The Sun City Agreement was an agreement signed between some of the warring parties in the

Second Congo War The Second Congo War, also known as Africa's World War or the Great War of Africa, was a major conflict that began on 2 August 1998, in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, just over a year after the First Congo War. The war initially erupted ...

on 2 April 2002 at the luxury

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n casino resort of Sun City, as a result of the Inter-Congolese dialogue (ICD). Delegates hoped that this would be a historic "final act", ending more than four years of war and setting up a government of national unity. The agreement was witnessed by South African President

Thabo Mbeki Thabo Mvuyelwa Mbeki (; born 18 June 1942) is a South African politician who served as the 2nd democratic president of South Africa from 14 June 1999 to 24 September 2008, when he resigned at the request of his party, the African National Cong ...

as well as the heads of state of

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Namibia Namibia, officially the Republic of Namibia, is a country on the west coast of Southern Africa. Its borders include the Atlantic Ocean to the west, Angola and Zambia to the north, Botswana to the east and South Africa to the south; in the no ...

Zambia Zambia, officially the Republic of Zambia, is a landlocked country at the crossroads of Central Africa, Central, Southern Africa, Southern and East Africa. It is typically referred to being in South-Central Africa or Southern Africa. It is bor ...

and

Zimbabwe file:Zimbabwe, relief map.jpg, upright=1.22, Zimbabwe, relief map Zimbabwe, officially the Republic of Zimbabwe, is a landlocked country in Southeast Africa, between the Zambezi and Limpopo Rivers, bordered by South Africa to the south, Bots ...

. In his speech during the meeting, Mbeki praised the delegates who had spent 19 months involved in the ICD negotiations.

Participants

The partial agreement was reached between the government, the Ugandan-backed ''Mouvement de liberation du Congo'' (MLC) armed opposition group and a majority of civil society and unarmed political opposition groups. Unfortunately, the parties were not able to establish a new constitution and government, despite repeated attempts. However, another armed opposition movement, the ''Rassemblement congolais pour la democratie'' ( RCD-Goma), backed by

Rwanda Rwanda, officially the Republic of Rwanda, is a landlocked country in the Great Rift Valley of East Africa, where the African Great Lakes region and Southeast Africa converge. Located a few degrees south of the Equator, Rwanda is bordered by ...

, along with several parties of the unarmed political opposition including the ''Union pour la Democratie et le Progres Social'' (UDPS) of the veteran Congolese politician and former prime minister, Etienne Tshisekedi refused to sign the accord, which led to concerns about a return to violence.

Treaty terms

The agreement laid down a framework for providing the Congo with a unified, multi-party government and a timeline for democratic elections. Among other stipulations, the agreement allowed

Joseph Kabila Joseph Kabila Kabange ( , ; born 4 June 1971) is a Congolese politician and former military officer who served as the fourth President of the Democratic Republic of the Congo from 2001 to 2019. He took office ten days after the assassination o ...

to remain president of the

Democratic Republic of the Congo The Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), also known as the DR Congo, Congo-Kinshasa, or simply the Congo (the last ambiguously also referring to the neighbouring Republic of the Congo), is a country in Central Africa. By land area, it is t ...

during a transition period of two years, extendable to three, with

Jean-Pierre Bemba Jean-Pierre Bemba Gombo (born 4 November 1962) is a Congolese politician and former rebel leader. He currently serves as the Deputy Prime Minister of Ministry of Transport and Channels of Communication, Transportation and Channels of Communicat ...

(the leader of the MLC) serving as prime minister in a transitional government. It was further stipulated that Kabila would share power with four vice-presidents - one from each of the two main armed opposition movements, one from the government and one from the unarmed political opposition. Ministries would be divided up and former opposition fighters would be integrated into the

army An army, ground force or land force is an armed force that fights primarily on land. In the broadest sense, it is the land-based military branch, service branch or armed service of a nation or country. It may also include aviation assets by ...

and

police The police are Law enforcement organization, a constituted body of Law enforcement officer, people empowered by a State (polity), state with the aim of Law enforcement, enforcing the law and protecting the Public order policing, public order ...

. After the conclusion of the accord, critics noted that there were no stipulations regarding the unification of the army, which weakened the effectiveness of the agreement. There were several reported breaches of the agreement, but initially it resulted in a reduction in the fighting. There was also criticism that the delegates were not provided with a complete dossier of documentation at the end of the agreement (such as minutes of meetings, commission reports and resolutions), which hindered informed debate in the Congo. It was also felt that the principles which guided the formation of the follow-up organs of the Sun City Agreement were not clear. The Sun City Agreement did not stop the conflict, as shown by subsequent events (see

). During the agreement, the delegates considered giving the country of the Democratic Republic of the Congo away to the Kingdom of Belgium in exchange for humanitarian aid and sending an intervention force to help the central government fight the Rwandan/Ugandan backed Congolese rebels.

References

External links