"Violence is the main cause of humanitarian needs in DRC" - MONUSCO Chief

Описание: “Violence continues to be the main cause of humanitarian needs in the Democratic Republic of the Congo,” the UN top official in the country Leila Zerrougui told the Security Council.

“As a result,” Zerrougoui continued, “the country is currently facing simultaneous emergency situations, including mass displacement and protection threats.”

Special Representative of the Secretary-General for the DRC, Leila Zerougoui briefed the Security Council via video link from the DRC’s capital Kinshasa.

Zerrougui, who is also the head of the peacekeeping mission in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, known under its French acronym MONUSCO, highlighted progress in the political situation, notably the President’s efforts to enact reforms and improve collaboration with neighboring countries. But she also pointed out the “laborious” negotiations for the formation of a new government and called on all parties to resolve their differences.

She expressed her concern with the current security situation in Ituri, where, she says, spoilers are seeking to play on ethnic tensions to instigate inter-community violence. She also pointed out the intolerable toll caused by ADF attacks on civilians.

In addition to massive displacements, the Special Representative mentioned a measles outbreak that has claimed the lives of more than 2,000 people since the beginning of the year.

“Violence continues to be the main cause of humanitarian needs in the Democratic Republic of the Congo. As a result, the country is currently facing simultaneous emergency situations, including mass displacement and protection threats.”

When it comes to re-integration of ex-combatants, the Special Representative said she has encouraged Congolese authorities to adopt a community integration approach, rather than integrating them into the security forces.

“The broad integration of ex-combatants into the army and police forces in previous years only led to the degradation of their capacities, the hijacking of security policy by parallel networks, and incentivizing the creation of illegal armed groups,” Zerrougui explained.

On Ebola, she underlined that the challenges faced by responders go well beyond the disease itself. Factors complicating the response include the activities of armed groups, including the ADF and Mai-Mai, along with continuing high levels of distrust by communities.

“In South Kivu, the flareup in intercommunity violence and armed group activity has displaced up to 180,000 people. Added to this is the ever-increasing concern of the Ebola epidemic, which has now claimed the lives of more than 1,700 people,” she said.