Charting a Future For Peacekeeping in the DRC

Given that United Nations peacekeepers have been deployed continuously in the Democratic Republic of the Congo for two decades, there is understandable fatigue among Member States and donors. The UN Stabilization Mission in the DRC (MONUSCO) has come under increasing pressure to develop an exit strategy and plan for a phased withdrawal from the Central African country.
While renewing MONUSCO’s mandate in March 2019, the UN Security Council (UNSC) requested the Secretary-General to provide the body with “an independent strategic review assessing the continued challenges to peace and security in the DRC and articulating a phased, progressive, and comprehensive exit strategy.”
The strategic review, therefore, offers an opportunity for reflection and analysis that can strengthen MONUSCO’s planning. However, the timeline for MONUSCO’s activities and presence in the DRC should be driven by analysis of the conflict environment to ensure that its drawdown and eventual exit are not premature and do not excessively endanger civilians or jeopardize regional peace and security, a policy brief from the Center for Civilians in Conflict stresses.
“[T]here are still a number of hurdles that need to be overcome for the DRC to achieve durable peace, and MONUSCO’s protection efforts remain crucial in the meantime,” states the brief, titled ‘Charting a Future For Peacekeeping in the Democratic Republic of Congo’.
With limited support from the Congolese government in the past, MONUSCO has struggled to ensure that its efforts are sustainable. However, the January 2019 change in government presents an opportunity that the UNSC and MONUSCO should capitalize on.
“This is a time to evaluate what a successful end to MONUSCO’s mandate will look like, what failures from past drawdowns can be avoided, where the Mission has been successful, and which Mission activities should be reinforced to achieve an exit that does not leave civilians trapped between violent armed groups and abusive state security forces.”
Reductions to MONUSCO’s budget over the past several years have spurred base closures and an increased reliance on mobility. While recent closures in the west of the country may prove an effective way for MONUSCO to prioritize and refocus on the most insecure provinces, past base closures in the east serve as an example of the risks that can arise from a quick drawdown in areas where armed groups are still entrenched, the report states.
In the coming years, MONUSCO will need to continue providing protection to civilians, developing tailored and comprehensive strategies to address armed group violence, monitoring human rights violations, building government and civil society capacity to monitor and respond to threats, and supporting national strategies to address violence and promote human rights.
Success will depend less on MONUSCO than on the willingness of the Congolese government to support reform efforts. Constructive and sustained diplomatic engagement with the Congolese government by Member States and regional actors will be vital in this regard.
Moreover, bilateral engagement by Member States and a renewed commitment from donors on security sector reform and disarmament, demobilization, and reintegration will be required to pave the way for a responsible MONUSCO exit. In addition, as MONUSCO draws down, funding should shift to the protection efforts of UN agencies, international and national nongovernmental organizations, and some Congolese government agencies.
A rapid drawdown and withdrawal from the DRC would undermine the gains MONUSCO has made and have devastating consequences for civilians. Plans for MONUSCO’s exit should remain linked to thorough analysis of the conflict environment, and timelines for drawdown should take into account the need to bridge large gaps in security sector reform, the necessity of demobilizing armed groups, and the importance of transitioning protection-related tasks to other actors in the DRC.
The UNSC can avoid significant risks by linking MONUSCO’s exit to benchmarks that evaluate the security environment and signal when civilians truly no longer need the protection of peacekeepers, the brief concludes.