The UK is fully committed to supporting a conditions-based withdrawal of the UN Mission in the Democratic Republic of the Congo: UK statement at the Security Council

Statement by UK Political Coordinator Fergus Eckersley at the UN Security Council meeting on the Democratic Republic of the Congo.

I thank ASG Pobee for her briefing and welcome the Ambassadors of DRC  [Democratic Republic of the Congo] and Rwanda to the Chamber.

The UK remains deeply concerned by ongoing and intensified violence. The situation in Ituri is the worst it has been since 2017, with the ADF continuing to expand geographically. In North Kivu alone, 2.3 million people have been displaced by M23 and the ADF. And there is evidence that the M23 and FARDC are preparing for a military offensive. Conflict-related sexual violence is at an unprecedented level in eastern DRC.

We are also concerned by increasing weapons proliferation within communities and the dangers this poses long term. We share the Secretary-General’s concern about possible integration of armed groups into the Congolese military, which we believe should be a red line.
We continue to call on all parties to deliver commitments agreed through the Nairobi and Luanda political processes. We believe these processes provide the best opportunity to achieve lasting peace. We encourage the region to ensure that they don’t stall completely and in this regard, we take note of the ongoing Quadripartite meeting in Luanda.

Madam President, against this backdrop, MONUSCO continues to carry out vital work. We welcome recent joint MONUSCO-FARDC operations that deterred an ADF attack on a hospital and dismantled a major ADF camp. MONUSCO, on a daily basis, provides protection for hundreds of thousands of civilians and enables the provision of life-saving humanitarian support in eastern DRC.

In doing so, MONUSCO not only supports the Congolese people, but also the Congolese government and security forces, who otherwise would struggle to protect civilians and facilitate humanitarian assistance.

President, we must carefully consider the implications for the civilian population in the context of the Government’s request for MONUSCO to withdraw. While the UN and international partners can play a supporting role, the Government must be willing and able to assume its responsibilities to the civilian population. We should learn lessons from previous peacekeeping closures and make sure we don’t repeat mistakes in the DRC.

We welcome MONUSCO’s progress on provincial strategies and we agree with a geographical approach to transition. The UK is fully committed to supporting a conditions-based withdrawal of MONUSCO, guided by key benchmarks of the joint transition plan. We encourage the Government to continue engaging in serious dialogue with MONUSCO to agree a process that enables a responsible and sustainable reconfiguration of the UN presence in DRC. We look forward to receiving the Secretary-General’s report on this next month.

In conclusion, Madam President, I want to pay tribute to SRSG Keita and MONUSCO for their tireless efforts to help the people and Government of DRC to achieve the peace and stability that are so desperately needed.