March 9 (EUROPA PRESS) –
A delegation from the United Nations Security Council travels to the Democratic Republic of the Congo in order to assess the security situation, as well as the implementation of the UN mission in the country (MONUSCO).
The members of the Security Council, who will be here from Thursday to Sunday, will visit the Congolese capital, Kinshasa, and the city of Goma, capital of the North Kivu province, on the country’s eastern border.
Thus, during their stay in Kinshasa, they will meet with senior officials of the DRC Government, such as the president, Félix Tshisekedi; the Prime Minister, Jean-Michel Sama Lukonde; representatives of civil society and the diplomatic corps.
On the other hand, during the visit to Goma, the members of the Security Council seek to assess the humanitarian situation through meetings with the provincial authorities, representatives of women’s groups or displaced persons present in the country, according to a MONUSCO statement.
For his part, the deputy spokesman for the UN Secretary General, Farhan Haq, reiterated this Wednesday an appeal to “all parties to the conflict” to respect International Humanitarian Law. He has also called for the protection of the population and that access to humanitarian aid be guaranteed.
Since the start of the escalation between the Congolese Army and the M23 rebel group, more than 20,000 people have been displaced in North Kivu, while in the last year the figure has risen to a total of 800,000 people affected by the conflict.
The rebel group is made up mainly of Congolese Tutsis and operates mainly in the North Kivu province. Following a conflict between 2012 and 2013, the RDC and the group signed a peace agreement in December. In these combats, the DRC Army had the support of United Nations troops.
The group launched a new offensive in October 2022, intensified as of November, which has caused a diplomatic crisis between the DRC and Rwanda over their role in the conflict. UN experts pointed out in December to the existence of “substantial evidence” of “direct intervention” by the Rwandan Army in the conflict.
They also highlighted a collusion between the Congolese Army and various armed groups, including the Democratic Forces for the Liberation of Rwanda (FDLR) and the Mai-Mai, to combat the M23, including the proposal by armed groups to “mobilize 600 combatants”. to reinforce the ranks of the Armed Forces.
Rwanda has accused the DRC of supporting the FDLR — a rebel armed group founded and composed mainly of Hutus responsible for the 1994 genocide in Rwanda — and of using the Mai-Mai militias — Congolese nationalist militias formed to defend their territory. against the numerous rebel groups that have been active since the 1990s– in the context of the conflict. Likewise, he has denounced discrimination and acts of hate against the Tutsi minority in the neighboring country.
