The UN Security Council has decided to quickly withdraw peacekeepers from the Democratic Republic of Congo – despite ongoing violence in the east of the country. The government in Kinshasa has been calling for the withdrawal to be accelerated for months.
The UN Security Council has voted to accelerate the withdrawal of the MONUSCO peacekeeping force from the Democratic Republic of Congo. He passed a resolution that extended the mandate for the peace mission by one year, but at the same time provided for the withdrawal of the first blue helmets this year.
Despite decades of ongoing violence in the east of the country, the government in Kinshasa has been calling for an accelerated withdrawal of UN peacekeepers from the end of the year instead of the end of 2024 for months. It accuses the UN soldiers of not effectively protecting the population from those active in the region to protect armed gangs and militias.
UN missions only with the consent of the host countries
Several members of the UN Security Council, including the USA, had expressed doubts that the Congolese army could replace the peacekeeping force in protecting the population. However, UN missions can only operate with the consent of the respective host countries, so the Security Council has now relented.
From the end of the year, UN soldiers are to be withdrawn from South Kivu province in a first phase by the end of April. From May 2024, the peacekeepers will only be stationed in the provinces of North Kivu and Ituri. Further deductions should be made dependent on an evaluation report from the first phase.
Peace mission since 1999
The MONUSCO mission has been present in the Central African country since 1999. The task of the UN peacekeepers was not an easy one, as Africa’s second largest country has been marked by years of conflict, especially in the east, especially in the Kivu provinces. More than 100 armed groups have been operating there for a good 20 years in a region rich in raw materials, where, among other things, coltan is mined, which is used to produce cell phones, laptops and electric cars.
The peacekeepers were unable to curb the level of sexual violence in the conflict region. In Congo, which is the size of Western Europe, the number of internally displaced people was estimated at 6.3 million people at the end of October. In recent weeks, the M23 militia in particular has driven hundreds of thousands of people to flee with new attacks in North Kivu province. The government in Kinshasa accuses neighboring Rwanda of supporting the M23.
Presidential elections will take place in Congo on Wednesday. There are more than 20 candidates running for the office, including the current head of state Félix Tshisekedi. The entrepreneur Moïse Katumbi and the Nobel Peace Prize winner Denis Mukwege are also running. The Central African country last held elections in December 2018.