DRC’s Thérèse Kayikwamba Wagner, Amb. Téte António of Angola, and Minister Nduhungirehe launched the Reinforced Ad Hoc Verification Mechanism on Tuesday.
Rwanda’s Minister of Foreign Affairs and Cooperation, Amb. Olivier Nduhungirehe and his Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) counterpart, Thérèse Kayikwamba Wagner, met Tuesday along the Rwanda- DRC border, under the facilitation of Angola’s Minister of External Relations, Amb. Téte António, to establish the Reinforced Ad Hoc Verification Mechanism, in line with the implementation of the decisions of the 5th Tripartite, held on October 12, in Luanda, Angola.
Angola continues to lead the process to resolve the recurring conflict that has gripped the Eastern DRC for nearly three decades, through the Luanda Peace Process, which is also backed by the African Union (AU) and the International Community.
Speaking after the meeting that took place at the one-stop border, Minister Nduhungirehe said the members of the tripartite, Rwanda, DRC and Angola, agreed to put together a team of military experts to follow through on the implementation of what is known as “Proposed Concept of Operations” (CONOPS) technical report which was submitted as directed by the summit.
Amb. Nduhungirehe, who was accompanied by senior officers Brig. Gen Patrick Karuretwa and Col. Francois Regis Gatarayiha, among other members of the delegation, said that it was agreed that the Reinforced Ad Hoc Verification Mechanism will be composed of 18 military officers from Angola, three from Rwanda and three from DRC.
Minister Nduhungirehe chats with Amb. Tete.
“Today we the launch of this Ad Hoc verification mechanism, which we believe will help us strengthen verification mechanism so that the ceasefire can be implemented and peace returns in Eastern DRC, which is what we all want,”
“We are optimistic that this process will work. We have another meeting scheduled for November 16. We will sit and review the progress,” Nduhungirehe told journalists after the meeting.
The border meeting follows the submission of a draft technical report by military experts, indicating the roadmap of what Rwanda and DRC will do, to address the issues between the two countries, the lay ground for a peace process, as directed by the 5th Tripartite Ministerial Meeting for Peace and Security in the eastern part of DRC.
The process is spearheaded by President João Lourenço, who is the facilitator of the process. Details of the technical report are yet to be made public but Amb. Nduhungirehe said DRC has an obligation to fight the Democratic Forces of the Liberation of Rwanda (FDLR), while Rwanda is also obliged to scale down its security measures along the border.
The meeting comes after signs that a ceasefire was not holding with the M23 rebels indicating that they will continue to defend their positions when attacked. The rebels captured yet another area known as Kamandi-Gite area on the outskirts of Lake Edward in Lubero territory, according to MONUSCO’s Radio Okapi.
Minister Nduhungirehe expressed optimism in the process.
More fighting is reported in areas of Pinga in Walikale territory, where it is reported that the M23 are advancing on the important town of Walikale, in North Kivu Province.
The ministerial meeting on November 16 is expected to approve or reject the approval of the draft report. If approved, it will be submitted to the Heads of State for further action and signing of peace agreements.
Previously, these experts had agreed on the actions they were given by the mediator, but in September, when the foreign ministers were going to sign the approval of the experts report, the DR Congo side refused to sign it saying that they had some disagreements.
Rwanda accuses DRC of backing FDLR militia and using them to fight alongside government forces, FARDC while DRC accuses Rwanda of backing the M23 rebels, who say they are fighting for the rights of Kinyarwanda speaking Tutsi communities which were isolated and face hate and ethnic violence.
