STATEMENT BY BINTOU KEITA, SPECIAL REREPRESENTATIVE OF THE SECRETARY-GENERAL
SECURITY COUNCIL BRIEFING on MONUSCO
New York
27 MARCH 2024
(spoke in French)
I would first like to thank the presidency of the Security Council and all the members for giving me the opportunity to brief the Council on the situation in the Democratic Republic of the Congo. I would also like to welcome from afar the presence of Ambassador Zenon Mukongo, Permanent Representative of the Democratic Republic of the Congo to the United Nations, as well as the Permanent Representative of Rwanda and Ms. Jacquie-Anna, representative of Congolese civil society.
(spoke in English)
Since the mandate renewal briefing on 11 December 2023 (see S/PV.9500), the political dynamics have centred primarily around the presidential, national and provincial legislative electoral process. Despite major logistical challenges, the Independent National Electoral Commission (CENI) organized the elections on 20 December 2023, as scheduled, but had to extend the voting period over several days. I welcome the largely peaceful holding of the elections and the CENI efforts to address some of the irregularities and operational shortcomings that plagued the process.
The Constitutional Court has now released its final ruling on the validation of the results, opening the path towards the confirmation of the majority in Parliament, the beginning of the spring parliamentary session and the formation of the new Government. I am encouraged by the adoption by the Ministry of Gender of a road map to address electoral violence against women, who faced serious physical and verbal attacks to discourage their participation during last December’s polls.
The security situation in the eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo further deteriorated since the end of the elections, with the Mouvement du 23 mars (M23) marking significant advances and expanding its territory to unprecedented levels. That has culminated in an even more disastrous humanitarian situation, with internal displacement reaching unparalleled numbers. Meanwhile, regional tensions between the Democratic Republic of the Congo and Rwanda have been mediated by Angola, with the resumption of the Luanda process, while the Southern African Development Community Mission to the Democratic Republic of the Congo (SAMIDRC) started its deployment to North Kivu.
(spoke in French)
The report before you provides a detailed update on the situation on the ground. On the political front, President Tshisekedi Tshilombo has been re-elected for a second term and has announced that reform of the security and defence apparatus will be one of his main priorities. The United Nations Organization Stabilization Mission in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (MONUSCO) stands ready to support the future Government in its efforts to implement security sector reform and other key governance reforms, insofar as they enjoy broad consensus, as prescribed in our mandate. As negotiations on the composition of the new Government continue, the Mission welcomes the President’s reiterated support for the appointment of a spokesperson for the opposition, a gesture of openness that is crucial to enabling the opposition to play its part in the democratic process.
(spoke in English)
As the Council has regularly reiterated, echoed by a recent statement of the Peace and Security Council of the African Union, all foreign forces illegally operating in the territory of the Democratic Republic of the Congo need to withdraw, and national and foreign armed groups, such as the Allied Democratic Forces (ADF) and Forces démocratiques de libération du Rwanda (FDLR), need to be disarmed. There is no sustainable military solution to the conflict, which must be anchored in a sustainable political process addressing the root causes of violence. In that context, I would like to express our full support for the Luanda process and commend the efforts currently undertaken by Angola’s President João Manuel Gonçalves Lourenço. The recent meeting led by the Ministers for Foreign Affairs of both countries to craft a path for a de-escalation of the crisis is encouraging.
(spoke in French)
While the M23 crisis attracted a great deal of attention, we must also highlight the atrocities of the ADF and their disastrous consequences for civilian populations, in particular on the border between North Kivu and Ituri. Almost 200 people have been killed there since the start of the year. In Ituri, insecurity remains dramatic, fuelled in particular by the atrocities of the Coopérative pour le développement du Congo, Zaire, Forces de résistance patriotiques en Ituri and Force patriotique et intégrationniste du Congo militias, as well as the ADF.
In South Kivu, despite significant progress, we have seen a resurgence of tension in recent months, fuelled by armed groups and inter-community rivalries. Frequent rumours about the presence of M23 elements and the extension of the conflict from North Kivu towards the south have greatly contributed to that. In addition, the escalation of tensions between Rwanda and Burundi, which led to the closure of the border by Bujumbura, is a further factor likely to destabilize the province and the region as a whole.
To protect civilians, MONUSCO and the Armed Forces of the Democratic Republic of Congo (FARDC) continued to carry out joint operations in Ituri and North Kivu. The defensive Operation Springbok, carried out by MONUSCO on various routes leading to Goma, was reinforced in February this year. It has helped to protect the Goma area by containing the M23 offensive in the Sake area, in support of the FARDC. On an almost daily basis, our peacekeepers have come under direct and indirect fire from various warring parties. More recently, mortar fire from positions occupied by the M23 landed on MONUSCO bases in the Sake sector, wounding eight peacekeepers, some of them seriously, and six MONUSCO civilian staff in a second incident. I strongly condemn those attacks against our personnel.
(spoke in English)
As the East African Community Regional Force (EACRF) withdrew completely by the beginning of January, the M23 managed to occupy all former EACRF positions, subsequently allowing it to move further South to encircle Sake and Goma. In the meantime, SAMIDRC continues its deployment, with 2,000 soldiers having already been deployed. SAMIDRC has started to provide its assistance to the FARDC on various operational fronts and saw its mandate endorsed by the African Union Peace and Security Council on 4 March.
As highlighted earlier, the military engagement must go hand in hand with a continued investment by the Congolese authorities in regional, national and local peace processes, complemented by a profound reform of the security sector and the operationalization of the disarmament, community reinsertion and stabilization programme, which the United Nations system plans to support through a joint programme.
(spoke in French)
Allow me now to raise the humanitarian situation and to sound the alarm at the catastrophe unfolding before our eyes, not least because of the escalation of the M23 crisis in North Kivu, but also because of the prolonged armed violence in Ituri and South Kivu. According to the Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs, more than 7.1 million people are internally displaced in the country, an increase of 800,000 since my last briefing in December, some three months ago. Some 23.4 million people are food insecure, which means that one in four Congolese faces hunger and malnutrition, making the Democratic Republic of the Congo the country worst affected by food insecurity.
The city and outskirts of Goma are facing massive waves of internally displaced people. At the end of last month, at least 104 displacement sites were recorded around Goma alone, hosting more than 630,000 people. Cases of gender-based violence and sexual exploitation have also reached new records. In January 2024 alone, 10,400 cases of gender-based violence were reported throughout the country, a much higher increase than in previous years.
That humanitarian disaster requires an adequate response from the international community. However, in February, the country’s humanitarian response plan for 2023 remained significantly underfunded, at only 40 per cent of the $2.25 billion required to date. That is a sharp fall from 53.2 per cent in 2022 and does not bode well for the 2024 humanitarian response plan, which was launched with the aim of raising $2.6 billion, and for which funding has only reached 14.2 per cent so far. I therefore reiterate my urgent call to donors to provide the necessary resources to ensure that adequate humanitarian assistance reaches those in desperate need.
(spoke in English)
As we advance with the implementation of phase 1 of the disengagement plan, it has become evident that sustaining our withdrawal efforts will be critical, notably with regard to the transfer of the protection-of-civilians responsibilities, as well as the handover of bases to the FARDC and Congolese National Police. To that end, we have continued to work closely with national and provincial counterparts on the implementation and monitoring of the progress, while assessing the various impacts on the population for which the Mission’s presence has been providing protection so far.
As a first milestone, MONUSCO handed over the base of Kamanyola on 28 February to the National Police. Given the challenges, I thank in advance the many stakeholders committing to support the joint police programme, designed to support MONUSCO’s transition. In that context, I commend Japan for its commitment to continue to expand its existing police project, to contribute to covering areas of MONUSCO’s disengagement to implement community policing modalities.
In my engagements with the population in South Kivu, it has become evident that, while adhering to the stipulated timelines is a joint commitment, we must ensure that the concerns and voices of affected populations are heard for a responsible drawdown. In that respect, let me highlight that national and international non-governmental organizations are now integrated in the provincial transition teams that resume their work after the elections, and we have already held multiple briefings with international partners on progress regarding the disengagement plan. Lessons learned from phase 1 will also be applied to the drawdown of subsequent phases.
Disengagement and transition are being conducted concomitantly. That will enable the United Nations country team to support the Congolese Government in sustaining and consolidating MONUSCO’s gains and handle activities that will fall under the United Nations country team’s responsibilities, to be supported by an enhanced Resident Coordinator’s Office. Financial resources are necessary, and we count on the enhancement of voluntary contributions, while, thanks to the Peacebuilding Fund’s support, we are prioritizing transition activities this year.
MONUSCO continued to face sophisticated disinformation campaigns during the reporting period, which undermined its efforts and put the lives of its peacekeepers in danger. With Operation Springbok, disinformation campaigns have led to our convoys being attacked by the local population. To counter those tactics, we have strengthened our collaboration with dozens of journalists and civil society members in Goma and elsewhere to help to debunk misinformation and clarify our mandate. We have seen some progress with some harsh critics now explaining the complexities of our mandate. Despite those encouraging signs, I remain alarmed by the propagation of misinformation and disinformation, as well as hate speech, and reiterate my call on all stakeholders to refrain from such practices and urge the Government to ensure accountability.
In conclusion and echoing my remarks during the most recent briefing (see S/PV.9553), I would like to reiterate that the Mission continues to spare no efforts to address the misconduct of some of our staff members, be they members of the force or of the police or civilians. In that vein, we continue to improve our response to cases of sexual exploitation and abuse. Over the past months, we have conducted comprehensive risk assessment missions to all locations where MONUSCO personnel are deployed to ensure that effective prevention, timely investigation and adequate victim support remain at the core of our work to fully address the indelible stain that sexual exploitation and abuse presents to our work.