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KINSHASA, 21 May 2003 (IRIN) - The executive-director of the UN Organisation for Women, UNIFEM, Noeleen Heyzer, appealed to President Joseph Kabila of the Democratic Republic of the Congo on Wednesday to include women in the country’s transition process. She made the appeal during an hour-long meeting with Kabila in Kinshasa. She said that during a three-day visit to the DRC, Congolese women had made clear to her that they expected to play an important role in the reconstruction of communities and of the country. None of the country’s four vice-presidents nominated by rebel groups and the unarmed political opposition to serve in the transition period is a woman. "We discussed with President Kabila the possibilities of reinforcing and including women in the decision-making mechanism and in managing the transition," she told a news conference in Kinshasa, the capital.