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Note: This document is from the archive of the Africa Policy E-Journal, published
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Zaire: African Statements
Any links to other sites in this file from 1996 are not clickable,
given the difficulty in maintaining up-to-date links in old files.
However, we hope they may still provide leads for your research.
Zaire: African Statements
Date Distributed (ymd): 961111
Contains (1) Statement from Nairobi Summit, (2) Pan African
News Agency stories from OAU meeting in Addis Ababa.
Note: Updated information from a variety of sources can be
found most conveniently and quickly at
(1) http://www.info.usaid.gov/ofda/reliefweb/ (outside North
America at http://www.reliefweb.int/) and
(2) http://www.africanews.org/greatlakes.html.
Additional statements from U.S. non-governmental relief and
development organizations can be found at
http://www.interaction.org/zrcrisis.html.
***********************************************************
Document provided by ReliefWeb
Source: Regional Summit on the Crisis in Eastern Zaire
Date : 05 Nov 1996
------------------------------------------------------------
Press Statement by the Regional Summit on the Crisis in
Eastern Zaire
1. At the invitation of President Daniel T. arap Moi,
Presidents Yoweri Museveni of Uganda, Frederick Chiluba of
Zambia, Pasteur Bizimungu of Rwanda, Isaias Afewerki of
Eritrea, Benjamin Mkapa of Tanzania, Prime Minister Meles
Zenawi of Ethiopia and Ferdinand Oyono, Minister for Foreign
Affairs of Cameroon, representing HE Paul Biya, Chairman of
OAU met on 5th November, 1996, in Nairobi, to deliberate on
the conflict in Eastern Zaire.
2. Also participating in the summit were the Secretary General
OAU, Dr. Salim Ahmed Salim and Mwalimu Julius Nyerere,
Facilitator of the Peace Process.
3. The Summit examined recent developments in Eastern Zaire,
resulting in arrmed confrontation and expressed its grave
concern at the deteriorating situation in that area and the
threat posed to peace and stability in the entire Great Lake's
region, border incursions and the threat posed to peace and
stability in the entire Great Lakes' region.
4. The Summit reaffirmed the commitment and solidarity of the
countries in the region for the concern about the escalation
of the conflict and agreed that an immediate cease-fire should
be effected and strictly observed to enable the
intensification of diplomatic efforts to achieve lasting
peace.
5. The Summit reaffirmed its commitment to the territorial
integrity of Zaire in accordance with the OAU Charter and in
particular, the Cairo Declaration of 1964 on territorial
integrity and inviolability of national boundaries as
inherited at independence and called for non-intervention and
an end to cross-border incursions.
6. The Summit further reaffirmed the inalienable rights of all
people within the internationally recognized territorial
boundaries as stipulated in the OAU Charter on Human and
People's Rights and other international conventions relevant
to the right of citizenship and nationality.
7. Taking cognisance of the plight of the refugees in Eastern
Zaire, the regional Summit called for the immediate setting up
of safe corridors and temporary sanctuaries inside Zaire to
facilitate humanitarian assistance and the repatriation of
refugees.
8. The Summit called for the intensification of efforts
towards voluntary repatriation of refugees to Rwanda, to
enable the success of this effort the Summit called for the
implementation of the long standing decision to separate the
intimidators and bonafide refugees.
9. The Summit requested the UN Security Council to take urgent
measures to ensure the establishment of the safe corridors and
temporary sanctuaries by deploying a neutral force. In this
connection, the Summit called upon the UN Secretary General to
work closely with the OAU Secretary General towards the
realisation of this objective, the Summit requested the
Secretary General of the OAU to closely follow up the
implementation of this decision. The Summit affirmed the
readiness of the sub-region to make its own contribution to
that effect.
10. The Summit directed their ministers for Foreign Affairs of
Kenya, Tanzania, Ethiopia and the representative of OAU
Chairman to closely follow up the decisions of the Summit.
11. The Summit mandated the foreign ministers to visit Zaire
to convey the decisions of this summit.
12. The regional Summit expressed its appreciation to
President Daniel T. arap Moi for playing host to the Summit on
the crisis in Zaire, in Nairobi and to the Government and
people of the Republic of Kenya, for the warm welcome and
hospitality accorded to the delegations.
Done at Nairobi, Kenya on 5th November, 1996
Transcribed verbatim by UN DHA IRIN, Nairobi.
Via the UN DHA Integrated Regional Information Network "Wire"
mailing list. The material contained in this communication may
not necessarily reflect the views of the United Nations or its
agencies. UN DHA IRIN Tel: +254 2 622123 Fax: +254 2 622129
e-mail: irin@dha.unon.org for more information. If you
re-print, copy, archive or re-post this item, please retain
this credit and disclaimer.
************************************************************
Panafrican News Agency. B.P. 4056, Dakar, Senegal;
Tel: (221) 24-13-95; Fax: (221) 24-13-90;
E-mail: quoiset@sonatel.senet.net
OAU Calls for A Neutral Force Under United Nations
11 November 1996
From Ghion Hagos; PANA Staff Correspondent
ADDIS ABABA, Ethiopia (PANA) - A neutral force under the
United Nations should be deployed immediately to avert further
human tragedy in eastern Zaire and political turmoil in the
Great Lakes region.
This was the view expressed by Ethiopian Prime Minister Meles
Zenawi and OAU Secretary-General Salim Ahmed Salim in their
opening statements Monday during the extraordinary ministerial
session of the OAU's organ for conflict prevention, management
and resolution.
Both Meles and Salim emphasized that the proposed neutral
force should be deployed in line with the proposals made by
the Nov. 5 regional summit in Nairobi, Kenya, details of which
had been communicated to the UN Security Council.
But the Security Council decided Nov. 6 that the cost of
mounting the operation "be borne by participating member
states and other voluntary contributors,". It also encouraged
others "to contribute to the operation in any way possible."
According to Meles, this places "constraints" on African
countries to fully participate in the force. "Since the
proposed multinational force will not strictly be a United
Nations operation but rather a force authorized and supported
by the UN, there will be need to have a clear commitment on
financial, logistics and material assistance to enable African
countries to participate," he said.
This calls for an urgent decision on the part of the United
Nations, he added, now that Africa had acted on what should be
done as specified by the decisions of the Nairobi summit.
Meles said when Africa is ready to shoulder its
responsibilities it should not be taken for granted, pointing
out that the Security Council had ignored the decisions of the
summit.
He stated that the tragedy in eastern Zaire was in more ways
than one, a sequel to the genocide in Rwanda in 1994. If
Africa is to act to avert such tragedy, it should be taken
seriously by the international community.
Salim said the Nairobi summit had taken "unequivocal position"
on the inviolability and territorial integirty of Zaire.
He emphasized that an effective African participation was
pivotal to the success of the proposed neutral force in the
Great Lakes region.
As proposed by the Security Council, Salim pointed out, there
will be a need to have a clear commitment on financial
logistics and material assistance to enable African countries
to participate in the force.
***********************************************************
Africa Seeks UN Support In Eastern Zaire
11 Nov 96
From Ghion Hagos ; PANA Staff Correspondent
ADDIS ABABA, Ethiopia (PANA) - The United Nations Security
Council was called upon Monday to facilitate "Africa's
effective participation" in the proposed multinational force
for humanitarian work in the Great Lakes Region.
The call came at the end of a day-long extraordinary
ministerial session of the OAU body charged with conflict
prevention, management and resolution in Addis Ababa, which
deliberated on the current crisis in eastern Zaire.
In a communique, the ministers underscored the need for the
Security Council and the international community at large "to
create a mechanism" to ensure an effective African
participation in the proposed multinational force.
They said that given the resource constraints that would
clearly face African contributors to the force, "financial,
logistics and material resources should be provided on a very
reliable, dependable and sustainable basis" to ensure Africa's
effective participation.
The communique further underscored the position that "the
setting up of a neutral force, as recommended by the regional
Nairobi summit (on Nov. 5), would have been the most effective
manner in facilitating the creation of safe corridors and
temporary sanctuaries and ensuring an effective African
contribution to such a force."
However, the ministerial session regretted that the security
council "did not fully take into account this particular
recommendation of the Nairobi summit."
The meeting also appealed to all the African countries to
contribute contingents to the proposed force "on the
understanding that resources would be made available."
It pointed out "the need for clarity of the magnitude" of the
force that is to facilitate "the provision of humanitarian
relief assistance and the return of refugees to Rwanda,"
saying such a force be neutral and be deployed urgently.
The communique further said that it was crucial to separate
"intimidators from bona-fide refugees," and requested the
Security Council to consider this issue as "a vital component
of the efforts to ensure the safe and voluntary return of the
refugees to Rwanda to create conditions conducive to the
resolution of the crisis."
The meeting also expressed support to the OAU proposal for
convening, as soon as possible, an international conference on
Peace, Security and Stability in the Great Lakes Region to
find a durable solution to the crisis in the region.
OAU secretary general Salim Ahmed Salim told reporters later
that the "collective complaints of the ministers" during
deliberations had been that the multinational force proposed
by the security council had not been made fully a
responsibility of the United Nations, similar to other
previous peacekeeping forces elsewhere.
The OAU Secretary-General, Salim Ahmed Salim, told reporters
at the end of the meeting that ball was now in the court of
those that had previously said Africa should shoulder its
responsibilities.
"Africa is now ready...provided there is guarantee to ensure
the quick deployment and sustainability of the proposed
force," he declared.
He said five countries, which he did not name, have already
informed him of their readiness to contribute contingents to
the proposed multinational force, and "more have also
indicated their readiness to do so in due course."
------------------------------------------------------------
Copyright 1996 Panafrican News Agency and Africa News Service.
All rights reserved.
Note: These articles reposted, with permission, from the Web
site of Africa News Service, which features among other
material news bulletins several times daily from the
Panafrican News Agency. PANA has 36 correspondents across the
continent and working relationships with national news
agencies in 48 African countries. The Africa News home page
is http://www.africanews.org/. The PANA news feed is found at
http://www.africanews.org/pana/FEED/PANAFEED.html.
Africa News Service
Box 3851 Durham, North Carolina 27702 USA
Telephone: 919-286-0747 Fax: 919-286-2614
Washington, D.C. Office (202) 546-3675 (phone/fax)
E-mail: ans@afnews.org
************************************************************
This material is being reposted for wider distribution by the
Africa Policy Information Center (APIC), the educational
affiliate of the Washington Office on Africa. APIC's primary
objective is to widen the policy debate in the United States
around African issues and the U.S. role in Africa, by
concentrating on providing accessible policy-relevant
information and analysis usable by a wide range of groups and
individuals.
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