{"id":5719,"date":"2016-03-22T17:05:34","date_gmt":"2016-03-22T17:05:34","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.congoresearchgroup.org\/?p=5719"},"modified":"2020-07-01T21:19:46","modified_gmt":"2020-07-01T21:19:46","slug":"different-sentiments-on-display-at-the-un-security-council","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.congoresearchgroup.org\/en\/2016\/03\/22\/different-sentiments-on-display-at-the-un-security-council\/","title":{"rendered":"Different sentiments on display at the UN Security Council"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<hr class=\"wp-block-separator is-style-wide is-core-separator-block\" style=\"margin-top:0px;margin-bottom:0px;padding-top:0px;padding-bottom:0px\">\n\n\n\n<div style=\"height:50px\" aria-hidden=\"true\" class=\"wp-block-spacer\"><\/div>\n\n\n\n  <div id=\"anchor-nav-position-block_5efcfde79c06a\" class=\"c-block-anchor-nav-position o-wrapper__inner\" style=\"margin-top:0px;margin-bottom:0px;padding-top:0px;padding-bottom:0px;\">\n    <div class=\"js-anchor-nav-position\"><\/div>\n\n    <div class=\"c-anchor-nav__mobile\">\n      <nav class=\"c-anchor-nav \"><span class=\"c-anchor-nav__heading\"> <\/span><ul class=\"c-anchor-nav__links o-list-bare\"><li class=\"c-anchor-nav__item\"><a href=\"#%20\" class=\"c-anchor-nav__link \"> <\/a><\/li><\/ul><\/nav>    <\/div>\n  <\/div>\n\n\n\n<p style=\"margin-top:0px;margin-bottom:30px;padding-top:0px;padding-bottom:0px\" class=\"is-core-paragraph-block has-space-small-mb\">Yesterday there was a &ldquo;debate&rdquo; (i.e. mostly an opportunity to read speeches) at the UN Security Council on the prevention of conflicts in the Great Lakes region.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p style=\"margin-top:0px;margin-bottom:30px;padding-top:0px;padding-bottom:0px\" class=\"is-core-paragraph-block has-space-small-mb\">On the critical issues of elections in the DRC, take a look at the differences in statements between the major western powers:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p style=\"margin-top:0px;margin-bottom:30px;padding-top:0px;padding-bottom:0px\" class=\"is-core-paragraph-block has-space-small-mb\">The US, after excoriating Congolese authorities for arresting youth activists, <a href=\"http:\/\/usun.state.gov\/remarks\/7197\">said<\/a>:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<blockquote class=\"wp-block-quote is-core-quote-block is-layout-flow wp-block-quote-is-layout-flow\" style=\"margin-top:0px;margin-bottom:0px;padding-top:0px;padding-bottom:0px\"><p>There is no credible reason that the DRC election would not occur on schedule. The national election commission said in January that it would need 18 months to update voter rolls; but election experts assure us that this can be done in six months. As the representative of a country that continues to debate its own electoral processes, I recognize that elections are not always perfect, and certainly not always easy, but fidelity to the constitution &ndash; not to mention long-term stability &ndash; means that <strong>they must occur on time<\/strong>.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n<p style=\"margin-top:0px;margin-bottom:30px;padding-top:0px;padding-bottom:0px\" class=\"is-core-paragraph-block has-space-small-mb\">The UK struck a similar <a href=\"https:\/\/www.gov.uk\/government\/speeches\/bringing-peace-to-the-great-lakes-area-has-been-one-of-the-most-difficult-challenges-faced-by-this-council\">tone<\/a>:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<blockquote class=\"wp-block-quote is-core-quote-block is-layout-flow wp-block-quote-is-layout-flow\" style=\"margin-top:0px;margin-bottom:0px;padding-top:0px;padding-bottom:0px\"><p><strong>DR Congo must hold elections this year<\/strong>, in accordance with their Constitution. With every missed milestone in their democratic journey, the Government loses credibility with the United Kingdom, and I believe with this Council. It breaks a promise not to us, but a promise to its people and this risks causing further instability in this already fragile region.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n<p style=\"margin-top:0px;margin-bottom:30px;padding-top:0px;padding-bottom:0px\" class=\"is-core-paragraph-block has-space-small-mb\">However, the French were <a href=\"http:\/\/www.franceonu.org\/La-region-des-Grands-Lacs-constitue-encore-aujourd-hui-un-facteur-de\">slightly<\/a> more nebulous:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<blockquote class=\"wp-block-quote is-core-quote-block is-layout-flow wp-block-quote-is-layout-flow\" style=\"margin-top:0px;margin-bottom:0px;padding-top:0px;padding-bottom:0px\"><p>Les d&eacute;lais pris dans l&rsquo;organisation de ces &eacute;lections, pr&eacute;vues par la Constitution d&rsquo;ici la fin de cette ann&eacute;e, nous pr&eacute;occupent d&egrave;s lors, notamment, qu&rsquo;ils risquent de provoquer une nouvelle p&eacute;riode d&rsquo;instabilit&eacute; dans le pays. Et le respect des libert&eacute;s publiques est un enjeu essentiel qui appelle toute notre vigilance. Nous appelons les autorit&eacute;s de la R&eacute;publique d&eacute;mocratique du Congo &agrave; respecter leurs engagements constitutionnels et leurs engagements internationaux en mati&egrave;re de respect des droits de l&rsquo;Homme et des libert&eacute;s fondamentales, et incitons tous les acteurs au dialogue, sous toutes ses formes, et &agrave; ne pas recourir &agrave; la violence.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n<p style=\"margin-top:0px;margin-bottom:30px;padding-top:0px;padding-bottom:0px\" class=\"is-core-paragraph-block has-space-small-mb\">For the non-francophones: the French ambassador &ldquo;called on&rdquo; (a step down from the anglo &ldquo;must&rdquo;) the Congolese government &ldquo;to respect their constitutional obligations.&rdquo; The Congolese government will read volumes into this nuance as they look for division among donors.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p style=\"margin-top:0px;margin-bottom:30px;padding-top:0px;padding-bottom:0px\" class=\"is-core-paragraph-block has-space-small-mb\">A second issue of note. This debate, which was organized by the Angolan government, was an occasion for the UN to unfurl a new Regional Strategic Framework for the Great Lakes. I haven&rsquo;t seen the document, but it <a href=\"http:\/\/www.un.org\/apps\/news\/story.asp?NewsID=53505#.VvF0UUhQdM4\">contains<\/a> six pillars: Sustainable natural resource management; economic integration, cross-border trade and food nutrition security; mobility; youth and adolescents; gender and sexual and gender-based violence; and justice and conflict prevention.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p style=\"margin-top:0px;margin-bottom:30px;padding-top:0px;padding-bottom:0px\" class=\"is-core-paragraph-block has-space-small-mb\">The <a href=\"https:\/\/www.un.int\/angola\/statements_speeches\/open-debate-prevention-and-resolution-conflicts-great-lakes-region\">Angolans<\/a> and the UN touted this approach, which doubles down on the moribund Peace, Security and Cooperation Framework (PSCF) of 2013, possibly because it is less political and confrontational that the direct challenges to President Kabila and other heads of state in the region. After all, who can be against economic integration and food nutrition? The US and UK did not even mention the framework. An accidental omission, or an explicit diss?<\/p>\n\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Yesterday there was a &ldquo;debate&rdquo; (i.e. mostly an opportunity to read speeches) at the UN Security Council on the prevention of conflicts in the Great Lakes region. On the critical&#8230;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":5723,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"om_disable_all_campaigns":false,"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0,"_uf_show_specific_survey":0,"_uf_disable_surveys":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[30,2],"tags":[],"acf":[],"aioseo_notices":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.congoresearchgroup.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5719"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.congoresearchgroup.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.congoresearchgroup.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.congoresearchgroup.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.congoresearchgroup.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=5719"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.congoresearchgroup.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5719\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.congoresearchgroup.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/5723"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.congoresearchgroup.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=5719"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.congoresearchgroup.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=5719"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.congoresearchgroup.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=5719"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}