Statement [Made on Behalf of the Security Council, at the 9437th Meeting, 16 Oct. 2023, in Connection with the Council's Consideration of the Item Entitled "the Situation Concerning the Democratic Republic of the Congo"]

S/PRST/2023/5View PDF

Who adopted this document and its mandates?

A Presidential Statement of the Security Council, under agenda item 102 The situation concerning the Democratic Republic of the Congo, published in 2023.

What subjects does this mandate have?

9 subjects

Democratic Republic of the Congo Democratic Republic of the Congo Situation Dissolution Elections Human Rights in Armed Conflicts Internal Security Peacekeeping Operations Regional Cooperation Regional Security

What’s in this document?

21 paragraphs

At the 9437th meeting of the Security Council, held on 16 October 2023, in connection with the Council’s consideration of the item entitled “The situation concerning the Democratic Republic of the Congo”, the President of the Security Council made the following statement on behalf of the Council:

“The Security Council reaffirms its strong commitment to the sovereignty, independence, unity, and territorial integrity of the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC).

[MONUSCO]

“The Security Council commends the stabilizing actions of MONUSCO, reiterates its call on all parties to continue their efforts to ensure full cooperation with it, and recalls its request to the Secretary-General to provide MONUSCO with all necessary capacities, to fulfil its mandate.

“The Security Council encourages the Government of the DRC to continue the efforts undertaken to ensure its primary responsibility to protect civilians within its territory and for the safety and security of United Nations personnel and assets.

“In that regard, the Security Council takes full note of the Secretary-General 2nd August 2023 report submitted to the Security Council pursuant to paragraph 44 of the resolution 2666 (2022), and the letter of 1st September, 2023 from the Deputy-Prime Minister, Minister of Foreign Affairs of the DRC, Mr. Christophe Lutundula Apala Pen’Apala, on the accelerated withdrawal of MONUSCO from the end of 2023.

“The Security Council expresses its readiness to decide by the end of 2023 on the future of MONUSCO, its gradual, responsible and sustainable withdrawal and the concrete and realistic steps to be undertaken, as a matter of priority to implement this withdrawal.

“The Security Council encourages the Government of the DRC and the United Nations, within the framework of the Joint Working Group consisting of the Government of the DRC, MONUSCO and the UN Country team to develop by November, in coordination with relevant stakeholders, and building on the efforts to revise the Joint Transition Plan and in accordance with the four milestones retained in the revised transition plan, namely, security, protection of the civilians, support for the elections and the P-DDRCS, a comprehensive disengagement plan, and proposals for the chronology of the progressive and orderly withdrawal of MONUSCO’s troops; the gradual reduction of MONUSCO’s staff; the definition of practical modalities for the gradual transfer of tasks; the development of the operational plan for the implementation of MONUSCO’s withdrawal and the specification of MONUSCO’s transition tasks to be accomplished.

[REGIONAL EFFORTS]

“The Security Council calls for calm and increased dialogue between DRC and Rwanda in furtherance of durable peace in the region.

“The Security Council underlines the importance of a political resolution of the current crisis and reiterates its support to regional efforts and urges all Congolese armed groups to participate unconditionally to those processes.

“The Security Council underscores the importance of coordination and complementarity between political and military initiatives in the DRC, including with support from the Secretary-General, the Special Representative of the Secretary-General for DRC and the Special Envoy of the Secretary-General for the Great Lakes region.

“The Security council welcomes the ongoing efforts to harmonize and coordinate the existing peace initiatives to address the situation in the DRC, such as the quadripartite summit of the East African Community, the Economic Community of Central African States, the International Conference on the Great Lakes Region and the Southern African Development Community, which was convened in Luanda under the auspices of the African Union on 27 June.

[ARMED GROUPS]

“The Security Council demands the end of any further advances by the Security Council-sanctioned M23 and the immediate and full implementation of commitments made on the withdrawal from all occupied areas and its cantonment as agreed through the Luanda Process.

“The Security Council condemns support by any external party to M23 and demands the cessation of such support and the immediate withdrawal of any such party from the DRC.

“The Security Council also condemns support to certain armed groups such as the Security Council-sanctioned Forces démocratiques de libération du Rwanda (FDLR) and demands the cessation of such support.

“The Security Council expresses its deep concern at the information, presented in the annual report of the Group of Experts on the DRC, regarding foreign military support provided to M23 and the support also provided by military forces to the FDLR.

“The Security Council strongly condemns the continuing violence and abuses of human rights by all armed groups, including summary executions, sexual and gender-based violence and large-scale recruitment and use of children, and remains deeply concerned by the intensification of misinformation and disinformation. The Security Council further calls upon all actors to comply with their obligations under international law, including international humanitarian law and international human rights law, as applicable, and to ensure accountability for violations, including sexual violence in conflict and post-conflict situations.

[ELECTIONS]

“The Security Council encourages the DRC authorities to continue to work, with the support of MONUSCO, toward peaceful, transparent, inclusive and credible processes for the elections scheduled in 2023, in accordance with the Constitution and the Electoral law, throughout the DRC, to facilitate free and fair elections, and to ensure the full, equal, effective and meaningful participation of women at all stages, as both candidates and voters. The Security Council encourages the DRC to ensure free civic space and calls all parties to seek dialogue and consensus.”

Who adopted this document and its mandates?

What subjects does this mandate have?

What’s in this document?

Table of contents