Statement by Deputy Permanent Representative Anna Evstigneeva at UNSC briefing on the situation in the Democratic Republic of the Congo
Mr.President,
We thank Special Representative of the Secretary-General and Head of MONUSCO Ms. Bintou Keita for an informative briefing and Permanent Representative of Niger Ambassador Abarry – for his report on the activity of UNSC Committee 1533. We followed closely the remarks by Ms. Marie Madeleine Kalala, and we welcome the participation of representative of the DRC in this meeting.
The situation in eastern and north-eastern areas of the Democratic Republic of the Congo remains complicated. We are concerned over the increasing violence and casualties. “Allied Democratic Forces” (ADF) remains a major source of security threats.
We closely follow the developments in provinces Ituri and North Kivu, where a state of emergency has been in effect since May this year. Hopefully, the Government will be able to restore control over the security situation. It would help strengthen state institutions on the ground, improve the humanitarian and socio-economic situation, resolve inter-communal conflicts, implement programs for disarmament, demobilization and social reintegration of former combatants with the help of MONUSCO.
The illegal armed formations continue exploiting DRC’s natural resources to finance their activity, which remains a pressing problem. Urgent steps need to be taken to address the issue and ensure transparency in this area.
We highly appreciate the successful interaction of the DRC security forces and MONUSCO that leaders of some other UN missions can refer to as a role model when building relations with host countries. In this regard, we commend Ms. Bintou Keita’s efforts to establish interaction of peacekeepers with the authorities and people on the ground; it creates a much-needed positive environment. We welcome the launch of a joint center with the Congolese armed forces that was established in October, and strengthening of the Force Intervention Brigade
We are concerned over the reports about the humanitarian situation. The statistics according to which the UN humanitarian response plan has been financed only by 34 % looks particularly worrisome (especially given the fact that the number of IDPs is growing). By all means, additional efforts are required to address the common calamity – the coronavirus pandemic and outbreaks of Ebola that occur from time to time.
When working on a UNSC draft resolution on renewal of MONUSCO mandate, we take into account the “transitional plan” of step-by-step drawdown and withdrawal of the Mission that has been elaborated jointly with Kinshasa. We believe that the evolving situation on the ground must be accounted for during the implementation of this document.
We proceed from the assumption that lasting normalization in the DRC cannot be achieved through military measures alone. We need to set forth our work to ensure full-fledged implementation of the fundamental Framework Agreement for Peace, Security and Cooperation for the DRC and the Great Lakes region (GLR). We welcome steps made by President F.Tshisekedi and DRC’s neighbors aimed at normalizing the situation in the Great Lakes region. One of the key tracks is extension of cooperation of the GLR states in the area of security. We underscore that when it comes to joint action to oppose the illegal armed formations, proper coordination is fundamentally important, i.a. in the context of the fact that peacekeepers are present on the ground.
Thank you.
