Congo, M23 adopt old 2009 agreement provisions at talks

The Democratic Republic of Congo government delegation and the M23 rebels on Wednesday adopted the report on the review of the peace agreement, marking conclusion of the first item of the agenda of the ongoing peace talks in Kampala, Uganda.

Thursday, February 07, 2013

The Democratic Republic of Congo government delegation and the M23 rebels on Wednesday adopted the report on the review of the peace agreement, marking conclusion of the first item of the agenda of the ongoing peace talks in Kampala, Uganda.The accord was signed on March 23, 2009, between Kinshasa and the then Congréss National pour la Défense du Peuple (CNDP) rebels.Its implementation, however, failed, leading to the revival of the movement by former CNDP fighters under a new name, M23. In the report, the parties stated their opinion on status of the agreement.Based on the reflections of the parties, the facilitator of the talks, Uganda’s Defence Minister Crispus Kiyonga, grouped provisions of the agreement into three categories, including those that were fully implemented (23), provisions that were partially implemented (8) and those that were not well-handled (12). The report is a result of the 12-member Joint Committee of Experts currently reviewing the accord.