World bodies call on DRC to redouble efforts to implement December agreement

Four world bodies have called on political stakeholders in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) to redouble efforts towards a speedy conclusion of the 31 December political agreement.

The organisations, the African Union (AU), the United Nations (UN), the European Union (EU) and the International Organization of La Francophonie (IOF) pointed out that six weeks after agreeing on the modalities of a transition period leading to the holding of peaceful and credible elections by December 2017, the parties are yet to conclude discussions on the effective implementation of the agreement, according to a press release copied to ghanabusinessnews.com.

This situation, they say, has the potential to undermine the political goodwill that led to the signing of the December 31 agreement.

The organizations further called on all stakeholders in the DRC, including the presidential majority and the opposition, to expedite action towards a speedy conclusion of the ongoing talks.

They also reaffirmed the need for all parties to rally behind the mediation efforts led by the Conférence épiscopale nationale du Congo (CENCO), and recall that the full and timely implementation of the 31 December agreement is critical in upholding the legitimacy of the transitional institutions until elections, it further said.

The political agreement was signed in the nation’s capital Kinshasa by the opposition and the presidential majority on the holding of elections in the RC and transitional arrangements..

By Pamela Ofori-Boateng