UN mission won’t leave DRC in Dec 2024

KINSHASA, DR Congo

The United Nations peacekeeping mission in the Democratic Republic of Congo, Monusco, will not exit the country by December 2024.

UN Undersecretary-General for Peacekeeping Operations Jean-Pierre Lacroix, who visited the Congo this weekend, said that December 31, 2024, which was supposed to be the date for the total withdrawal of Monusco troops, has never formally been agreed on by all the parties.

"I dispel this rumour, especially as it has never been confirmed by the authorities, ourselves or the Security Council. We are currently in a consultation phase, and the humanitarian situation remains very worrying. We have met with members of civil society, who have all asked us to stay in Ituri in particular," Mr Lacroix said in Kinshasa. 

Congolese authorities have recently asked Monusco to reconsider its withdrawal plan, even as the mission had already begun its disengagement, particularly in South Kivu, where it withdrew completely and handed over to the Congolese army.

In 2023, bloody protests broke out in North and South Kivu with the residents demanding the departure of this mission, which has been present in the DRC since 1999. 

But in July 2023, Congolese Minister of Foreign Affairs Thérèse Kayikwamba informed the UN of the need to "delay the withdrawal process" of Monusco due to the escalation of violence in North Kivu.

Today, a ceasefire has given way to relative peace in the region, with sporadic clashes between the rebel M23 and Wazalendo, young people who support the Congolese army.

But the "security vacuum" feared by the Congolese authorities is now manifesting in Ituri, where Codeco and other armed groups are wreaking havoc and killing civilians. According to Gracien Iracan, MP for Ituri province, "60 per cent of the province is in the hands of armed groups and beyond the control of the Congolese army.".

Monusco has pledged to reinforce its positions in Ituri and continue supporting the Southern African Development Community mission in the DRC.

"We are now mandated to provide more support to Sami-DRC and with Monusco's resources. We talked about the diplomatic efforts underway, which are very important, and which we support both politically and in terms of the support we are going to give to the verification mechanism and the ceasefire," Mr Lacroix said.

The diplomat welcomed the de-escalation of violence in North Kivu, but noted that "we cannot say that there is zero violence, of course, as you know. So there is a lot of work to be done."