{{Campaignbox Conflicts in Congo The Sun City Agreement was an agreement that was signed between some of the warring parties in the Second Congo War on 2 April 2003 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 KStJ (; born 18 June 1942) is a South African politician who was the second president of South Africa from 14 June 1999 to 24 September 2008, when he resigned at the request of his party, the African National Congress (ANC ...

as well as the heads of state of

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and

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. 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, 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 who served as President of the Democratic Republic of the Congo between January 2001 and January 2019. He took office ten days after the assassination of his father, Pres ...

to remain president of the

Democratic Republic of the Congo The Democratic Republic of the Congo (french: République démocratique du Congo (RDC), colloquially "La RDC" ), informally Congo-Kinshasa, DR Congo, the DRC, the DROC, or the Congo, and formerly and also colloquially Zaire, is a country in ...

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

Jean-Pierre Bemba Jean-Pierre Bemba Gombo (born 4 November 1962) is a politician in the Democratic Republic of the Congo. He was one of four vice-presidents in the transitional government of the Democratic Republic of the Congo from 17 July 2003 to December 2 ...

(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 (from Old French ''armee'', itself derived from the Latin verb ''armāre'', meaning "to arm", and related to the Latin noun ''arma'', meaning "arms" or "weapons"), ground force or land force is a fighting force that fights primarily on ...

and

police The police are a constituted body of persons empowered by a state, with the aim to enforce the law, to ensure the safety, health and possessions of citizens, and to prevent crime and civil disorder. Their lawful powers include arrest and th ...

. 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 Second Congo War).

External links

Inter-Congolese Negotiations: The Final Act (Sun City Agreement)
UN Peacemaker Database History of the Democratic Republic of the Congo Politics of the Democratic Republic of the Congo 2002 in the Democratic Republic of the Congo Treaties concluded in 2002 Treaties of the Democratic Republic of the Congo Moses Kotane Local Municipality Second Congo War