“Since April 2022, the Objective has provided political, technical, and logistical support to the mutual DRC-Kenya Secretariat” to hold consultations between the Government and Congolese armed groups, she mentioned.
Bolstering support
“Those responsible for these and other atrocities against the civilian population should be prosecuted nationally or internationally”. “In this dangerous atmosphere, and despite persistent accessibility constraints…humanitarian actors continue to provide indispensable aid and lifesaving services”, the MONUSCO key continued, urging partners in order to “actively continue supporting” the particular Humanitarian Response and North Kivu response plans. The senior UN official updated on intensified regional initiatives supporting the Luanda Roadmap as well as progress made in the context of the Nairobi Process.
Heinous crimes
“ We call on this Council to condemn these crimes using the utmost severity .[and] demand the particular immediate release of the survivors that were prevented from causing the area by the M23”, she underscored. “First and foremost, the M23 must cease all hostilities and withdraw from filled areas in accordance with the roadmap set out in the Final Communiqué of the Luanda Mini Summit”, she said, adding the fact that DRC Government had formally requested MONUSCO’s involvement in implementing the communiqué. Robust patrols are actually conducted in and around Goma to protect civilians and deter M23 from advancing further towards city, she said. Moreover, she continued, M23 combatants raped at least 22 females, destroyed four schools plus occupied two others.
Crimes influence UN operations
“Over the past several weeks, the security situation in far eastern DRC has deteriorated dramatically”, said Special Representative Bintou Keita, noting that given that October, the M23 rebel group had resumed hostilities and extended its control in North Kivu province. And the Mission added more community alert systems in vulnerable areas. The deteriorating security circumstance also poses risks with regard to MONUSCO operations.
The senior UN standard referred to an armed assault on the Mission’s base in Minembwe, South Kivu, that took the life of a peacekeeper in September.
Continuous humanitarian crisis
In response, MONUSCO has continued to provide operational, logistical, plus tactical support both to the Congolese armed forces and national police in confronting M23 and other armed groups. Ms. Keita cited equipped groups as a major reasons why DRC hosts the highest variety of internally displaced persons in Africa. MONUSCO/Sylvain Liechti
Diplomacy at work
Ms. Keita informed the ambassadors of a Mini Summit held final month in Luanda, where an agreement was made upon measures to address the situation within eastern DRC that envisions an operational role to get MONUSCO, in coordination with the East African Community (EAC) Regional Force and the ad hoc verification mechanism. “I reiterate the Mission’s readiness to power the capabilities at its disposal in support of the local peace initiatives underway…[and] look forward to engaging more with the DRC Government and regional partners to define the Mission’s role within efforts to translate the particular decisions taken in the construction of the Luanda and Nairobi into reality on the ground”, she concluded.
Mini Summit
“An estimated additional 370, 1000 people have been uprooted plus forced from their homes in the latest round of hostilities, involving the M23”, she continuing, adding that inter-communal assault in the western provinces also have led to the displacement of over 50, 000, mainly women and children. The MONUSCO main described “gravely concerning” allegations of human rights abuses by M23 combatants in Kishishe and Bambo, Rutshuru territory, and in North Kivu, in which at least 102 males, 17 women and 12 children were “either shot deceased or killed by bladed weapons”. “I condemn this attack, the perpetrators of which must be prosecuted with the greatest firmness”, she spelled out.
