S/PV.5504 Security Council

As this is the first meeting of the Security Council for the month of August, I should like to take this opportunity to pay tribute, on behalf of the Council, to His Excellency Mr. Jean-Marc de La Sablière, Permanent Representative of France to the United Nations, for his service as President of the Security Council for the month of July 2006. I am sure I speak for all members of the Council in expressing deep appreciation to Ambassador De La Sablière 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 of the item, 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 Security 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 pays tribute to the citizens of the Democratic Republic of the Congo who, on 30 July 2006, took part in great numbers, freely and peacefully, in democratic elections of historical importance for their nation. It appeals to them to receive the results with the same spirit of civic responsibility, and to display the same commitment in the subsequent polls, with a view to ensuring the success of the democratic process. “The Security Council expresses its appreciation to the Independent Electoral Commission for the untiring efforts they made to ensure that the polls could take place in the best possible conditions, and looks forward to the official announcement of the results by the Commission. It expresses its support to the Committee of the Wise chaired by President Joachim Chissano, whose role contributes greatly to the serenity and fairness of the electoral process. “The Security Council expresses its gratitude to the United Nations Mission, MONUC, as well as to all the international partners of the Democratic Republic of the Congo who provided support to the electoral process, in particular its African partners, and especially South Africa, as well as the European Union and the force it has temporarily deployed during this period. “The Security Council notes that the electoral campaign and the voting process took place largely in a calm environment. It deplores the incidents which occurred in recent days, in particular in Kinshasa, Mbuji Mayi and Mweka. It endorses the opinion of the International Committee in Support to the Transition (CIAT), who welcomed, in this context, the work of the National Police forces. “The Security Council urges all political actors in the Democratic Republic of the Congo to continue to work to ensure that the electoral process proceeds in a free, transparent and peaceful manner, in accordance with the agreed timetable. The Council calls on political leaders to refrain from making inflammatory speeches. “The Security Council underlines that those elections will mark the completion of a long period of rule by transitional institutions, and the start of democratic rule. The people who will be destined to lead the country will bear the important responsibility to provide long-term foundations for the restoration of peace and stability, national reconciliation and the establishment of the rule of law in the Democratic Republic of the Congo.” This statement will be issued as a document of the Security Council under the symbol S/PRST/2006/36. The Security Council has thus concluded the present stage of its consideration of the item on its agenda.