UNITED NATIONS, Nov 23 (NNN-XINHUA) — Joint technical teams in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) have worked out a plan to withdraw the UN peacekeeping mission in the country, a UN spokesman said.
Farhan Haq, the deputy spokesman for UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres, said the plan for the mission, known as MONUSCO, to stand down would be jointly implemented in phases, with the support of the DRC’s international and national partners.
Haq said the head of the UN mission, Bintou Keita, and Christophe Lutundula, the Congolese vice prime minister and minister of foreign affairs, signed a note on the accelerated, gradual, orderly and responsible withdrawal of MONUSCO from the DRC, containing a plan and a timeline for the complete disengagement of the mission in the country.
The spokesman said that in September, DRC President Flix Tshisekedi reiterated his country’s desire to accelerate the withdrawal of MONUSCO, starting in December. Then, after an Oct. 16 Security Council presidential statement on the request, the teams developed the disengagement plan.
“After the mission’s departure, the UN system will continue to support the development efforts of the Congolese government and people, with the aim of sustaining peacebuilding and security gains in the country,” said Haq.
The Security Council, in a 2010 resolution, authorized MONUSCO to take over from an earlier UN peacekeeping operation known as MONUC to reflect a new phase reached in the country.
The new mission was authorized to use all necessary means to carry out its mandate. It was charged with, among other things, protecting civilians, humanitarian personnel and human rights and supporting the government’s stabilization and peace consolidation efforts.
However, deadly rebel raids plagued the country’s easternmost provinces. It was alleged that some rebel groups were backed by neighbors of the DRC. — NNN-XINHUA
