I thank the briefers for their valuable review.
The Covid-19 pandemic continues to negatively affect the region. Regrettably, a series of recent security incidents in the Democratic Republic of the Congo in no way improve the situation. Socio-economic instability, human rights violations and abuses, as well as conflicts with the involvement of armed groups are of great concern. The pandemic had a devastating impact on women and youth. We are concerned that the armed groups continued to use sexual and gender-based violence as a weapon of war.
I would like to underline that the rule of law and accountability for human rights violations are critical for the prevention of abuses. We learned about recent court rulings in the region against perpetrators of serious crimes. We also learned about the acquitance of journalists. These positive developments provide prospects for the people in the region in the fight against impunity, and also bring the Nairobi Declaration on Justice and Good Governance closer to the implementation.
Mr President, we would like to recall that the peaceful political and electoral processes are of high importance for the stability in the region. Accordingly, we call upon all stakeholders to ensure that upcoming elections in some countries of the region remain peaceful, free and credible. I take this opportunity to underline the importance of the full, equal and meaningful participation of women in all political processes and welcome the steps taken in this regard.
The greater cooperation and economic integration of the countries in the region is vital to peace and development. Therefore, we are pleased to see improvements in bilateral and multilateral relations of some countries in the region. In particular, we note the commitments to address common threats such as the health crisis, forced displacement, cross-border security and violations of armed groups, and illegal exploitation of natural resources. These positive developments would support the implementation of the UN Strategy for Peace Consolidation, Conflict Prevention and Conflict Resolution in the Great Lakes region and trigger its action plan.
Finally, I wish to thank Special Envoy for your leadership and tireless efforts to contribute the implementation of the Peace, Security and Cooperation Framework and to overcome the instability in the region.