Burundi: En bref ce 26 AVRIL 2006 ...

BUJUMBURA, 26 April (IRIN) - At least 1,200 people were homeless as of Wednesday following heavy rains and strong winds that destroyed some 160 homes in Murwi Commune in Burundi's northwestern province of Cibitoke, an administration official said.

"Violent winds caused trees to fall on houses and destroy them," Jean Claude Nimubona, the communal administrator of Murwi, said on Wednesday.

The storm, which occurred on Monday, was most severe in Murwi is Buhayira Zone, he said. "Inhabitants there are now desperate, they need iron sheets, blankets, clothes and food assistance."

Nimubona said many homes were badly damaged. Residents are making repairs and others are accommodating those who are now homeless but "within their limit" he said.

"Other [homeless people] have sought shelter with families in neighbouring villages which were unaffected by the heavy rains," Nimubona said.

Flash flooding of the Muzenga River left one teenage girl dead. Nimubona said the girl had been farming by the riverbank when she was swept away. Three cows on the banks of the Kansega River were also swept away.

The storm also destroyed hundreds of hectares of beans, cassava, maize and sweet potatoes.

"We have already made an appeal to NGOs in the province," he said. "We are waiting for their reaction."

BURUNDI: UN agency builds homes for returnees, IDPs

BUJUMBURA, 26 April (IRIN) - Thousands of internally displaced people and returning refugees in three Burundian provinces are the beneficiaries of 7,100 homes, 14 primary schools and five health centres that the UN refugee agency, UNHCR, has built and handed over to the government.

Some 1,300 of the homes are Cankuzo Province, in the east, 300 in the central province of Gitega and the rest in the eastern province of Ruyigi, one of the areas worst affected by 12 years of civil war from which the country is now emerging.

The UNHCR handed over the buildings during a ceremony at Kabuyenge site in Gisuru, one of the six communes in Ruyigi Province, where the agency built 200 homes for returning refugees and IDPs, one primary school and staff rooms for primary school teachers.

The UNCHR deputy representative to Burundi, Valentin Tapsoba, said the total cost of the infrastructure at Kabuyenge was seven million Burundi francs (US $70,000).

The minister of national solidarity, gender and human rights, Françoise Ngendahayo, said the Kabuyenge site, which hosts IDPs and returning refugees, was built "to foster reconciliation between returnees and IDPs who will have to live together now". At least 80 percent of the homes would go to returning refugees and the rest to IDPs.

In a statement issued on Tuesday, UNHCR said the agency financed the building of 44 schools and 11 health centres in 2005 in 10 provinces hosting the largest number of returnees. It also completed and handed over to the government 27 schools while 17 others it built in the provinces of Muyinga, Karuzi and Kirundo are due to handed over soon.

The agency also said it was providing building materials to at least 23,000 families to enable them to build homes. More than 20,000 of these families have now completed building the homes.

The UNHCR said it had spent $12 million on reconstruction and rehabilitation since 2005. It added that since the launch of refugee repatriation operations in 2002, it had facilitated at least 296,000 refugees to return home mainly from neighbouring countries.

Meanwhile, the agency announced that it would resumed its activities on Thursday in Gasorwe camp, in the northeastern province of Muyinga, which hosts 8,730 Congolese refugees. It suspended activities at the camp on 18 April following a skirmish. The UNHCR public relations Catherine Lune-Grayson said on UN-supported Radio ONUB that the agency did not want all the refugees in the camp to be victimised.

The skirmish occurred when a Burundian man, his wife and their three children went to the camp to seek refugee status. When a UNHCR agent, who determined that their claim was invalid denied the request, the family prevented the agent from leaving the UNHCR office. Some of the Congolese refugees then joined in, and the situation became violent when people began throwing stones, damaging several UNHCR vehicles. There were no injuries.

Youth representing the six dioceses of the Province of the Anglican Church of Burundi met for one week from 17–21 April 2006 for training in peace building, justice, and truth and reconciliation in a post-conflict context.

Supported financially by the World Council of Churches, the training was part of an on-going project to rebuild respect and mutual trust among the youth of Burundi in order to see the nation transformed. It was also designed to encourage them to commit themselves to be agents of peace individually and on behalf of their communities.

Meeting in the Lycée in Matana, the young people, between the ages of 15-25 years, had occasion to consider and discuss some of the critical issues facing Burundians at this point in their history.

The main speakers were the Archbishop, the Most Rev. Bernard Ntahoturi, the bishops of the dioceses of Bujumbura and Makamba, the former Provincial Secretary, a lay person from the Church with experience in politics in Burundi, and a Human Rights activist.

Throughout the week the participants were challenged to commit themselves as Christian youth to the process of transformation. This was applied to their personal lives, with particular emphasis on the area of sexuality. The Church should be one, holy, catholic, and apostolic Church without frontiers. Families and communities should be transformed through changed attitudes and positive relationships. In the country transformation would occur as young people mobilized themselves to use their energies, resources, education, dreams, and hopes in peace-building, restoration of culture and tradition, reconciliation, and the pursuit of truth and justice. As youth they were encouraged to make responsible decisions, to practice discipline, and to be determined in the pursuit of goals.

There were opportunities for informal worship and fellowship, and discussion in small groups followed by plenary sessions. The Archbishop provided an open time for questions. Those who were successful in the Bible knowledge quiz each received a Bible. The football match held mid-week resulted in a resounding victory for the local team!

Finally the participants were sent back to their dioceses to train and equip others, and to witness to their faith as Christian youth. Before they left they asked the Church to organize other meetings in order to continue discussions on the theme of peace and reconciliation. As one participant said, “Burundi needs a godly, educated generation of leaders to proclaim the Gospel and to influence decision–making in the Church and the nation.”

Rwanda : Kagame could be next EAC Chairman

April 26, 2006, By Andnetwork .com Source : New Times

President Paul Kagame could be the next Chairman of the East African Community (EAC) soon after the Central African country is admitted to the regional body.

A legislator representing Uganda at the EAC Assembly told The New Times over the weekend that soon after Rwanda is admitted to EAC, possibly in November its leader could take over the Chairmanship of the 90-million people...
regional market body. Yonasani Kanyomozi, who chairs the Liaison Committee of the EACsaid Rwanda’s opportunity to chair the body that includes Uganda, Tanzania and Kenya depends on the pace at which admission procedures are handled. Rwanda and Burundi were destined to be admitted last year but technical aspects delayed the exercise.

Both countries have four bands (group of tariff levels a country imposes) unlike the rest of the East African countries. “Chances are very high that the chair would go to Rwanda compared to Burundi. Already, each of the three present member states have chaired the EAC. So, next the seat will go to Rwanda or Burundi after they are admitted during the November Summit. But by the look of things, the chair could go to Rwanda,” Kanyomozi told these reporters at his home on Saturday Febuary 23.
Kanyomozi, a former minister in late Milton Obote’s regime said Rwanda and Burundi delayed joining the EAC because of the general elections in the member states.
“That is why we did not have the summit at the close of last year, which was scheduled to take place then but did not,” he said.

The change in schedule of the Tanzanian polls after the death of Jumbe Rajab, one of the vice presidential candidates, had an irreversible impact on the EAC Summit that had been slated for take place November last year.
Kanyomozi had earlier asserted that Rwanda beats the other countries in the region in Information Technology skills.
According to statistics, Rwanda affords more than 40% in IT products compared to Kenya and Tanzania at 35%. Uganda lags behind with 18%.
Meanwhile, negotiations on the Common Market commence July 1, 2006, with a timeframe of December 2008 as the target date for concluding and signing the EAC Protocol.

At the commencement of the Federation, during the transition, each member state will be availed an opportunity for the regional presidency for a one-year period, after which a substantive leader would be elected.
National consultations and sensitisation of the people of East Africa on the political federation are currently going on.
The newly-established EAC Department of Fast Tracking East African Federation will present the report of the findings at this year’s November Summit.

Rwanda: France Examines Genocide Lawsuits

The New Times (Kigali) April 25, 2006 James Munyaneza Kigali

French authorities have set May 29 as the day they will study the legality of genocide accusations against their government by four Rwandans. The French Ambassador to Rwanda, Dominique Descherf confirmed to The New Times on Tuesday, April 25 that his country's judiciary would on May 29 rule on the legality of the remaining cases. "The cases were initially six; two were taken on in December and currently four others are under scrutiny to determine their legality," he said by telephone.

Paris is already investigating lawsuits filed by two other Rwandans, which implicate the French military in the 1994 Genocide in Rwanda, in which an estimated one million Rwandans lost their lives in cold blood. The merit of the cases under investigation was decided upon last December.

Last year a French Military Prosecutor, Brigitte Renault, came to Rwanda to gather evidence on the alleged role of the French military in the 1994 Genocide. Reports say some Paris officials had earlier tried to block her from coming to Rwanda citing security threats against her life.

The National Prosecutor, Emmanuel Rukangira, said that shortly after she had compiled the preliminary report, the dossier was taken from her and handed to another Prosecutor, who is also expected in the country soon on another investigation mission.

Rukangira described Renault as "someone whom I found would undertake the task." He added: "We just hope that her successor will be equally willing to continue with the investigation and to cooperate." The cases, he added, are being handled by France's Tribunal Aux Armees de Paris (Tribunal of Paris Army).

The development comes less than a fortnight after the Rwandan government named a Commission of Inquiry into the alleged role of the French government in the genocide. The seven-man commission which is headed by the Prosecutor General Jean de Dieu Mucyo has a six-month renewable mandate to complete the investigations.

The government and genocide survivors in Rwanda and abroad, accuse the French government, under former President Francois Mitterrand, of having supported the genocidal regime by training and arming Interahamwe, a militia responsible for the killings.

In particular, the French are accused of forming the infamous Operation Zone Turquoise in the country's western region at the height of the slaughters, which enabled the marauding killers hack over 50,000 Tutsis in Bisesero. The operation is also said to have provided safe escape routes to members of the genocidal government to the neighbouring Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC).

On Rwanda Visit, Students Learn of the Consequences of Genocide

By Rachel Silverman NEW YORK, April 25 (JTA) -- It has been 12 years since the Rwandan genocide, but underlying tensions remain.

Some won't talk about the past. Others live near those who tried to kill them. Nightmares, court cases and blame-game tactics all are part of the legacy left by Rwanda's genocide.

Those concerns resonate deeply with the Jewish people, whose own history has been marred by near-annihilation.

Two dozen Jewish students from around the world traveled to Rwanda earlier this month to deepen their understanding of genocide and its impact on the world.

The "Shared Memories -- Collective Action" trip, sponsored by the World Jewish Congress and the Fondation pour le Memoire de Shoah, also included eight Rwandan students living in Belgium.

During a week in Rwanda, which coincided with an annual genocide commemoration held there, the students visited grave sites and memorials, learned about recovery efforts, heard survivor testimony and met with political leaders like President Paul Kagame.

Peleg Reshef, the WJC's director of future generation programs, said the itinerary taught participants that the Holocaust is not something of the past. Despite the pledge of "never again" made after the genocide of the Jews, the world did little when Hutus went on a rampage in 1994, killing hundreds of thousands of Tutsis.

"Our survivors are 70 or 80 years old," Reshef, who attended the trip, told JTA by telephone from Jerusalem. "In Rwanda, mass graves are still raw."

Reshef said the Jewish participants empathized with their Rwandan peers, for whom the trip was a bitter homecoming. The Rwandan students included a mix of those whose parents fled before the genocide, and those who were victims of the atrocities themselves.

"When they saw the room filled with bodies, people were running out, crying, throwing up," Reshef recalled. "For us to see that, it was like our experience in the camps in Poland."

The structure of the program also aimed to breathe new life into the way Jews remember the Holocaust.

"The orthodox way of teaching the Holocaust is kind of pushing it down their throat," Reshef explained, citing a certain level of Holocaust "fatigue."

Reshef suggested that the Shoah be studied from a fresh vantage point.

"We have to learn about the unique place of the Holocaust in the context of genocide," he continued. "We must understand we have a vital role to play, including what is happening today in Darfur and other dark corners of the world."

Indeed, the American Jewish community has been at the forefront of efforts to push the U.S. government to do more to stop an ongoing genocide of black Africans in Darfur, Sudan, at the hands of government-sponsored Arab militias.

"Young Jewish people have an obligation to be knowledgeable and take action," Peleg added.

To that end, the trip connected the dots between ethnic cleansing campaigns past and present. A survivor of the Bergen-Belsen concentration camp accompanied the students to the Murambi Memorial Site in Rwanda, and a professor from Cambodia told the group about her country's killing fields under Pol Pot.

Other presentations drew on the near-annihilation of native peoples in North America and the situation in Darfur. This summer, trip participants will continue the conversation at the Yad Vashem Holocaust Memorial in Jerusalem, where they will discuss how Israel has dealt with the trauma and memory of the Shoah.

Most of the Jewish students were from Europe; one was from Israel and one from South Africa.

Taylor Krauss, 26, the only student participant from the United States, said the universality of the message struck a chord with him. Krauss, who is working on documentaries about World War II and the genocide in Rwanda, said he was interested in the topic of genocide "not just because I'm Jewish, but because it's a human issue.

"Looking at the Holocaust is important growing up as a Jew; it made its way into my psyche," Krauss said. "But how can that be applied to our world today, learning about other genocides and recognizing that it still continues?"

The sojourn was not just important for the students: It provided a model of hope to a nation struggling to get back on its feet.

"We serve as an ideal for them," Reshef said, referring to the Jewish people. "While we went on and have improved and rehabilitated our lives as people, we've also maintained and preserved the memory of the Holocaust."

Krauss, who will return to Rwanda this fall to continue filming, agreed.

"Meeting Holocaust survivors who have gone on to found families is incredibly hopeful to those who feel alone," he said.

"Remembering history is important for the healing process, for future generations, and it's morally important for the rest of the world," Krauss said. "There's a need to remember the past, but there's also a need to move forward."

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Uganda: FDC Only Defending Harare Commonwealth Declaration

The Monitor (Kampala) OPINION April 26, 2006 Sam Akaki

Reading all the criticism against FDC for opposing the hosting of the 2007 Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting (CHOGM) in Uganda, you would be forgiven for thinking that the writers were individuals who lived in medieval times, long before the Commonwealth and its guiding principles rules were formed.

By omission, commission or ignorance, not one writer has made even a passing reference to the Harare Declaration, the supreme law of the club. Let me help them.

On October 20, 1991 the Commonwealth leaders met in Harare, Zimbabwe and signed what became known as the Harare Declaration. Chapter nine of the Declaration proclaimed:

"Having reaffirmed the principles to which the Commonwealth is committed and reviewed the problems and challenges which the world and the Commonwealth as part of it, face, we pledge the Commonwealth and our countries to work with renewed vigour, concentrating especially in the following areas:

The protection and promotion of the fundamental political values of the Commonwealth: democracy, the rule of law and the independence of the judiciary, just and honest government; Fundamental human rights, including equal rights and opportunities for all citizens regardless of race, colour, creed or political belief."

It is these basic principles, which all Commonwealth countries including Uganda have signed to, that raise several fundamental questions, forming the basis for FDC's opposition to the meeting coming to Uganda:

What fundamental political values are prevailing in Uganda where, three months before the elections, the leading opposition politician Dr Kizza Besigye was kidnapped by heavily armed men, held hostage and caged in Luzira like a wild animal for six weeks. He was charged with multiple crimes of rape, terrorism and treason, the last one punishable by death.

He was tried concurrently in the High Court and the General Court Martial and the state ordered the Attorney General to stop his nomination as a presidential candidate. State agents short and killed his supporters in Bulange, rammed into his rally in Mukono with Armoured Personnel Carrier (APC)?

Or what fundamental political values are prevailing in Uganda where the Supreme Court judges have just announced, unanimously, that "there was non-compliance with the provisions and principles of the Constitution, Presidential Elections Act and the Electoral Commission Act, in the conduct of the 2006 Presidential Elections, in disenfranchisement of voters by deleting their names from the voters register or denying them the right to vote and in the counting and tallying of results".

The same judges have also confessed that "We are constrained (read restrained by the army) to comment on the continued involvement of the security forces in the conduct of elections where they committed acts of intimidation, violence and partisan harassment? What rule of law or independence of the judiciary is prevailing in Uganda where the state groomed and produced false witnesses in an attempt to convict Besigye on a politically-motivated rape case?

Dismissing the case, the trial judge Justice John Katusti said: "The evidence before this court is inadequate even to prove a debt, impotent to deprive of a civil right, ridiculous for convicting of the pettiest offence, scandalous if brought forward to support a charge of any grave character, monstrous if to ruin the honour of a man who offered himself as a candidate for the highest office of this country".

Or what rule of law or independence of the judiciary is prevailing in Uganda where the state ordered armed commandos to raid the High Court in what the Principal Judge Ogoola described as a "day of infamy" and where the senior Advisor to the President on military Affairs, Gen David Tinyefuza has declared that the army will not take any orders from the courts because when the army was fighting in the bush, the judges were hiding under their beds?

And what rule of law is prevailing in Uganda where Besigye is already serving 2-3 jail terms before conviction because he has to appear in court every week in a trial justice Vincent Kagaba has predicted may last several years?

And what fundamental human rights, including equal rights and opportunities for all citizens regardless of race, colour, creed or political belief is there in Uganda where 22 treason suspects have twice been given bail only to be rearrested by the state?

Or what fundamental human rights, including equal rights and opportunities for all, is there in Uganda where 1.8 million men, women and children have been packed in concentration camps for the last twenty years, and where the north and east or 33% of the country has been completely excluded from the political and economic life?

The common answer to all these questions is No, none.

If, in spite of this, the Commonwealth leaders were to come to Uganda, they will set a deadly precedent and deal the Commonwealth a credibility blow so severe that it may never recover. To start with, they would disqualify the Commonwealth from criticising any dictators for their poor records on democracy, human rights and the rule of law. They would also lend credibility to President Mugabe's claim that he was hounded out the Commonwealth, not because he breached the Commonwealth principles, but because he took away land from white framers.

That would make the Commonwealth look like a racist organisation. And that is why I say FDC is only defending the Commonwealth Harare Declarations.

The writer is FDC International Envoy to the UK and EU

Tanzania : Activists to sensitise public over nullification of takrima

April 26, 2006 Source : IPP Media By Andnetwork .com

The Legal and Human Rights Centre (LHRC), National Organization for Legal Assistance (NOLA) and Lawyers’s Environmental Action Team (LEAT) plan to launch several nationalwide mass sensitisation activities for popularising the judgement made by the High Court that declared provisions on takrima (traditional hospitality) null and void.

Speaking to journalists at a joint press conference held in Dar es Salaam yesterday, LHRC Executive Director, Helen Kijo Bisimba said mass mobilisation campaigns would start countrywide any time from now.

’’We, the three petitioners will soon launch several nationalwide mass sensitisation activities for popularising the High Court decision so that all Tanzanians should unequivocally understand the nature, content and implication of the said decision,’’ reads part of the joint statement issued by the three human rights groups.

Bisimba stated the three petitioners would translate the High Court judgement into Kiswahili for wider dissemination to the general citizenry and education to the public regarding the evils posed by the takrima practice.

’’The public is thus, besought to refrain from any act previously named takrima for furtherance of the victory against corruption in Tanzania,’’ part of the statement reads.

The petitioners, filed a Constitutional Petition in the High Court of Tanzania, challenging the constitutionality of section 119(2) and (3) of the National Elections Act (Act No. 1 of 1985), CAP 343 of the R.E 2002 which legitimise the giving of inducements by contestants in elections to voters in the name of traditional hospitality.

Petitioners argued the effect of such inducements placed well-off aspirants on an advantageous position to the detriment of less-wealth candidates.

’’The provisions are violative of the right of equality before the law and the right of citizens to participate in the governance of the United Republic of Tanzania, including equal participation in free and fair elections,’’ reads part of the statement.

Last Monday, the High Court, duly constituted (bench of three judges) Justices Natalia Kimaro, Thomas Mihayo and S. Massati delivered a unanimous decision in the three petitioners’ favour, declaring section 119 (2) and (3) ’’unnecessary’’, ’’very dangerous”, ’’discriminatory’’, does not pass the proportionality test, unconstitutional for being violative of Articles 13(1) and (2) and 21(1) and (2), hence null and void.

The High Court, exercising its discretionary powers, also declared section 130(a), (b), (c) and (d) of the National Elections Act, null and void for being redundant as a result of nullification of the challenged provisions.

’’This landmark decision made by the High Court, marks the end of the public debate on legitimacy of takrima by declaring the public debate unnecessary.

The decision places the duty on the law makers to take judicial notice of the Court’s decision,’’ part of the statement reads.

The three petitioners said the removal of takrima provides a renewed opportunity for less wealthy but qualified aspirants to vie in political elections without fear of being disadvantaged by the rich candidates.

’’The High Court decision gives a positive picture of democracy and the rule of law by assuring the right of equality before the law and the right of citizens to participate in the governance of the United Republic of Tanzania, including equal participation in free and fair elections,’’ the statement further reads.

Considering the points of objections raised earlier by the Respondent (Attorney General), namely that the petitioners lacked locus standi (right to sue) and had no cause of action, the High Court gave a clear position to the effect that legal persons have the right to sue in public interest litigations and dismissed in its entirety the objection regarding Petitioners’ cause of action.

The LEAT Executive Director, Tundu Lissu, explained legislators were at liberty to enjoy their constitutional right of lodging an appeal against last Monday’s judgement issued by the High Court.

’’We, the three human rights’ groups are ready for any appeal against the judgement. Our petition had a public interest that touched life of all Tanzanians,’’ Lissu stated.

In the meantime, all LHRC, LEAT and NOLA have jointly appreciated with gratitude the decision of the High Court of Tanzania, declaring the provisions in favour of takrima unconstitutional, hence null and void and ordering the same to be stuck off the laws of the land.

DRC: Security Council endorses EU force

NAIROBI, 26 April (IRIN) - The UN Security Council has passed a resolution endorsing the deployment of a European Union (EU) reserve force to serve in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) for a period ending four months after the date of the first round of upcoming general elections slated for later this year.

The Council passed the resolution on Tuesday, authorising the reserve force - to be known as Eufor R.D. Congo - to support United Nations troops seeking to stabilise the vast country and provide protection to civilians "under imminent threat of physical violence". It also authorised the EU force to deploy advance elements in preparation for its full operational capability.

The reserve force would also contribute to airport protection in the capital, Kinshasa, ensuring the security and free movement of its personnel and that of its installations; and the execution of limited operations to extract individuals in danger.

Under an agreement between the EU and the UN, the force would comprise advance troops concentrated in Kinshasa and others on standby outside the DRC. The French ambassador to the Security Council, Jean-Marc de la Sabliere, said part of the EU force would be based in Kinshasa while others would be in Gabon and Europe.

The UN Mission in the DRC, known as MONUC, has nearly 17,000 troops and international police officers deployed.

The decision to engage the EU reserve force in its assigned tasks will be taken by the European Union, upon a request by the UN Secretary-General or, in emergency cases, in consultation with MONUC, with MONUC providing the necessary logistical support to EU force on a cost-reimbursement basis.

At the same time, the Security Council called upon all Congolese parties to demonstrate their commitment to democracy by ensuring that the forthcoming general elections are free, fair, peaceful and transparent and would be held in accordance with the timetable of the country's Independent Electoral Commission.

The resolution follows an expression of concern by UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan about the possibility of violence occurring before, during or after the elections, which neither MONUC troops, nor those of the Congolese army would have the capacity to contain.

In December 2005, the UN Under-Secretary-General for Peacekeeping Operations, Jean-Marie Guéhenno, requested the EU to provide a reserve force that could be deployed to the DRC to support MONUC during the country's electoral process. At least 10 EU countries are expected to take part in the force, among them Belgium, France, Portugal, Spain, Sweden and Germany, EU officials said. The overall mission will be led from a German headquarters in Potsdam, with France commanding the ground forces.

The authorisation for the deployment of the EU troops will not exceed MONUC's term in the DRC mandate and would be subject, beyond 30 September 2006, to an extension of its own mandate.

The Congolese elections are supported by the largest and most expensive electoral assistance operation the UN has ever undertaken, in the hope that the process will cement the country's transition from years of bloody conflict, including a six-year civil war, during which at least four million people died and millions others displaced.

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UN authorizes EU force to help stabilize DR Congo during elections

UNITED NATIONS, April 25 (Xinhua) -- The UN Security Council passed unanimously a resolution on Tuesday to authorize a European Union (EU) mission to help provide security for the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC)'s first democratic elections in more than four decades this June.

French Ambassador to the UN Jean-Marc de La Sabliere said that Secretary-General Kofi Annan had asked the EU to supply troops to give any necessary support to the nearly 17,000 UN troops and international police already based there during the elections. The EU has agreed, although "we do not expect any problems," he added.

The 1,500-strong EU mission will be led by Germany, which is expected to dispatch some 500 soldiers. France will provide a similar number, with the remaining soldiers coming from other EU countries.

De La Sabliere said "a few hundred" of the mission will be based in the DRC capital Kinshasa, while the remainder will stay outside the country in Gabon, and some will be on stand-by in Europe.

Austrian UN Ambassador Gerhard Pfanzelter, whose country holds the EU presidency, said the resolution "marks a historic step for the relations between the EU and the UN."

"As partners for peace and stability, we are determined to support the Congolese people at this crucial juncture," he said in a statement.

The elections, set for June 18, will be the first in more than four decades in the turbulent central African nation since its independence from Belgian colonial rule in 1960. Voting has been delayed twice since the initial date last June due to poor planning and legislative problems.

The elections are being organized by a transitional government that was established in 2003 after peace agreements were reached to end DRC's 1998-2002 war. The conflict involved six nations and left nearly 4 million people dead. The country remains restive, especially in the eastern regions, where fighting among warlords continues.

The UN resolution authorizes the EU force to "take all necessary measures" to support UN peacekeepers in case the latter faces "serious difficulties." They will be deployed "for a period ending four months after the date of the first round of the presidential and parliamentary elections."

A deployment of the troops will be decided by the EU after a request by the secretary-general, or close consultation with the UN force during emergencies. Editor: Nie Peng

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