Condolezza Rice, US Secretary of State
Dr Nkosazana Dlamini Zuma, South African Minister of Foreign Affairs
David Miliband, UK Foreign Secretary
Bernard Kouchner, French Minister of Foreign and European Affairs
Karel De Gucht, Belgian Minister of Foreign Affairs
I welcome the United Nations Security Council (UNSC) resolution authorizing the reinforcement of the UN peacekeeping force in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), MONUC.
It is now time to turn words into action.
I am appealing to your country to urgently contribute to the reinforcement of MONUC with your own equipment, specialist personnel and troops and/or to use your voice as a member of the UNSC to encourage other states to contribute with theirs.
In particular, I urge your government and other Security Council members to act and agree to:
- Urgently contribute to the reinforcement of MONUC peacekeeping contingents in eastern DRC
- Urge all parties to the conflict to ensure that humanitarian aid agencies are not hindered in their work to provide aid to displaced people
- Call on all parties to stop committing violations of international humanitarian law and human rights law
- Press the governments of the DRC and Rwanda to refrain from providing support to armed groups operating in eastern DRC
- Assert that justice and an end to impunity must now have a central place in the search for durable peace in the Great Lakes Region.
Finally, I implore the international community to develop lasting solutions to the conflict that has ravaged eastern DRC for more than 10 years.
Yours sincerely
Carlo Taglietti
