Communiqué of the Double Troika Summit of Heads of State and Government plus the Democratic Republic of Congo and the United Republic of Tanzania, Pretoria, South Africa, 15 September 2014
1. The Double Troika Summit of the Heads of State and Government (henceforth referred to as Summit) was held in Pretoria, Republic of South Africa on 15 September 2014.
2. Summit was attended by the following Heads of State and Government and/or their representatives:
H.E. President Jacob Gedleyihlekisa Zuma South Africa;
H.E. President Robert Gabriel Mugabe Zimbabwe;
H.E. President Lt. Gen. Seretse Khama Ian Khama Botswana;
Rt. Hon. Prime Minister Thomas M. Thabane Lesotho;
Rt. Hon. Vice President Saulos K. Chilima Malawi;
Hon. Minister Raymond Tshibanda DRC;
Hon. Minister Netumbo Nandi-Ndaitwah Namibia; and
Hon. Minister Bernard C. Membe Tanzania
3. Summit was also attended by Her Excellency Dr Stergomena Lawrence Tax, SADC Executive Secretary.
4. H.E. Jacob Zuma , President of the Republic of South Africa and Chairperson of the Organ on Politics, Defence and Security Cooperation, welcomed the SADC Heads of State and Government and other delegates to the Republic of South Africa.
5. Summit considered the security and political situation in the Region with particular reference to the Kingdom of Lesotho and the Democratic Republic of Congo.
6. Summit recalled that the 34th SADC Summit of Heads of State and Government held on 17-18 August 2014 in Victoria Falls, Zimbabwe, urged the leaders of the Coalition Government and political stakeholders in Lesotho to resolve the political challenges in accordance with the constitution, laws of the land and with the Democratic principles
7. Summit urged the Leaders of the Coalition Government in Lesotho to uphold their commitments towards restoration of constitutional normalcy in the Kingdom. In this regard, the Summit noted that the Leaders of the Coalition Government have agreed to bring forward the date of the elections from 2017 to the date to be agreed upon after consultations between the coalition leaders of the coalition Government and other political stakeholders.
8. Summit urged the leaders of the Coalition Government to work together to implement the Windhoek and Pretoria declarations as a matter of urgency in particular the lifting of Parliament prorogation within the agreed time, during which focus should be placed in preparing the brought forward elections. To this effect the Coalition Government will work together with the Facilitator in addressing all political and security challenges in preparation for the brought forward elections.
9. Summit mandated the Deputy President of the Republic of South Africa, Hon. Cyril Ramaphosa, supported by the Secretariat and a team of experts from Troika Member States, to act as SADC Facilitator to the Kingdom of Lesotho with clear Terms of Reference (ToRs) to facilitate the restoration of political and security stability in the Kingdom of Lesotho, in the short and long term.
10. Summit commended the MCO Troika plus Zimbabwe in their efforts to restore peace and constitutional normalcy in the Kingdom of Lesotho;
11. Summit mandated the SADC Organ Troika plus Zimbabwe to urgently deploy the full SADC Politics, Defence and Security observation mission in Lesotho for a period of three months, after which it could be reviewed to ensure peace and stability within the Defence and Security establishments.
12. Summit commended all Member States that have deployed or pledged to deploy officers in Lesotho.
13. On the Democratic Republic of Congo, Summit urged FDLR to commit to the time lines as provided by the Joint ICGLR/SADC Ministerial Meeting of 2 July 2014 in Luanda, Angola and endorsed by the ICGLR Mini-Summit held on 14 August 2014 in Luanda, Angola and the 34th SADC Summit on 17-18 August 2014 in Victoria Falls, Zimbabwe.
14. Summit appealed to the international community to put pressure on the companies dealing with illegally mined minerals from DRC to stop doing so with immediate effect and transit countries to respect their commitments as contained in the Peace, Security and Cooperation Framework on DRC and the Great Lakes Region.
15. Summit reiterated the SADC position on the role of the UN Agencies in providing logistics and security to those FDLR who have voluntarily disarmed and are being relocated to Kisangani transit camp.
16. Summit directed the Secretariat to facilitate the Organ Troika Senior Officials Mission, with a strong and clear message to the leadership of the FDLR on the inevitability of military action for non-compliance and urge them to unblock the process of voluntary disarmament, and report back to the MCO Troika at its next meeting;
17. Summit urged the International Community, the United Nations and its Agencies to initiate a resettlement programme in countries outside the Great Lakes Region to accommodate those FDLR elements who have voluntarily disarmed but unwilling or not allowed to repatriate to Rwanda.
18. Summit expressed its appreciation to the Government and people of South Africa for hosting the Double Troika Extraordinary Summit and for the warm hospitality extended to all the delegates.
DONE AT PRETORIA, SOUTH AFRICA
15 SEPTEMBER 2014
Source: www.dfa.gov.za
