EAC-SADC peace initiatives combined with AU’s in the DR Congo crisis
The Southern African Development Community (SADC) and the East African Community (EAC) have decided to work together with the African Union (AU) on peace efforts. This will make it easier for everyone to work together to solve the problem in eastern DR Congo.
The choice was made on August 1 in Nairobi, Kenya, by the co-chairs of the Joint EAC-SADC Summit and the AU group of facilitators for the DR Congo peace process.
The meeting was led by Kenyan President William Ruto and his Zimbabwean counterpart Emmerson Mnangagwa, who are in charge of the EAC and SADC, respectively. The leaders of both groups agreed to merge the EAC-SADC Panel of Facilitators and the AU structures. These groups will now report to both the Joint EAC-SADC Summit and the AU.
The meeting also decided to combine the technical secretariats of the AU Commission (AUC), the EAC, and SADC into a single Joint Secretariat. This will help make the framework work in real life. It will be based in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, and be run by the AUC.
The leaders also decided that the AU Commission (AUC) should be in charge of coordinating the immediate mobilization of resources, such as humanitarian aid. The meeting also asked all ongoing peace efforts and interested parties to join the process lead by Africa.
