ZCZC
BFF-13
DRCONGO-CONFLICT-UN-PEACEKEEPING
UN considering drawdown of DR Congo mission
UNITED NATIONS, United States, March 8, 2019 (BSS/AFP) – The United Nations
is considering a drawdown of its large peacekeeping force in the Democratic
Republic of Congo and charting a course towards an exit strategy, a senior UN
peacekeeping official said Thursday.
After presidential elections in December that ended Joseph Kabila’s rule
and improved security, the 16,000-strong mission known as MONUSCO can be
reconfigured, said the official, who asked not to be named.
“We are looking at a gradual process of adjusting the MONUSCO — probably
downsize it,” the official told reporters.
“We have to work together with the Congolese on a path toward a gradual
exit strategy.”
Kabila had repeatedly called for MONUSCO to pull out of his country but new
President Felix Tshisekedi has said the force should be “better armed” and
has offered to cooperate with the United Nations on next steps.
The Security Council must decide later this month on renewing the mandate
of the peacekeeping mission, which ranks among its costliest, with a budget
of over $1 billion annually.
UN diplomats said the MONUSCO mandate could be renewed for seven months to
allow negotiations on the future of the force.
Discussions on drawing down MONUSCO come as the United States, the number
one financial contributor to UN peacekeeping, is seeking to reduce its share
of the UN budget for peace operations.
US national security advisor John Bolton in December said the United States
will seek to wind down long-running UN peacekeeping missions that do not
bring long-term peace.
BSS/AFP/GMR/0838 hrs