DR Congo: UN envoy urges people eager for peace in the east ‘not to lose hope’

Bintou Keita issued the message in an exclusive interview with UN News just a few days after briefing the Security Council on the situation in eastern DRC, expressing "compassion and empathy" for the long-suffering population.

"We know that it is very difficult, and it is a daily difficulty," she said, underlining the "resilience" of the Congolese people "despite all the suffering".

Diplomatic efforts underway

For decades, armed groups have plagued the east, where large areas are now under the control of the M23 rebel movement.

Ms. Keita, who also heads the UN peacekeeping mission in the DRC, MONUSCO, highlighted diplomatic efforts that are being made, while noting that the gap is still "very wide" to translate them on the ground.

"Whether it is the United Nations, its own government authorities, but also the international community as a whole, all are determined so that we can find peace in the east of the DRC," she said.

Regarding the so-called Washington and Doha peace processes, she recalled that the foreign ministers of the DRC and Rwanda signed the Washington Agreement in the US capital on 27 June.

Rwanda supports the M23, which has occupied parts of North and South Kivu provinces in eastern DRC since the beginning of the year. The Government in Kigali maintains that it does not provide military backing to the rebel group.

The Doha Declaration of Principles, establishing a framework for a permanent ceasefire, was signed on 19 July by the Congo River/M23 Alliance and the Congolese Government under mediation by Qatar.

"We are not directly associated as MONUSCO in these conversations, although the agreement itself mentions MONUSCO and provides for a role for MONUSCO when there is a ceasefire," Ms. Keita noted.

However, the UN mission is preparing to be ready to observe the ceasefire when it is in place and to provide its expertise, particularly in terms of direct contact with communities and armed groups, to raise awareness around disarmament, demobilization and reintegration.

On the issue of women's participation in peace processes, Ms. Keita recalled that the UN works at the community, provincial, national and regional levels in the DRC. She said the UN is working to train Congolese women in mediation in a local context so that they can have a voice in peace processes.

Areas under M23 control

Meanwhile, MONUSCO is implementing its mandate to protect civilians in conflict zones in eastern DRC and peacekeepers are still deployed in three provinces in the region: North Kivu, South Kivu and Ituri.

In areas under M23 control, the mission has bases that "are places of refuge for those who feel in danger," she said, representing "a form of direct protection."

Ms. Keita pointed to "another form of protection" for people who are in hiding and who, for various reasons, cannot reach MONUSCO bases.

"We have telephone networks that allow us to be in contact with each other and we have possibilities to ensure that they can find themselves in a situation of being sheltered either by direct aid or by indirect aid with networks of associations and NGOs," she said.

MONUSCO also monitors and documents human rights violations in areas under M23 control. The rebels captured the North Kivu capital, Goma, at the end of January of this year and then took control of Bukavu, capital of South Kivu, on 16 February.

Joint operations with the Congolese army in Ituri

In Ituri province, where other armed groups are active, MONUSCO has an "excellent relationship" with the Congolese Armed Forces, the FARDC, which translates into "a good understanding of our role and mandate" and in joint operations.

She also noted the presence of the Ugandan army, the UPDF, which is deployed bilaterally in the province, and welcomed "better working and coordination relations".

In this context, the number of peacekeeper patrols has increased in Ituri.

"We have bases that are increasingly mobile," the UN envoy explained - a response to the very high mobility of the Allied Democratic Forces (ADF) armed group, responsible for most killings in the region.

"To respond to their attacks, you also have to be very mobile, and so the joining of efforts between the Congolese army and the UN force and the coordination with the UPDF allows us to do what is necessary."