July 17, 1999
United Nations - Secretary General Kofi Annan recommended Friday that the Security Council immediately approve sending 90 military officers to Congo to prepare for a larger UN peacekeeping operation.
In his report, Annan acknowledged that Congolese rebels have refused to sign onto a cease-fire agreement and that any UN deployment in the vast African nation would be "beset by risks." But he described the signing Saturday of the cease-fire pact by the six countries involved -- Congo, Zimbabwe, Angola, Namibia, Rwanda and Uganda -- as a "major first step towards an eventual recovery."
"The international community and the United Nations should therefore do everything in their power to assist the Congolese government, parties, and people, as well as the other governments involved, in achieving a peaceful solution," Annan said.
An estimated 700,000 people have been driven from their homes in Congo by fighting from two major rebellions in as many years. Rebels in the eastern part of the country took up arms last August to oust President Laurent Kabila, who had driven dictator Mobutu Sese Seko from power in 1997. Rwanda and Uganda have come to the aid of rebels while Zimbabwe, Angola and Namibia are backing Kabila.
The cease-fire agreement calls for a joint military commission to verify the disarmament of all armed groups and civilians and for an international peacekeeping force to be deployed to monitor the cease-fire.
Annan said he would be prepared later to recommend a further deployment of up to 500 military observers in Congo and neighboring states. UN officials said the 90 liaison officers could be deployed immediately to neighboring countries and possibly the Congolese capital of Kinshasa, but that full deployment throughout Congo would only come after rebels signed the cease-fire.
The Security Council has been largely silent on whether it would support a full-fledged peacekeeping operation, which UN officials estimate could require at least 25,000 soldiers. The United States, which has been reluctant to approve African peacekeeping missions since a failed effort in 1993 in Somalia, has pledged to offer support. Congress would have to sign off on the mission. Eleven African nations have pledged manpower for the force and the United Nations has sent letters to 46 other countries requesting support, a UN official said.
