Democratic Republic of the Congo
Expected Council Action
In March, the Security Council will hold a briefing and consultations on the situation in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC). The anticipated briefer is Bintou Keita, the Special Representative and Head of the UN Organization Stabilization Mission in the DRC (MONUSCO).
Key Recent Developments
The fighting between the Congolese armed forces (FARDC) and the Mouvement du 23 Mars (M23) has escalated since early January, with the M23 significantly expanding its territorial control in North Kivu and capturing Goma, the provincial capital. More than 3,000 people have been killed in this latest round of fighting, which has displaced many others. The humanitarian situation has also worsened due to the disruption of critical infrastructure and basic services. The M23 declared a unilateral humanitarian ceasefire on 4 February, but fighting resumed in South Kivu, with the group making further military advances southward.
Council members met three times in January and once in February to discuss the unfolding security situation in eastern DRC. (For more information, see our 15 January, 25 January, 28 January, and 19 February What’s in Blue stories.) The situation also prompted a flurry of diplomatic activities in Africa, with the African Union (AU) and several regional economic communities holding emergency meetings to discuss the matter. Nonetheless, these meetings have had little impact on the situation on the ground, as the M23 continued to advance in South Kivu, capturing Bukavu, the provincial capital, by mid-February.
MONUSCO withdrew from South Kivu in June 2024, following the disengagement plan agreed with the Congolese government in 2023. The FARDC and allied militias reportedly had retreated from the area. Burundian forces, initially deployed in eastern DRC under a bilateral agreement with Kinshasa to target Burundian dissident groups, later joined the fight against the M23 alongside the FARDC but are now reportedly withdrawing from South Kivu.
Meanwhile, media reports indicate that Ugandan forces have entered Bunia, the capital of Ituri province. Uganda has forces deployed in eastern DRC under a separate bilateral agreement with Kinshasa to combat the Allied Democratic Forces (ADF), an armed group affiliated with the Islamic State in Iraq and the Levant (ISIL/Da’esh). The presence in the DRC of troops from various countries in the region and the heightened tensions among key actors have raised concerns that the situation could escalate into a wider conflict.
On 21 February, the Security Council unanimously adopted resolution 2773 on the situation in eastern DRC, which, among other things, demands the immediate cessation of further military advances by the M23, calls for an immediate and unconditional ceasefire, and expresses the Council’s readiness to consider additional measures against those who contribute to the continuation of the conflict in eastern DRC. (For more, see our 21 February What’s in Blue story.)
Human Rights-Related Developments
In a 6 February press release, UN experts expressed concern over urgent protection needs and the dire living conditions of displaced civilians in the eastern DRC, voicing alarm at reports of indiscriminate attacks and summary executions. With the security situation compounded by widespread looting of humanitarian facilities and denials of humanitarian access, they appealed to the international community to augment efforts and funding to support the DRC government to protect and assist displaced persons. They also emphasised the need for proper investigations and accountability for the violations committed. Among other recommendations, the experts echoed the Secretary-General’s appeal for Rwanda to cease support to the M23 and withdraw from DRC territory.
On 7 February, the Human Rights Council (HRC) held its 37th special session on the DRC’s human rights situation. The special session was convened per the DRC’s request on 3 February, supported by 27 member states of the Human Rights Council and 21 observer states. During the session, UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Volker Türk stressed that the situation is “trapping civilians in a spiral of violence”. He called on all parties to lay down their weapons and resume dialogue within the framework of regional peace processes. Surya Deva, Chair of the Coordination Committee of the Special Procedures, and Keita, among others, also called for all parties to adhere to obligations under international humanitarian law (IHL) and international human rights law and emphasised the need to restore lasting peace, respectively.
At the session’s conclusion, the HRC adopted a resolution (A/HRC/37/L.1) establishing a fact-finding mission on the human rights abuses and IHL violations committed in the provinces of North and South Kivu. It further established an independent commission of inquiry to continue the work undertaken by the fact-finding mission after the fact-finding mission presents its comprehensive report at the 80th session of the UN General Assembly.
Women, Peace and Security
In a 3 February statement, Special Representative on Sexual Violence in Conflict Pramila Patten condemned the renewed offensive carried out by the M23 with the support of the Rwandan Defence Force in eastern DRC. She expressed grave concern about the heightened risk and emerging reports of conflict-related sexual violence (CRSV) in the area and urged all parties to abide by their obligations under international humanitarian and human rights law. Patten emphasised the importance of ensuring that survivors of CRSV have access to comprehensive multisectoral services and urged the parties to return to diplomatic talks and comply with the relevant Security Council resolutions on CRSV, including resolutions 1888, 2106 and 2467.
In a 4 February press briefing, the Director of UN Women in Geneva and Chief of Humanitarian Action, Sofia Calltorp, similarly expressed deep concern about the situation of women and girls in eastern DRC. Among other recommendations, she called for enhancing prevention, protection, and response mechanisms for sexual and gender-based violence and for ensuring women’s participation in peace negotiations and decision-making.
Key Issues and Options
A key issue for Council members in March is the security situation in eastern DRC. Members will be watching developments closely and could choose to issue a press or presidential statement reiterating the importance of implementing resolution 2773 in this regard.
A related issue is the humanitarian and human rights situation in the region. At the 19 February meeting, Council members heard accounts of serious human rights violations and abuses—such as summary executions, including of children, and conflict-related sexual and gender-based violence in eastern DRC—following the rapid deterioration of the security situation. A possible option for Council members is to request a briefing from the UN Under-Secretary-General for Humanitarian Affairs.
How to support ongoing regional efforts to find a lasting solution to the conflict in eastern DRC through diplomatic means will remain a major preoccupation for Council members. In March, they are likely to discuss the recent decisions by the AU and its regional mechanisms to address the situation in eastern DRC. They may also reaffirm the need to ensure the necessary coordination and complementarity among the various regional mediation initiatives and support the convening of a second quadripartite summit by the AU, including all the relevant regional mechanisms involved in finding a solution to the crisis in eastern DRC. (The quadripartite process was initiated by the AU at a summit in June 2023 and involved the East African Community, the Economic Community of Central African States, the International Conference on the Great Lakes Region, and the Southern African Development Community.)
MONUSCO’s disengagement process remains an ongoing issue for Council members. In line with resolution 2765 of 20 December 2024, which last renewed the mission’s mandate, MONUSCO and the Congolese government are expected to submit a tailored strategy to the Council by 31 March for a gradual, responsible, and sustainable withdrawal, considering the evolving conflict dynamics and protection risks. The development of this strategy, however, is likely to have been overtaken by the latest developments in eastern DRC, which are likely to force both the mission and the Congolese government to reassess the issue from a new perspective.
Being able to provide logistical and operational support from MONUSCO to the Southern African Development Community Mission in DRC (SAMIDRC), pursuant to resolution 2746 of 6 August 2024, is also an issue. It seems that the casualties sustained by SAMIDRC during the latest round of fighting have caused significant concern among its troop-contributing countries. In March, Council members may wish to seek updates on MONUSCO’s coordination with SAMIDRC and its support for the force, considering the new realities on the ground.
Council and Wider Dynamics
Council members remain extremely concerned about the security and humanitarian situation in the eastern DRC. They all seem to agree that the solution to this long-standing issue is political, and they continue to support regional efforts. The role of external actors in the eastern DRC, however, has been a divisive issue among Council members. With the latest developments on the ground, many Council members are now openly calling for external actors to stop supporting armed groups in the eastern DRC, but the “A3 Plus” grouping (Algeria, Sierra Leone, Somalia, and Guyana) has been cautious in line with the decisions of the AU and its regional mechanisms, which do not explicitly reference Rwanda’s role. In the negotiations on resolution 2773, in light of the rapidly deteriorating security situation in eastern DRC, the A3 Plus came under pressure to reconsider its position. Among this grouping, Guyana was the first to support the draft text, which called on “the Rwanda Defence Forces to cease support to the M23 and immediately withdraw from DRC territory without preconditions”; ultimately, the other members of the A3 Plus also voted in favour of the resolution facilitating its unanimous adoption.
It seems that MONUSCO is in a challenging position, with its peacekeepers facing restrictions on their freedom of movement. This will likely impact the mission’s ability to carry out its mandated tasks. There appear to be ongoing internal discussions within the Secretariat regarding short-, medium-, and long-term scenarios for the mission in the face of the unfolding situation in eastern DRC. Currently, Council members seem to be focused on responding to the current situation but are likely to pay closer attention to this issue in the coming months.
SAMIDRC’s situation in eastern DRC also appears to have sparked a domestic backlash in South Africa. A key troop-contributing country (TCC) to SAMIDRC, South Africa, has reportedly sent reinforcements after 14 of its soldiers were killed in North Kivu but has hinted at a potential drawdown, depending on the implementation of decisions adopted at the regional summits. Malawi, another TCC, has already decided to withdraw its troops from eastern DRC.
| Security Council Resolutions | |
| 21 February 2025S/RES/2773 | This resolution, acting under Chapter VII of the Charter of the United Nations, strongly condemns the ongoing offensive and advances of the M23 in the North Kivu and South Kivu provinces of the DRC–calling on the Rwanda Defence Force (RDF) to cease support to M23 and immediately withdraw from DRC territory without preconditions. The resolution also reiterates an urgent call for all parties to conclude an immediate and unconditional ceasefire. |
| 20 December 2024S/RES/2765 | This resolution extends the mandate of the United Nations Organization Stabilization Mission in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (MONUSCO) for a period of one year until 20 December 2025–noting the continued violence in eastern DRC by the 23 March Movement (M23) and the persistent presence of other domestic and foreign armed groups in the country. |
| 6 August 2024S/RES/2746 | This resolution authorised MONUSCO to provide logistical and operational support to SAMIDRC and requested the Secretary-General to report on the implementation of this resolution and SAMIDRC to report on its activities, including coordination with MONUSCO, by 15 November. |
| Security Council Press Statements | |
| 26 January 2025SC/15982 | This was a press statement on the situation on the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) in which members of the Security Council condemned the ongoing advances by the M23 in the North-Kivu province of eastern DRC, and expressed serious concerns regarding imminent threats against Goma. They also echoed the statement by the Secretary-General dated 26 January 2025, demanding that the ongoing offensive and advances towards Goma immediately stop. |
