Good People,
DR Congo does not need to sign peace with M23. M23 need to be pushed to ICC Hague for grave crimes against humanity they committed in Congo.
Museveni is an interested party who is trying to confuse and implicate the DR Congo Government in his quest to force DR Congo to sign an agreement with M23 so Museveni can also escape from ICC Hague as the Chief Masterminder and coordinator of M23.
Check out and See Explainers here under about UN and Corporate Special Business Interest with its networking.............
I am mostly concerned about the pressure from UN Mary Robinson and Russ Feingold whose strong involvement to force DR Congo in a signed agreement could be based on vested interest on behalf of the Corporate Special Interest that are opposed to the people of Congos interest to achieve its freedom from the insurgency of M23 to escape justice. This should be viewed critically by the good people of the world as the signal of the two is viewed as engaging conflict of interest that is posing risk with great loses to the people of Congo.
All people of the world must stand together and reject the mission of the two that involve Musevenis interest and call for their investigation for the sake of Peace in the DR Congo.
All must comply and observe the law of the International Human Rights crime, violation and abuse; and all must respect the rule of law and all must play by the same set of Rules without discrimination or favor......... and all who have caused loses, pain and sufferings to the Congo people with other injustices must face the law irrespectively.
The DR Congo must not sign any agreement with the M23 and Museveni must be taken to ICC Hague.
Judy Miriga
Diaspora Spokesperson
Executive Director
Confederation Council Foundation for Africa Inc.,
USA
http://socioeconomicforum50.blogspot.com
Diaspora Spokesperson
Executive Director
Confederation Council Foundation for Africa Inc.,
USA
http://socioeconomicforum50.blogspot.com
DR Congo peace talks to go on despite failure to sign deal
By Emmanuel Leroux-Nega1 hour ago
A burnt truck used by M23 rebel fighters is pictured after the rebels surrendered to the Congolese army in Chanzo village in the Rutshuru territory near the eastern town of Goma, November 5, 2013. Democratic Republic of Congo's M23 rebel group on Tuesday called an end to a 20-month revolt after the army captured its last hilltop strongholds, raising hopes for peace in a region where millions have died in nearly two decades of violence. REUTERS/Kenny Katombe (DEMOCRATIC REPUBLIC OF CONGO - Tags: SOCIETY CIVIL UNREST CRIME LAW)
Kampala (AFP) - Peace efforts between the Democratic Republic of Congo government and defeated M23 rebels will continue, Uganda said Tuesday, a day after the two sides failed to sign a much hoped for agreement.
The last-minute failure to sign a deal on Monday was a blow to international efforts to stabilise the African nation's conflict-prone east.
"Both parties are still here in Uganda... the talks have not been officially called off," Ugandan government spokesman Ofwono Opondo told reporters.
Negotiations fell through after Kinshasa demanded changes to the agreement, but despite the failure to sign, DR Congo Foreign Minister Raymond Tshibanda insisted the government is committed to peace.
Uganda, which is hosting and mediating the long running talks, said it was expecting new rounds of talks but gave no date.
"As and when the DRC delegation will be ready, the facilitator will communicate a new date," Opondo said.
Tshibanda returned to Kinshasa on Tuesday, although the rest of the government team remained in Kampala.
The M23 rebels, one of the many armed groups operating in the mineral-rich but impoverished east of the DR Congo, have been routed by the national army backed by a 3,000-strong special UN intervention brigade.
The United Nations had accused both Rwanda and Uganda of backing the M23, a charge both countries have repeatedly denied.
With support from Rwanda notably whittled away to nothing in the face of concerted international pressure, the M23 announced last week that its 18-month insurgency was over.
The M23 said in a statement that the government had wanted to revise the text that already had been agreed, calling the demand "unacceptable".
It said the agreement had been settled earlier this month and "other stages preceeding the signature had been accomplished".
However, since that stage of the talks, the rebels had suffered a series of crushing military defeats, changing the situation on the ground and leaving government troops with the upper hand.
'Negotiations difficult'
The lack of a deal on Monday was a disappointment to many in the international community, who had hoped it would be a key step towards building peace in the troubled region.
UN special envoy to the Great Lakes Mary Robinson, the UN secretary-general's special representative in the DRC Martin Kobler, and US special envoy Russ Feingold voiced regret that the signing had not happened.
But they noted in a joint statement that the parties involved "expressed no differences on substantive points within the draft document".
The M23, a mainly ethnic Tutsi force of mutineers from the Congolese army, have no military leverage left and little room for manoeuvre.
A key outstanding issue is the fate of about 1,500 M23 fighters who have crossed into Uganda and whom Kampala has refused to hand over to the DR Congo. Around 100 more injured rebels have crossed into Rwanda.
More complicated is the fate of some 100 M23 commanders. These include M23 leader Sultani Makenga, accused of participating in several massacres, mutilations, abductions and carrying out sexual violence, sometimes against children.
"Any solution must allow the pursuit of accountability for those who have committed war crimes, crimes of genocide, crimes against humanity, including those involving sexual violence and recruitment of child soldiers," added the statement from Robinson, Kobler and Feingold, which was also signed by African Union and EU officials.
Opondo said Uganda would continue to host Makenga until a peace deal was struck, at which point the UN and US sanctioned leader would be "forwarded to the appropriate authorities", without clarifying exactly who that might entail.
"He is not a prisoner, he surrendered himself... If you are being sanctioned by UN it does not remove from you from your international rights to be protected," he said.
"As of now, we have received no (arrest) request and even if we had, we would not have proceeded until the agreement is signed."
Delegations from both Kinshasa's government and the rebels turned up Monday to Uganda's State House in Entebbe, a town close to Kampala on the shores of Lake Victoria, but the two sides never met, only eyeing each other through a window, Opondo said.
"Negotiating with the Congolese is difficult generally, and negotiating for a peace agreement is even more difficult," he added.
Even if a deal is signed, stabilising eastern DR Congo will not be easy, with multiple other rebels groups still operating. Previous deals have foundered because they were not implemented or did not address underlying problems.
COMMENTS:
sambwa a
The last-minute failure to sign a deal on Monday was a blow to international efforts to stabilise the African nation's conflict-prone east.
"Both parties are still here in Uganda... the talks have not been officially called off," Ugandan government spokesman Ofwono Opondo told reporters.
Negotiations fell through after Kinshasa demanded changes to the agreement, but despite the failure to sign, DR Congo Foreign Minister Raymond Tshibanda insisted the government is committed to peace.
Uganda, which is hosting and mediating the long running talks, said it was expecting new rounds of talks but gave no date.
"As and when the DRC delegation will be ready, the facilitator will communicate a new date," Opondo said.
Tshibanda returned to Kinshasa on Tuesday, although the rest of the government team remained in Kampala.
The M23 rebels, one of the many armed groups operating in the mineral-rich but impoverished east of the DR Congo, have been routed by the national army backed by a 3,000-strong special UN intervention brigade.
The United Nations had accused both Rwanda and Uganda of backing the M23, a charge both countries have repeatedly denied.
With support from Rwanda notably whittled away to nothing in the face of concerted international pressure, the M23 announced last week that its 18-month insurgency was over.
The M23 said in a statement that the government had wanted to revise the text that already had been agreed, calling the demand "unacceptable".
It said the agreement had been settled earlier this month and "other stages preceeding the signature had been accomplished".
However, since that stage of the talks, the rebels had suffered a series of crushing military defeats, changing the situation on the ground and leaving government troops with the upper hand.
'Negotiations difficult'
The lack of a deal on Monday was a disappointment to many in the international community, who had hoped it would be a key step towards building peace in the troubled region.
UN special envoy to the Great Lakes Mary Robinson, the UN secretary-general's special representative in the DRC Martin Kobler, and US special envoy Russ Feingold voiced regret that the signing had not happened.
But they noted in a joint statement that the parties involved "expressed no differences on substantive points within the draft document".
The M23, a mainly ethnic Tutsi force of mutineers from the Congolese army, have no military leverage left and little room for manoeuvre.
A key outstanding issue is the fate of about 1,500 M23 fighters who have crossed into Uganda and whom Kampala has refused to hand over to the DR Congo. Around 100 more injured rebels have crossed into Rwanda.
More complicated is the fate of some 100 M23 commanders. These include M23 leader Sultani Makenga, accused of participating in several massacres, mutilations, abductions and carrying out sexual violence, sometimes against children.
"Any solution must allow the pursuit of accountability for those who have committed war crimes, crimes of genocide, crimes against humanity, including those involving sexual violence and recruitment of child soldiers," added the statement from Robinson, Kobler and Feingold, which was also signed by African Union and EU officials.
Opondo said Uganda would continue to host Makenga until a peace deal was struck, at which point the UN and US sanctioned leader would be "forwarded to the appropriate authorities", without clarifying exactly who that might entail.
"He is not a prisoner, he surrendered himself... If you are being sanctioned by UN it does not remove from you from your international rights to be protected," he said.
"As of now, we have received no (arrest) request and even if we had, we would not have proceeded until the agreement is signed."
Delegations from both Kinshasa's government and the rebels turned up Monday to Uganda's State House in Entebbe, a town close to Kampala on the shores of Lake Victoria, but the two sides never met, only eyeing each other through a window, Opondo said.
"Negotiating with the Congolese is difficult generally, and negotiating for a peace agreement is even more difficult," he added.
Even if a deal is signed, stabilising eastern DR Congo will not be easy, with multiple other rebels groups still operating. Previous deals have foundered because they were not implemented or did not address underlying problems.
COMMENTS:
sambwa a
NOTE THAT .THERE IS NOTHING LIKE PEACE DEAL. THE M23 FAILED TO KILL EVERYBODY IN DR CONGO AND THEY WERE SENT BACK TO MEET THEIR SPONSORS. WHAT THE CONGOLESE HAVE TO DO NOW IS TO KICK OUT ALL CITIZENS OF RWANDA AND UGANDA INSIDE THE DR CONGO TERRITORY. THEY WERE BROUGHT TO OCCUPY SOME PORTION OF THE DR CONGO LAND. YOU CANNOT SIGN PEACE WITH MURDERERS AND RAPISTS. NO ONE KNOW THEIR GRIEVANCES AND EVEN IF THERE WERE SOME PROBLEMS OR DEALS,WHY KILLING CHILDREN AND WOMEN? I ASK.
THE WAR IS OVER AND IT IS ALL OVER.
THE WAR IS OVER AND IT IS ALL OVER.
The truth does not cease to exist just because you choose to ignore it !
Don't fall victim to insincere calls for a ceasefire, it's a ploy.
Kinshasa is stalling to gain time and logistics.
chris b14 hours ago
so true, with the current trend in Africa going strong, Congo can be one of the fastest growing economies very soon, because of its vast resources.
..... Remember Rwanda? Genocide in mid-1990s? Now one of the fastest growing economies of the entire world...................... The 21st century will be the African Century
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M23 General: Evolution of rebel leader at centre of Congo conflict
Posted Tuesday, November 12 2013 at 16:47
However, tensions and mutual suspicions between the Runiga and Makenga camps gradually developed, culminating in the schism of February 2013.
Why Corporate Pillage Is a War Crime
So pillage is a war crime?
But what is the definition of pillage?
Have people been prosecuted for pillage?
Most recently, Charles Taylor, former president of Liberia, was convicted of war crimes charges that included aiding and abetting pillage during the civil war in Sierra Leone. Jean-Pierre Bemba, the former deputy president of the Democratic Republic of the Congo, is also accused of responsibility for pillage in the Central African Republic.But what about companies or corporations?
Why revive prosecutions for corporate pillage?
Because pillaged natural resources are often among the principal sources of funding for regional conflict. Since the end of the Cold War, the illegal exploitation of natural resources has become a prevalent means of financing conflict in countries ranging from Angola and Afghanistan to Liberia, Burma, Sierra Leone, and the Democratic Republic of the Congo. The armed groups who perpetrate pillage rely on supposedly legitimate businesses and middle-men to turn pillaged goods into hard cash on the international markets.What is Open Society doing about it?
Learn More: