Security Council Briefing on MONUSCO by Special Representative of the Secretary-General Bintou Keita

their latest military offensive, the M23 and its backers burned several FARDC bases and triggered additional population displacements, further exacerbating an already catastrophic humanitarian and human rights situation. As documented by the Group of Experts, which reports to the Committee established pursuant to resolution 1533 (2004), concerning the Democratic Republic of the Congo, the Government of Rwanda has reinforced its support for the M23, enabling it to make major territorial gains across eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo. The rapidly escalating M23 crisis carries the very real risk of provoking a wider regional conflict.

In addition to the escalating M23 crisis, a spate of horrific attacks carried out by the Allied Democratic Forces (ADF), Zaïre and the Coopérative pour le développement du Congo (CODECO) armed groups in Ituri province caused almost 300 additional victims during the reporting period. Further south, the ADF also entered Lubero territory, in North Kivu, on several occasions, killing an unprecedented number of civilians. Between 4 and 7 June alone, more than 90 people were killed in isolated corners of the territory.

In South Kivu, the M23 crisis also reached Kalehe territory, with indirect fire hitting Minova and other nearby towns, killing and injuring several civilians and generating further displacement. In the southern part of the province, rumours of M23 infiltration of the Hauts Plateaux of Uvira, Fizi and Mwenga have further exacerbated community tensions, which require the urgent attention by Government authorities.

(spoke in French)

Against that complex backdrop, MONUSCO continued to support FARDC military operations. Joint operations have contributed to the protection of civilians, in particular in operations against CODECO and the Mayi-Mayi groups in Ituri. MONUSCO has also trained 500 new FARDC recruits as part of a new joint FARDC-MONUSCO Operation Northern Scalpel. Operation Springbok, to defend Goma and Sake, has continued to tackle M23 operations and is ongoing. For its part, the SAMIDRC has continued to deploy and is expected to reach full operational capability by mid-July. I would like to take this opportunity to express my deep condolences to South Africa, which lost two soldiers on 25 June during an M23 mortar attack on its base in Sake. I also wish the wounded a speedy recovery.

(spoke in English)

In the Democratic Republic of the Congo, we are witnessing one of the most severe, complex and neglected humanitarian crises of our times. The escalating violence in the east continues to trigger massive population displacement, exacerbating an already dreadful humanitarian situation. Overall, there are 7.3 million displaced people in the Democratic Republic of the Congo today, including 6.9 million in the eastern provinces alone. International humanitarian law violations are impeding humanitarian aid delivery. The growing proximity of the front lines and the presence of weapons, including heavy artillery, within and around displacement camps and spontaneous sites significantly compromise the security of the displaced and resident populations. At least 15 bombardments have hit sites hosting internally displaced persons or their immediate surroundings, killing almost 30 people and injuring many more.

What is more, sadly, is that gender-based violence has not stopped increasing. For the whole year of 2023, 122,960 cases of gender-based violence were reported, marking a 3 per cent increase from 2022. Female victims, including girls, accounted for almost 90 per cent of all cases, with incidents of sexual violence against children increasing by 40 per cent. That is just the tip of the iceberg, as many cases remain unreported. On the basis of current trends, the year 2024 sadly risks becoming another record year.

The 2024 humanitarian response plan, launched on 20 February 2024, seeks $2.6 billion to provide humanitarian assistance to 8.7 million crisis-affected people. As at mid-June, the plan was funded at only 26 per cent. I thank Member States for their support and encourage them to provide additional support. In addition, I also call upon Member States and regional organizations to increase their efforts to reduce humanitarian suffering by strengthening their engagement in political and regional solutions and by recommitting to tackling the root causes of conflict that are driving the dramatic upsurge in humanitarian needs. I welcome the two-week humanitarian truce in the eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo, which began at midnight on 5 July. I urge the parties to use it as an opportunity to inject fresh momentum into ongoing regional peace efforts.

(spoke in French)

As requested in resolution 2717 (2023), the Secretary-General submitted a letter (S/2024/519) to the Council identifying the various possible options for supporting the SAMIDRC, whose mandate was endorsed by the Peace and Security Council of the African Union in March. I will not recapitulate the options put before members, but would like to underscore, as stated in the letter, that there will be no military solution to this conflict and that peace will be restored only through lasting political solutions.

I therefore express my gratitude and full support for the ongoing mediation efforts, led by the President of Angola, Mr. João Manuel Gonçalves Lourenço, between the Democratic Republic of the Congo and Rwanda within the framework of the Luanda process. Those efforts need the full support of the international community. In that regard, I welcome the convening, at the initiative of Angola, of the forthcoming ministerial meeting of the African Union’s Peace and Security Council to discuss the situation in the east. Those regional efforts must go hand in hand with mediation initiatives at a provincial and local level aimed at facilitating the disarmament of armed groups in the spirit of the Nairobi process.

As part of the implementation of its mandate, MONUSCO continued to support the Government’s disarmament, demobilization and reintegration efforts, particularly in Ituri and certain parts of North Kivu province, and its efforts to reform the security sector. In Lubero, North Kivu, a reintegration project has helped more than 1,800 former combatants. As part of the security sector reform, the Mission supported the establishment of a national body tasked with coordinating security sector reform under the auspices of the Special Adviser to the President of the Republic.

On 25 June, Prime Minister Judith Suminwa Tuluka and I presided over the closing ceremony for MONUSCO operations in South Kivu, which brought to a conclusion more than 20 years of operations in the province. As members may have read in the joint report submitted to the Council, disengagement from South Kivu took place on time thanks to unreserved cooperation between the Congolese authorities and the Mission, who showed courage in tackling the security and logistical challenges they had identified together. I thank the Congolese authorities for their flexibility and pragmatism throughout the process. The joint evaluation report on the disengagement has taught us important lessons for the process that will be most helpful in the joint planning of forthcoming phases of the process.

Meanwhile, the transition process is proceeding. A roadmap, that is to say, a provincial transition plan for South Kivu province, together with a support plan for the United Nations country team have been finalized. They identify priorities, existing resources and future needs. I encourage Member States to give their full backing, including financial support, to the transition, so that it runs smoothly. I must also underscore the important role played by the Peacebuilding Fund in the transition.

In the context of disengagement and transition, an acceleration of the Disarmament, Demobilization, Community Recovery and Stabilization Programme will require decisive commitment on the part of the authorities in order to convince the armed groups of the need for disarmament, starting with the provinces of Tanganyika, South Kivu, Maniema and Ituri, until the conflict in North Kivu ends, and a longer-term commitment from the Democratic Republic of the Congo’s international partners. For its part, the United Nations system remains fully engaged with the authorities to provide coordinated technical and operational support to the programme.

In conclusion, I would like to share with members an excerpt penned by the youth of the Uhuru Knowledge Center as part of a poetry slam. It poignantly captures the perils faced by the youth of North Kivu and attests to the urgent need to support national and international efforts.

“Living in squalor, trudging for miles

“Peace is our quest, but when we rest, it is war that always prevails

“An infernal cycle of flight, and after all the trek, bombs rain down on the displaced in Mugunga

“Trauma and fear have become our companions

“Villages torched, dwellings ablaze, families hearts shattered

“In Kishishe, in Bambo, in Kichanga, in Rubaya, in Kirotsche, in Mugunga, anger is rife

“As time goes by, we live in an impasse, in a spirit of violence

“But it is to the rhythm of justice, peace and reconciliation that we wish to dance here

“They must return to their villages, those millions of children longing to go back to class

“Xenopus of the future, may those children be saved”.

We have an obligation to listen to those Congolese young people and to support them unstintingly, for the sake of the country’s future.