The Parliament Speaker, Carolina Cerqueira, asked the Angolan Armed Forces (FAA) for discipline and a high sense of mission, guided by the defence of fundamental rights and safety of civilian populations.
In a message on the occasion of the approval of the request made by the President of the Republic to send a military contingent of peace operations in the eastern region of the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), Carolina Cerqueira called for the protection and preservation of the rights of children, girls and women victims of the conflict, who daily are the target of inhuman abuse and heinous sexual crimes.
“We praise the readiness of the FAA contingent, 25% of which is made up of women, which strongly demonstrates the involvement of Angolan women in the peacekeeping process and the defence of fundamental rights, as recommended by the United Nations”, she said.
Carolina Cerqueira also said that the current situation of the conflict and the continued crimes against defenceless civilian populations – which have already caused more than 10 million victims, according to a report recently presented at the 146th Assembly of the Inter-Parliamentary Union held in the Kingdom of Bahrain – requires a solidarity reaction from neighbouring states.
“Angola could not be indifferent to the urgent need for the demilitarization of the M23 forces for the reestablishment of effective peace and security in eastern DRC, Central Africa and the African continent in general”, she said.
This intervention, according to the official, represents, more than ever, a necessary path for the preservation of peace and stability of the peoples of the region, in order not to postpone the purposes of a better future for the African continent.
The request for authorization from the President of the Republic, as Commander in Chief of the Angolan Armed Forces (FAA), on sending a military contingent of the Component of Support Operations and Peacekeeping in the eastern DRC, aims to ensure the process of cantonment of the military forces of M23, in eastern DRC.
The objective of the Angolan mission will be to adopt the joint general plan for the resolution of the crisis in eastern DRC, accelerate the effective implementation of the Luanda roadmap, in coordination with the Nairobi process, for the promotion of security in Eastern DRC and the normalization of political and diplomatic relations with the Republic of Rwanda.
The Angolan contingent, which according to the work commissions should remain in that country for 12 months, will consist of a battalion of FAA and their components, as well as financial means valued at 11.2 billion kwanzas, which should be reallocated within the budget of the Defence and Security sector.
Source: Angola Press News Agency (APNA)