Ruto urges UN support for EAC, SADC peace efforts in DRC

President William Ruto with UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres at KICC, Nairobi on August 4, 2023. [PCS]

President William Ruto has urged the United Nations to back the joint East African Community (EAC) and Southern African Development Community (SADC) peacekeeping efforts in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC).

Ruto made the appeal during a phone call with UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres on Thursday evening.

As EAC chairperson, he briefed Guterres on the outcomes of the recent joint EAC-SADC summit and Kenya's role in restoring peace in the DRC and leading the Haiti peacekeeping mission.

"I highlighted the outcomes of the recent joint East African Community-Southern African Development Community summit, which built on previous initiatives and endorsed a clear roadmap with immediate, medium, and long-term actions," said Ruto.

"I called on the UN to support the joint EAC-SADC regional efforts in implementing the roadmap for peace in eastern DRC."

Last week, the joint EAC-SADC summit appointed a panel of eminent African leaders to mediate the escalating conflict in the DRC.

The panel includes former Kenyan President Uhuru Kenyatta, working alongside former Presidents Sahle-Work Zewde (Ethiopia), Olusegun Obasanjo (Nigeria), Catherine Samba-Panza (Central African Republic), and Kgalema Motlanthe (South Africa).

The former leaders met earlier this week to discuss the security crisis and explore solutions.

The joint summit merged the Nairobi and Luanda peace processes, previously led by Kenyatta and Angolan President Joao Lourenco, respectively.