Mr. President,

Let me thank you for convening this meeting on the situation in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC).

The meeting is particularly timely as the Security Council prepares to send a mission to the DRC which will, inter alia, emphasise the need to strengthen the role of the Facilitator of the Inter-Congolese National Dialogue and his ability to organise and facilitate the Dialogue.

We are therefore pleased to join in welcoming Sir Ketumile Masire and to thank him for his incisive and frank presentation, in which he outlined his work plan, based on the consultations he has undertaken over the past three months.

We agree with him that the costs of any failure to return the DRC to peace are too high to contemplate - not only for that country, but also for the entire Great Lakes region.

As the Secretary-General states in his report to the Council, the Inter-Congolese Dialogue is a critical component of the effort to facilitate a comprehensive negotiated settlement. We were therefore disappointed that the Facilitator had to cut short his visit to the DRC in March, and are pleased that he has been invited to return by the Government of the DRC.

We are heartened by the Facilitator's plans to visit the north, south and east of the country. His ability to travel freely in the country to perform his task is absolutely necessary if the Facilitator is to move from the preliminary phase of consultation to that of preparation for the Dialogue itself.

Mr. President,

Jamaica was heartened by the positive developments outlined in the Secretary-General's report and by the briefing received earlier today from the Special Representative of the Secretary-General, in particular, the adoption in Kampala of the disengagement plan, and the call on April 9 by the Heads of State for the speedy deployment of MONUC military observers.

At the same time, we are disturbed at the reports of possible outbreaks of ethnic violence, as this can only hinder the process toward a comprehensive settlement.

Mr. President,

The message of the Council to President Masire today must be one of encouragement, as he takes on this daunting task. It is up to the international community to show our support for President Masire's mission to bring peace to that troubled country. We therefore wish to express appreciation for the substantial contributions announced today by members of the Council.

In conclusion, I wish to reiterate Jamaica's support for the work of the Facilitator.





Permanent Mission of Jamaica to the
United Nations
New York
April 25, 2000