UN and Partners Renew Call for Surrender of Rwandan Rebels
DR Congo: UN and partners renew call for surrender
of Rwandan rebel group 1 June 2014 The United
Nations and its partners today renewed their call for the
complete surrender of all leaders and combatants of the
rebel Democratic Forces for the Liberation of Rwanda, which
has caused untold suffering in eastern Democratic Republic
of the Congo (DRC) for many years. The call was issued by
the Secretary-General’s Special Envoy to the Great Lakes
Region, Mary Robinson; his Special Representative in the
DRC, Martin Kobler; the United States Special Envoy for the
Great Lakes Region and the DRC, Russ Feingold; the Special
Representative of the African Union, Boubacar Diarra; and
the European Union Senior Coordinator for the Great Lakes
Region, Koen Vervaeke. It comes after a representative of
the group, known by its French acronym FDLR, stated in a
letter that the rebels would lay down their weapons on 30
May 2014 in two locations in North and South Kivu provinces.
Reports indicate that no such activity took place in South
Kivu, and up until now, an “insignificant” number of
low-ranking combatants surrendered in North Kivu, according
to a joint statement by the envoys. “The envoys recall
that the FDLR is an illegitimate armed group that is the
subject of UN sanctions, responsible for grave human rights
abuses and violations of international humanitarian law, and
that has caused untold suffering throughout eastern Congo
and in Rwanda,” said the statement. It noted that
members of the FDLR who choose not to surrender, renounce
violence, and submit to a disarmament, demobilization, and
reintegration process will remain subject to military action
by the Congolese national army and the UN peacekeeping
mission in DRC (MONUSCO), in line with its mandate to
neutralize armed groups. Those members of the FDLR who
surrender and want to return to Rwanda can be repatriated,
it
added. ENDS