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UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 03 KINSHASA 000758 
 
SIPDIS 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: PGOV PREL MOPS PHUM PREF KPKO CG
SUBJECT:    Chairman's summary of September 1, 2008 Special 
            Envoys meeting of the Joint Monitoring Group 
 
Following is the English version of the chairman's summary of the 
September 1, 2008 meeting at Special Envoys level of the Joint 
Monitoring Group.  A reporting cable on the meeting will be sent via 
septel. 
 
Begin text of chairman's summary 
 
Joint Monitoring Group for the Nairobi Communique of 9 November 
2007 
Fifth meeting of Special Envoys 
Kinshasa, Democratic Republic of Congo, 1 September 2008 
 
SUMMARY BY THE PRESIDENCY 
 
¶1.  Introduction 
 
Representatives of the signatories of the Nairobi Communique of 9 
November 2007 met on 1 September 2008 in Kinshasa, capital of the 
Democratic Republic of Congo, to assess progress made in the 
implementation of the Communique.  This was the fifth meeting at 
Special Envoy level of the Joint Monitoring Group (JMG) for the 
implementation of the Nairobi Communique, and the second chaired by 
the European Union.  The four previous meetings, of which three were 
chaired by the United Nations, were held in Goma on 16 December 
2007, in Brussels on 15 February 2008, in New York on 18 April 2008 
and in Rubavu (formerly Gisenyi) on 4 June 2008. 
 
Participants at the meeting in Kinshasa, which was chaired by 
Ambassador van de Geer, European Union Special Representative for 
the Great Lakes Region, included Ambassador Seraphin N'Gwej, Special 
Envoy of the Democratic Republic of Congo for the Great Lakes 
Region, Ambassador Richard Sezibera, Special Envoy of Rwanda for the 
Great Lakes Region, Mr Doss, Special Representative of the United 
Nations Secretary-General in the Democratic Republic of Congo, 
Ambassador Bah, African Union Representative for the Great Lakes, 
Ambassador Mulamula, Executive Secretary of the International 
Conference for the Great Lakes Region, Ambassador Mamabolo, Special 
Envoy of South Africa for Central Africa, and Mr Tim Shortley, 
Senior Adviser for conflict resolution to the Assistant Secretary of 
State for African Affairs of the United States Government. 
Ms Frazer, Assistant Secretary of State for African Affairs of the 
United States Government, who was on an official visit to the DRC 
came to meet the Joint Monitoring Group and took an active part in 
proceedings for part of the afternoon. 
 
¶2.  Increasing actions directed towards Rwandan armed groups to 
encourage them to lay down their arms peacefully and return to 
Rwanda 
 
The DRC delegation gave a presentation to the Special Envoys on 
current efforts to convince Rwandan armed groups to opt for 
disarmament and voluntary repatriation. 
 
The DRC delegation informed the Special Envoys about the ongoing 
disarmament of RUD fighters: about sixty fighters handed in their 
weapons on 31 July 2008 in the transit camp set up by the DRC in 
Kasiki, with the support of the Eglise du Christ au Congo (ECC) and 
funding from the Norwegian Government.  The weapons were handed over 
to MONUC for destruction.  The DRC, which had encountered problems 
in using biometric identification equipment involving iris 
recognition, was currently increasing its reception capacity so that 
it could handle a greater number of fighters, and was seeking other 
financial help from the international community.  Registration 
operations, and the search for a relocation site in the DRC outside 
the area occupied by the RUD would begin shortly.  The Rwandan 
delegation wished to obtain information about the identity of the 
disarmed fighters and hoped that their stay in the Kasiki camp would 
be limited. 
 
The DRC delegation also took stock of discussions under way with 
FOCA, with ECC mediation: at a meeting of DRC representatives with 
FOCA representatives in Nyabiondo on 6 August 2008, the latter 
accepted the principle of disarmament.  A further meeting is due to 
be held to establish the practical arrangements for implementation. 
 
The Rwandan delegation described the improvements which it was 
intending to make to its communication strategy, particularly by 
making more use of the testimonies of fighters who had been 
repatriated, as well as by organising reconnaissance visits for 
delegations of families who were waiting to return. 
 
The Special Envoys welcomed the beginning of the RUD's disarmament 
as a promising sign, and encouraged the DRC to pursue its efforts 
with FOCA.  They called on both countries to continue their efforts 
to raise awareness at all levels, including the highest level. 
 
KINSHASA 00000758  002 OF 003 
 
 
 
The DDRRR section of MONUC is playing and must continue to play a 
key role in the awareness-raising operations.  It was noted in 
particular that the dropping by MONUC helicopters of pamphlets over 
the zones occupied by ex-FAR/Interahamwe fighters was another method 
which had recently proven to be very effective in obtaining 
defections from amongst the Rwandan armed groups. 
 
¶3.  Increased military pressure on Rwandan armed groups to make them 
return to Rwanda 
 
MONUC and the DRC reported on the measures they had taken to step up 
the military pressure on the Rwandan armed groups, and on the 
adaptations made to the initial plan following the meeting held 
under the aegis of MONUC between the Chiefs of Staff of the Armed 
Forces of the DRC (the FARDC) and the Rwandan Defence Forces (RDF). 
 
The concept of four triangles had been replaced with that of four 
considerably larger zones.  The deployment of battalions had been 
delayed, and was still limited to eight.  Two battalions which had 
finished their training would be deployed in September 2008, and 
four others were still being trained.  It was stressed that the 
FARDC contribution was the key element in the success of this plan; 
the speed with which it was executed would largely depend on the 
rate at which the FARDC provided the necessary forces to make up the 
26 battalions which were due to be deployed in total (in principle 
by the middle of 2009).  Depending on the resources made available, 
operations in each of the four zones would pass progressively 
through three stages, namely a "yellow" phase aimed at containing 
the FDLR, an "orange" phase of increased pressure, and a "red" phase 
of using force. 
 
The plan must be implemented in parallel with the re-establishment 
of the authority of the State in the zones concerned. 
 
A meeting of military experts was due to set indicators to evaluate 
the results of the implementation of the plan. 
 
Rwanda asked for attention to be paid as a priority to the FDLR 
units near the border, which might attempt to disrupt the 
parliamentary elections to be held in a few days' time. 
 
¶4.  Stepping up measures against the external leaders of the 
ex-FAR/Interahamwe 
 
The European Union Special Representative explained that European 
countries had recently enhanced their cooperation in this area in 
the framework of Eurojust, and in particular had arrested the 
Secretary General of the FDLR, Calixte Mbarushimana; the FDLR 
President, Ignace Murwanashyaka was under house arrest, but 
unfortunately this did not prevent him from continuing to act via 
the internet. 
 
The Congolese side stressed the extent to which the arrest of Mr 
Mbarushimana had destabilised the military leadership of the FDLR 
and was therefore a very positive step. 
 
The United States had issued wanted notices under their Reward for 
Justice programme for 13 individuals suspected of participating in 
the 1994 genocide who were active in the FDLR.  The US 
representative, Mr Shortley, also said that the United States was 
pressing for the speedy adoption by the United Nations Security 
Council, as a complement to Resolution 1804 adopted on 13 March 2008 
on the ex-FAR/Interahamwe, of an updated list of individuals against 
whom international sanctions should be applied. 
 
¶5.  JMG working group based in Goma 
 
Veronique Aulagnon, political adviser to the EU Special 
Representative, gave an overview of the activities of the working 
group, the JMG Task Force, which meets every week either for 
discussions in Goma or for visits on one side of the border or the 
other.  At this stage, it is the only permanent contact point 
between the DRC and Rwanda.  Recently its work has covered the 
beginning of the RUD's disarmament, the awareness-raising programmes 
set up by MONUC, the DRC and Rwanda, the deployment of the FARDC and 
MONUC in and around the four triangles, and the counting of the 
number of repatriated fighters.  The Task Force also provided its 
support to the beginning of the RUD's disarmament by being present 
at Kasiki on 31 July 2008. 
 
The Special Envoys encouraged the Task Force to continue its work, 
particularly its visits on the ground and the harmonisation of 
statistical tools. 
 
 
KINSHASA 00000758  003 OF 003 
 
 
¶6.  Other items 
 
Two other points in particular were discussed: the question of 
whether it was appropriate for Rwanda to issue an international 
arrest warrant against Mr Rafiki Yasseen (alias John Mwindo) who, 
according to the DRC, was playing a positive role in raising 
awareness to encourage the disarmament and repatriation of 
ex-FAR/Interahamwe; and the prospects for the re-establishment of 
diplomatic relations between Kinshasa and Kigali. 
 
¶7. The Nairobi and Goma processes and Security Sector Reform 
 
The Special Envoys stressed that progress in implementing the 
Nairobi Communique of 9 November 2007 and progress in implementing 
the acts of engagement signed in Goma on 23 January 2008 between the 
DRC Government and the Congolese armed groups were mutually 
reinforcing.  They also stressed that Security Sector Reform was the 
third essential element for the stabilisation of the region.  During 
discussions on these processes, the Rwandan side solemnly declared 
that Rwanda had not assisted and would not assist the CNDP, a matter 
on which the Congolese side expressed doubts. 
 
¶8. Next meeting 
 
It was decided that the next Special Envoys meeting of the JMG would 
be held on Monday 10 November 2008 in Kigali, the capital of Rwanda. 
 During October the chairman of the JMG will distribute a draft 
evaluation report on the implementation of the Nairobi Communique. 
 
End text of Chairman's summary 
 
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