Uganda has been selected to host the 12th high-level meeting of the regional oversight mechanism of the Peace, Security, and Cooperation (PSC) framework for the DRC and the region.
Recently, Burundi hosted the 11th High-Level oversight meeting under the chairmanship of H.E. Evariste Ndayishimiye.
According to the secretariat, the purpose of the meeting was to review recent developments in the region as well as progress and challenges in the implementation of the PSC Framework, ten years after its signing on February 24, 2013 in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia.
H.E. Ndayishimiye, who is also the incoming PSC chair, thanked President Yoweri Kaguta Museveni, who was in attendance, for playing a vital role in ensuring peace and security in the region.
He further assured that, due to the PSC Framework, peace will reign again in the DRC, thus asking fellow leaders not to give up on their fruitful efforts.
The outgoing PSC Chair, H.E. Felix Antoine Tshishekedi (President of DRC), who handed over leadership to Burundi President, H.E. Evariste Ndayishimiye, appreciated participating countries for their endless efforts in ensuring that DRC regain stability.
He also lauded the peace process facilitator, the former President of Kenya, Uhuru Kenyatta, for the job well done in ensuring that the DRC gains stability.
Antonio Guterres, the United Nations (UN) Secretary General, said the DRC is a rich country endowed with priceless natural resources, but her citizens have not benefited from them due to the instability in the country.
He rallied other countries in the region to put resources together to help their neighbor gain stability so that it can develop socially and economically.
Audrine Faith Otieno, the Chairperson of Peace and Security of the Regional Youth Forum of the International Conference on the Great Lakes Region (ICGLR), attributed the high levels of unemployment and poverty in the Great Lakes Region to instability.
In addition, Otieno urged leaders in the region to fulfill the resolutions they come up with during high-level summits so that these interventions don’t go to waste.
She also thanked the government of Kenya for hosting their regional offices.
The summit held in Bujumbura, Burundi, was attended by the heads of state and government representatives from Angola, the Central African Republic, the Republic of the Congo, the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), Kenya, Rwanda, South Africa, South Sudan, Sudan, Tanzania, Uganda, and Zambia.
It was agreed that the leaders will meet again in Kampala, Uganda, in 2024 to further review the implementation of the PSC Framework.
