Democratic Republic of the Congo: Briefing and Consultations
Tomorrow morning (12 December), the Security Council will convene for an open briefing, followed by closed consultations, on the situation in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), including the work of the UN Organization Stabilization Mission in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (MONUSCO). After leading the mission for more than four years, Special Representative of the Secretary-General in the DRC Bintou Keita completed her mandate on 30 November. At tomorrow’s meeting, Under-Secretary-General for Peace Operations Jean-Pierre Lacroix is expected to brief based on the Secretary-General’s latest report on the mission, which was published on 1 December and covers developments since 19 September. The chair of the 1533 DRC Sanctions Committee, Ambassador Michael Imran Kanu (Sierra Leone), is expected to brief on the committee’s work. A civil society representative is also expected to brief the Council. Burundi, the DRC, and Rwanda are expected to participate in the meeting under rule 37 of the Council’s provisional rules of procedure.
Lacroix is expected to update Council members on recent developments in ongoing peace processes to address the situation in eastern DRC. On 26 November, Council members held an informal interactive dialogue (IID) to receive a briefing on the current state of the various mediation efforts. (For more information, see our 25 November What’s in Blue story.) A major development since then is the signing on 4 December of the Washington Accords for Peace and Prosperity between the DRC and Rwanda. DRC President Félix Tshisekedi and Rwandan President Paul Kagame signed the accord under the auspices of US President Donald Trump and in the presence of several regional leaders, committing to implement the 27 June Peace Agreement and the 25 April Declaration of Principles signed between the two countries as part of the Washington Process—a mediation effort led by the US.
However, the security situation in eastern DRC has dramatically deteriorated since the signing of the Washington Accords. An escalation of fighting in North Kivu and South Kivu provinces in recent days has reportedly resulted in the Mouvement du 23 Mars (M23) rebel group capturing several areas, expanding its control of territory in these two provinces. On 10 December, the group announced that it had captured Uvira—a strategic town on the shores of Lake Tanganyika near the Burundian capital, Bujumbura, raising fears of heightened regional tensions. On the following day, the Chairperson of the African Union (AU) Commission, Mahmoud Ali Youssouf, issued a statement urging restraint amid escalating tensions in the Great Lakes region.
Burundi apparently viewed the fall of Uvira as a red line and had reinforced the presence of the Burundi National Defence Force (FDNB) in the area. (The FDNB has been operating inside the DRC as part of a bilateral agreement with Kinshasa.) Following the town’s capture by the M23, Burundi reportedly closed its border with the DRC. On 8 December, Council members discussed the evolving situation in South Kivu under “any other business” at the request of France (the penholder on the DRC). At the time of writing, Council members were negotiating a draft press statement to respond to this latest development.
The DRC and Rwanda have exchanged recriminations following the recent escalation in eastern DRC. Kagame accused the DRC of inconsistency in an interview with Al Jazeera on 7 December, saying: “we have had experiences where the DRC reaches an agreement, and the next day they say the opposite—not once, not twice, but many times”. In his 8 December state of the nation address, Tshisekedi reportedly accused Rwanda of violating its commitments under the Washington Accords. On 9 December, the DRC’s Minister of Foreign Affairs, International Cooperation, and Francophonie, Thérèse Kayikwamba Wagner, sent a letter to the Security Council (S/2025/800) echoing her president’s message and calling for urgent action against Rwanda. Rwanda’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation subsequently issued a press statement on 10 December blaming the Congolese Armed Forces (FARDC), the FDNB, and allied militias and foreign mercenaries for the deteriorating security situation in eastern DRC.
Another expected major focus of tomorrow’s meeting is the renewal of MONUSCO’s mandate. The mission had been experiencing significant operational challenges following the M23’s military advances earlier this year and its control of large areas of North Kivu, including the provincial capital, Goma. MONUSCO operates in Ituri and North Kivu provinces and withdrew from South Kivu in June 2024 as part of the disengagement process agreed with the Congolese government in November 2023.
MONUSCO peacekeepers operating in the region have faced restrictions, particularly on their freedom of movement, alongside other operational difficulties. The Secretary-General’s report notes that four fuel trucks have been prevented from entering Goma since 1 September, while water and electricity to MONUSCO facilities in Goma have been cut off since 5 July and 29 August, respectively. It further indicates that banking and airport operations in Goma remain suspended, with severe consequences for both mission personnel and the local population. A related challenge is the inability of troop-contributing countries to rotate their forces, although the report notes improvement with the easing of M23 restrictions, which enabled the mission to complete the rotations of an infantry battalion and a rapid deployment battalion. At tomorrow’s meeting, Council members may reiterate their call for the lifting of all movement restrictions and the restoration of the mission’s full operational capacity. France, in particular, has reportedly been advocating for the reopening of Goma International Airport to facilitate the delivery of humanitarian assistance. The airport has been closed to civilian flights since January, following the capture of Goma by the M23.
MONUSCO’s operational challenges are further compounded by the UN’s liquidity crisis, resulting from member states’ failure to pay their assessed contributions in full and on time. On 18 November, Lacroix briefed Council members in closed consultations on the contingency measures being implemented by UN peacekeeping missions to address this crisis. (For more information, see our 17 November What’s in Blue story.) At tomorrow’s meeting, he may provide specific details as they relate to MONUSCO. According to the Secretary-General’s report, the implementation of the contingency plan by the mission resulted in a 27 percent reduction in its operational expenditures, a freeze on its procurement activities, and a 40 percent decrease in its programmatic funding, which the report says could undermine the mission’s ability to effectively implement its mandated tasks.
The mission is also expected to repatriate 1,550 troops, 125 military experts, and 162 formed police unit personnel as part of the implementation of the contingency plan. This is in addition to the 755 troops, 26 military experts, and 162 formed police unit personnel already repatriated by the mission as part of an initial reduction before the implementation of the contingency plan. Furthermore, contracts for 342 civilian staff members were terminated.
Despite operational and financial constraints, Lacroix may express the UN’s readiness to supervise a ceasefire and support ongoing peace processes, as highlighted in the Secretary-General’s report, while also underscoring the need for MONUSCO to be provided with adequate resources to fulfil its mandated tasks. This is also apparently reflected in the draft mandate renewal resolution circulated by France, which Council members began to negotiate this week. The DRC outlined its key priorities for the mission’s mandate renewal in a 5 December letter to the Council (S/2025/793). Among other points, the DRC emphasised the need to fully implement resolution 2773 of 21 February, which demanded the immediate cessation of further military advances by the M23, called for an immediate and unconditional ceasefire, and expressed the Council’s readiness to consider additional measures against those contributing to the continuation of the conflict in eastern DRC.
The DRC also supported the proposal for MONUSCO to provide technical, security, and logistical support to the various mechanisms established under the ongoing peace processes to monitor a ceasefire. In addition, it endorsed the deployment of forward operating bases or temporary mobile teams in South Kivu. The UN Secretariat has been exploring the possibility of redeploying MONUSCO to South Kivu, and the deteriorating security situation may serve as justification to advance this proposal during the mandate renewal negotiations. This issue appears to be contentious for Council members, however.
Tomorrow’s meeting will allow Council members to outline their positions on MONUSCO’s mandate renewal. China and Russia have reportedly proposed a technical rollover, in light of the evolving security situation. They also appear concerned about the situation of MONUSCO peacekeepers operating in M23-controlled areas and want the Secretary-General to report to the Council within 60 days on the implementation of the mandate in those areas and to propose how the challenges facing the mission can be avoided in the future.
In recent negotiations on UN peace operations, the US has advocated for short-term extensions of the missions’ mandates, the establishment of benchmarks to comprehensively assess peacekeepers’ performance, and strategic reviews of UN peace operations to explore options for transition, reconfiguration, drawdown, and eventual exit. In the case of MONUSCO, however, the US appears supportive of a 12-month extension of the mandate, as well as a possible adjustment of its tasks to allow the mission to contribute to ceasefire monitoring and support ongoing peace processes.
