DR Congo: UN Peacekeepers Meet with Traditional Chiefs

The United Nations Mission in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (MONUC) has launched a series of meetings with traditional chiefs to strengthen its relationship with communities in the militia-ridden Ituri District, where security remains precarious and humanitarian access has been severely reduced in recent weeks.

The meetings, which began on 20 April and have so far engaged 49 such chiefs, are meant to reinforce MONUC's ability to protecting the civilian population, to streamline the Mission's support to the election now scheduled for 30 July and to resolve numerous other nagging problems, the mission said today.

MONUC added that the discussions are already starting to bear fruit: on the basis of the information exchanged, MONUC's military personnel in Ituri have proceeded with several joint operations alongside the national Congolese army, FARDC.

The operations are at applying pressure on the remaining militamen in Ituri whose illegal activities threaten the sizeable achievements gained in the pacification of the District, which had been the scene of inter-ethnic violence and other clashes following agreements to end a civil war estimated to be responsible for some 4 million deaths.

Following the first meeting, the traditional chiefs issued a joint press release stating their full commitment to working in the larger interest of the country, and MONUC's senior civilian and military management in Ituri said it is encouraged by the good faith and prowess demonstrated by local leaders there.

The meetings are to continue throughout the electoral period, coordinated with an awareness campaign just launched by the DRC's Independent Electoral Commission, designed to inform the local population about the electoral process.

In the interest of cementing stability in the country, the preparations for the vote for a president and parliament constitute the largest and most complex UN electoral-assistance mission ever undertaken, the Organization has said.

Source: United Nations

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