UN Mission in the Democratic Republic of the Congo

The UN Organization Stabilization Mission in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (MONUSCO)

Mission Mandate

In 1999 and 2000, the UN Security Council adopted resolutions 1279 and 1291 authorizing the United Nations Organization Mission in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), a peacekeeping mission known by its French acronym MONUC. The mission was tasked with overseeing the Lusaka Ceasefire Agreement of 1999. The mandate was expanded in 2004 to include Chapter VII of the UN Charter, which enables the mission to use force to protect civilians. The mission was extended by Resolution 1925 in May 2010 and to reflect the new phase reached in the country and the mission’s name was changed to become the United Nations Organization Stabilization Mission in the Democratic Republic of Congo (MONUSCO). Additionally, a new head of mission, former U.S. Ambassador to the DRC, Roger A. Meece, was appointed. Adopted in June of 2011, Resolution 1991 extends the mission through June 30, 2012.

The Mission’s mandate includes:

• Deploying and maintaining a presence in volatile areas;
• Ensuring the protection of civilians and UN staff;
• Monitoring ceasefire agreements;
• Assisting with the monitoring of cross-border movements of military forces and arms;
• Facilitating humanitarian assistance and the return of refugees;
• Assisting with protection and promotion of human rights;
• Coordinating mine removal activities;
• Supporting a national dialogue and promoting the political process;
• Integrating rebel groups and factions into the Congolese National Army (FARDC) and internal security forces;
• Contributing to the security of Congolese institutions and protecting officials;
• Supporting the disarmament, demobilization, and reintegration of former combatants;
• Advising on essential legislation, including a constitution and laws dealing with the electoral process and security sector reform;
• Coordinating operations with the FARDC against armed groups; and
• Training and mentoring the FARDC in human rights and humanitarian law in order to help bolster support security sector reform efforts.

Background

In the wake of 1994 Rwandan Genocide, nearly 1.5 million refugees from around the Great Lakes region settled in Eastern DRC. At that time the Rwandan government provided support to Congolese rebel leader Laurent Kabila to oust the President of the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Joseph Mobutu, following reports that perpetrators of the Rwandan genocide had been using the DRC as a rearming base. Read more || Hide text

All told, eight nations participated in the resulting five-year war, which was known as the African World War, where over five million people died. By 1999, diplomatic efforts to reach a ceasefire had succeeded and the warring parties soon signed the Lusaka Ceasefire Agreement calling for to an end to the violence. In order to oversee the implementation of the Lusaka Agreement, the UN Security Council authorized the creation of the United Nations Mission in the Democratic Republic of Congo (MONUC) to liaise with the warring parties and ensure the Agreement was observed. However, the situation remained fluid and by early 2000 the mandate was expanded and over 5,000 peacekeepers were deployed throughout the region.

The conflict, however, soon reemerged and by 2001 the country was again at war. After almost two more years of fighting, the outlines of a peace agreement (“Global and Inclusive Agreement on Transition in the DR Congo”) were reached and the plan for a transitional government followed by a permanent national government was set. Today violence remains throughout the country. Regional threats persist in Eastern DRC (North and South Kivu) and instability in neighboring Sudan and Uganda continue to present a challenge for the region.

The DRC held presidential and parliamentary elections during the week of November 28, 2011. These elections marked the second time the nation has held democratic elections in its history. The current president, Joseph Kabila, was appointed to the position in 2001 after his father, then President Laurent Kabila, was assassinated. He was later elected by popular vote in 2006 during the DRC’s first democratic elections in 41 years. President Joseph Kabila had been re-elected with 49 percent of the vote, and that opposition leader Etienne Tshisekedi had come in second place with 33 percent. Results of the parliamentary election are expected in late January 2012. Election observers, including the U.S.-based Carter Center, raised concerns about the credibility of the elections, and MONUSCO issued a statement noting “significant irregularities….[in the] counting and tabulation of the votes.” MONUSCO called for the country’s Independent National Electoral Commission (CENI) to address the concerns of the election observers.

How This Affects American Interests

Helps to facilitate free and fair elections. When MONUSCO’s mandate was extended in 2011 and provisions for electoral assistance were adopted. MONUSCO and UNDP assisted in preparing for the 2011 national elections and helped build electoral capacity within the government. MONUSCO delivered voter registration materials to the country’s most remote and inaccessible regions; provided training in non-lethal crowd control methods to 6,000 riot police; and deployed to Kinshasa, Lubumbashi, and other major cities to help ensure security ahead of the vote. In addition, MONUSCO has been working with the country’s Joint Human Rights Office to investigate outbreaks of election-related violence. Additionally, MONUSCO is conducted both unilateral and joint operations with the Congolese military securing civilians against election related violence. MONUSCO’s efforts to facilitate free and fair elections directly benefit the U.S. by helping to build stability for an important American trading partner. In 2010, U.S.-Congo trade totaled $620.9 million, a more than 40% increase from 2009.

Stabilizes the DRC. MONUSCO works to bring peace and stability and to monitor volatile areas by partnering with the Congolese government to disarm, demobilize, and reintegrate former combatants. Between January and March 2011, some 850 combatants were integrated from militias into the Congolese national army. Since 2007, MONUSCO has helped to demobilize over 31,000 child soldiers and reintegrate them into society. Since 2002, 14,850 foreign rebel combatants were repatriated back to their home countries. MONUSCO has also helped to improve the DRC’s national police forces through a joint UNDP-MONUSCO initiative which trained 1,800 new police officers, including 97 women. In addition, the U.S. recently deployed about 100 combat-equipped soldiers to help the regional partners including the MONUSCO, crackdown on the Lord’s Resistance Army (LRA), a Ugandan rebel group that has committed numerous atrocities in Central Africa over the last quarter century.

Manages relations with neighboring states. Currently, there are more than 1.74 million internally displaced people (IDP) in the DRC; including approximately 1.25 million IDPs living in the North and South Kivu provinces. Additionally, there are some 476,000 Congolese refugees displaced in eight neighboring countries. Between January and May 2011, MONUSCO assisted in the repatriation of 33,740 displaced persons helping to secure a lasting peace in the region.

Reestablishes state-controlled over resources. The continuing low-level conflict is primarily financed through the illegal trade of the natural resources, in particular minerals. To address this, MONUSCO has partnered with the DRC government to construct five mineral trading centers in North and South Kivu. These centers will facilitate the tracking, control, and regulation of mineral trading. The establishment of these centers will not only help curb the financing of the conflict, but also will help to bolster the central government’s control over the restive region.

Promotes economic growth. The U.S. government and MONUSCO are working together to stimulate economic growth through agricultural and vocational programs. The U.S. promotes economic growth in the DRC by providing $306 million in bilateral aid to promote economic reforms and transparency since the DRC is an important trading partner for the U.S. So far, six youth vocational schools have been constructed for students whose educations have been interrupted due to the conflict.

Promotes respect for human rights. In 2010, the government of the DRC began the process of addressing human rights violations within its own ranks by undertaking the prosecution of five high-ranking military officials. In February 2011, the US and MONUSCO welcomed a guilty verdict against nine Congolese military officers charged with carrying out mass rapes on New Year’s Day.

Ongoing Challenges

Sexual and gender-based violence. Rape and sexual violence continue to be used as weapons of war against women in the DRC. Since the start of the war, some 1.7 million women have been victims of rape, 400,000 in the past 12 months. Estimates suggest that a woman is raped every 75 seconds in the DRC. Men are also victims of sexual violence and it is estimated that 23 percent of Congolese men will encounter some form of sexual violence in their lifetime. To mitigate the risk of sexual and gender based violence, MONUSCO is working to improve communication in and between refugee camps; to provide medical and psycho-social support services; to create specialized police units; and to train judges and lawyers to provide legal support for victims. Since January, more than 2,700 victims of sexual violence have received assistance from MONUSCO programs. In coordination with UNHCR, MONUSCO has hosted 39 training sessions to strengthen efforts to prevent and respond to sexual and gender based violence, reaching over 17,000 people in the process. Community-sensitization campaigns have also been undertaken, reaching over 112,000 Congolese citizens.

Insecurity. Though there has not been a return to full-fledged violence since 2009, there has been a recent rise in politically motivated human rights violations. Since January 2011, MONUSCO has documented over 100 incidents of targeted violence against political candidates, supporters, and journalists. In July 2011, protests turned violent when security forces used tear gas on opposition supporters protesting voter registration irregularities. Since January 2011, more than 50 attacks against aid workers have been reported. In October, a rebel attack killed five aid workers in one of the deadliest single incident in DRC history. Violence is expected to spike during the lead up to the upcoming national elections in November.

Resource exploitation. Exploitation of the DRC's rich minerals has funded insurgencies and fueled internal and regional insecurities. The Congolese government must work with its neighboring countries to improve the economic benefits from the mineral extraction, which could serve both to help extend governance to war torn regions and deny militants a key source of financing.

Cholera Outbreak. Since March 2011, some 4,000 cases of cholera have been reported in the DRC and the disease has claimed almost 300 lives. MONUSCO is actively involved in the deployment and delivery of medical supplies by providing security and logistical support to UNICEF. The UN more broadly is addressing the outbreak by managing coordination, providing surveillance, rapidly assessing risk, and supporting cholera treatment centers. The UN has released $4 million to help UNICEF and the WHO respond to this crisis.

Insufficient Resources. MONUSCO lacks the resources and equipment that it needs to carry out its wide-ranging mandate. The mission aims to provide security to eastern Congo, an area twice the size of California, with only 16,819 troops. Authorization has been made for more helicopters, but, following India’s recall of its helicopter contingent, only South Africa has offered one helicopter to aid the mission. The lack of infrastructure and difficult geography of eastern DRC means that additional helicopters are essential for MONUSCO to fulfill its mandate. Of the existing MONUSCO troops only 5 percent are deployed in areas controlled by the Lord’s Resistance Army (LRA), a rebel group responsible for 20 percent of the displacement in the DRC.