The DRC Situation Has Worsened on Various Fronts: MONUSCO Coordinator | United Nations

A top United Nations humanitarian official in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), today (20 Feb) said, that the humanitarian situation in the country has “sadly worsened on various fronts”, adding “the crisis in the DRC is one of the most severe, complex, prolonged, protracted and neglected in the world.”

Briefing journalists from Kinshasa via link, Bruno Lemarquis, who is the Resident and Humanitarian Coordinator, at the UN Stabilization Mission in the DRC (MONUSCO), said, “The resurgence of hostility in eastern DRC, especially in North Kivu, is deeply concerning, and violent clashes between the group called M23 and the Congolese armed forces, FARDC in acronym, have intensified, leading to severe humanitarian consequences and displacement.”

Lemarquis said that the country is also currently affected by the very severe floods “affecting 2 million people and many provinces across the country, with the Congo River at its highest level since 1961,”

He continued, “gender-based violence, sexual violence, has reached a dramatic level, with nearly 110,000 cases reported in 2023, which is probably the tip of the iceberg.”

Commenting MONUSCO withdrawal, he said that the mission “is the protection of civilians at the heart of its mandate, and the significant logistical and security capabilities.”

He concluded, “its gradual departure will certainly have an impact on humanitarian operations, especially in terms of access.”

MONUSCO, established in July 2010 has been 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. MONUSCO will completely withdraw from the country by the end of 2024.