S/PV.4544 Security Council

The Security Council will now begin its consideration of the item on its agenda. The Council is meeting in accordance with the understanding reached in its prior consultations. Following consultations among members of the Security Council, I have been authorized to make the following statement on behalf of the Council: “The Security Council strongly condemns the killings, in particular of civilians, that recently took place in Kisangani. The Council calls for an immediate cessation of all violations of human rights and international humanitarian law. It reiterates its demand that the city be demilitarized in accordance with relevant resolutions, in particular resolution 1304 (2000), and with the pledge made by the Rassemblement Congolais pour la Démocratie-Goma to the last Security Council mission. The Council also calls on the parties to cooperate in the full reopening of the Congo river, including to commercial traffic. “The Security Council invites the Secretary- General to consider whether a temporary increase in the deployment in Kisangani of the United Nations Organization Mission in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (MONUC), within the current authorized troop level, may contribute to easing tensions. The Council requests MONUC to continue to monitor reports of extrajudicial violence and to report to the Council. “The Security Council draws the attention of the High Commissioner for Human Rights to the seriousness of the events that took place in Kisangani on 14 May 2002 and immediately thereafter. “The Security Council stresses the importance of MONUC assisting, within the current mandate, in the full demilitarization of Kisangani. In this respect, the Council welcomes the proposal by the Secretary-General in paragraph 50 of his tenth report, of 15 February 2002 (S/2002/169), in accordance with resolution 1355 (2001) of 15 June and 1376 (2001) of 9 November 2001, to reinforce MONUC’s civilian police unit with 85 officers to assist in the training of the local police. “The Security Council expresses its intention to consider expeditiously any further recommendation that the Secretary-General may deem necessary.” This statement will be issued as a document of the Security Council under the symbol S/PRST/2002/17. The Security Council has thus concluded the present stage of its consideration of the item on the agenda.