Brussels, 29/10/2002 (Agence Europe) - On 22 October, the Danish Presidency made the following declaration on behalf of the EU:
"The EU expresses its serious concern about the recent violent clashes in the eastern and north-eastern parts of the Democratic Republic of the Congo and about the political implications of the renewed fighting as well as the humanitarian consequences for the Congolese population. The EU is concerned that the renewed tensions could lead to an unravelling of the impressive progress, which has been made recently on the basis of the Pretoria and Luanda agreements. The EU calls on all armed groups and militias operating in the Democratic Republic of the Congo to refrain from military activities and to work for a political settlement of the conflict in the framework of the Inter-Congolese Dialogue, now that the foreign troops are completing their withdrawal from the territory of the Democratic Republic of the Congo. The EU encourages the parties to the Pretoria and Luanda agreements to work together in a constructive manner to build confidence and restore stability in the areas where fighting has erupted. While welcoming the statement of the Government of the Democratic Republic of the Congo asking armed groups to cease hostilities in the eastern part of the Democratic Republic of the Congo, the EU also calls on all the governments, military forces and any other organization or individual to cease all support to any of the groups involved in the fighting in the east of the DRC and Burundi, and to use their influence on these groups in order to persuade them to cease immediately any military activity. The EU is seriously concerned by the rise in human rights violations in the Ituri region and urges the parties to the conflict to respect the human rights of the population. The EU calls on the United Nations Security Council urgently to consider steps to defuse the tension in the eastern and north-eastern parts of the DRC, and in particular to review the mandate of MONUC and consider increasing its monitoring presence in the eastern part of the Democratic Republic of the Congo. The EU calls on the Government of the Democratic Republic of the Congo to co-operate fully, with MONUC and all other parties concerned, with regard to DDRRR. In particular, improved cooperation on the DDRRR-process in Kamina (access by MONUC to ex-combatants, removal of those FDLR members obstructing the process) is urgently needed. The EU appeals to all stakeholders in the Inter-Congolese Dialogue to step up the ongoing efforts to find a global, inclusive agreement with a view to establishing a transitional government."