Source description last updated: 14 April 2020

In brief: The United Nations Organization Stabilization Mission in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (MONUSCO) is a UN peacekeeping operation that seeks to protect civilians and consolidate peace in the DR Congo.

Coverage on ecoi.net:

Human rights reports, fact sheets on human rights violations, communications

Covered monthly on ecoi.net, for the DR Congo.

Mission/Mandate/Objectives:

“MONUSCO took over from an earlier UN peacekeeping operation – the United Nations Organization Mission in Democratic Republic of the Congo (MONUC) – on 1 July 2010. It was done in accordance with Security Council resolution 1925 […]. The new mission has been authorized to use all necessary means to carry out its mandate relating, among other things, to the protection of civilians, humanitarian personnel and human rights defenders under imminent threat of physical violence and to support the Government of the DRC in its stabilization and peace consolidation efforts.” (UN Peacekeeping website: MONUSCO Fact Sheet, undated)

“The Council decided that MONUSCO would comprise, in addition to the appropriate civilian, judiciary and correction components, a maximum of 19,815 military personnel, 760 military observers, 391 police personnel and 1,050 members of formed police units.” (MONUSCO website: Background, undated)

The MONUSCO Human Rights Division and the former Office of the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights in the DRC (OHCHR/DRC) in 2008 formed the United Nations Joint Human Rights Office (UNJHRO) which “has an established presence across the country with headquarters in Kinshasa, 13 field offices and 6 sub-offices.” (MONUSCO website: Human Rights, undated)

Funding:

“MONUSCO is funded through a separate [UN] account approved on an annual basis by the General Assembly”. The budget approved for the period 07/2019–06/2020 amounts to 1,086,018,600 USD. (MONUSCO website: MONUSCO Fact Sheet, undated)

Scope of reporting:

Geographic focus: Democratic Republic of the Congo

Thematic focus: Security situation, protection of civilians, child protection, gender, human rights, HIV/AIDS, rule of law, elections etc.

Methodology:

UNJHRO “Field Offices gather information on allegations of human rights violations and abuses through a wide network of partners (such as NGOs, civil society actors, UNPOL, the MONUSCO Force, the protection cluster, and others). The Field Offices verify allegations and report on human rights violations by corroborating the information received by conducting field missions.” (MONUSCO website: Human Rights, undated)

Reports by UNJHRO may be based on multiple field missions conducted by the UNJHRO and other UN bodies, including other units of MONUSCO such as the Civil Affairs (see, for example, MONUSCO/OHCHR: Rapport public sur les conflits en territoire de Djugu, province de l’Ituri Décembre 2017 à septembre 2019, January 2020, p. 6) or Justice Support section or members of the Congolese authorities (see, for example, MONUSCO/OHCHR: Détérioration de la situation des droits de l’homme dans le Masisi et le Lubero (NordKivu) et défis relatifs à la protection des civils entre janvier 2017 et octobre 2018, December 2018, p. 5). Field missions may be based on “confidential individual interviews and group interviews, especially with victims and eyewitnesses, internally displaced persons, members of civil society and faith-based organisations, healthcare workers, administrative and traditional authorities, members of the Congolese armed forces and security services as well as military justice officials”. Prisoners may be interviewed on conditions of detention. In addition. Reports may also draw on regular monitoring of “sources within civil society, the security forces, human rights defenders and community leaders” and relevant reports, photos and video footage may be consulted. (MONUSCO/OHCHR: Rapport public sur les conflits en territoire de Djugu, province de l’Ituri Décembre 2017 à septembre 2019, January 2020, pp. 6-7, working translation by ACCORD)

Languages of publication:

English and French

 

All links accessed 14 April 2020.