Democratic Republic of the Congo: Vote on MONUSCO Mandate Renewal*
This morning (20 December), the Security Council is expected to vote on a draft resolution renewing the mandate of the UN Organization Stabilization Mission in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (MONUSCO) for one year, until 20 December 2025.
France and Sierra Leone, the co-penholders on the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), circulated an initial draft of the resolution on 5 December and convened two rounds of negotiations, on 9 and 12 December. A revised draft was placed under silence until 5 pm on Monday (16 December), after which China, Russia, and the US broke silence over various aspects of the draft text. The co-penholders placed a revised draft under a second silence procedure until Wednesday (18 December), but the same members again broke silence. France and Sierra Leone made further revisions and put the text directly in blue yesterday afternoon (19 December), without another silence procedure.
Background
This year’s negotiations on MONUSCO’s mandate renewal took place amid positive developments in regional efforts to address insecurity in eastern DRC. These included the 30 July ceasefire agreement between the DRC and Rwanda under Angola’s mediation, known as the Luanda process; the launch of the reinforced Ad-Hoc Verification Mechanism (R-AVM) on 5 November to monitor the ceasefire; and the adoption on 25 November of a harmonised plan to neutralise the Forces Démocratiques de Libération du Rwanda (FDLR)—an ethnic Hutu armed group active in eastern DRC that was involved in the 1994 Rwandan genocide—together with Rwanda’s disengagement of its “defensive measures”.
At the Council’s latest meeting on the DRC, held on 9 December, members welcomed the recent developments, encouraged the DRC and Rwanda to uphold their commitments, and expressed support for Angola’s mediation efforts. Members also noted that they looked forward to the tripartite talks in Luanda to facilitate direct dialogue between the DRC and Rwanda, which were scheduled to take place on 15 December. However, a 15 December press release from Angola’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs stated that the talks were postponed at the last minute at the request of one party. The press release also noted that the finalisation of a peace agreement between the two countries has also been held up by the issue of negotiations with the Mouvement du 23 Mars (M23), a rebel group fighting the Congolese Armed Forces (FARDC). The Congolese government has consistently refused to engage in dialogue with the M23, choosing to negotiate directly with Rwanda instead. Similarly, the M23 has also refused to engage in dialogue with the government.
On 17 December, the DRC sent a letter (S/2024/927) to the Security Council accusing Rwanda of delaying the tripartite summit by insisting on direct negotiations with the M23 as a precondition for the peace agreement. Rwanda has rejected this assertion, stating that the issue was raised by Angola, and has been under discussion since August. The DRC also clarified in its letter that it has no objection to the M23 participating in the Nairobi process, a regional initiative led by former Kenyan President Uhuru Kenyatta.
At the 9 December meeting, several Council members expressed concerns that the M23, supported by Rwanda, was expanding its territory in violation of the ceasefire and establishing administrative structures. They also raised alarm about “jamming” and “spoofing” incidents affecting Global Positioning Systems (GPS)—documented in the Secretary-General latest report on MONUSCO, dated 29 November—which undermine MONUSCO’s ability to carry out its mandate and endanger peacekeepers and humanitarian personnel.
Regarding MONUSCO’s disengagement process, endorsed by the Security Council through resolution 2717 of 19 December 2023, Special Representative of the Secretary-General in the DRC and Head of MONUSCO Bintou Keita described ongoing consultations with the Congolese government to adapt the process to evolving security dynamics and civilian protection risks. Council members expressed support for a flexible, phased disengagement, emphasising the need to avoid a security vacuum and assist the Congolese government in gradually assuming security responsibilities.
Negotiations on the Draft Resolution
The draft text in blue renews MONUSCO’s mandate until 20 December 2025, maintaining its current troop ceiling of 11,500 military personnel, 600 military observers, 443 police, and 1,270 personnel in formed police units. Although China proposed extending the mandate to March 2026 to streamline Council mandate renewal cycles, the host country apparently did not support this suggestion. The text also retains the mission’s three key priorities: protection of civilians (PoC), support for disarmament, demobilisation, and reintegration (DDR), and assistance with security sector reform (SSR).
At the 9 December meeting, the US stressed the need to leverage the enforcement mandate of MONUSCO’s Force Intervention Brigade (FIB) to deal with armed groups like the Allied Democratic Forces (ADF) that continue to perpetrate attacks against civilians. In this regard, it sought to strengthen PoC language in the text, which China and Russa opposed, citing, among other things, the basic principles of peacekeeping and the primary responsibility of the host country in protecting civilians. The draft text in blue contains compromise language which authorises the mission to use “all means at its disposal…to promptly and effectively prevent armed groups’ attacks against civilians”. The UK also proposed strong language requesting an assessment of the FIB’s performance and potential adjustments to MONUSCO’s structure. However, the “A3 plus” grouping (Algeria, Mozambique, Sierra Leone, and Guyana), China, and Russia pushed back in apparent defence of the FIB troop-contributing countries. The draft text in blue eventually requests the Secretary-General, in his quarterly reports on MONUSCO, to evaluate the mission’s performance, including the FIB, and provide operational assessments and recommendations.
This year’s negotiations were difficult and contentious, mainly because of divisions among Council members over the role of external forces and sophisticated weaponry in eastern DRC. The US, supported by Malta, Slovenia, and Switzerland, sought to explicitly condemn the Rwanda Defense Force (RDF) for its role in the conflict, citing past reports corroborating this by the Group of Experts assisting the 1533 DRC Sanctions Committee. The US broke silence to insist on its position, but the “A3 plus” members opposed this proposal, arguing that doing so would complicate the ongoing talks between the DRC and Rwanda and expressing support for a more general reference instead. This issue has been divisive among Council members for two years, including during the recent negotiations on the 25 October press statement on the DRC.
On 17 December, the co-penholders convened an informal consultation session with other Council members and agreed on broader language which mentions the “role of a neighbouring state” without explicitly referencing Rwanda. Nonetheless, the US broke silence again, criticising the Council’s failure to address Rwanda’s role, which it apparently said has become more notable and dangerous. The US called for closed consultations yesterday afternoon to discuss the M23’s recent military advances in eastern DRC and exchange views on the state of the Luanda process.
Meanwhile, the co-penholders made further revisions to the text in an attempt at compromise but still did not mention Rwanda. The draft text, which was put in blue before yesterday afternoon’s consultations, contains a new preambular paragraph that expresses “grave concern at the ongoing offensive by M23 in North Kivu in violation of the ceasefire and at the operational support delivered by external Forces from a neighbouring State to M23 as reported by the Group of Experts”. It also expresses concern about “the unauthorized presence of external forces from a neighboring state in Eastern DRC”, calling for their immediate withdrawal. Additionally, the draft resolution in blue expresses concern over the deployment by a neighbouring state of sophisticated weaponry—including surface-to-air missiles—as reported by the Group of Experts, as well as occurrences of GPS “jamming” and “spoofing” in M23-controlled areas in North Kivu.
Language on women, peace and security (WPS) also required some discussion during the negotiations. While several Council members sought to strengthen such language, China and Russia pushed back. The co-penholders compromised by removing WPS language, such as references to consultations with women-led organisations and gender-responsive approaches, including to protecting civilians. Despite this, China and Russia insisted on further softening the WPS language, which the co-penholders ultimately did in order to reach compromise. The “A3 plus” members also apparently wanted to delete an operative paragraph which refers to sexual exploitation and abuse by peacekeepers, arguing that no cases of sexual exploitation and abuse were recorded in the Secretary-General’s most recent MONUSCO report. In an apparent compromise, the draft text in blue “notes the content of the latest Secretary-General’s report while recalling that fighting against sexual exploitation and abuse remains critical”.
Unlike previous years, the DRC government did not call for MONUSCO’s immediate departure during this year’s negotiations. In a 13 December Note Verbale, the DRC outlined its position on the mandate renewal, stating that while MONUSCO’s withdrawal is irreversible, it will not follow the original plan due to the situation in North Kivu, especially the presence of the RDF. The document also highlighted the challenges that will be posed to MONUSCO’s ability to provide support for the Southern African Development Community Mission in the DRC (SAMIDRC), as mandated by resolution 2746 of 6 August 2023, if the mission withdraws.
As part of the disengagement process, MONUSCO withdrew from South Kivu in June and was subsequently expected to draw down from North Kivu and Ituri. The DRC now proposes a flexible approach, focusing on withdrawing from pacified areas rather than following the original phased plan. Council members support this approach, and the text in blue calls for a tailored strategy for a gradual, responsible, and sustainable withdrawal, considering evolving conflict dynamics and protection risks. The draft resolution requests that this strategy be shared with the Council by 31 March 2025.
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**Post-script: On 20 December, the Security Council unanimously adopted resolution 2765, renewing the mandate of the UN Organization Stabilization Mission in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (MONUSCO) for one year, until 20 December 2025.
