SADC heads of state meet in Zimbabwe over Eastern DRC crisis

The Southern African Development Community (SADC) will convene an Extraordinary Summit of Heads of State and Government on November 20, 2024, in Harare, Zimbabwe, to review the security situation in the region, with particular focus on the ongoing conflict in the eastern Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC).

In a statement, SADC said the summit will be chaired by Zimbabwean President and current SADC Chairperson, Emmerson Dambudzo Mnangagwa.

The leaders are expected to receive an update on the progress of the SADC Mission in the DRC (SAMIDRC), which was deployed on December 15, 2023, for a one-year mandate.

"The mission aims to address the security challenges in the eastern DRC and to restore peace, security, and stability in the region, creating a foundation for long-term development," reads the statement.

The Extraordinary Summit will be preceded by the SADC Organ Troika Summit, chaired by Tanzanian President and Chairperson of the SADC Organ on Politics, Defence, and Security Cooperation, Samia Suluhu Hassan.

Prior to the Summit, meetings will be held by SADC Senior Officials, the Ministerial Committee of the Organ on Politics, Defence, and Security Cooperation, as well as the SADC Council and Council of Ministers.

The four-day event will be held at the newly constructed Parliament building in Mt Hampden, the same venue as the 44th SADC Summit in August.

Ministers and senior officials from SADC member states began arriving in Harare on Saturday to register for the event. The summit will kick off with a meeting of senior officials from the Ministerial Committee of the Organ, scheduled for Sunday morning.

This will be followed by a session of the Ministerial Committee on the SADC Organ on Politics, Defence, and Security Cooperation, both of which will be chaired by Tanzania.

On Monday, the Standing Committee of Senior Officials and the Finance Committee will meet under the chairmanship of Zimbabwe’s Permanent Secretary in the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Ambassador Albert Chimbindi. Later, Zimbabwe will also chair the SADC Council of Ministers meeting.

On Tuesday, senior officials of the Organ Troika will gather, followed by a meeting of the Ministerial Committee of the Organ Troika, both of which will be chaired by Tanzania.

The SADC Organ Troika Summit will take place on Wednesday morning, with the Heads of State and Government Summit scheduled for the afternoon to review recommendations from the committee sessions.

The ongoing conflict in North Kivu province has caused over 1,000 deaths and displaced more than six million people, making it Africa’s most severe displacement crisis.

SADC leaders are expected to assess the impact of the regional mission and discuss the possibility of extending or adjusting its mandate.

In addition to the DRC conflict, the summit will also review the results of the recent elections in Mozambique, where Daniel Chapo of FRELIMO won the presidency on October 9.

The summit will also discuss Botswana’s October 30 elections, in which the opposition Umbrella for Democratic Change (UDC) took power.

Further, Namibia’s upcoming elections, set for November 27, will be on the agenda.

The main objectives of SADC are to achieve development, peace and security, and economic growth, to alleviate poverty, enhance the standard and quality of life of the peoples of Southern Africa, and support the socially disadvantaged through regional integration, built on democratic principles and equitable and sustainable development.