The European Union welcomes the agreement reached at the Goma Conference for Peace, Security, and Development in the provinces of North and South Kivu and the encouraging prospects for ending conflict in these two provinces. The EU is encouraged by the wide participation in this conference and by the commitments taken at high level.
The EU calls upon the DRC authorities, communities and armed groups to continue the constructive dialogue. The EU stresses the need for all protagonists to the conflict to rally to this dynamic, and support the momentum for peace, created by the Goma agreement.
The EU congratulates all those who have been able to overcome their differences and who favored a political solution of the root causes of the problems in the Kivus, in the interest of peace and reconciliation. The EU remains very worried about the dire situation of the populations in the Kivus, in particular women and children.
The EU underlines the importance of fulfilling the commitments taken by all participants and is ready to provide support to the follow up to the Goma conference. The EU is further prepared to assist in alleviating the suffering of the people, to help to foster development and create an environment that enables the return of all Congolese to their homes.
The EU welcomes the process initiated in Nairobi on November 9, 2007, and the creation and preliminary work done by the Joint Monitoring Group and considers that the Goma agreement is another important step in the effort to reestablish lasting peace and stability in the Great Lakes region. The EU calls in particular on the countries of the Great Lakes region to assist in the implementation of the Goma agreement. In order to achieve further progress in guaranteeing safety and stability, the EU considers that reform of the security sector in the DRC remains crucial. The EU reiterates its readiness to continue its cooperation with the DRC authorities in this regard.
The Candidate Countries Turkey, Croatia* and the former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia*, the Countries of the Stabilisation and Association Process and potential candidates Albania, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Montenegro, Serbia, and the EFTA countries Iceland, Liechtenstein and Norway, members of the European Economic Area, as well as Ukraine, the Republic of Moldova, Armenia and Georgia align themselves with this declaration.
* Croatia and the former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia continue to be part of the Stabilisation and Association Process."
