PSC/PR/COMM/1.(CDXXXVI) Page 1 COMMUNIQUÉ The Peace and Security Council of the African Union (AU), at its 436th meeting held on 23 May 2014, adopted the following decision on the Regional Cooperation Initiative for the Elimination of the Lord's Resistance Army (RCI-LRA): Council, 1. Takes note of the report of the Chairperson of the Commission on the implementation of the Regional Cooperation Initiative for the Elimination of the Lord's Resistance Army [PSC/PR/2.(CDXXXVI)]; 2. Welcomes the progress made by the RCI-LRA in the implementation of its mandate, in spite of the numerous challenges being encountered. In particular, Council notes with satisfaction the decrease in the number of attacks, killings and abductions carried out by the LRA, the neutralization of key LRA commanders and the relative improvement of the humanitarian situation in the affected areas; 3. Commends the Special Envoy for the LRA Issue, Francisco Madeira, and the Commander of the Regional Task Force (RTF) of the RCI-LRA, Brigadier General Samuel Kavuma, as well as the different RTF contingents, for their relentless efforts and steady progress towards the elimination of the LRA; 4. Expresses appreciation at the close cooperation between the AU Special Envoy for the LRA issue, and the outgoing Special Representative of the United Nations (UN) Secretary-General for Central Africa, Abou Moussa, which made it possible to sustain the commitment of the member countries of the RCI-LRA and strengthen their collaboration within the framework of the Initiative, as well as to maintain the mobilization of the international community, and looks forward to continued close collaboration with the new UN Special Representative for Central Africa, Abdoulaye Bathily; 5. Expresses gratitude to the European Union (EU), for the its continued financial support to the RCI-LRA, and to the United States of America for its logistical, technical and operational support to the RTF. Council also expresses gratitude to the UN, as well as to Luxemburg, for their assistance. Council notes with satisfaction the contribution of a number of other stakeholders, including non-governmental organizations, to the efforts aimed at neutralizing the LRA; 6. Notes that, in spite of the progress made, the LRA continues to operate in the Central African Republic (CAR) and the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC). Council also notes with concern that the situation in the CAR and the conflict in South Sudan have impacted negatively on the operations of the RTF and created opportunities that the LRA is trying to exploit to reorganize and resume large-scale attacks against civilians; 7. Welcomes the conclusions of the 4th meeting of the Joint Coordination Mechanism (JCM) held in Addis Ababa on 25 March 2014. In this respect, Council urges the member countries of the RCI-LRA to provide enhanced support to their contingents, appeals to