President Evariste Ndayishimiye of Burundi, who is also the Chairperson of the EAC Summit, on Saturday, February 4, hosted the 20th extra-ordinary Summit of Heads of State at a time when the volatile security situation in North Kivu province, where Congolese government forces are battling the M23 rebels, is deteriorating.
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The regional Summit in Bujumbura followed an urgent meeting between EAC technical advisors and Uhuru Kenyatta, Kenya’s former president, who is now facilitator of the EAC-led peace process for eastern DR Congo.
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The Congolese government has been in the spotlight recently, due to, among others, its unilateral decision to deport three Rwandan military officers who were serving the regional force.
At the end of the Bujumbura Summit, a four-page communiqué was released. Here are the nine key resolutions from the meeting:
1.The Summit observed that the security situation in eastern DR Congo is a regional matter that can only be sustainably resolved through a political process and emphasized the need for enhanced dialogue among all the parties.
2. The Heads of State directed that the political process should be strengthened and escalated to involve all stakeholders.
3. The Heads of State directed: immediate ceasefire by all parties; withdrawal including all foreign armed groups and directed the chiefs of defence forces to meet within one week and set new timelines for the withdrawal and recommend appropriate deployment matrix; that this process be accompanied by dialogue.
The leaders also directed that any violations be reported to the chairperson of the Summit for immediate consultation with members of the Summit.
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4. The Summit directed all troop-contributing countries to immediately deploy and urged the DR Congo to immediately facilitate the deployment of troops from South Sudan and Uganda to the East African Regional Force.
5. The Heads of State reiterated their decisions at the high-level consultative meeting of the summit on the peace process in the eastern DR Congo held in Sharm El Sheikh in Egypt: including commending the facilitator of the EAC-led Nairobi process, Uhuru Kenyatta, for his leadership and efforts on reenergising the peace process; and commending the African Union Peace and Security Council, the UN Security Council and the international community for political and financial support towards implementation of the EAC-led Nairobi process and the Luanda process.
Also key, in this regard, is commending Angola and Senegal for the financial contribution which largely facilitated the ongoing political processes.
6. The Summit noted with appreciation the financial contributions by Kenya and Tanzania and thanked Rwanda and Uganda for their commitment to contribute to the EAC Peace Facility Fund and urged other partner states to contribute towards the Peace Fund.
7. The Heads of State called upon all parties to respect and implement decisions of the Summit and obligations agreed upon in previous meetings of Heads of State and other established instruments on restoration of peace and security in eastern DR Congo.
8. The Summit reiterated its call to all parties to de-escalate tensions and to use established regional, continental and international mechanisms to resolve any disputes in the implementation of peace in eastern DR Congo.
9. The summit reiterated the need for implementation of the decisions and directives of the 22nd meeting of the summit of the EAC heads of state on the security situation on eastern DR Congo and directed all local armed groups in eastern DR Congo to embrace dialogue, lay down their arms and join the political process as a path towards unconditional disarmament and creation of an enabling environment for participation in upcoming democratic processes.