A delegation of African Union facilitators, including former Ethiopian President Sahle-Work Zewde, former Kenyan President Uhuru Kenyatta and former Botswana President Mokgweetsi Masisi, has arrived in Kinshasa for consultations on the eastern DRC peace process.
The facilitators are expected to meet DRC President Félix Tshisekedi as they continue engagements with parties and governments involved in efforts to end the conflict in eastern Democratic Republic of Congo.
Their arrival in Kinshasa follows consultations in Goma and Kigali, with the panel expected to brief Congolese authorities on the outcome of those engagements.
In Goma, the delegation met representatives of AFC/M23, MONUSCO, the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs, the International Committee of the Red Cross and the Expanded Joint Verification Mechanism Plus.
The African Union said those discussions covered the peace process, the security and humanitarian situation and measures needed to strengthen confidence among the parties.
The panel called for continued political dialogue and encouraged engagement in good faith under the Doha process.
It also called for respect for ceasefire commitments, cooperation with verification mechanisms and restraint from actions that could undermine the peace process.
The facilitators later travelled to Kigali, where they met President Paul Kagame and discussed the next steps in the peace process and the underlying causes of the conflict.
No new agreement was announced following the Goma and Kigali engagements.
The AU panel has also placed civilian protection among its priorities, calling for safe humanitarian access, protection of essential services and stronger safeguards for women and girls affected by the conflict.
The panel had said the outcome of its consultations would be conveyed to AU mediator Faure Gnassingbé and the DRC government as it continued efforts to build confidence among the parties and advance the eastern DRC peace process.
Elie GATETE
RADIOTV10