STATEMENT BY BINTOU KEITA, SPECIAL REREPRESENTATIVE OF THE SECRETARY-GENERAL
SECURITY COUNCIL BRIEFING on MONUSCO
New York
20 FEBRUARY 2023
I am grateful for this opportunity to brief the Security Council on the deeply worrisome situation around Sake and Goma in North Kivu province, where hostilities between the Mouvement du 23 mars (M-23) and the Congolese forces have escalated dramatically since the expiration of the ceasefire on 28 December 2023. Since 28 January, fighting between the M-23 and the Armed Forces of the Democratic Republic of the Congo (FARDC) has intensified in several areas, and the M-23 has expanded further south, leading to further displacement of populations towards Goma and South Kivu. On 12 February, the M-23 offensives caused the Congolese armed forces, the FARDC, to reposition themselves east of Sake town. Despite coming under fire and being targeted, the United Nations Organization Stabilization Mission in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (MONUSCO) maintained its defensive positions west of Sake. As I speak, the town of Sake remains under FARDC control, with MONUSCO’s support.
The fighting has compounded an already dire humanitarian situation. During the 12 February hostilities, two internally displaced persons’ sites came under indirect fire. Three children, one woman and one man were killed, while many others were injured or newly displaced. Conditions in the severely overcrowded displacement sites in and around Goma are desperate. More than 400,000 displaced people have now sought refuge in the city, including 65,000 in the past two weeks, triggering a dramatic increase in cases of cholera due to a lack of safe drinking water, adequate hygiene and sanitation. The restricted access to territories controlled by the M-23 is isolating Goma from inland territories and disrupting food-production supply chains. Prices of basic commodities in Goma are rising, increasing the risk of public unrest. In that challenging context, violent incidents targeting humanitarian actors increased significantly during the last quarter of 2023. Despite those challenges, humanitarian partners remain determined to stay and deliver.
The redeployment of the FARDC to the front where the M-23 is situated has exacerbated the security vacuum in other territories of North Kivu, notably Beni, Lubero and Walikale, and has drawn in new combatants, notably from South Kivu. Armed groups, such as the Allied Democratic Forces (ADF), Mayi- Mayi groups and Nyatura factions and the Forces démocratiques de libération du Rwanda (FDLR), are the direct beneficiaries of this concentration of forces, and are increasingly committing human rights violations and abuses, including summary executions, injury, abductions, the appropriation or destruction of property, forced displacement, illegal taxation and conflict-related sexual violence. It is important to point out that the FDLR remain among the worst perpetrators of conflict-related sexual violence.
I am deeply concerned about the serious violations and abuses of international human rights and international humanitarian law being committed in the areas under the control of the M-23, which is targeting civil society actors, particularly human rights defenders and journalists. The number of human rights abuses it has committed continues to rise, with at least 150 civilians killed since hostilities were resumed in November 2023, including 77 deaths in January. Furthermore, the M-23 has continued to force internally displaced persons to return to villages in areas under its control, taking over civilian dwellings and storing ammunition in them. In addition, we have documented patterns of forced recruitment, including of children in Masisi and Rutshuru territories.
MONUSCO continues to be confronted with waves of misinformation and disinformation concerning its role in the ongoing clashes. Online campaigns targeting the Mission have been carried out by Internet accounts that are mainly located outside the Democratic Republic of the Congo. That has resulted in hostile acts against United Nations peacekeepers and restrictions on their movement imposed by local armed groups and Government soldiers. In that highly charged context, violent protests against United Nations personnel and assets and the diplomatic community erupted in Kinshasa on 10 February, fuelled by a perception of the international community’s inaction and ineffectiveness regarding the situation in the eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo. In the course of one day in Kinshasa alone, United Nations agencies, funds and programmes and MONUSCO were targeted in 11 incidents, affecting a total of 32 United Nations staff members who had to be either extracted or rescued by quick-response teams. Besides that, two United Nations vehicles were burned and eight severely damaged by stoning. Following those incidents, I decided to restrict the staff’s movements and called for remote working arrangements. After action was taken by the Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Interior, those measures were gradually relaxed as of last Saturday, with critical staff returning to the office yesterday.
The Mission has to significantly step up its strategic communication efforts to counter misinformation and disinformation. The Vice-Prime Ministers of Defence and Interior have been supportive in that regard, highlighting MONUSCO’s role in countering the M-23’s offensive alongside the Congolese armed forces.
(spoke in French)
It is crucial to emphasize the risk that the conflict could expand into the wider region should the ongoing diplomatic efforts aimed at easing tensions and finding lasting political solutions to the current conflict fail. I would like to commend the continued diplomatic efforts of President João Lourenço of Angola and to reaffirm MONUSCO’s full commitment to supporting the Luanda and Nairobi peace processes. I also urge the Security Council to throw its full weight behind the ongoing regional peace initiatives and ensure that all parties show respect for international law and their commitments and work constructively to bring the current crisis to an end.
Although the escalation of the conflict in and around Goma is a major concern, the security situation in other areas of North Kivu, Ituri and South Kivu is also of great concern for MONUSCO. In the Ituri region, a significant escalation of violence in the area of Djugu has been observed, where MONUSCO continues to provide direct physical protection to more than 100,000 displaced people. Last week alone, 26 civilians were killed as a result of the tensions between the Zaire and Coopérative pour le développement du Congo (CODECO) factions. Last weekend, on 16 February, 15 civilians returning from a funeral in the village of Tali were intercepted, brutally murdered and buried in a mass grave by CODECO. After MONUSCO forces and the FARDC were alerted, they exhumed the bodies and transferred them to the Bunia morgue. I am very worried about the possibility that the situation in Ituri could deteriorate further, jeopardizing the progress that has been made by the provincial authorities and MONUSCO in support of the ongoing peace process in the region.
In Ituri and North Kivu, the ADF continues to kill and kidnap civilians, particularly in the Tchabi area. While the joint Uganda People’s Defence Forces-FARDC Shujaa operation is de facto suspended, the ADF, after avoiding any direct confrontation with security forces for almost a year, has begun to attack military targets. In South Kivu, where MONUSCO is preparing to withdraw in a few months, clashes have broken out between the Twirwaneho militias and Mayi-Mayi groups in the south of Minembwe. I will travel next week to Bukavu and Uvira, accompanied by officials of the Mission, United Nations agencies, funds and programmes and Government representatives, to consult with provincial authorities and civil society organizations, including women’s groups, in order to assess the implementation of the disengagement.
In conclusion, I would like to express my deep gratitude to the troop- and police-contributing countries of MONUSCO for the courage and dedication shown by their peacekeepers in their mandate to protect civilians, despite an increasingly dangerous environment. The targeting of United Nations peacekeepers is unacceptable, and I call on the Council to ensure that those responsible are held to account.