United Nations

 NEW YORK, 18 August (UN Headquarters) -- The following statement was issued today by the Office of the Spokesman for Secretary-General Kofi Annan:

 The Secretary-General has decided to appoint General Abdulsalami Abubakar of Nigeria as a Special Envoy dealing with the Democratic Republic of the Congo.  The Secretary-General intends to send his Special Envoy to the subregion within the next few days to make clear once more the position of the Security Council and the role of the United Nations Organization Mission to the Democratic Republic of the Congo (MONUC).

 General Abubakar the former Head of State of Nigeria will be mandated to discuss with the Government of the Democratic Republic of the Congo issues pertaining to the Lusaka Agreement and relevant Security Council resolutions.  These issues include a cessation of hostilities; the granting of full freedom of movement to MONUC; and full participation in the inter-Congolese dialogue and cooperation with the facilitation process.  The Special Envoy has also been requested to take up the issue of an apparent propaganda campaign that has been conducted against MONUC and its staff.

 General Abubakar is also expected to visit Lusaka for consultations with President Frederick Chiluba, and Addis Ababa for consultations with Organization of Africa Unity (OAU) Secretary-General Salim A. Salim.