By RFPosted on 07-11-2019Modified on 07-11-2019 at 08:58

In the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), where violence persists and threatens the relative stabilization since the inauguration of President Felix Tshisekedi, the UN may soon think about phasing out its peacekeepers. The report of an independent expert has just been submitted to the Security Council, while the mandate of the United Nations Mission in Congo (Monusco) is to be renewed in December 2019.

With our correspondent in New York, Carrie Nooten

The report on MONUSCO , produced by an independent expert after a strategic review of the mission, advocates a withdrawal of UN forces, and sets the framework. Keeping in mind the approach of the presidential election in 2023 and the risks of resurgence of conflicts that it implies, the expert recommends first a transition over at least three years. By 2020, 16,000 peacekeepers could still patrol the DRC. Then, the troops stationed in the provinces of Tanganyika and Kasaï could withdraw as early as 2021; there would be no more soldiers left than in Kivu and Ituri. And finally, in 2022, they could leave the DRC.

Twenty years of beneficial presence

If it allows itself to consider a withdrawal of Monusco, the report highlights the twenty years of presence " beneficial for reunification " in the DRC, and highlights its leading role in the implementation of the elections of 2018. In the UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres notes in his introduction that this first " successful " political transition is fueling hopes for complete stability in the Democratic Republic of the Congo.

Caution

The Secretary-General remains cautious and aware of the challenges facing President Tshisekedi, between the Ebola virus and the inter-communal conflicts in North, South Kivu and Ituri. As a result, a " responsible " withdrawal of MONUSCO's forces will only happen through stronger institutions and committed economic development. Mr. Guterres reminded the Security Council that he was not obliged to follow the recommendations of this report.

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