STORY: Regional peace mediator calls for dialogue to end crisis in eastern DRC
SHOOTING DATE: Feb. 6, 2025
DATELINE: Feb. 7, 2025
LENGTH: 00:01:32
LOCATION: Nairobi
CATEGORY: POLITICS

SHOTLIST:
1. various of the press conference
2. SOUNDBITE 1 (English): KANZE DENA, Facilitator of the East African Community (EAC)-led Nairobi Process
3. various of the venue 
3. SOUNDBITE 2 (English): KANZE DENA, Facilitator of the East African Community (EAC)-led Nairobi Process

STORYLINE:

The security and humanitarian crisis in the eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) can only be resolved through dialogue, a regional peace mediator said Thursday.
   
Kanze Dena, the spokesperson of Kenyan former President Uhuru Kenyatta who is also the facilitator of the East African Community (EAC)-led Nairobi Process, said that the Luanda Process, a peace initiative launched in 2022 and endorsed by the African Union, and the Nairobi Process hold the greatest promise for a resolution and termination of the crisis in the eastern DRC.

SOUNDBITE 1 (English): KANZE DENA, Facilitator of the East African Community (EAC)-led Nairobi Process
"The recent resurgence of hostilities highlights the urgent need for renewed political will, regional cooperation, and sustained support for peace efforts to avoid further deterioration of the security situation in DRC. The facilitator is of the strong opinion and belief that the two processes of Luanda and Nairobi hold the greatest promise for a resolution and termination of the crisis in the eastern DRC. The two processes are complementary and interdependent. It is only through the close coordination of the bilateral negotiations between Rwanda and DRC and the inter-Congolese dialogue and conferencing that this crisis can be brought to a fruitful conclusion."

The Nairobi Process was structured around political dialogue which involved political factions as well as military intervention through the deployment of the East African Community Regional Force to provide peacekeeping support.
   
Dena noted that it is only through the close coordination of the bilateral negotiations between Rwanda and DRC and the Inter-Congolese Dialogue and Conferencing Process that the ongoing crisis can be brought to a fruitful conclusion.

SOUNDBITE 2 (English): KANZE DENA, Facilitator of the East African Community (EAC)-led Nairobi Process
"There is an African solution to this African problem, and it is predicated on bringing both DRC and Rwanda back to the negotiating table, while at the same time ensuring that the internal dynamics of the people and the politics in the eastern DRC are managed and directed to a peace and reconciliation through the intra-Congolese dialogue process."

Leaders from the Southern African Development Community (SADC) and the East Africa Community (EAC) are due to hold a joint summit in Tanzania on Friday and Saturday to discuss the situation in the eastern DRC.

Xinhua News Agency correspondents reporting from Nairobi.
(XHTV)