Fifty-three armed groups from the DR Congo have agreed to put down their weapons after a meeting for the third East African Community (EAC) peace process yesterday in Nairobi.
Immediate former President Uhuru Kenyatta who is the facilitator of the process said the resolutions arrived at during the meeting will be seeking to address issues within the short term.
“We shall be over-estimating our capacity to think that this problem can be solved in one day. What is important is that we have started the journey of finding lasting peace in eastern DR Congo,” Kenyatta said.
“We are happy with the progress. We have not completed everything but have made some milestones in terms of specific issues that will be undertaken by DR Congo government and others that will be on the shoulders of the delegates at the meeting,” he added.
The outlined issues are unconditional ease of hostilities by armed groups, formation of a committee to facilitate the release of prisoners with no criminal record and the release of child soldiers.
Families evicted from national parks and protected areas are also expected to be involved in conservation and wildlife protection efforts while also establishing a system where the community can be involved and benefit from mining.
Additionally, Kenyatta asked members of the armed groups to talk to their sons to stop taking advantage of the situation to commit sexual offences.
“The stories I have heard from women are shameful and evil. Let’s tell our sons to respect and protect our women and children,” Uhuru said.
The armed groups represented at the meeting signed the communique alongside Kenyatta and his two envoys, Macharia Kamau and Serge Tshibangu.
The peace process is set to continue with two meetings scheduled for January and February next year in Goma and Bunia to follow up on the progress of the resolutions.
“We want to see the implementation of the low- hanging fruits by January. We can then get to the deeper issues which need more time and more consultation and deliberations with partners after that,” Kenyatta said.
