Juba — The Parliamentary Forum of the International Conference on the Great Lakes Region (ICGLR) approved this Thursday in Juba, South Sudan, the sending of a good offices mission to Angola, within the framework of the pacification of the DR Congo.
The decision, taken during a high-level session, aims to seek information from the Angolan authorities, in particular from the President of the Republic, João Lourenço, mediator of the process, on the degree of implementation of actions aimed at ending the conflict in the East of the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC).
The secretary general of the Parliamentary Forum of the International Conference on the Great Lakes Region (CIRGL), Onyango Kakoba, who praised the commitment of Angola, in general, and of President João Lourenço, in particular, said that the intention is to collect more data on the ongoing peace process.
Onyango Kakoba highlighted the fact that Angola had made itself available to send a military contingent to the DRC to secure the areas where the M23 forces were stationed and to protect the members of the Ad-Hoc Verification Mechanism, following the cease-fire between government troops and the rebels.
Angola is present at the 13th Ordinary Session of the Plenary Assembly with a delegation led by the Speaker of the National Assembly, Carolina Cerqueira.
The Angolan delegation brought as current matter of great impact the mediation role of President João Lourenço in the pacification of the eastern region of the DRC and the sending, in the coming days, of 500 military personnel to lead the process of cantonment of the M23 forces.
During the event, which is running until April 1, parliamentarians from the region will address, among other issues, the conflict in eastern DRC, peace and security in the region, the fight against terrorism and natural disasters.
The Parliamentary Forum of the International Conference on the Great Lakes Region is an inter-parliamentary organization that brings together national parliamentarians from the 12 member states of the ICGLR, namely Angola, Burundi, Central African Republic (CAR), Congo, Kenya, Democratic Republic of Congo, Rwanda, Sudan, South Sudan, Uganda, Tanzania and Zambia.
