Democratic Republic of the Congo

The following Security Council press statement was issued today by Council President Gustavo Meza-Cuadra (Peru):

On 23 March 2018, the Security Council Committee established pursuant to resolution 1533 (2004) concerning the Democratic Republic of the Congo met with the Special Representative of the Secretary-General for the Democratic Republic of the Congo and Head of the United Nations Organization Stabilization Mission in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (MONUSCO) on the arms embargo monitoring mandate of MONUSCO.  Also present during the meeting were the representatives of MONUSCO’s Joint Mission Analysis Centre (JMAC), United Nations Mine Action Service (UNMAS) and the Coordinator of the Group of Experts on the Democratic Republic of the Congo.

The Security Council renewed the mandate of the United Nations Organization Stabilization Mission in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (MONUSCO) today, extending it until 31 March 2019 with a more focused mandate to help protect civilians and support implementation of the New Year’s Eve political agreement, including preparations for elections later in 2018.

The following Security Council press statement was issued today by Council President Karel Jan Gustaaf van Oosterom (Netherlands):

The Security Council turned its attention this morning to the humanitarian aspects of the conflict in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, with a rural women’s rights activist and an Episcopalian clergyman warning the international community of dire consequences if it failed to help to turn the tide on a conflict that had raged in the centre of Africa for two decades.

Humanitarian needs in the Democratic Republic of the Congo have doubled over the last year, with 13 million people in need of assistance, in a context of persistent insecurity and bureaucratic impediments, the United Nations Emergency Relief Coordinator told the Security Council today after a visiting mission.

The Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees is increasingly alarmed at the plight of thousands of Central African refugees who have fled to southern Chad since late 2017.  The influx is the biggest since 2014, and is overwhelming the ability of humanitarian agencies to respond.

Ending a two-day mission to the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Emergency Relief Coordinator Mark Lowcock and Dutch Minister for Foreign Trade and Development Cooperation Sigrid Kaag called on the international community to urgently tackle the crisis in the country, where over 13 million people need humanitarian aid.

The United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees issued protection guidance encouraging States to ensure that Venezuelans seeking asylum had access to territory and refugee procedures. Given the situation in Venezuela, the High Commissioner said it was crucial that people were not deported or forcibly returned.

The Secretary-General is encouraged by the announcement of an agreement between the United States and the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea to hold a summit meeting by May.  He reiterates his support for all efforts towards peaceful denuclearization of the Korean Peninsula.