Permanent Mission of the Russian Federation to the United Nations

Permanent Mission of the Russian Federation to the United Nations

Statement by Mr. Petr Iliichev, Chargé d'Affaires, at the Security Council on the situation in the Great Lakes

We are grateful to the Special Envoy of the Secretary-General, Mr. Said Djinnit, for his briefing on the implementation of the Framework agreement on peace and security in the Democratic Republic of the Congo and the Great Lakes Region. We believe that it is the cornerstone for ensuring stability in the Great Lakes region. We are in favour of the full implementation of all the commitments by all signatories, including respect for sovereignty, non-interference in other countries’ internal affairs and strengthening confidence-building measures among the countries of the subregion.

In that regard, we note the effective interaction
between the Congolese leadership and neighbouring
countries in the region in August 2016, as well as the beginning of the joint follow-up mechanism established through the collective efforts of the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Uganda, Kenya and Tanzania to counter the Allied Democratic Forces. The positive outcome was the meeting of the Regional Oversight Mechanism for Peace, Security and Cooperation Agreement, held in Luanda on October 26, that showed that the mechanism exists and acts independently without external support.

We should note that, three years following its signing, the military provisions of the Framework agreement remain far from being implemented. We commend the work of the Government of the Democratic Republic of the Congo, which remains committed to combating gangs and stabilizing the situation, and welcome the resumed full-scale cooperation, in June 2016, between Kinshasa and the United Nations Organization Stabilization Mission in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (MONUSCO) in that area. But the armed groups remain active in the country and in the region, in general, and their activities prolong the ethnic conflicts, provoke the illegal spread of weapons and worsen the humanitarian situation. It is clear that there is no military solution to the conflict. Comprehensive measures are needed to eliminate its underlining causes, including through the strengthening the State authorities in the liberated areas.

We are concerned about the situation with respect to the repatriation of several hundred of ex-combatants from the Mouvement du 23 mars (M-23) from Uganda, Rwanda and the Democratic Republic of the Congo. Of course, the ongoing contacts between the Congolese authorities and the leadership of the M-23 is welcome news, but the lack of progress in this area has already led to repeat offences by the combatants. In this regard, we are naturally concerned by the repeated mutual accusations about supporting combatants and recruiting refugees into their ranks. We think that the sides have to display maximum restraint and avoid an escalation including through using the expanded Joint Verification Mechanism, which is provided for in the Framework agreement.

Another challenge for the Framework agreement is the issue of having the allies of Mr. Riek Machar present on the territory of the Democratic Republic of the Congo. Without going to the genesis of the problem, we call upon Mr. Djinnit and Special Representative of the Secretary-General Maman Sidikou to do everything they can to make sure that the relevant provisions of resolution 2348 (2017) are implemented. We know the  role played by the Special Envoy in trying to bring private investors into the region and in providing a new dynamic to the economic cooperation among countries in the region, thereby strengthening peace and cooperation there.

A number of country signatories to the Framework agreement are still on the Security Council agenda because of the still-unresolved conflicts. The continuation of these conflicts is fed by social networks via the Internet. We call for putting an end to the rhetoric of hate on the part of members of the opposition and spoilers who have found refuge in Western countries, in particular those from the Democratic Republic of the Congo in Belgium and South Sudan in the United States and the United Kingdom. Without this, the provisions we have in resolution 2327 (2016) will make no sense. Africans, should not have to pay with their lives so that the citizens of those countries can enjoy the freedom of expression.

Many countries in the region are at a stage where they are the creating or reforming their democratic institutions. Some of them are in the pre-election period. We welcome the effective mediation efforts and good offices of the United Nations, the African Union and the East African Community, which helped launch a national mechanism for political dialogue in Burundi and helped to bring the negotiating process in the Democratic Republic of the Congo to a successful conclusion. At the same time, there is no doubt that political conclusions will lead to lasting stability only if they are arrived at by the members of the political processes themselves. Trying to provide them with recipes or to interpret agreements achieved is unacceptable.