President Obama Calls DRC’s President Joseph Kabila

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THE WHITE HOUSE
Office of the Press Secretary
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
March 31, 2015

Readout of the President’s Call with President Joseph Kabila of the Democratic Republic of the Congo

President Obama spoke today with President Joseph Kabila of the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC). The President emphasized the importance of timely, credible, and peaceful elections that respect the DRC’s constitution and protect the rights of all DRC citizens. The President noted that President Kabila’s legacy as a leader who brought the DRC out of war and set it on a path of continued democratic progress would be consolidated by free and fair elections in 2016. President Obama assured President Kabila that the United States would remain engaged in the DRC throughout the electoral process, including through the appointment of a new U.S. Special Envoy to the African Great Lakes Region and the DRC. The two leaders reaffirmed their shared commitment to ending the threat of armed groups, particularly the Democratic Forces for the Liberation of Rwanda (FDLR). The President encouraged cooperation between the Armed Forces of the DRC and the UN Organization Stabilization Mission in the DRC in operations against the FDLR. President Obama also discussed with President Kabila the pending adoptions in the DRC by American families and urged a timely resolution to this situation.

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