MONUSCO’s Delicate Mission

More than ten years after MONUSCO took over from an earlier UN peacekeeping operation in the United Nations Organization Mission in Democratic Republic of the Congo (MONUC), in accordance with Security Council resolution 1925 of 28 May, to reflect the new phase reached in the country, the civil war in DRC, is still raging on in the north and eastern parts of the country. Even though the new mission was authorized to use all necessary means to carry out its mandate relating, among other things, to the protection of civilians, humanitarian personnel and human rights defenders under imminent threat of physical violence and to support the Government of the DRC in its stabilization and peace consolidation efforts, majority of the population, including the government are not satisfied with the output of the mission.  
In recent years, the mission has not only been targeted in attacks led by dozens of rebel groups, but has also lost credibility among the population they are supposed to protect because of their inability to keep the rebels at bay. But though there has been street protests demanding the departure of MONUSCO troops, experts agree that despite some constraints, the UN mission has and is playing a very vital role in the country without which insecurity would have been worse in DRC. 
Since its implementation, the mission has three priorities: protecting civilians, stabilizing the country, and supporting the Peace, Security and Cooperation Framework for the DRC and the region. It is within this framework that, the mission embarked on its mission which is the reunification of the country. Most African diplomats are of the opinion that, “If the UN mission had not existed, the DRC ...