Democratic Republic of the Congo

Donors in Geneva today pledged $528 million to support the delivery of urgently needed humanitarian aid to millions of people in the Democratic Republic of the Congo.  The announcements were made at a humanitarian conference in co‑chaired by the United Nations, the European Union and the Netherlands.

United Nations Secretary-General António Guterres today announced the appointment of Lieutenant General Elias Rodrigues Martins Filho of Brazil as Force Commander of the United Nations Organization Stabilization Mission in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (MONUSCO).

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):

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 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.

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.