EngRegional
UN Security Council’s stand on DRC crisis jeopardizes peace effort
A UN Security Council Briefing on the Democratic Republic of Congo.
The
United Nations Security Council on August 6 authorized the peace keeping
mission in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (MONUSCO) to provide
operational, technical, and logistical assistance to the Southern African
Development Community (SADC) Mission in the country, SAMIDRC.
The move undermines all efforts towards a political resolution to the conflict, and ignores the importance of finding a political solution through ongoing regional peace initiatives.
The UN
support includes coordination with the SADC Mission for the utilization of
MONUSCO’s air and other logistical assets for medical and casualty evacuation
of SADC troops; utilization of MONUSCO’s air assets and armoured vehicles, and
sharing of information and intelligence.
The
announcement read: “We welcome the announcement by Angolan President Lourenco
of an agreed ceasefire in eastern DRC and express our full support to Angola’s
efforts through the Ad Hoc Verification Mechanism to oversee compliance by both
sides.”
“We
encourage MONUSCO’s support to this mechanism, in furtherance of its mandate,
to provide advice and assistance to the government of the DRC in the
implementation of the Luanda agreement. And we urge Angola to enhance its
coordination with the UN in order to maximize implementation.”
The
Security Council contradicted itself while trying to convince the world that it
is supporting SAMIDRC and the Luanda peace process.
SAMIDRC
as an offensive force contradicts the regional call for political dialogue and
cannot be a substitute for a political process that has been blocked by the
government of DRC.
The Luanda peace process favours political dialogue as the only viable solution to the conflicts in war-torn eastern DRC. But SAMIDRC is there for an offensive mission that backs Tshisekedi’s genocidal agenda of ethnic cleansing, especially targeting the fighting M23/AFC rebellion.
However, the UN Security Council pretends to support the Luanda and Nairobi peace processes, while at the same time supporting and funding SAMIDRC.
Why would
the Security Council advocate for an offensive mission?
The
Southern African bloc was clear when it stated that its mission in DRC was to
work with the Congolese armed forces to fight the M23 rebels. Peacekeeping was
not part of their deployment mission.
Supporting
SADC troops to use force against M23 rebels, who are fighting against
discrimination and an existential threat is to condone the ethnic cleansing
agenda that has been going on where innocent people are subjected to inhuman
torture, cannibalism, lynching, hate speech, and other forms of injustice.
To expect that the latest SADC offensive will bring peace is only self-deception. SAMIDRC will not address the root causes of the conflict.
This stance shows the UN’s double standards and adds no value in efforts aimed at finding a lasting solution to the DRC conflict. Supporting the military option by providing operational and logistical support to SAMIDRC exacerbates the crisis.
