From October 21 to 25, 2024, members of the Just Future Alliance gathered to kick off discussions for the upcoming round of negotiations on the MONUSCO resolution, scheduled for a vote in December 2024. The event, hosted by Belgium’s Permanent Representation to the United Nations, attracted strong participation, with over 17 delegates from various Permanent Representations to the UN in attendance.
To amplify our advocacy efforts, we partnered with the Europe–Central Africa network (EurAc), a well-established advocacy group focusing on the Great Lakes region with a strong track record of influencing EU and Member State policies. The roundtable fostered a rich exchange of views on MONUSCO’s transition, blending national and international perspectives. ASSN and SIPRI presented research findings on the challenges and opportunities of the transition, offering strategies for MONUSCO, national stakeholders, and international actors to enhance the sustainability of its SSR activities. Civil society contributions were presented by our partner, Dynamique des Femmes Juristes, alongside EurAc, both underscoring the importance of incorporating local voices in the mission’s evaluation and mandate implementation. France, as the resolution’s penholder, also provided valuable reflections that enriched the conversation about MONUSCO’s future.
In the days following the roundtable, the Just Future and EurAc delegation secured bilateral meetings with key stakeholders involved in the resolution negotiations. These included permanent, elected, and incoming members of the UN Security Council. These meetings provided valuable feedback on the roundtable and insights into the current negotiation dynamics, enabling the delegation to refine its advocacy strategy with precision and timeliness.
Together with EurAc we prepared a list of suggestions for specific language to be preserved and/or incorporated in the next resolution to ensure a safe, sustainable, and responsible transition of the peacekeeping mission in the DR Congo. The proposed elements include:
| Civilian and human rights protection: the protection of civilians and human rights must remain the first and immediate priority of the MONUSCO. Existing language must be further strengthened in order to ensure accountability and avoid any security gaps that could have a devastating impact on the future of the Congolese population. Civil society: we advocate for a stronger role of civil society in the transition process ahead. With their deep understanding of local dynamics and trust-based relationships with local communities, civil society actors can support, analyse, and monitor the process, ensuring greater local ownership, credibility, and effectiveness of the future transition process. Security Sector Reform (SSR): efforts towards national and local ownership of SSR must be accelerated, with a greater focus on financial sustainability. Strategic Communication: the current communication strategy regarding the implementation of the MONUSCO’s mandate and the future transition process must be improved in favor of a clearer and more transparent approach, with a particular focus on local communities. Strategic review: we recommend the conduct of an independent strategic review of the mission to better assess ongoing challenges, shortcomings, and areas for improvement of the future transition plan. Such assessment should be conducted based on broad consultations, including with civil society. |
Read the reports presented at the roundtable:
📄 ASSN, Planned withdrawal of MONUSCO from the Democratic Republic of Congo: Challenges and Prospects: https://www.africansecuritynetwork.org/assn/wp-content/uploads/2024/07/Planned-withdrawal-of-MONUSCO-from-the-Democratic-Republic-of-Congo.pdf