Annan calls for one-year extension of MONUC

United Nations Secretary-General Kofi Annan has recommended that the UN peacekeeping mission in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) - which, in the face of serious difficulties, "continues to serve the international community well" - should be extended for a further year, UN News reported on Tuesday.

In his latest report on the mission (known by its French acronym, MONUC), Annan said MONUC's accomplishments over the past 12 months "in extremely challenging and sometimes hazardous conditions confirm my view that it remains the best instrument for carrying out the wishes of the Security Council". He also recommended that the Council increase MONUC's authorised strength by 400 troops to undertake key tasks in the eastern DRC cities of Kisangani and Kindu.

Looking to the broader picture, the Secretary-General recalled that the Security Council had mandated MONUC to take action to protect civilians under imminent threat of physical violence. "Yet MONUC troops currently deployed in the Democratic Republic of the Congo are not equipped, trained or configured to intervene rapidly to assist those in need of such protection."

Despite the deployment of additional MONUC troops to Kisangani, the mission faced a "significant dilemma", since public expectations that it would protect civilians from violence would also rise, Annan said. "While MONUC will do its utmost, it does not have the means to provide broader protection to civilians at large," he noted.

If MONUC is to more effectively protect civilians under imminent threat of violence, the Security Council will have to consider adjusting the mission's strength with a view to "considerably" reconfiguring and re-equipping contingents so that they can intervene more actively, according to the report, which stressed that local authorities had "the basic responsibility of providing protection to civilians".

While the reduction in the number of foreign forces on DRC territory was encouraging, the conflict could not be resolved without the total withdrawal of all foreign forces, Annan stressed. In response to concerns expressed by some of its neighbours, MONUC is currently examining the feasibility of a proposed curtain of troops along the DRC's eastern borders with Rwanda, Burundi and Uganda to serve as a security buffer zone.

The Security Council is expected to consider the report before the 15 June expiration of MONUC's current mandate.