Thanks for your time, Mr. President. Let me start by expressing my gratitude to SRSG Keita and Ms. Lusenge for their briefings today.
I also want to say how much I appreciate the region’s nations being here at the meeting.
Three topics will be the main emphasis of my intervention: MONUSCO, regional efforts, and the security and humanitarian situation in the eastern DRC.
President, the security situation in eastern DRC continues to cause the UK great worry.
Recent attempts to pursue peace and development are in jeopardy, and the already dire humanitarian situation is made worse by the present rise in violence.
The likelihood of a regional conflict is at its greatest level in a long time. It is imperative that all parties immediately deescalate the situation and respect one another’s sovereign rights.
The complete rejection of hate speech and the influence of self-serving actors on local public opinion should be part of de-escalation efforts.
President Kenyatta’s Nairobi process and President Lourenco’s AU-approved participation are two examples of continuous diplomatic efforts that we applaud.
The United Kingdom pledges its support to these initiatives to promote communication, lower tensions, and utilise regional procedures to settle conflicts.
In order to bring long-term peace and prosperity to the DRC and the region, the United Kingdom emphasizes the importance of political and diplomatic measures over military ones as these efforts continue.
It is equally important that regional involvement works with already-established political processes, particularly the recently launched DDR program by the Government of the DRC, and that it contributes to the lifting of the State of Siege and the restoration of local civilian authority.
We eagerly await the projected East African Community (EAC) regional force’s plans and implore the EAC Partner States to work closely and productively with MONUSCO to handle any dangers associated with concurrent military deployments.
We encourage EAC Partner States to incorporate the deployment of MONUSCO’s lessons learned as they develop their intervention.
President, all parties must pay sufficient attention to humanitarian concerns in order to guarantee that the 5.9 million internally displaced citizens in the DRC get the aid they require.
Humanitarian needs have significantly increased as a result of recent attacks by the M23 armed organization.
The ability of organizations to contact affected populations is being significantly hampered by the rise in kidnapping and violence against humanitarian workers.
In order to address the dangers to the delivery of humanitarian aid, we implore the government of the DRC to collaborate more closely with humanitarian organizations, such as OCHA, especially through enhancing civil-military collaboration.
President, let me acknowledge the difficulties MONUSCO is having in this intricate situation.
The Mission operates in hazardous conditions, as evidenced by the deaths of nine MONUSCO members in recent months, and we commend their personnel for their efforts.
We urge everyone to refrain from saying or doing anything that puts MONUSCO employees at risk while expressing our unwavering support for the Mission as it carries out its mandate.
Let me conclude by praising SRSG Keita and MONUSCO as a whole for their ongoing efforts in increasingly difficult conditions.