Despite renewed conflict in eastern DR Congo, protection for civilians is paramount: Keita

This article is published in association with United Nations.

As the conflict in eastern Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) has intensified in recent months, the UN peacekeeping mission, MONUSCO, has been working to protect civilians – including in areas under the control of the Rwandan-backed M23 armed group in North Kivu province.

That’s according to the head of MONUSCO, Bintou Keita, speaking exclusively to UN News ahead of briefing members of the UN Security Council in New York on Thursday.

Mediation efforts

The meeting between Congolese President Felix Tshisekedi and Rwandan President Paul Kagame last week in Qatar – where they called for a ceasefire – presents “a positive image” since the two men had not met physically for a very long time, she said.

The head of MONUSCO added that the UN mission has invested in mediation efforts led by Angola, providing “physical knowledge of the terrain”, underscoring that it stands ready to support “the observation of a real ceasefire” in the east of the country.

MONUSCO peacekeepers, who withdrew from South Kivu province in June 2024, are still deployed in North Kivu and Ituri.

‘Disengagement’ shelved

Prior to the escalation of the conflict in January, MONUSCO and the Congolese Government were continuing discussions on a “gradual and responsible disengagement” from the UN peace mission and were expected to outline how this disengagement would be carried out in North Kivu and Ituri in the Security Council this week, based on lessons learned from the disengagement from South Kivu.

But with the M23 offensive, “the urgency was to manage the crisis,” explained Ms. Keita, which has, in effect, shelved discussions on disengagement.

“The Council will receive a letter from the Secretary-General who will admit that it has not been possible in the context of current developments to be able to go further in refining the disengagement methodology,” Ms. Keita told us.

Protection of civilians on base

The escalation of the conflict in eastern DRC has not prevented peacekeepers from continuing to fulfil their mandate to protect civilians, despite the difficult environment in areas under M23 control in North Kivu.

Although its ability to conduct patrols is limited, MONUSCO welcomes thousands of people who have sought refuge in its bases, offering them physical protection.

“There are three ways to protect civilians. There are political commitments, there is physical security – physical protection through physical presence – and then there are the conditions for people to feel good,” the UN envoy said.

In its bases in Goma, MONUSCO offers protection to people who have come to take refuge there. “Are they soldiers or are they civilians? From the moment they are in our bases, they are all considered non-combatants because they are unarmed and therefore they are civilians,” she said.

“Our role in protecting civilians is to respond to requests for individual protection. In the context of the areas under the control of the M23, we have a strong demand from individuals, groups, who want to come to our bases to be protected.”

“At the moment, the protection of civilians is not about patrolling the environment, it is about being able to welcome those who are looking for refuge in MONUSCO bases,” she adds.

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Humanitarian aid: inventing other models

Regarding the impact of the freeze on US funding for humanitarian aid in the DRC, the UN envoy believes that it may be time to invent other models of humanitarian response, suggesting priority should be given to NGOs and local associations.

She recalled that 70 per cent of humanitarian aid funding in the DRC was dependent on funding through the now gutted United States overseas development agency, USAID.

“Maybe it’s time to ask the question: how do we operate in an environment where resources are rather declining and maybe invent other models of humanitarian response?“

“And in this context, I think that national non-governmental organizations, local associations, should be privileged because they, whatever the security situation, remain on the ground, continue to be able to have access to the populations.”

The scourge of sexual violence

Referring to the upsurge in conflict-related sexual violence, she deplores the fact that regular calls to combat this scourge ave not been heeded.

“What should be done differently? In my opinion…it’s medium and long term. In the immediate future, it is to provide a holistic response to those who are the survivors of sexual violence, to provide both a response on a traumatic level, on a psychological level – medical care – but also legal support,” she said.

She notes that the Congolese Government is inclined towards reparations, but she wonders if the response is quick enough for the victims and commensurate with “the magnitude of the violence.”

Recruitment by armed groups

Asked about the alarming reports of recruitment of children into the ranks of the M23, she deplored the fact that despite all the advocacy work, armed groups continue to recruit children to swell their ranks.

“To try to change the situation”, it will be necessary to work with communities to raise awareness of this issue, she said, because these armed groups “come from communities, have families”.