Local view for "http://purl.org/linkedpolitics/eu/plenary/2008-02-21-Speech-4-242"
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"en.20080221.22.4-242"2
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"Mr President, the Commission remains very concerned about the dire humanitarian situation in the Kivus, and North Kivu in particular, where the number of internally displaced people – currently exceeding 800 000 in North Kivu alone – has as much as doubled in the course of 2007, thus alarmingly increasing the vulnerability of the population already suffering hardship.
At the same time, we are aware of, and condemn, the severe human rights abuses – including recruitment of child soldiers and widespread sexual violence – taking place in the region.
Yet, in this context, it is important to remember that today’s critical situation in North Kivu, while exacerbated by the fighting taking place in the second half of 2007, is a result of years of war in the region. The root causes of the Kivu conflict can be traced all the way to the Rwandan genocide at the beginning of the 1990s, while also bearing in mind that there are several local components – such as insufficient political representation of ethnic minorities, pillaging of natural resources and land tenure issues – that significantly contribute to the instability and insecurity in eastern Democratic Republic of Congo.
That is why the Commission welcomes the recent Goma Peace Conference and the following cease-fire as positive steps towards solving the enduring conflict in eastern Democratic Republic of Congo. The Conference restored President Kabila’s credibility after the army’s defeat against General Nkunda’s troops at the end of 2007, and launched an inter-provincial dialogue process – something that the Commission has always advocated.
Moreover, along the lines of the commitments made by the Democratic Republic of Congo and Rwanda in their Nairobi Joint Communiqué in November 2007, the Goma Conference also re-emphasised the need to tackle the problem of the ex-FAR as a priority. At the same time, it was made clear that there is a need to address the root causes of the conflict, while restoring the State authority in the east.
That said, it should not be forgotten that nothing was definitively solved at Goma or Nairobi. Finding a permanent solution to the root causes of the Kivu crisis, and thus a sustainable restoration of peace in the region, will take time. Indeed, while complementing each other, the Nairobi Joint Communiqué and the Goma Conference represent an encouraging start – but only a start – of a difficult and lengthy process.
The main challenge ahead is now an effective implementation of the Nairobi and Goma commitments. It ought to be assured that all the concerned stakeholders stand by their commitments. The EU will continue to follow closely and participate actively in this process.
In this context, international action in support of the Congolese is very much needed. The Commission, together with the Member States, is ready to continue to play an important role in the Kivus. We have traditionally been one of the most important donors in the east, via our humanitarian assistance and our rehabilitation and capacity-building programmes. We are willing to further increase our support for the region, especially through European initiatives, as well as in close collaboration with the United Nations."@en1
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