations says that it is ready, we can make this departure coincide with the celebration of the fortieth anniversary of the independence of the Democratic Republic of the Congo, next 30 June.

I thank Ambassador Ben Mustapha, Permanent Representative of Tunisia, for his announcement. His statement is clear testimony to the commitment of the international community in favour of a peace settlement that is in conformity with the Lusaka Agreement in the Democratic Republic of the Congo. It is my understanding that the Security Council is ready to proceed to the vote on the draft resolution (S/2000/587) before it. Unless I hear any objection, I shall put the draft resolution to the vote now. There being no objection, it is so decided. A vote was taken by show of hands. In favour: Argentina, Bangladesh, Canada, China, France, Jamaica, Malaysia, Mali, Namibia, Netherlands, Russian Federation, Tunisia, Ukraine, United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, United States of America

There were 15 votes in favour. The draft resolution has been adopted unanimously as resolution 1304 (2000). The Security Council has thus concluded the present stage of its consideration of the item on its agenda. Before adjourning the meeting, I would like to underscore the symbolic value — I think it is the first time this has happened in the history of the United Nations of your presence here at the Security Council table at the time of the adoption of a resolution. This symbol seals our partnership. We are by your side for the implementation of the Lusaka Agreement, but for that we first need the will — your will. On your way back to Africa, to your countries, take with you our thoughts and think of three words: peace, peace, peace. The meeting rose at 8 p.m.