Nairobi, 5 February 2020 - Repatriation of disarmed foreign combatants and security dominated the agenda of the Technical Support Committee meeting of the forthcoming Regional Oversight Mechanism of the Peace, Security and Cooperation Framework for the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) and the Great Lakes region.

The 26^th meeting of the Technical Support Committee, held on 3-4 February 2020 in Nairobi, Kenya, reviewed progress made in the repatriation of illegal armed groups from the DRC, where they have established their bases. During the meeting, representatives of the Great Lakes women, youth, and civil society made presentations on the 2020-2021 action plan.

The Committee also reviewed the preparations for the Great Lakes Investment and Trade Conference scheduled to take place in Kigali, Rwanda, on 18-20 March this year, as well as progress on efforts to strengthen justice and good governance and to promote judicial cooperation.

On their second day, the members of the Technical Support Committee reviewed preparations for the 10^th meeting of the Regional Oversight Mechanism, which will be attended by Heads of State and Government in Kinshasa, DRC, on 24 February, and hosted by President Félix Tshisekedi.

The Special Envoy of the United Nations Secretary-General for the Great Lakes region, Huang Xia, co-chaired the Technical Support Committee meeting, and called on all stakeholders to redouble efforts to implement the Framework agreement.

The Guarantor institutions to the Framework agreement, namely the United Nations (UN), the African Union (AU), the International Conference on the Great Lakes Region (ICGLR), and the Southern African Development Community (SADC) are co-members of the Regional Oversight Mechanism.

The Peace, Security and Cooperation Framework agreement was signed by 13 countries in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, on 24 February 2013, with the aim to bring peace, security and stability in eastern DRC.