Flight clearance regime hampers MONUC operations

The DRC authorities in Kinshasa have yet to replace the system of flight notification and clearance on a case-by-case basis for flights by the UN Mission in the DRC (MONUC) with one that would facilitate the deployment of peacekeepers in the country, according to the latest situation report by UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan, recently released as a Security Council document. A system of advance notification of flights “en bloc” was “essential for the management of the large fleet of aircraft that would be required for MONUC phase two deployment,” the report said. MONUC is currently in phase on deployment, with military observers and civilian humanitarian staff but no UN peacekeeping troops on the ground. Despite problems with the notification system, MONUC has noted “a more positive attitute and a marked relaxation in regard to other restrictions”, the report said. Particulalrly useful was the removal of the obligation to land at a neutral airport during a return journey from rebel-controlled areas of the country, it added. Apart from flights, improved liaison between MONUC and the government’s commisariat for MONUC affairs had “yielded some positive results”, Annan reported. This had particulalrly been the case with regard to customs clearances, exemptiosn on direct on indirect taxes, authorisation for a frequqncy and telecommunications network, facilities at Kinshasa airport and joint reconaissance missions to Mbandaka and Kanaga, he added.