Security Council members depart on five-nation trip to Africa

Members of the United Nations Security Council leave today on a weeklong mission to Ethiopia, Sudan, Ghana, Côte d’Ivoire and the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) in support of ongoing peace efforts in Africa.

On Saturday, under the joint leadership of Ambassadors Emyr Jones-Parry of the United Kingdom and Dumisani Kumalo of South Africa, the delegation will meet in Addis Ababa with African Union (AU) and Ethiopian officials, as well as with the AU Peace and Security Council, a UN spokesperson announced today.

The Council will then head to Khartoum, where meetings are planned for Sunday with President Omar al-Bashir and other top Sudanese officials and with officials from the UN Mission in Sudan (UNMIS).

On Monday, delegates will be in Accra, Ghana, to meet with President John Kufuor in his capacity as AU President.

The following day the Council delegation will be in Abidjan, Côte d’Ivoire, for meetings with Ivorian leaders, including President Laurent Gbagbo and Prime Minister Guillaume Soro.

Later on Tuesday, the delegation will proceed to Kinshasa in the DRC, where Council delegates will meet with President Joseph Kabila, key parliamentary leaders and officials from the UN peacekeeping mission (MONUC), according to the spokesperson, who said the delegation will return to New York on 21 June.