Situation in Great Lakes Region improved: UN mission

A United Nations fact- finding mission to the African Great Lakes Region on Thursday described the situation in the region as "improved and better than it was" even though the scheduled regional summit has been postponed.

French ambassador to the United Nations Jean Marc la Sabliere, who headed the 28-member UN team, told the press that compared with several years ago the situation in the Great Lakes Region had improved and the countries in the region had enjoyed better relations with one another.

But more is needed to be done to keep improving, said the French diplomat who pointed out problems in the east of the Democratic Republic of the Congo and in Burundi.

"There is still problem in eastern Congo," said la Sabliere, " and it is not acceptable for the rebel group to continue committing atrocity in Burundi."

The UN team toured all five Great Lakes Region countries of the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Burundi, Uganda, Rwanda and Tanzania that surround the lakes of Tanganyika and Victoria.

The French ambassador explained that the postponement of the second Great Lakes Region summit was due to the election schedule of the Congo.

The summit for the heads of state from the Great Lakes Region countries was originally slated for later this year in Nairobi of Kenya. "The summit will be arranged as soon as possible (after the Congo referendum)," said la Sabliere who rated the summit as an important measure for regional cooperation.

The UN mission chief acknowledged Tanzania's contribution to regional peace process as the east African country hosted the inaugural summit of the Great Lakes Region in November last year.

The UN mission will recommend to UN headquarters whether and how to impose sanctions against individuals or groups in Burundi and warned Burundian rebel groups that there is no other choice than joining the ongoing political process.

During its tour of the region, the UN team observed electoral preparation in the Democratic Republic of the Congo and assessed the development of peace process in Burundi and Rwanda. It also reviewed the efforts by the Ugandan government to deal with its conflict with the Lord's Resistance Army.

Source: Xinhua