AFRICA/DR CONGO - Secretary General of CENCO: "Strengthening UN intervention in the DRC"

Kinshasa (Agenzia Fides) - The United Nations must strengthen its commitment in the Democratic Republic of Congo where entire areas are now out of State control. This was stated by Fr. Donatien Nshole, Secretary General of the National Episcopal Conference of Congo (CENCO), in a speech to the UN Security Council.
"In entire Congolese provinces, from Ituri to Kasai, passing through Tanganyika, North and South Kivu, the ex-Equateur, the humanitarian and security situation is marked by chaos and by a generalized violence due to the presence of different armed groups, inter-ethnic conflicts but also and above all the absence of the State", said Fr. Nshole on March 19 at the New York City's Glass Palace.
"The absence of State authority in certain areas of the country is due to the illegitimacy of the main institutions", added the Secretary General of the Congolese Episcopal Conference, referring to the presidential elections that had to be held by the end of 2016, leading to the extension of the second and last term of President Josesph Kabila. A situation that is increasingly challenged by the population, whom has become the spokesperson of an association of the Catholic laity, which since the beginning of 2018 has promoted three major demonstrations of national protest, which have however been repressed in blood. The events, organized by the Lay Coordination Committee (LCC), were aimed at requesting the full application of the New Year's Eve Agreement, signed on December 31, 2016, with the mediation of CENCO, which envisages the creation of a government of national unity, including all opposition parties, in charge of preparing the elections; the release of political prisoners and freedom of press and expression.
Fr. Nshole indicated some paths that could allow, according to CENCO, to get out of the crisis. First of all, the UN must invest more and put pressure on the organization of the elections. The truly democratic transition through the polls is in fact the only way to "give the Congolese people rulers capable of coping with the multifaceted crisis that is destroying the country", said Fr. Nshole who stressed the urgent need to implement the provisions of the New Year's Eve Agreement and respect the electoral calendar. The priest then stressed the importance to strengthen the mandate of the UN Mission in the DRC (MONUSCO) which must be "equipped with the legal and material means necessary for the protection of civilians, vulnerable persons and their property in areas where recurrent attacks and violence occur". Fr. Nshole also called for urgent humanitarian aid to be deployed for the victims of insecurity and for those forced to leave their lands.
Finally, the priest insisted on the need to "implement an economic development plan for the DRC after the elections. A vital plan to help revive the country that has been sinking into chaos for two decades", he concluded. (L.M.) (Agenzia Fides, 22/3/2018)

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