UN boss arrives tomorrow for security talks

The United Nations Secretary General Ban Ki-moon is expected to visit Rwanda tomorrow to hold talks with top Rwandan officials about improving the security situation in eastern DR Congo and the region.The Deputy Spokesperson for the Secretary General, Eduardo del Buey, announced on Monday that Ban’s trip to the Great Lakes Region aims at boosting the implementation of a UN-brokered peace deal in which regional countries commit to contributing their efforts in restoring peace to eastern Congo and the region.Ban will arrive in Rwanda after visiting the Democratic Republic of the Congo, which will be the first leg of a three-day joint visit with World Bank Group President Jim Yong Kim to the Great Lakes Region, a trip that will also take both officials to Uganda.“The aim of the joint visit to the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Rwanda, and Uganda is to support the implementation of the Peace, Security and Cooperation Framework for the Democratic Republic of the Congo and the region, following the signing of the Framework in Addis Ababa on 24 February, by these three countries and eight others,” del Buey said in a release.Rwanda, Uganda, and DR Congo are all signatories to the peace deal, which seeks to improve security in conflict-torn eastern Congo by stumping out all the rebel groups fighting in the region by using both diplomatic and military approaches.The newly-appointed United Nations envoy to the Great Lakes Region of Africa, Mary Robinson, will accompany Ban and Jim on their trip to Rwanda and they will hold talks with President Paul Kagame and other top officials in the Rwandan government.Robinson was appointed by the UN Secretary General in March and she was tasked with bolstering support for the peace deal, which she has so far described as “a framework for hope” to end decades of conflict and instability in DR Congo.Avenue of hope Eastern Congo’s provinces of South and North Kivu have been under constant instability as several armed militias roaming in the area continue to kill, torture and loot. They include the genocidal group from Rwanda, the Democratic Forces for the Liberation of Rwanda, whose members are largely responsible for the 1994 Genocide against the Tutsi.Robinson’s office has said the agreement represents “an avenue of hope for the people of the region to build stability by addressing the root causes of the conflict and fostering trust between neighbours” through discussions among governments, international organisations, donors, and peoples of the region.The UN team will end its Great Lakes region trip on Friday in Uganda where the Secretary General and World Bank President will meet with Ugandan Government officials, including President Yoweri Museveni. Ban will then travel to Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, where he will participate in an African Union Summit to mark the 50th Anniversary of the formation of the Organisation of African Unity (OAU) now African Union. The diplomat will hold meetings on the Peace, Security and Cooperation Framework for the Democratic Republic of the Congo and the region on the sidelines of the anniversary events.

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UN boss arrives tomorrow for security talks