Congo - Kinshasa
Final Communiqué of The second summit of signatories to the agreement for a ceasefire in the Democratic Republic of Congo

Following, the full text of the Lusaka summit of August 13 2000 on the situation of the ceasefire in Congo-Kinshasa (DRC): 

1. At the invitation of President Fredrick J T Chiluba, the signatories to the Agreement for a Cease-fire in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) held their second Summit in Lusaka, Zambia on 14th and 15th August, 2000 as a follow up to their first Summit which took place in Lusaka on 23rd February, 2000.

2. The Summit was attended by all the signatories to the Agreement namely; the Presidents of the Democratic Republic of Congo, Namibia, Rwanda, Uganda and Zimbabwe and the Minister of Defence of Angola, as well as the leaders of the following non-State Parties; the Congolese Rally for Democracy-Liberation Movement (RCD-ML) and the Movement for the Liberation of Congo (MLC). The witnesses to the Cease-fire Agreement, namely, Zambia, the Organisation of African Unity, the United Nations and the Southern African Development Community (SADC) secretariat also attended the Summit.

3. The following Heads of State and Government of the SADC member States non-signatories to the Agreement also participated in the Summit: His Majesty the King of Swaziland, the Presidents of Malawi, Mozambique, South Africa and Tanzania, the Minister of Foreign Affairs of Botswana, the Minister in the Office of the Prime Minister of Lesotho and the High Commissioner of Mauritius to Zambia. 

4. The Summit, among other things, addressed cease-fire violations, deployment of United Nations military observers, resources of the Joint Military Commission (JMC) and inter-Congolese political negotiations. 

5. The Summit, from the outset, reaffirmed its strong support for the Lusaka Cease-fire Agreement as the only accepted and viable basis for resolving the conflict in the DRC. 

6. With regard to the cease-fire violations, the Summit regretted the fact that cease-fire violations have persisted. It affirmed the validity of the Kampala plan for disengagement and redeployment of forces adopted on 8th April, 2000 as the appropriate framework for addressing cease-fire violations. The Summit welcomed the initiative of Rwanda to withdraw 200 Km from the positions declared in the disengagement plan and the Parties reaffirmed their commitment to begin and/or proceed with the withdrawals of at least 15Km from their declared positions in conformity with the plan. The Parties committed themselves not to take advantage of the withdrawals by occupying the vacated areas. 

7. On the issue of deployment of United Nations military observers, the Summit welcomed the readiness of the United Nations to commence such deployment. The Summit acknowledged, however, that existing conditions in the DRC have not made it possible for the deployment to begin. To this effect, the Summit recalled the guarantees it had given in February, 2000 to ensure the safety, protection and freedom of movement of the United Nations observers and personnel, which are also required by Security Council Resolutions 1291 and 1304. The Summit, therefore, appealed to the Government of the DRC to co-operate fully with the United Nations Organisation Mission in the Congo (MONUC) and to satisfy the conditions necessary for the speedy deployment of the military observers. 

8. The Summit expressed serious concern about the critical shortage of resources for the JMC, in particular funds to meet operational costs, as well as for essential equipment to enable the JMC to carry out its mandate of verifying cease-fire violations and monitoring the implementation of the Cease-fire Agreement. To this effect, the Summit made an earnest appeal to the international community to urgently make available adequate resources to the JMC. 

9. Regarding inter-Congolese political negotiations, the Summit addressed the difficulties that had stalled the facilitation. In this connection, the Summit with the exception of the DRC Government, reaffirmed its support for the Facilitator, Sir. Ketumile Masire. In light of this, an appeal was made to the DRC Government to reconsider its decision in order to ensure the speedy finalisation of arrangements for the convening of the national dialogue. 

10. Gravely concerned at the immense suffering which the people of the DRC are undergoing as a result of the war, the Summit stressed the urgent need to alleviate this suffering. To this end, the Summit urged all the Parties to facilitate the implementation of humanitarian operations by granting unhindered access of humanitarian and aid agencies and workers to the vulnerable population and victims of war, and in particular the refugees and displaced persons who are in desperate need of medical and food assistance. 

11. The Summit expressed gratitude to President Fredrick Chiluba and to the government and people of Zambia for the excellent facilities put at its disposal and for their kind hospitality. 

Source: Rwandan Press Office

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