DR Congo: Security Council calls on parties to maintain support for political transition

As the political transition in the strife-torn Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) enters a key phase, the United Nations Security Council today urged the country's parties to maintain their commitment to a peaceful and inclusive process.

Ambassador Wang Guangya of China, the Council's President for April, read out a statement voicing the Council's support for the transition after a briefing by Jean-Marie Guéhenno, Under-Secretary-General for Peacekeeping Operations, on the latest developments in the DRC.

He said the Council's 15 members have deferred a decision on whether to send a delegation of Council ambassadors to Kinshasa, the capital of the DRC, to assess the situation first-hand.

The Council also voiced support for the work of the Secretary-General's Special Representative for the DRC, William Lacy Swing, and the Kinshasa-based International Committee in Support of the Transition.

The UN Organization Mission in the DRC (known by its French acronym, MONUC) is assisting the country's Transitional Government in preparing for elections scheduled for later this year and in ensuring stable governance thereafter.