The President of the Senate of the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), Modeste Bahati Lukwebo, spoke out on Friday July 15 for the departure of the UN Stabilization Mission in the DRC (Monusco), which after 22 years in the country has failed to bring peace there.
Monusco « must pack up, » said this second personality of the country in Goma (North Kivu), in the east of the country, during a meeting in front of a crowd of activists from the Sacred Union, the coalition in power. “We ourselves will ensure peace, security and the integrity of the territory,” he continued.
The words of the President of the Senate of the DRC come in a context where the Congolese armed forces (FARDC) are clashing with the M23 rebellion in the east of the country. This rebel movement, supported according to Kinshasa by Rwanda, has already submitted a city to its control.
The UN mission has been deployed since 1999 in the DRC. It is considered one of the largest and costliest UN missions in the world, with 14,100 soldiers and an annual budget of one billion dollars.
Speaking to the Security Council earlier this month, Monusco chief Bintou Keita said that « the Mission’s transition depends in large part on the return of peace and stability » in the east. of the DRC.
She said that the organization, on time and in a consensual manner, of the elections scheduled for 2023 is a necessary condition for the success of the action plan launched by Kinshasa and for considering a withdrawal from the country of Monusco.
“I think there is still a lot of work to do before Monusco can withdraw responsibly,” he said.
The Kinshasa action plan includes, according to her, elements concerning the protection of civilians and the neutralization of armed groups, a new program of disarmament, demobilization, community reintegration and stabilization (PDDRCS), and the commitment to organize national and local elections in 2023.
By OMA Newsletter N° 783 of 18/07/2022
Article published under the direction of Dr. Najib Kettani
The OMA, NGO with an Intercontinental vocation
For the development of cultural exchanges
Valuing human potential
The promotion and consolidation of Africa’s development, and
Inter-African integration
