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CANADA ANNOUNCES PROJECTS TO SUPPORT PEACE PROCESS IN DEMOCRATIC REPUBLIC OF THE CONGO

January 24, 2000 (4:40 p.m. EST) No. 9

CANADA ANNOUNCES PROJECTS TO SUPPORT PEACE PROCESS IN DEMOCRATIC REPUBLIC OF THE CONGO

Foreign Affairs Minister Lloyd Axworthy and Canada's Minister for International Co-operation, Maria Minna today jointly announced, from New York and Pretoria, South Africa, that Canada would contribute $2.5 million to support the implementation of the Lusaka accord. This agreement was signed by six governments and three rebel movements in the summer of 1999, leading to a cease-fire after 11 months of conflict in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC).

"It is very important to create a suitable climate in which the various parties involved in the conflict can implement the Lusaka accord," said Mr. Axworthy. "With the support of the international community, it will be possible to break the circle of violence and conflict in the DRC and the Great Lakes region."

"Today's contribution by the Canadian International Development Agency will both support the fragile peace process and specifically help children most affected by the conflict, " said Minister Minna. "We must continue to look for new ways to support those most in need in the DRC."

Canadian support to the peace process in the Democratic Republic of the Congo includes new projects emphasizing inter-Congolese dialogue, assistance for war-affected children and funding for the Joint Military Commission.

CIDA will contribute $1 million to support initiatives by partners to promote the inter-Congolese dialogue. The assistance will help fund projects aimed at putting in place democratic institutions as well as free and transparent elections, and encouraging national dialogue and peaceful conflict resolution.

To help consolidate the peace effort, CIDA will contribute $1 million to the DRC to disarm, rehabilitate and reintegrate child soldiers into Congolese society.

Canada will also allocate $500 000 to ensure the funding of the Joint Military Commission, which will be responsible for monitoring the application and implementation of the Lusaka accord.

United Nations Security Council Resolution 1279, adopted in 1999, consolidated ongoing UN humanitarian and political affairs activities in the DRC into a single body -- the UN Organization Mission in the Democratic Republic of the Congo -- whose mandate runs to March 1, 2000. Canada currently has one officer in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, who is employed as the Chief of Operations and Plans at the Advance UN Military Headquarters in Kinshasa.

Funding for these initiatives was provided for in the February 1999 federal budget and is therefore built into the existing fiscal framework.

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For further information, media representatives may contact:

Debora Brown

Office of the Minister of Foreign Affairs

(613) 995-1851

Media Relations Office

Department of Foreign Affairs and International Trade

(613) 995-1874

Robin Walsh

Office of the Minister for International Co-operation

(819) 953-3160