By Badylon Kawanda Bakiman
Jean-Pierre Lacroix, Under-Secretary-General of the United Nations (UN) in charge of Peace Operations, has just advocated speeding up the transition process so that the United Nations Mission for the Stability of the Congo (MONUSCO), which has already spent 20 years in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), withdraws.
LaCroix made this statement following a recent audience granted to him by Jean-Michel Sama Lokonde, Prime Minister of the DRC.
The talks between the two personalities focused on security and humanitarian issues, as well as the protection of civilians.
“We need to ensure that the transition, which has already begun with the withdrawal of Monusco, is speeded up and at the same time takes place under the best possible conditions”, he declared.
He added that this would gradually strengthen the State’s presence, where necessary, and reduce the disruption to the functions of civilians, particularly displaced persons who, in a number of regions, still depend on the work of our Monusco colleagues.
“We were able to note the convergence of our objectives with regard to support for the reinforcement of the authority of the State in all its components: security, army, police and other components”, he added.
The UN Under-Secretary-General also informed the Prime Minister that the issue of operations to prepare the pre-cantonment of the M23 had been addressed during their working session. And he insisted: “Monusco will have to be very active in this area.
With regard to humanitarian aid, the Frenchman was keen to stress that the UN is committed to strengthening its advocacy with humanitarian agencies and donors, despite a context marked “unfortunately by many humanitarian crises around the world”. In his opinion, this crisis deserves special attention and a commitment to strengthen this advocacy.
Jean-Pierre LaCroix had arrived in the DRC on June 03, 2023. He was also in the east of the country to get a first-hand feel of the security and humanitarian realities in this part of the country.
