His Excellency Dr. Hage G. Geingob, President of the Republic of Namibia and Chairperson of the SADC Organ on Politics, Defence and Security Cooperation, spoke telephonically to President Félix-Antoine Tshisekedi Tshilombo of the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) and President Paul Kagame of the Republic of Rwanda about the worsening political and military situation in the Eastern DRC.
In consultation with other Troika members, outgoing Chairman of the Organ, President Cyril Ramaphosa of the Republic of South Africa, and incoming Chairperson of the Organ, President Hakainde Hichilema, President Geingob reaffirms SADC's support for the mediation led by the Chairman of the International Conference on the Great Lakes Region (ICGLR), President João Manuel Gonçalves Lourenço of the Republic of Angola. President Geingob calls for peace in the Eastern DRC and appeals for calm by joining the international community in calling for an immediate ceasefire and for armed groups, including the March 23 Movement (M23) and the Democratic Forces for the Liberation of Rwanda (FDLR), to disarm.
President Geingob is pleased with the commitment of President Kagame and President Tshisekedi to the Luanda and Nairobi processes to give peace a chance by finding lasting solutions to the security challenges in the Eastern DRC. Consistent with the mandate of the SADC Force Intervention Brigade (FIB) within the United Nations Organization Stabilization Mission in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (MONUSCO), SADC commits to continuing to play a supportive and constructive role in order to strengthen the conditions of peace in the Eastern DRC. Following the meeting of the SADC Organ Troika in Maseru, Lesotho on 28 October 2022, the leaders of the Organ pledged to further work with the authorities in Kinshasa, the United Nations and MONUSCO to ensure the effectiveness of the Force Intervention Brigade.
