Visit of Jean-Pierre Lacroix, number 2 of the UN, in the DRC: the people tell us "stay!"

The UN Under-Secretary-General for Peacekeeping Operations, Jean-Pierre Lacroix, yesterday, Wednesday 7 June, concluded a five-day visit to the Democratic Republic of Congo. The number two of the United Nations shared exchanges with the government on the transition in the process of departure of peacekeepers from the country after more than twenty years of mission. In Kinshasa, Jean-Pierre Lacroix returned to the need for the rise of the Congolese state before any definitive departure in the face of the security vacuum, observed particularly in Ituri.

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Demonstrators hostile to the presence of MONUSCO protest in front of the UN base in Goma, July 25, 2022. AP - Moses Sawasawa

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with our correspondent in Kinshasa, Pascal Mulegwa

MONUSCO had already mentioned it bluntly: the concentration of military efforts on the M23 crisis in North Kivu province has created huge security vacuums in Ituri province, one of the main centers of violence in the country, where Jean-Pierre Lacroix began his visit to the DRC.

As a result, between late 2022 and mid-May, more than 500 civilians were killed by armed groups. If the departure of the blue helmets is imperative for Kinshasa, Jean-Pierre Lacroix confronts pressure with reality. "In Ituri, but also in other provinces where we are present, there are hundreds of thousands of people who are protected today almost exclusively and often exclusively by the presence of MONUSCO. And if she left tomorrow, these civilians would be in very grave danger of being massacred. The people we meet in these camps, in these IDP sites, tell us: stay, don't leave!

>> READ ALSO: Seventy-five years of peacekeeping: "Despite challenges, peacekeepers preserve ceasefires"

For the number two of the UN, the priorities are clearly defined.

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The direction is to work with the authorities not only to continue mutual support, but also to promote the rise of the Congolese state, but to do so in such a way that at no time is there a vacuum in the protection provided to this population."

Jean-Pierre Lacroix notes that there is a need to act "very quickly" with regard to the disarmament and demobilization program of armed groups, faced with a lack of resources. And while the political climate is tense six months before the elections and despite his contacts with opposition and government actors, the UN diplomat did not dwell on the political aspect.

>> READ ALSO: The withdrawal of MONUSCO from the DRC "is not a taboo", according to the UN mission

A press conference was held on the outcome of the visit. @Lacroix_UN affirmed that MONUSCO is in its transition phase and discussions are underway with the government and key actors to ensure a responsible and gradual withdrawal. pic.twitter.com/RfVyvhReV7

— Bintou Keita (@UN_BintouKeita) June 7, 2023

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