S/PV.5133 Security Council

As this is the first meeting of the Security Council for the month of March, I should like to take this opportunity to pay tribute, on behalf of the Council, to His Excellency Mr. Joël Adechi, Permanent Representative of Benin to the United Nations, for his service as President of the Security Council for the month of February 2005. I am sure I speak for all members of the Council in expressing deep appreciation to Ambassador Adechi for the great diplomatic skill with which he conducted the Council’s business last month. Adoption of the agenda

I should like to inform the Council that I have received a letter from the representative of the Democratic Republic of the Congo, in which he requests to be invited to participate in the consideration of the item on the Council’s agenda. In conformity with the usual practice, I propose, with the consent of the Council, to invite that representative to participate in the consideration without the right to vote, in accordance with the relevant provisions of the Charter and rule 37 of the Council’s provisional rules of procedure. There being no objection, it is so decided.

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. After consultations among members of the Security Council, I have been authorized to make the following statement on behalf of the Council: “The Security Council condemns with the utmost firmness the attack against a patrol of the United Nations Mission in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (MONUC) by the Front des Nationalistes et Intégrationnistes in Ituri, which occurred on 25 February 2005 near the town of Kafé, resulting in the murder of nine Bangladeshi peacekeepers. It offers its condolences to the victims’ families and to the authorities of Bangladesh. It commends the dedication of MONUC’s personnel, who operate in particularly hazardous conditions. It welcomes the action of MONUC against the militia groups responsible for these killings and MONUC’s continued robust action in pursuit of its mandate. “The Security Council considers this aggression, by its intentional and well-planned nature, to be an unacceptable outrage. It calls upon the Government of National Unity and Transition immediately to take all necessary measures to bring to justice the perpetrators, sponsors and authors of this attack and welcomes the first arrests undertaken by the Government. It endorses in this regard the serious concern expressed in Kinshasa on 28 February 2005 by the International Committee in Support of the Transition over the illegal and criminal activities of militia in Ituri and their military and political leaders, in particular Floribert Ndjabu, Goda Sukpa, Étienne Lona, Thomas Lubanga, Bosco Tanganda and Germain Katanga. It expresses its concern that the integration of Ituri militia officers into the Congolese Armed Forces has failed to lead to the disarmament of their troops, which should proceed without delay. “The Security Council calls upon the Government of National Unity and Transition to strengthen its support for the implementation of the disarmament and community reintegration programme for Ituri militiamen. It considers those who try to impede this programme as a threat to the political process in the Democratic Republic of the Congo. It also calls upon the Government of National Unity and Transition urgently to deploy additional integrated troops and police units to Ituri, and invites donors to provide support for this vital undertaking. “The Security Council reminds all States in the region of their responsibility to ensure compliance for the arms embargo imposed by resolution 1493 (2003) and is considering additional measures it might take to reinforce implementation and monitoring of the embargo. It further urges those States to ensure that their territories cannot be used by any Congolese armed group, notably the Ituri militia, whose activities perpetuate a climate of insecurity that affects the whole region. “The Security Council reaffirms its full support for MONUC, and urges MONUC to continue to fulfil its mandate with determination. It notes the importance for MONUC to continue to strengthen its action in Ituri and in North and South Kivu.” This statement will be issued as a document of the Security Council under the symbol S/PRST/2005/10. The Security Council has thus concluded the present stage of its consideration of the item on its agenda.