Violence, aid access constraints impede humanitarian efforts in DR Congo –UN official

A senior UN official, Bintou Keita, says violence and access constraints in the east of the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), had continued to impede humanitarian operations in a context where one in three people need assistance.
Keita, the Secretary-General’s Special Representative and head of the UN Stabilisation Mission in the DRC (MONUSCO), told the Security Council on Tuesday that food insecurity and cyclical epidemics were major concerns.
According to her, attacks on schools and hospitals have also exacerbated humanitarian challenges in several parts of the east, particularly Ituri.
“With over five million internally displaced people, the country has the highest number of internally displaced persons on the African continent.
“More than 26 million Congolese also suffer from food insecurity, about 29 per cent of the population.”
Keita urged members states to increase their contributions to the 2021 Humanitarian Response Plan that is asking for $1.98 billion dollars, noting that to date, just over a quarter of the plan was funded.
The special representative highlighted two main challenges: the security and protection of civilians in the east, and the process of democratic consolidation in the country.
On the security front, she informed the Council that since the declaration of a state of siege by the government in the provinces of North Kivu and Ituri, MONUSCO had redoubled its efforts to support the Congolese authorities.
Keita warned that “much remains to be done, including to ensure that the human rights of the population are systematically respected in the fight against armed groups.”
For her, the promulgation, on July 5 of the Ordinance on the Programme for Disarmament, Demobilisation, Community Recovery and Stabilisation, represents “a great opportunity.”
She stated that joint military operations against the Allied Democratic Forces (ADF), had dismantled several of the rebel group’s strongholds, but human rights violations perpetrated by state and non-State actors “remain worrying.”
The UN correspondent of the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) quoted her as saying that between June and August, 2021, 367 people were victims of arbitrary and extrajudicial executions and about 203 people, mostly women and children, suffered sexual violence.
Keita also informed the council that in some regions, particularly in South Kivu, inter-community conflicts were fuelled by hate speech.
“These populist and belligerent speeches are a danger to the stability of the country and should be the subject of exemplary judicial sanctions,” she said.
On democratic consolidation, she said the formation of a new Government in April “has provided an opportunity to advance on critical reforms.” For now, the focus is the 2023 elections.
Pointing to a “context of political suspicions,” Keita reiterated the need for “an inclusive and peaceful electoral process founded on dialogue, trust, and transparency.”
She stressed the renewal of MONUSCO’s mandate, saying that a joint transition plan had been developed and presently constitutes “a roadmap that can help guide the work of the Mission in the coming years and prepare the ground for its orderly and responsible withdrawal.”
Keita asked the Council to continue providing its full backing to MONUSCO, by endorsing the joint transition plan, providing financial resources, and having an active role in making it a reality.