DRC: The UN Security Council has extended the mandate of MONUSCO.
The UN Security Council has extended the mandate of the organisation’s peacekeeping mission in the Democratic Republic of Congo until 20 December 2023, the day scheduled for general elections in the country.
Resolution 2266, presented by France, was unanimously voted by the 15 members of the Council. The text limits the authorised strength of the mission to 13,500 military personnel, 660 military observers and staff officers, 591 police officers, and 1,410 members of formed police units.
The resolution is not distinct from the previous one, which excludes the number of police personnel from 1050 to 1410.
The Security Council encouraged the UN Secretariat to “consider a further reduction in the level of military deployment of MONUSCO, in line with the joint strategy on the gradual and phased withdrawal of the mission,” the resolution reads.
It defines MONUSCO’s strategic priorities as “the protection of civilians, support for the stabilisation and strengthening of state institutions and governance and security reforms”.
One of the world’s largest peacekeeping missions, MONUSCO has been deployed in the country for over 20 years. Its peacekeepers are regularly accused by the population of the east of ineffectiveness in the fight against armed groups that have plagued the area for three decades.
Several deadly demonstrations have taken place this year to demand the mission’s departure. The Congolese president, Félix Tshisekedi, said that after the 20 December polls, there was no justification for the presence of peacekeepers in the country.
Miss OLY
