A joint ministerial meeting of the East African Community (EAC) and the Southern African Development Community (SADC) has pledged to urgently put to action a joint roadmap to bring an end to the crisis in the eastern DR Congo. The meeting, which was convened in the Zimbabwean capital Harare agreed that the roadmap will elaborates a comprehensive approach encompassing both political and military interventions. According to a communiqué, the meeting was attended by 14 countries from the two blocs. Zimbabwe’s Minister of Foreign Affairs and International Trade and chairperson of the SADC Council of Ministers, Amon Murwira said these measures are required to address the complex security and humanitarian situation in the DR Congo, in the immediate, medium and long-term. In his closing remarks after the joint EAC/SADC Council of Ministers meeting, Murwira said the meeting agreed that the security situation in the DR Congo demands that they reinvigorate their collective efforts towards peace, with a sense of urgency and in the spirit of Pan-Africanism. “It is our conviction that the decisions we have adopted, will provide impetus to our peace efforts towards resolving the protracted conflict in our sister Republic, given that no-one but ourselves will bring the peace we want in our two regions,” Murwira said “We have also pledged to urgently put to action the joint roadmap, which elaborates a comprehensive approach encompassing both political and military interventions required to address the complex security and humanitarian situation in the DR Congo, in the immediate, medium and long-term.” The co-chair of the EAC/SADC meeting, Musalia Mudavadi, Kenya’s Prime Cabinet Secretary and Cabinet Secretary for Foreign and Diaspora Affairs commended Angolan President João Lourenço, who is also the current chairperson of the African Union, for initiating efforts to have direct negotiations between the DR Congo government and the AFC/M23 rebel group. Mudavadi said all parties converging at the table for talks was the only viable option to bring sustainable peace in the DR Congo. “I think what will be important is for us to consolidate and make sure that what EAC and SADC are doing, we move in tandem on these issues,” he said. Direct talks between Kinshasa and the AFC/M23 rebels are expected to begin on Tuesday in Luanda. Both parties have confirmed sending delegations for the talks. DR Congo President Felix Tshisekedi had previously refused to negotiate with the rebels saying they were “terrorists”. However, after the AFC/M23 rebels scored battlefield successes which culminated in the liberation of key territories including the strategic cities of Goma and Bukavu in North and South Kivu respectively, Tshisekedi capitulated and agreed to have direct talks with the rebels. However, it remains to be seen if Kinshasa will stick to the negotiations for a meaningful outcome.
