PSC/MIN/Comm.2(CLXIII) Page 1 COMMUNIQUE OF THE 163RD MEETING OF THE PEACE AND SECURITY COUNCIL The Peace and Security Council of the African Union (AU), at its 163rd meeting held at ministerial level, on 22 December 2008, adopted the following decision on the situation in the Eastern part of the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC): Council, 1. Takes note of the Report of the Chairperson of the Commission on the situation in the Eastern part of the Democratic Republic of Congo [PSC/MIN/Comm.2(CLXIII)] and the statements by the Special Envoy of the UN Secretary-General for DRC, Mr. Olusegun Obasanjo, former President of Nigeria, the representatives of the DRC, Kenya, in its capacity as the country chairing the International Conference on the Great Lakes Region, and the Executive Secretariat of that organization ; 2. Endorses the conclusions of the Extraordinary Summit of the Southern Africa Development Community (SADC) on DRC held in Ezulwini, Kingdom of Swaziland, on 20 October 2008, and in Sandton, South Africa, on 9 November 2008, the declaration adopted by the Summit of the Great Lakes Region, held in Nairobi on 7 November 2008, and the decisions adopted by the ministerial meeting of the countries of the region held in Nairobi on 20 December 2008; 3. Recalls the communiqué of its 155th meeting held on 31 October 2008, as well as the press statement of the Chairperson of the Commission of 28 October 2008; 4. Further recalls that the continued presence of the ex-Far/Interahamwe in Eastern DRC undermines stability in the region and strains relations between the DRC and Rwanda; 5. Recalls also the Nairobi communiqué of 9 November 2007 between the Governments of the DRC and Rwanda, as well as the Actes d’Engagment adopted by the Conference on Peace, Security, Stability and Development in the Kivus, held at Goma, North Kivu, from 6 to 23 January 2008; 6. Reiterates its deep concern at the prevailing security and humanitarian situation in Eastern DRC, particularly in North Kivu, since the resumption, on 28 August 2008, of fighting between the Armed Forces of the DRC (FARDC) and the National Congress for the Defence of the People (CNDP) of dissident General Laurent Nkunda; 7. Re-affirms its support to the institutions established after the general elections of 2006, as well as its commitment to the respect of the sovereignty and territorial integrity of the DRC and the authority of the Congolese Government over the entire national territory; 8. Strongly condemns the declaration made by the CNDP on 1st October 2008, calling for the overthrow of the Congolese Government and rejecting the AMANI programme, which is the consultation framework for the implementation of the Actes d’Engagement of Goma;