A joint mission of the African Union (AU) and the United Nations has ended its visit to the Central African Republic, vowing "to act and ensure the eradication of the Lord's Resistance Army (LRA)." The "urgent need to finish LRA" was voiced by the head of the UN Regional Bureau for Central Africa (UNOCA), Abou Moussa, and the AU special envoy on the issue of LRA, Francisco Madeira.

In a press statement following a briefing by Roger Meece, the Special Representative of the Secretary-General for DRC on the preparations for next month's elections, the Council emphasized the importance of free and constructive political debate, freedom of expression and assembly, equal access to all media and the safety for all candidates.

President Joseph Kabila told the UN General Assembly on Thursday that the Democratic Republic of Congo was going through a pivotal moment in its history with the organization of its second democratic elections, after those of 2006, and the return of peace all throughout the country.

A judge in North Kivu province sentenced a UN driver and his accomplice on Wednesday to three years in prison and a US$ 25,000 fine for trying to smuggle minerals to Rwanda. There have been other cases of UN peacekeepers involved in gold smuggling and even accused of providing weapons to rebels in eastern Congo.

A United Nations employee was arrested in North Kivu province Sunday night while attempting to smuggle over one ton of tin ore to neighboring Rwanda, Congolese officials said on Monday.

“There has been significant progress regarding the security situation in recent years in eastern DRC,” said Roger Meece, the Secretary-General’s Special Representative and head of the UN Organization Stabilization Mission in the DRC (MONUSCO), in a briefing to the Council.

The Security Council today called for urgent steps to strengthen institutions in the Democratic Republic of the Congo and called on the Government to ensure that general elections slated for late this year are inclusive, transparent and peaceful.

The United Nations has released the names of some of the victims of Monday’s plane crash in Kinshasa that killed all but one of the 33 people aboard a UN aircraft. UN officials, working with Congolese counterparts, said they have been able to identify all the bodies and are in the process of notifying the victims’ next of kin.

A UN plane crashed on Monday at Kinshasa N'djili airport. According to preliminary reports, the plane was carrying 29 passengers, including United Nations Mission Stabilization Mission in the Democratic Republic of Congo (MONUSCO) staff members and peacekeepers, and three crew members. At least 26 people are reported to have died.

The military operation codenamed "Umbrella" and other joint special operations against Ugandan LRA rebels have significantly reduced their freedom of action and maneuvering space in Orientale Province, the military spokesman for the United Nations Organization Stabilization Mission in the DRC, Lt-Colonel Mamadou Gaye, said on Wednesday during a press briefing in Kinshasa.