Joyce Msuya, Assistant Secretary-General for Humanitarian Affairs and Deputy Emergency Relief Coordinator, said that when she visited the Democratic Republic of the Congo in February , she was struck by the scale and depth of the immense humanitarian crisis.
But they are being pushed to the brink of catastrophe by overwhelming challenges. They need our support. He cited exacerbated tensions between that country and Rwanda due to repeated clashes between the 23 March Movement M23 and the Armed Forces of the Democratic Republic of the Congo FARDC , including the rhetoric of confrontation between the two countries based on reciprocal accusations.
Tensions between Burundi and Rwanda in the east of the Democratic Republic of the Congo are compromising progress made since Further, on 17 April in Nairobi — along with the African Union and the UN Entity for Gender Equality and the Empowerment of Women UN-Women — he mobilized women leaders and experts from a few countries in the region to discuss how to support peace processes there. Underscoring the need for including women in the Luanda and Nairobi processes, he said they must play a full role in the peace talks.
Turning to natural resources, he welcomed that on 28 November Uganda launched a regional mechanism for certification of certain minerals, joining the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Rwanda, Burundi and the United Republic of Tanzania who are already implementing this principal ICGLR tool.
He reported that the signature countries, during the Technical Support Committee held on 1 and 2 February, analysed the recommendation for the revitalization of the Framework for Peace, Security and Cooperation of the Democratic Republic of the Congo and the Region. As well as increasing coordination and information exchange, the participants committed to carrying out more joint missions in the region. To that end, he said he intends soon to visit Kampala to discuss this important event with Ugandan authorities.
