thegoodfellas/blogset-br huggingface dataset:
of many to help on the investment conference, if so called, and we are working actively there already. So I think that were qualified and ready to go on that.So without further ado, though I think all of you do want to hear the special envoys before this meeting is over so please allow me to ask Said Djinnit of the United Nations, special envoy from the UN, to make opening make his remarks. Thank you. (Applause.)MR DJINNIT: Thank you very much, and Im very glad to be here with my friend, Tom Perriello, the U.S. special envoy for the Great Lakes Region, and I thank the organizers for this initiative. Im very glad to be here with you. At the same time I was looking forward to meeting with you, so I am very, very glad with this opportunity. I have not prepared a long introduction because I thought this was a more interactive session. I was ready for discussing with the audience. But some (inaudible) the work of the special envoy of the UN working together with other special envoys, especially my colleague and friend, Tom, and building on the excellent work that has been initiated by Feingold and Mary Robinson as the special envoys for the U.S. and the UN, and working with other special envoys in the region.I welcome this opportunity to update you on our collective efforts in assisting the people and the governments of this region in building improved governance, preventing conflict, promoting respect for civil and political rights, and economic opportunity for all. Since my appointment as the last year as the by the secretary-general as the new special envoy, I consulted widely with key stakeholders in the region, as well as development partners and international organizations and colleagues from regional organizations and international organizations and special envoys, to draw up a roadmap for the implementation of the Peace Security Cooperation Framework, which was an agreement that was signed by the leaders of the region in 2013 February to as a booster to the ongoing efforts in the region to consolidate peace and promote development.This roadmap builds on the foundation, as I said, led by my predecessor Mary Robinson. It sets a three-year time horizon for achieving the goals of the PSCF framework around eight priorities. These priorities include: One, supporting ongoing efforts to neutralize the negative forces in the region in eastern Congo in line with the relevant resolutions of the Security Council as well as recommendations and decisions by heads of state of the region. The FDLR, ex-M23, ADF remain an obstacle to peace, an obstacle to development in the region. It perpetuates the climate of insecurity in the region and it erodes trust and it perpetuates mistrust in the region, which is must trust is needed for moving forward on the track of development. Second, facilitating confidence building. We have seen some deficit of trust between some member-states, and we thought that we should promote as special envoys some confidence-building initiatives to try to rapproche a rapprochement, and we were thinking of
the countries of the CEPGL essentially, the DRC, Burundi, and Rwanda, and it happens that the three countries that went through genocide and conflict in the Great Lakes region. But unfortunately and I will talk about it maybe in the discussion the situation of Burundi has brought us backward because of the relations between the countries of the region, essentially between Rwanda and Burundi, are not the best at this present, so its difficult to get to the initiative of confidence building.Three, promoting peaceful, inclusive, and transparent elections. We identified that as a priority in our roadmap because we believe that if we fail in our efforts to help Burundi, to help DRC, to help others in managing their electoral processes peacefully and according to constitution and democratically, we may find the situation like the case of Burundi now, at the risk of things unravelling and then bring us back of to crisis, which is undermining the whole efforts that we are trying to promote on the PSCF. So its very important that we should continue encouraging timely, peaceful, and constitutional processes in the region. And we have been discussing with my colleagues, the envoys, on that.Fourth pillar, strengthening the governments mechanism of the Peace Security Cooperation, which is an internal we have a mechanism we are trying to bring more ownership by the member-states. Its very I must admit that its very difficult because you have sometimes its easy to launch initiative and its difficult to maintain it, because the initial momentum its not always difficult to maintain the momentum. We are trying to maintain the momentum.Five, promoting durable solutions for refugees and internally displaced person, people in the region. We believe that the issue of displacement is one of the core the grass-root problem that needs to be addressed, including the issue of the land you mentioned earlier, the refugees and IDPs. And we are looking at some we have been working with the World Bank, with UNHCR and others, supporting initiatives that are addressing these issues. And as part of the new impetus, we are bringing to the peace, security cooperation framework, we want some leaders to champion that because we need some leaders to help us promote this issue, because its low-profile as it stands now.The sixth pillar is facilitating socioeconomic development to consolidate peace gains and advance regional integration, and we I will say something a little bit later. And eighth seventh, mobilizing the force vive that you referred to it earlier of the region. That means the women, the youth, and civil society. And you have initiatives, which is building on the initiative by Mary Robinson, with the youth supporting the youth initiative, supporting the civil society we have a civil society forum for the Great Lakes. And we have a woman and we have the initiative of the women platform. We believe that this is strong pillars of the transformative agenda in the Great Lakes region. We cannot transform the region if this force vive are not fully involved in the processes.And lastly, acting as
guidance to the preparatory process, and I am glad that my sister from the DRC, who is the head of the National Agency for Promoting for the Promotion of the Investments, is here with us and Im very glad that she is with us. We are working very closely from the National Organizing Committee that shes leading under the ministerial committee to prepare for the conference.As the steering committee comprise a number of representatives of the institutions the Government of the DRC, the UN system institutions, the World Bank, the regional economic groupings but also a representative of the sector private sector. And you have been able so far to get the support of Mo Ibrahim; he is part of our steering committee. We have also got the support of Safaricom Bob Collymore, who also joined our steering committee. I met him before I study here in New York, and hes very supportive initiative. We have also an agreement in principle by Don Gotti (ph) to support the initiative. We have the principle, but we have not yet his representative in the steering committee.To make sure that this private sector conference is not prepared by representative institutions and governments but by representative by the prestigious and credible representative of the private sector in Africa that could just to tell you that really we are looking forward, because we believe that while we are very busy trying to help the region address outstanding issues from the tragedy of the past, of the 90s that means finalizing the problem of the neutralization of the negative forces while we are trying to assist the countries address the new generation of conflict in Africa, which is related to governance and the tendency, the trend to perpetuate leaders beyond constitutional terms. This is something that is also something serious. We believe that we should open properly the chapter of investment in the region, and this we believe that the private sector conference is the inaugural one of a process that will trigger other initiatives of investment. We could believe that its only the private sector working hand in hand with the government, and we want to have that private sector conference another opportunity to have a high-level dialogue on the climate for business in Africa. We want to create the solid foundation for a successful conference, and we would like you to be with us there, and especially you. And Im glad that you are already thinking of attending this very important conference. Thank you for your attention. (Applause.)MR PERRIELLO: Thank you very much for being here. Thank you, Special Envoy Djinnit. I think both of us are very interested in giving people here a chance to comment and ask questions, so I will keep this relatively short, but I do want to thank all the members of civil society throughout the Great Lakes and their partners here in the United States for the crucial work thats been done on democracy and on development, and certainly to Steve and the partners in the private sector. We understand
that the potential is tremendous; the realities are already quite tremendous in many cases. Weve seen GDP growth, weve seen growth in certain sectors, weve seen some steps in regional economic integration on everything from regulatory and legal matters, mechanisms, et cetera.But we know underneath all of that, if there is not stability and theres not rule of law, were going to see a freezing out of the investment climate or certainly a tampering down of that. And I would say three months or nearly three months on this job, that one of the dominant feelings is that of whiplash. Its a whiplash constantly between the unbelievable potential of the Great Lakes region and too often some of the realities of things that are getting in the way of that potential. And I think thats what we see more than anything else over the next year and a half. We see between now and the end of next year and thereafter a chance for historic progress: the first democratic transitions in several countries, continuing progress on both foreign but also domestic economic development, opportunities to really put some of the dynamics of the past some of these root causes like negative forces and armed groups to have them on their heels and see that future that the people of the Great Lakes deserve and have for so long been wanting.And while we keep that hopeful image in front of us, we are also very aware of the potential for things to go very badly in the region. And unfortunately, we already see that. In the case of Burundi, there are over 200,000 Burundian citizens who have already become refugees, some of them for the second or third time in their lifetime; ones that Ive met with both in camps in Tanzania and in Rwanda who say weve tried going back too many times; were losing faith in the ability to have a stable Burundi. And we do believe that all of us have a role to play in ensuring a peaceful and stable future for Burundi, but particularly the neighbors and the members of the East African Community. And it comes back to this issue of investment. When the world, when the private sector, is hearing about potential conflict anywhere in the Great Lakes, to use an overused term, its not good for the brand of the Great Lakes. Underneath this most, first and foremost, is the human cost of this instability, and thats a human cost that is very much on our minds right now its already been and certainly what could be. But it is not true that what happens in Burundi just affects Burundi. It is something that affects the investment climate of the whole region, the stability environment of the whole region, as well as the financial realities of taking in refugees, et cetera.So let me just say a few things about the region off the top before we go to questions. First and foremost, we remain seized with the urgency of the political and humanitarian crisis in
Burundi, where we have tremendous economic fragility and political fragility. We continue to see tit-for-tat violence and assassinations, which weve condemned on all sides. For nearly three months now, theres been an agreement across the EAC that no one disputes that there should be a political dialogue to solve this problem; that that political dialogue should be inclusive of all those who have not used violence as means to the end; and that those should be EAC-led talks with President Museveni at the helm. We believe that yesterday is not soon enough for those talks to have started and we will continue to work with anyone in the UN system, the African Union system, and the EAC to urgently resume that dialogue. We believe a political dialogue is the only way to prevent this from deteriorating further and on stakes that could be tremendously high. Weve continued to communicate that as envoys throughout our systems, and again, stand ready to be supportive of any such effort. Unfortunately, we feel like the situation in Burundi proves why the United States has set a policy of respecting constitutional term limits. Its been the position of President Obama that when people try to change the rules at the last second to stay in power that it is destabilizing to democracy but also to development. And we feel, looking at the situation in Burundi, that this is exhibit A in why we have taken that position. We continue to offer our best advice to everybody in the region that we think that is crucial, democratic transitions and respecting constitutions for the medium to long-term stability of countries and the investment that comes behind it, and we will continue to work with governments throughout the region in that regard.The next 18 months and Ill just end with this regardless of what happens, who stands for elections and doesnt stand for elections, we know it will be a tumultuous year and a half. Election cycles are often that way, even in our own country. So we know the importance of having a strong peacekeeping force on the ground, one that ideally is in a situation to be resuming joint operations in order to address some of these root causes, and that we can stand as an international community to ensure that the people throughout the region, like people throughout the world, have the right to elect a representative government and to have peace and security. And that doesnt just happen on election day. Free and fair elections are about the space created in the months and year ahead of an election, making sure that people feel free and un-harassed in their ability to participate politically in that process.So to the whiplash point, we do remain gravely concerned about the situation in the region, but we also remain focused on the fact that this is a historic period for the Great Lakes in which 20 years of work first and foremost by the people of Congo, the people of Rwanda, the people of Burundi to forge a stronger future,
and one where we try to be allies, could come to fruition. So we will keep both those in mind.And with that, I think Im going to invite the envoy up and we will see questions and comments, and Steve may come in as well. Yes.QUESTION: Can I get a mike? Thanks. I am Kevin Kelley; Im the UN correspondent for the Nation Media Group in Kenya. We publish the weekly East African newspaper. So at the Africa Summit in Washington over a year ago, your predecessor, Ambassador Feingold, said its already too far delayed, its already overdue, its urgent that there be an offensive against the FDLR in the DRC; hasnt happened. It hasnt happened primarily and this is addressed to Special Envoy Djinnit as well because the Congolese Government has appointed two generals who are blacklisted by the United Nations because of alleged human rights violations. Cant this problem be solved? It doesnt seem like its that complex. It doesnt seem like it would require a super degree of diplomacy to get past this and to deal with the FDLR. Thanks.MR DJINNIT: Well, I mean, I it happens that I have very long perspective from of the issue of the FDLR. I was the commissioner for peace and security in the African Union when in 2005. We have already taken a decision as AU in 2005 to send the brigade for the forced disarmament of the negative forces of the FDLR. I still personally believe strongly that the FDLR, which is the main negative forces thats settled in eastern Congo others have come later on needs to be addressed fully to put the region back to stability. I think its very important. Now, coming to the current situation, I also believe and this is our position and by the way, the meeting of the heads of state yesterday of the region of (inaudible) has endorsed the communique that was prepared in which there was a call for delinking the ongoing strategic dialogue between MONUSCO and the DRC on the exit strategy at some point based on the number of criteria from the joint operations between the DRC and the MONUSCO, which is, from my point of view, from their point of view of the UN, the African Union, and the region is an imperative. Its an imperative for the DRC to get rid of these negative forces from the eastern Congo. Its an imperative for the region. Its an imperative for the international community. So it should be given the utmost priority and it should not be linked to any other consideration.And of course, we call for the urgent resumption the UN is now willing to, through some mitigating factors and measures, to resume military cooperation. But unfortunately, the DRC so far has not allowed this joint operation to resume.MR PERRIELLO: I would just reinforce what Envoy Djinnit has said. We see no legitimate reason for joint operations not to resume immediately. This has been agreed on by multiple parties for some period of time now. And until this issue
is addressed it will remain a toxic presence that exacerbates any number of dynamics in the region. So we believe that should resume immediately.QUESTION: Gilbert Mundela. Mr. Ambassador, you just point out to the issue of Congolese Government not collaborating in regard to the FDLR. We have numerous reports that in Rumangabo thereve been an entrance of Rwandese forces as we speak, trying to do deal with the FDLR. This is not a sign that is showing that were going to have a good solution in the Congo in that part.Second, they also report that the Rwandese, who have been placed in Kisangani and the other camps, are not having enough food, which means that can create another havoc in the Congo. How are you addressing this issue as we speak? And also there are attempt by Congolese to have a dialogue started. Will you be keen to appoint a mediator for that? And also will you encourage the Congolese to have the dialogue? Because if we dont have a dialogue, if we dont have a peace process well established, we are not going to have investors; investment will not come. And to Mr. Perriello, are you going to push for millennium to be implemented (inaudible) as well as AGOA? Because it can help us strengthen our institutions. And given the weakness of those institution as well as the lack of real entrepreneurs, Congolese entrepreneurs who are deprived of access to technology as well as capital, we should look into that as a process building up. Because youre going to have an investment conference in the Congo, but no Congolese will be participant in this conference. It will be mainly big corporation as well as other players, the players that we identify as Lebanese as well as Indians. Thank you.MR DJINNIT: Well, on the issue of the FDLR first, because you have asked about the issue of the FDLR I mean, first, I mean, just remember last year at the same period, the region was divided on the approach against FDLR. When I joined as the special envoy, we spent considerable time shuttling in the region to try to bring together the ICGLR and SADC because there were some divergence of views on how to go about it. You remember? There were a number of countries that thought that voluntary disarmament could take place and that some dialogue could take place, while others were for the military action immediately and that dialogue was not the way forward. So it took us some time till such time the leaders come together at a joint summit and they decided to give them six month grace period for the voluntary disarmament, failing which I mean, and after which military action should resume.So the I think the deadline was on the 2nd of January this year, and we were glad that after some few weeks later the DRC Government was able the launch the offensive against the FDLR. So at least there was action by the Government of DRC, which is encouraging. But you are saying
it is not enough, because the FIB, which is the brigade of the MONUSCO was established by the Security Council and by the African Union and the countries of the region and SADCs strong involvement as the instrument to support work together with the Government of the DRC to fight decisively the FDLR. So we continue to call welcome the action taken by the DRC, but we continue to urge the DRC to facilitate the resumption of the mature cooperation between MONUSCO and (inaudible) so that they can expedite the neutralization of the negative forces.Regarding those that are in the camps in the Congo, various camps in the Congo, I it happened that I visited one of them in Kisangani. And they want to go, but theyre posing some conditions. And we I have visited last time President Dos Santos as the chairman of the ICGLR because they have a say in this. And we brought to his attention the fact that we are stuck with the people there, with some unrealistic demand for dialogue, because its a dialogue with between the FDLR and the Government of Rwanda is a non-starter. Its not on the agenda. The only thing which is on the agenda is to facilitate their dignified and secured repatriation to Rwanda. And we have visit Rwanda, and there is a camp which is prepared for them for the reintegration and the populization. We are confident that there are facilities and there is readiness in Rwanda to receive them, and we are willing, as international community, to help them repatriate to the region.As far as what is happening in the DRC, personally, having gone through all the experience I went through in Africa, every time there is an opportunity for dialogue is a good thing. I mean, the dialogue should be a culture of dialogue. It should be institutionalized in every society, because we need to talk to each other to address our common problems. So I have no other comment beyond that. But of course, we encourage we are guided by Security Council resolution. There is a peacekeeping operation with a mandate there, including supporting elections in the DRC. And we support it based on constitutionality, on the respect of the constitutional timeframe of for election.MR PERRIELLO: On the issue of potentially a Millennium Challenge grant or other activities, wed be very interested in pursuing any number of opportunities to invest in the DRC. We its an enormous country with an enormous amount of humanity and an enormous amount of potential. But the way those programs work is there tend to be a number of conditions that are involved in terms of transparency versus corruption, rule of law, constitutionalism, and other things. And I think where we see a government thats committed to that and to improving in those areas, there are opportunities, both from the government sector but also the private sector, that can track with those.And the second thing you mentioned is extremely important. Before I took this job, I completed a study for Secretary Kerry of