KINSHASA: UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres has said the body’s mission in the Democratic Republic of Congo is entering its “final phase,” but warned the situation in the conflict-hit country has “deteriorated sharply.”
In a report addressed to the UN Security Council, Guterres delivered a stark assessment of the turmoil in the DRC and set out a plan for the “accelerated and responsible withdrawal” of the UN’s MONUSCO mission after almost 25 years in the country.
The 15-page document published on Thursday pointed to heightened regional tensions and a worsening humanitarian situation over the last year, with “hundreds of thousands of civilians being forcibly displaced.”
“Sexual violence against children more than doubled from 2021 to 2022,” the report added.
It said that in the eastern provinces of North Kivu and Ituri, the two areas worst affected by the violence, 28 and 39 percent of the population are displaced respectively — around four million people.
At the heart of these conflicts is the resurgence of the M23 rebel group, which has “seized large swathes” of territory, it said.
The rebels have “established parallel, illegal administrations” and carried out “arbitrary arrests and extrajudicial executions,” the report said.
The document made no mention of Rwandan troops being present alongside the M23 on Congolese soil, contrary to recent reports by the UN Group of Experts on the DRC that led many countries to condemn Rwanda for its involvement in the conflict.
The final departure of the UN mission has been at the heart of debates on the DRC’s future for years, and is a source of tension and populist rhetoric in the country.
“MONUSCO continues to be a focus of popular discontent and frustration over its perceived inaction,” Guterres said.
In line with the stated wishes of the DRC’s government, the UN reaffirmed its willingness to pull MONUSCO out, but warned “a premature withdrawal... would have consequences for the civilians relying on the Mission for their protection and safety.”
In September 2022, Congolese President Felix Tshisekedi told France 24 he believed there would be no reason for MONUSCO to remain beyond the December 2023 presidential election, when he is standing for re-election.
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On Monday, Czarzasty criticized a joint US-Israeli proposal to support Donald Trump’s candidacy for the Nobel Peace Prize.
“I will not support the motion for a Nobel Peace Prize for President Trump, because he doesn’t deserve it,” he told journalists.
Czarzasty said that rather than allying itself more closely with Trump’s White House, Poland should “strengthen existing alliances” such as NATO, the United Nations and the World Health Organization.
He criticized Trump’s leadership, including the imposition of tariffs on European countries, threats to annex Greenland, and, most recently, his claims that NATO allies had stayed “a little off the front lines” during the war in Afghanistan.
He accused Trump of “a breach of the politics of principles and values, often a breach of international law.”
After Rose’s reaction, Czarzasty told local news site Onet: “I maintain my position” on the issue of the peace prize.
“I consistently respect the USA as Poland’s key partner,” he added later on X.
“That is why I regretfully accept the statement by Ambassador Tom Rose, but I will not change my position on these fundamental issues for Polish women and men.”
The speaker heads Poland’s New Left party, which is part of Tusk’s pro-European governing coalition, with which the US ambassador said he has “excellent relations.”
It is currently governing under conservative-nationalist President Karol Nawrocki, a vocal Trump supporter.
In late January, Czarzasty, along with several other high-ranking Polish politicians, denounced Trump’s claim that the United States “never needed” NATO allies.
The parliamentary leader called the claims “scandalous” and said they should be “absolutely condemned.”
Forty-three Polish soldiers and one civil servant died as part of the US-led NATO coalition in Afghanistan.
UN mission in DR Congo entering ‘final phase’ after 25 years
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UN mission in DR Congo entering ‘final phase’ after 25 years
- Secretary-General Antonio Guterres laments deteriorating humanitarian situation worsened by the resurgence of the M23 rebel group
US ambassador accuses Poland parliament speaker of insulting Trump
- Tom Rose said the decision was made because of speaker Wlodzimierz Czarzasty’s “outrageous and unprovoked insults” against the US leader
- “We will not permit anyone to harm US-Polish relations, nor disrespect (Trump),” Rose wrote on X
WARSAW: The United States embassy will have “no further dealings” with the speaker of the Polish parliament after claims he insulted President Donald Trump, its ambassador said on Thursday.
Tom Rose said the decision was made because of speaker Wlodzimierz Czarzasty’s “outrageous and unprovoked insults” against the US leader.
“We will not permit anyone to harm US-Polish relations, nor disrespect (Trump), who has done so much for Poland and the Polish people,” Rose wrote on X.
Poland’s Prime Minister Donald Tusk responded the same day, writing on X: “Ambassador Rose, allies should respect, not lecture each other.”
“At least this is how we, here in Poland, understand partnership.”
On Monday, Czarzasty criticized a joint US-Israeli proposal to support Donald Trump’s candidacy for the Nobel Peace Prize.
“I will not support the motion for a Nobel Peace Prize for President Trump, because he doesn’t deserve it,” he told journalists.
Czarzasty said that rather than allying itself more closely with Trump’s White House, Poland should “strengthen existing alliances” such as NATO, the United Nations and the World Health Organization.
He criticized Trump’s leadership, including the imposition of tariffs on European countries, threats to annex Greenland, and, most recently, his claims that NATO allies had stayed “a little off the front lines” during the war in Afghanistan.
He accused Trump of “a breach of the politics of principles and values, often a breach of international law.”
After Rose’s reaction, Czarzasty told local news site Onet: “I maintain my position” on the issue of the peace prize.
“I consistently respect the USA as Poland’s key partner,” he added later on X.
“That is why I regretfully accept the statement by Ambassador Tom Rose, but I will not change my position on these fundamental issues for Polish women and men.”
The speaker heads Poland’s New Left party, which is part of Tusk’s pro-European governing coalition, with which the US ambassador said he has “excellent relations.”
It is currently governing under conservative-nationalist President Karol Nawrocki, a vocal Trump supporter.
In late January, Czarzasty, along with several other high-ranking Polish politicians, denounced Trump’s claim that the United States “never needed” NATO allies.
The parliamentary leader called the claims “scandalous” and said they should be “absolutely condemned.”
Forty-three Polish soldiers and one civil servant died as part of the US-led NATO coalition in Afghanistan.
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