It is a great honour and a real pleasure for me to speak from this rostrum to express the voice of my country, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, on the main issues that are currently of great concern to the international community.
I would like to begin by congratulating the President on his election to preside over the General Assembly at its seventy-seventh session. I am convinced that he will
do his best to ensure the success of this session, and I assure him of my country’s full support.
The major challenges facing humankind today are security and peace for all, addressing climate change, reviving the global economy after the coronavirus disease (COVID-19), combating poverty and promoting our collective well-being. Those key challenges are complex and intertwined. Aware of that reality, I welcome the wise choice and relevance of the central theme of this meeting, namely, “A watershed moment: transformative solutions to interlocking challenges”. Clearly, meeting those challenges requires greater consultation, cooperation and solidarity among States and nations.
The maintenance of international peace and security is the foundation and the primary objective of the creation of the United Nations. Neither indifference, nor inaction, nor a wait-and-see attitude on the part of the United Nations is therefore acceptable in the face of any threat to international peace and security.
To date, the issue of international peace and security has crystallized around the fight against terrorism and the extinction of hotbeds of tension in Europe and Africa. Indeed, terrorism has spared no continent. After Asia, Western Europe and North America, it metastasized in Africa, where it has set fire to several places, and our continent is paying a heavy price. In the Sahel, in the East, in the West, in the Centre and in the South of the continent, terrorists kill innocent populations in barbaric expeditions and destabilize States in the name of religious fundamentalism. It is true that outstanding progress has been made in the Middle East in the fight against this scourge. However, it is far from abating, let alone being eradicated from our planet.
That is why the Democratic Republic of the Congo, one of the African victims of terrorism and a member of the Global Coalition against Da’esh, calls on the United Nations to become actively involved in implementing the recommendations of the Coalition and those of the Aqaba process. Declarations of intent and proclamations of faith without vigorous collective action on the ground will never be enough to eradicate terrorism.
In the heart of Europe, the war between Russia and Ukraine is a gaping wound whose bleeding reaches even to distant Africa and disrupts international trade because of the significant collateral damage, particularly in terms of the supply of cereals and energy products of Ukrainian and Russian origin, which are necessary for the feeding of the populations, as well as the functioning of the economies of the importing countries. It is imperative that the United Nations intervene diligently and more firmly in order to extinguish this inferno, in full compliance with the rules of international law.
The Democratic Republic of the Congo supports the position of the African Union (AU) and calls on all parties to the conflict to follow the path of dialogue and law advocated by Africa, which has experience in managing security crises caused by armed groups in some of its States.
In that regard, the United Nations knows that my country, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, is the victim of an acute security crisis that has lasted more than 20 years in the east of its national territory. Any honest, good-faith observer recognizes that this crisis is caused mainly by the greed triggered by its tremendous natural wealth and the power ambitions of some of its neighbours.
The people of the Democratic Republic of the Congo recognize the role of the United Nations, the African Union, the African regional communities, the European Union and the Democratic Republic of the Congo’s bilateral external partners in curbing this recurring crisis. We are grateful to them and pay tribute to the sacrifice of the valiant peacekeepers who have lost their lives on the front lines in defence of the ideals of peace and justice.
However, despite tireless internal efforts, the massive military presence of the United Nations in the Democratic Republic of the Congo and its diplomatic support for 23 years, the security problem continues to plague my country. In order to definitively eradicate insecurity, restore lasting peace and ensure stability in the eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo, several agreements have been signed with armed groups, and even with neighbouring countries, under the auspices of the international community. National and international mechanisms have been created. All of those prospects for a definitive resolution of the conflict lasted only a few months. Soon, the architecture cracked, and the building collapsed. And the same tragedies are happening all over again.
Since my election as Head of the Democratic Republic of the Congo, I have never stopped fighting, every day, for peace and security in the provinces
of Ituri, North Kivu and South Kivu. As part of a philosophy of reconciliation with our neighbours, I have spared no effort to reassure the Heads of State of neighbouring countries and to restore confidence among us, in particular through ongoing consultations on issues of common interest, the conclusion of security cooperation and economic partnership agreements and the implementation of development projects for our respective populations.
Despite my goodwill and the outstretched hand of the people of the Democratic Republic of the Congo for peace, some of our neighbours have found no better way to thank us than through aggression and support for armed terrorist groups that are ravaging the eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo. That is currently the case for Rwanda, which, in defiance of international law, the Charter of the United Nations and the Constitutive Act of the African Union, once again not only attacked the Democratic Republic of the Congo in March through direct incursions by its armed forces, the Rwanda Defence Force, but is also occupying localities in the province of North Kivu through an armed terrorist group, the Mouvement du 23 mars (M-23), to which it is providing massive support through materials for war and troops. As if to defy the international community, the M-23, with the support of the Rwandan army, even shot down a helicopter belonging to the United Nations Organization Stabilization Mission in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (MONUSCO) and killed eight peacekeepers, thereby committing a war crime.
In this emblematic place of international life, I fervently denounce this umpteenth aggression of which my country is victim at the hands of its neighbour, Rwanda, under the cover of a terrorist group called M-23. Rwanda’s involvement and responsibility in the tragedy that my country and my compatriots are living through in the areas occupied by the Rwandan army and its M-23 allies are no longer refutable, since the groups of experts duly mandated by the United Nations and the Expanded Joint Verification Mechanism of the International Conference on the Great Lakes Region, as well as credible humanitarian and human rights non-governmental organizations, have established that involvement more than once in documented and objective reports that border on scientific proof.
Moreover, in order to enlighten the community of nations and to put an end to the endless denials of the Rwandan authorities on this subject, the Government of the Democratic Republic of the Congo reiterates its request to the President of the Security Council to officially distribute to the members of the Council the latest report of the United Nations experts on the security situation in the eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo and to have it diligently examined by the Council in order to draw all the necessary consequences in terms of the law, peace and international security. The image and credibility of our Organization are at stake. To do otherwise would be, on the one hand, to encourage Rwanda to continue its aggression, its war crimes and its crimes against humanity in the Democratic Republic of the Congo and, on the other hand, to further fuel the legitimate suspicion of the people of the Democratic Republic of the Congo with regard to the impartiality of the United Nations and the complicity of some of its members in these crimes.
It is in order to put an end to that suspicion and to dispel the ambiguity of certain positions of the Security Council on the security crisis in the eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo — an ambiguity that is overwhelming the people of the Democratic Republic of the Congo and exacerbates the tension between it and the MONUSCO — that the Government of my country has requested a reassessment of the plan for the gradual and responsible withdrawal of the Mission.
This adjustment process is necessitated by the unanimous observation, even at the highest level of our Organization, of the regrettable weaknesses of MONUSCO, which undoubtedly affects the effectiveness and legitimacy of the Organization’s action in the Democratic Republic of the Congo. The reassessment of MONUSCO’s withdrawal plan cannot, therefore, in any way call into question the relations between my country and our Organization.
In any case, I reaffirm loud and clear at this rostrum of the highest international organ for the management of world affairs the determination of the people of the Democratic Republic of the Congo and its leaders to defend with their lives the territorial integrity, independence and sovereignty of their country — in full compliance, of course, with international law and of the commitments made within the international organizations of which it is a member.
I would like to make clear that the Democratic Republic of the Congo and its civil society will never allow anyone to utilize the discourse of tribal, ethnic and racial hatred and xenophobia in our country. The Constitution of the Republic and its laws prohibit such
speech and severely punish it. No one can therefore use that fanciful discourse to justify criminal activities in the country, to divide the people or to weaken the national unity that all my compatriots hold dear. The Democratic Republic of the Congo will never be genocidal.
Similarly, I maintain that the alleged collaboration of some officials of the Democratic Republic of the Congo with the Rwandan opponents of the Forces democratiques de liberation du Rwanda (FDLR), which Rwandan leaders use to justify repeated aggression against the Democratic Republic of the Congo, is an alibi that is not corroborated by any proven fact on the ground. The FDLR have been decapitated and reduced to nothing by the Forces armees de la Republique democratique du Congo (FARDC), in close collaboration with the Rwandan army, within the framework of joint operations carried out a few years ago. Moreover, the Democratic Republic of the Congo has repatriated several FDLR elements and their families. The people of the Democratic Republic of the Congo are therefore asking themselves — which FDLR are we talking about? How many square metres of Rwandan territory are occupied by those phantom FDLR? Where on Rwandan soil has a single soldier from the Democratic Republic of the Congo ever been seen? Whatever the case, my country stands ready to take repressive action against any armed group that tries to disturb peace and security in a neighbouring country and in the Great Lakes region.
The people of the Democratic Republic of the Congo ask the United Nations, the African Union, the African regional communities and the Democratic Republic of the Congo’s partners to stop relying on the shameless denials of the Rwandan authorities and to contribute instead to the restoration of security, the building of lasting peace and the creation of the conditions necessary for fruitful cooperation in the Great Lakes region for the good of all.
For that purpose, it is necessary to, first, make effective the immediate withdrawal of the M-23 from the occupied localities, the return of the displaced people of the Democratic Republic of the Congo from those localities to their homes and the unconditional cessation of the Rwandan army’s support to this terrorist group, in accordance with the spirit and the letter of the Luanda road map, agreed between the Democratic Republic of the Congo and Rwanda, as well as successive declarations by the Security Council, the African Union Peace and Security Council, the East African Community (EAC) and the Southern African Development Community (SADC).
Secondly, we must bring more pressure to bear on Rwanda and the M-23, whose leaders are under United Nations sanctions, and to be firmer with them so that they respect the positions taken by the above-mentioned international organizations.
Thirdly, we must support the continuation of the Nairobi peace process, the Democratic Republic of the Congo-Rwanda Luanda discussions and the deployment of the East African regional force, whose statute and rules of engagement were signed on 8 September in Kinshasa by the Government of the Democratic Republic of the Congo and the EAC Secretary General, on the one hand, and by the FARDC and the command of that regional force, on the other.
Fourthly, we must encourage the honorary President of Kenya, Uhuru Kenyatta, and the President of Angola, Joao Lourengo, mediators of the EAC and the AU in the security crisis in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, to continue their good offices.
Fifthly, we must remove all obstacles to efforts by the Democratic Republic of the Congo to restructure its armed forces and increase its strength in order to better fulfil its sovereign missions, notably through the pure and simple lifting of all restrictive measures on the acquisition of military equipment, whatever form they may take, as decreed by the Security Council.
The realization of the actions I have recommended here will undoubtedly guarantee the people of the Democratic Republic of the Congo the certainty of a settlement of the crisis and will facilitate a constructive dialogue between all the parties concerned in that regard.
We, the people of the Democratic Republic of the Congo, are determined this time to put a definitive end to the insecurity in the east of our country, whatever the cost. The time has come to break forever the infernal cycle of violence in the eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo in order to stabilize the Great Lakes region and take full advantage of its economic potential, as well as its rich biodiversity, to save humankind from climate change.
Carrying out those changes poses two fundamental problems, namely, the implementation of legal and financial instruments resulting from international
negotiations, in particular within the framework of the various Conferences of the Parties to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change and the energy transition. It is time, on the one hand, to put an end to the selective implementation of commitments made by polluters and, on the other hand, to compensate, in the name of climate justice, the efforts made by less-polluting countries, including those of Africa, in order to preserve the environment for the sake of our entire planet.
With regard to the energy transition, Africa has sufficient renewable energy sources and raw materials to help mobilize credible options for resolving the energy and environmental crises. In that regard, it is important to note that the Democratic Republic of the Congo is among the primary producers of essential strategic minerals for the energy transition and the decarbonization of the transport sector. These include cobalt, lithium, nickel and manganese.
My country has set itself the goal of ensuring the clean production of those metals. With that in mind, on 29 April, the Republic of Zambia and the Democratic Republic of the Congo signed an agreement on the establishment of a value chain in the electric battery and clean energy sector. Needless to say, given the size of the investment required to implement such a project, the involvement of partners is particularly essential, especially with regard to providing capital and the appropriate technology.
Furthermore, to support the green transformation agenda in economies on the African continent and meet the growing energy demand around the world, my country has opted to capitalize on its vast potential in renewable energy sources, including hydroelectricity, solar energy, geothermal energy and the exploitation of its gas deposits.
The Democratic Republic of the Congo is an asset as it pertains to implementing Agenda 2063 of the African Union, via the Grand Inga project, which could also be beneficial for parts of Europe and the Middle East. In that regard, we are delighted to host the preparatory work for the twenty-seventh Conference of the Parties to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate, which will take place in Kinshasa next month.
I take this opportunity to shed light on the environmental aspects of the tender issued by my country, on 28 July, for the exploration of 27 oil blocks and three gas blocks. The tender has been met with unnecessary controversy in the international arena. It should be recalled that no relevant international legal instrument ratified by the Democratic Republic of the Congo prohibits our country from exploiting its natural resources for the purpose of protecting the environment or due to fears about accelerating global warming. The 2015 Paris Agreement on Climate Change acknowledges that developing countries are within their right to emit carbon dioxide for their development purposes, while taking steps to protect the global climate through their nationally determined contributions.
The Government of the Democratic Republic of the Congo has therefore set itself the goal of exploiting the country’s natural resources, while respecting environmental standards, and processing them locally to provide added value and boost the national economy, including by creating liquid wealth and jobs to improve the living conditions for the Congolese population.
The appropriate strategies and measures have been adopted and implemented to avoid negative impacts on the environment. Following the example of other countries in Africa and Europe that have overcome that challenge, measures include effective Government checks and balances. This will allow the Democratic Republic of the Congo to achieve its economic and social objectives, while protecting its forests and remaining the country with solutions in the fight against global warming. My country remains open to cooperation with any partner wishing to help it achieve its goals.
On the economic front, the challenge to be met is that of helping to revive the economies of countries that have been weakened by the collateral effects of climate change and the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) in order to promote balanced global economic growth and halt the spread of poverty in developing countries. We cannot overcome that challenge without good internal governance efforts at the national level, productive investment or sufficient and real transfers of financial resources to those who need them. The Democratic Republic of the Congo therefore calls for the implementation of the proposal that rich countries cede a percentage of their special drawing rights at the International Monetary Fund to least developed countries. The proposal was made by the Paris Conference on post COVID-19 economic recovery, held in May 2021, and endorsed by a firm commitment from the Group of 20 in Rome in October 2021. In any event,
any facility that provides access to additional resources for those countries sorely tested by climate change and COVID-19 would be welcome.
Similarly, alleviating the debt burden of low- income countries must remain an ongoing concern to be included in a global approach to international solidarity. For its part, despite the difficult global economic situation following the harmful effects of the COVID-19 pandemic, the Democratic Republic of the Congo has made significant progress with respect to economic growth. Wealth creation accelerated in 2021, thanks in particular to positive momentum in the mining sector. Production in that sector increased to 10.1 per cent in 2021 from 1 per cent in 2019, due to favourable copper and cobalt prices on the international market. Inflation rates and the exchange rate of the Congolese franc have remained relatively stable.
The Board of Governors of the International Monetary Fund conducted the second review under the Extended Credit Facility arrangement. The International Monetary Fund commended the prudent macroeconomic policies adopted by the Government of the Democratic Republic of the Congo. We will tirelessly pursue those policies and efforts to improve the business climate so as to boost private investment and overall economic activity.
Solidarity and justice in relations among countries have always been factors in achieving mutual peace and security, as they bring people together and create interconnectedness among them. Therefore, combating poverty and promoting collective well-being are powerful bulwarks against social conflict and tensions among peoples.
For that reason, the Democratic Republic of the Congo welcomes the collective action of the international community against COVID-19 and commends the Feed the Future initiative of the United States of America to fund agriculture to combat the hunger and food insecurity in Africa caused by the Russian-Ukrainian crisis. My country, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, is one of the African beneficiaries of that initiative, to mention just the most recent example. My country calls for similar actions and initiatives that help not only to resolve issues related to everyday life and to create jobs for the greatest number of people, but also with income distribution and purchasing power.
However, in the name of international solidarity and justice, we have questions about the maintenance of sanctions against the people of Zimbabwe that date back to the time of the late President Robert Mugabe. Why is our Organization so silent and indifferent to that injustice, bordering on a crime, against an innocent people? As the current Chairperson of the Southern African Development Community, I urgently call on the United Nations to do everything possible to obtain the immediate lifting of the sanctions against the Republic of Zimbabwe and its people.
In this multipolar world, no country, however powerful and rich it may be, can hope to overcome alone the challenges I have just outlined, let alone resolve them in the interests of one and all. The importance of the issues at stake, the complexity of the problems to be solved and the magnitude of the task require an equitable multilateral approach that takes all interests into account and pools all energies in mutual respect.
This is why the Democratic Republic of the Congo continues to believe that it is essential to better structure and enrich multilateralism, with equal treatment for all stakeholders, in order to create the spaces for dialogue and cooperation that we need to ensure international peace and security. That is the United Nations we want. To that end, we must act urgently to reform of the United Nations, which appears to be stalled at the moment.
In that context, I must insist on the need to satisfy Africa’s legitimate and just demand to be represented on the Security Council with two additional seats in the category of non-permanent membership and two others in the category of permanent membership with the same rights, including that of veto, privileges and obligations as those of the current permanent members. It is a question of justice for a continent — or rather, to an entire swath of humankind — whose role is increasing every day in the conduct of international affairs. We Africans are firmly attached to that.
In conclusion, allow me to say a few words about gender parity. In that regard, it is necessary to stress the efforts under way both at the international level and at the level of States to create spaces for gender equality and opportunities for freedom and action for women. To do so, the involvement of men in gender-promotion policies is necessary because, on the one hand, men share their lives with women and, on the other hand, since time immemorial and for various reasons, men have established a pre-eminence over women that gives them a determining influence over their destiny. We must put an end to that de facto situation.
For that reason, during my term of office at the helm of the African Union, I initiated a meeting of the Heads of State and Government of the continental organization under the theme of “Men’s Conference on Positive Masculinity”. That historic meeting, held in Kinshasa in 2021, led to a declaration of the African Union containing the commitments of men, in particular that of the Heads of State and Government, to put an end to violence against women and girls and to provide appropriate responses to that issue. The declaration constitutes a veritable African Union charter for women that I am working to bring to fruition in my capacity as an African Union champion for positive masculinity.
In that context, I have worked to further promote Congolese women, who today are increasingly at the forefront of public affairs management within the political, legal and administrative institutions of my country. That proactive policy should allow in the future for radical change, not only in the perception of women and their role in society, but also in women taking charge of their own destinies. Indeed, parity is not a gift to women, but a responsibility that they must assume.
I wish every success to the work of the seventy- seventh regular session of the General Assembly.