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The European Union says it welcomes the final report by the UN Group of Experts mandated by the UN Sanctions Committee on the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC).
It also says it is “deeply troubled” by some of its findings and supports its recommendations.
The EU also welcomes the extension of the mandate of the UN Group of Experts by the UN Security Council.
The EU is gravely concerned by the worsening security and humanitarian situation, which recently led to an immediate system-wide scale-up by the United Nations of humanitarian operations in Eastern DRC.
A statement on Friday added, “The EU is outraged by the levels of violence and atrocities that continue to be perpetrated with impunity against civilians, including by M23, FDLR/FOCA, ADF, URDPC/CODECO, and Zaïre/MAPI.”
“It is appalled by reports of sexual violence against women and girls on a massive scale, including the sexual exploitation of displaced women and girls, as well as the recruitment of children.”
“The EU condemns these atrocities and calls on all armed groups to stop its unlawful killings, rape and other alleged war crimes. All those responsible for violations of human rights and international humanitarian law must be brought to justice and full accountability must be ensured.”
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“The EU welcomes in this regard the decision of the Prosecutor of the International Criminal Court to examine the acts committed in North Kivu at the request of the DRC authorities.”
The statement continues, “The EU encourages all parties to engage in an inclusive political dialogue, fully respectful of the territorial integrity and sovereignty of all countries in the region, as the only possible solution to this crisis. Political dialogue should be preferred to military confrontation. Pursuing military options will only prolong the conflict and increase the suffering of the populations.”
“In this regard, the EU commends the resolute efforts undertaken by its African partners under the Luanda and Nairobi processes, and welcomes the progress achieved so far, notably thanks to the deployment of the East African Community (EAC) regional force and the inter-Congolese dialogues, and urges all parties to use the regional, continental and international mechanisms in place to peacefully resolve all conflicts and disputes and to secure peace.”
The EU said it reaffirms its full support to the two processes and stresses that the decisions, commitments and agreements reached under their frame need to be comprehensively implemented by all.
It welcomes the outcome of Quadripartite Summit of the East African Community, Economic Community of Central African States, International Conference on the Great Lakes Region and Southern African Development Community, under the auspices of the African Union with the participation of the United Nations, held in Luanda on 27 June 2023 and stands ready to support its drive for more coordinated action to secure peace.
