Monusco to stay longer in the Congo

Correspondent in Kinshasa, DRC

Nation Media Group

The UN peacekeeping mission in the Democratic Republic of Congo, known as Monusco will stay longer in the country, reflecting the continual challenge of insecurity.

The United Nations Security Council on Friday voted unanimously to renew Monusco's mandate for a further 12 months during which they should continue supporting local security agencies to protect civiliana

It means that the peacekeeping mission, which has been present in the DRC since 1999, will stay until December 20, 2025.

This extension comes at a time when Monusco's 14,000 soldiers and police officers had already begun their withdrawal from Congo, notably in South Kivu province, in the east of the DRC.

That withdrawal had come at the request of the Congolese authorities, who had asked for a rapid disengagement. However, they then retracted their request for a gradual withdrawal in view of the deteriorating security situation in Congo.

"This resolution supports the DRC's request for a more flexible and gradual approach to the withdrawal of Monusco. We hope to be able to examine the plans that have already been drawn up to do just that," said Linda Thomas-Greenfield, US Ambassador to the United Nations.

The Democratic Republic of the Congo has already expressed its expectations regarding Monusco's next mandate. Kinshasa wants the peacekeeping mission's new mandate to take account of the regional dimensions of the war.

In 2023, protest marches broke out in several towns in the DRC to demand the departure of the peacekeepers, who were criticized by protesters for not being offensive.

Read: Peacekeepers won’t leave DRC in December, says UN official

Monusco itself specifies the priorities of its new mandate, including "protection of civilians, disarmament, demobilization, stabilization and security sector reform".

The Security Council reiterates the peace mission's support for regional initiatives. At the Security Council meeting on Friday, members of this UN decision-making body expressed their concern about the security situation in Congo.

The DRC continues to suffer from cycles of conflict and persistent violence by local and foreign armed groups," reads the text of the resolution.

The Council is also concerned about persistent tensions between the DRC and Rwanda, which Kinshasa accuses of supporting the M23, a charge Kigali denies. Rwanda, in turn, accuses the DRC of allying itself with the FDLR to threaten peace in Rwanda.

The authorities in Kinshasa also reject this accusation. Currently, Rwanda and the DRC are engaged in a harmonized peace plan to reach a peace agreement. But the peace process is struggling to put these commitments into practice.