Nairobi, 13 April 2023 - The 33^rd meeting of the Technical Support Committee of the Peace, Security and Cooperation (PSC) Framework agreement for the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) and the Great Lakes region took place in Nairobi, Kenya, on 12 – 13 April 2023.

The meeting was co-chaired by Huang Xia, United Nations Special Envoy for the Great Lakes region and Sghair Ould M’Barek, High Representative of the African Union for the Great Lakes region. The International Conference on the Great Lakes Region (ICGLR) was represented by the Deputy Executive Secretary, Ambassador Yasir Mohamed. The Southern African Development Community was represented by the Senior Officer of the Defence and Planning Unit, Col. Abudu Mwaya. The Deputy Special Representative of the Secretary-General of the United Nations Organization Stabilization Mission in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (MONUSCO) for Protection and Operations, Khassim Diagne, and the Special Representative of the African Union Commission President in the DRC, Michelle Ndiaye, also participated in the meeting. The meeting was attended by the Representatives of the following signatory countries: Angola, Burundi, the Republic of Congo, the Democratic Republic of Congo, Kenya, Rwanda, South Africa, the Sudan, Tanzania, Uganda, and Zambia.

In their opening remarks, the representatives of the Guarantor Institutions of the PSC  Framework highlighted the timely context of the meeting. They also expressed concern about the deterioration of the security and humanitarian situation in eastern DRC and its regional implications, amidst continuing worrying trends of heightened diplomatic tensions. They also welcomed the ongoing peace efforts by leaders of the region.

The UN Special Envoy for the Great Lakes region called for the intensification of efforts so that ongoing regional processes could bear fruit by prioritizing dialogue and de-escalating tensions. He further reiterated the importance of the efforts undertaken by the Operational Cell of the Contact and Coordination Group on non-military measures for the eradication of armed groups in the region. The delegates reaffirmed that this year’s marking of the 10th anniversary of the signing of the PSC Framework provides a timely opportunity to reflect on the achievements and key challenges as well as to explore avenues to strengthen the PSC Framework moving forward. The Technical Support Committee meeting provided an avenue to build up to the 11^th high-level meeting of the Regional Oversight Mechanism of the PSC Framework which will be held in Bujumbura on 6 May. It will be preceded by the 34^th Technical Support Committee meeting and the meeting of the Ministers of Foreign Affairs of the signatory countries of the PSC Framework.