Tuesday 13 November 2012

Rwanda’s Religious Leaders appeal to UN council


Rwanda’s Religious Leaders have called United Nations to make a deeper analysis to the problems in the DRC and formally distance itself from the recent reports by its experts.
In a statement to the United Nations Secretary-General, Rwanda’s Religious Leaders, on November 10, 2012, expressed their deep concern over the confusion caused by the UN Mapping Report on the DRC (2010) and UN Group of Experts report (2012) about the situation in the Eastern Democratic Republic of Congo.
The religious leaders also said that there was a wrong conclusion that Rwanda is the source of internal problems in the DRC.  “We strongly question the integrity of the experts, the reports methodology, and the report’s conclusions based on insufficient evidence”, they said.
The statement urged the United Nations to formally distance itself from the controversial findings and begin a comprehensive, inclusive, and impartial process to finding lasting peace and security in the Democratic Republic of Congo. The Religious leaders who represent Rwanda’s Christian and Muslim faiths said, “When a wrong medical diagnosis is made you get a wrong medical prescription. The same goes for analyzing the Congolese problems and the suggested peace solutions to the crisis targeting Rwanda.”
The religious leaders expressed disappointment at the unfair attempts to undermine and derail Rwanda’s modest progress towards economic and social transformation.  They called the decision by some donors to suspend their aid commitment as rushed and unjustified by a preposterous lie that Rwanda is the source of the governance and sovereignty issues of the DRC.
The statement said, “The armed groups in the DRC are the outcome of a complex long-standing historical and political reality.  A durable solution would require a deeper analysis of the situation in order to identify the root causes of the conflict and address real issues accordingly.”
“We have serious concerns about the international community focusing on the current mutiny [M23] at the expense of the much broader challenges in the Eastern DRC and beyond.”
The statement further called for the United Nations to cooperate with the African Union and regional bodies, including the Intergovernmental Conference on the Great Lakes Region (ICGLR) to set up conditions for peace, dialogue and reconciliation between the government of DRC and the defecting groups while seeking ways to help the DRC build solid institutions and consolidate democracy.
It also appealed for immediate humanitarian assistance for Congolese refugees who have been abandoned and considered as second class citizens.  It called for their fundamental right to protection and repatriation.

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