A Vietnamese diplomat underlined theimportance of civilian protection while calling upon all partiesconcerned to make further efforts to promote the peace process in theDemocratic Republic of Congo (DRC) and the Great Lakes region.

Speaking at the UN Security Council meeting on the situation of theGreat Lake regions in New York on Nov. 9, Vietnamese deputyrepresentative to the UNSC Ambassador Hoang Chi Trung expressed hisconcern about the threats posed by armed groups to the stabilisation ofthe DRC and the Great Lakes region.

The ambassador called for a more effective cooperation between the UNMission in the DRC (MONUC) and the UN Missions in the sub-region,including the UN Mission in the Central African Republic and Chad(MINURCAT) and the UN Missions in Sudan (UNMIS) to ensure theeffectiveness of the implementation of their mandate, especially incivilian protection.

The Vietnamese representative highlighted the contribution made by theSpecial Envoy of the UN Secretary General, Obasanjo, to expediting theimplementation of the March 23 Agreements and the recent improvement inthe DRC-Rwanda relations.

He said Vietnam supports a comprehensive approach to the Great Lakesregion which attaches adequate importance to both securityconsolidation and socio-economic development.

“We hold that military measures alone are not enough, and that only bypromoting development in the area can the international communityresolve the root causes of the conflicts in the Great Lakes region. Inthis connection, we reiterate our full support for the implementationof the UN Security and stabilisation support strategy in the region,”said the Vietnamese diplomat./.