The United Nations Organization Stabilization Mission in the Democratic Republic of the Congo or MONUSCO, an acronym based on its French name Mission de l'Organisation des Nations Unies pour la stabilisation en République démocratique du Congo, is a United Nations peacekeeping force in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) which was established by the United Nations Security Council in resolutions 1279 (1999) and 1291 (2000) to monitor the peace process of the Second Congo War, though much of its focus subsequently turned to the Ituri conflict, the Kivu conflict and the Dongo conflict. The mission was known as the United Nations Mission in the Democratic Republic of Congo or MONUC, an acronym of its French name Mission de l'Organisation des Nations Unies en République démocratique du Congo, until 2010.
A special representative of the Secretary-General is a highly respected expert who has been appointed by the Secretary-General of the United Nations to represent them in meetings with heads of state on critical human rights issues. The representatives can carry out country visits to investigate alleged violations of human rights and act as negotiators on behalf of the United Nations.
UN Watch is a Geneva-based non-governmental organization (NGO) whose stated mission is "to monitor the performance of the United Nations by the yardstick of its own Charter". It is an accredited NGO in Special Consultative Status to the UN Economic and Social Council and an Associate NGO to the UN Department of Public Information.
The Kivu conflict is an umbrella term for a series of protracted armed conflicts in the North Kivu and South Kivu provinces in the eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo which have occurred since the end of the Second Congo War. Including neighboring Ituri province, there are more than 120 different armed groups active in the eastern Democratic Republic of Congo. Currently, some of the most active rebel groups include the Allied Democratic Forces, the Cooperative for the Development of the Congo, the March 23 Movement, and many local Mai Mai militias. In addition to rebel groups and the governmental FARDC troops, a number of national and international organizations have intervened militarily in the conflict, including the United Nations force known as MONUSCO, and an East African Community regional force.
William Lacy Swing was a diplomat and former United States Ambassador, and United Nations Special Representative of the Secretary-General and Under Secretary General. He was the Director-General of the International Organization for Migration until António Vitorino's appointment in 2018.
Alan Claude Doss is a British international civil servant who has spent his entire professional life in the service of the United Nations, working on peacekeeping, development and humanitarian assignments in Africa, Asia and Europe as well as at United Nations Headquarters in New York City.
Roger Allen Meece is an American diplomat. He has served as United States ambassador to Malawi (2000–2003) and Democratic Republic of the Congo (2004–2007), as well as Charge d'affairs to Nigeria (2003) and to Ethiopia (2009). His last diplomatic appointment was as head the United Nations mission (MONUSCO) in the Democratic Republic of Congo from 2010–2013. After this appointment, Meece retired from diplomatic positions.
Kim Bolduc is the Deputy Special Representative of United Nations Stabilization Mission in the Democratic Republic of Congo (MONUSCO). She served previously as the head of the United Nations Mission for the Referendum in Western Sahara (MINURSO) and the Deputy Special Representative for the United Nations Stabilization Mission in Haiti (MINUSTAH). In tandem, she will be also the United Nations Resident and Humanitarian Coordinator. She has previously held other positions with the United Nations.
Sir Charles James Petrie, 6th Baronet, OBE is a United Nations diplomat. A former investment banker and management consultant, he then worked for the United Nations, before going independent.
United Nations Security Council Resolution 1925, adopted unanimously on May 28, 2010, after reaffirming previous resolutions on the situation in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, the Council extended the mandate of the United Nations Mission in the Democratic Republic of Congo (MONUC) until June 30, 2010, authorised a withdrawal of 2,000 troops and decided that from July 1, 2010, MONUC would be known as the United Nations Organization Stabilization Mission in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (MONUSCO) with a mandate until June 30, 2011.
United Nations Security Council Resolution 1991, adopted unanimously on June 28, 2011, after reaffirming previous resolutions on the situation in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, the Council extended the mandate of the United Nations Organization Stabilization Mission in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (MONUSCO) until June 30, 2012.
Divisional general Carlos Alberto dos Santos Cruz is a Brazilian military officer who previously held the post of Force Commander of the United Nations' peacekeeping force in the Democratic Republic of the Congo. He was appointed to this position by United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon on 17 May 2013 and replaced by Derrick Mbuyiselo Mgwebi on 29 December 2015. He was Minister-Secretary of Government of Brazil, nominated by President Jair Bolsonaro, from 1 January 2019 to 13 June 2019.
Abdallah Wafy was a Nigerien civil servant and diplomat. He served as the United Nations Secretary-General's Deputy Special Representative for the Democratic Republic of the Congo of the United Nations Organization Stabilization Mission in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (MONUSCO) from 2013 to 2015. He was in command of the Rule of Law department. He was appointed to this position by United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon on 26 June 2013. He succeeded Leila Zerrougui from Algeria and was succeeded in 2015 by David Gressly.
The United Nations Force Intervention Brigade (FIB) is a military formation which constitutes part of the United Nations Organization Stabilization Mission in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (MONUSCO). It was authorized by the United Nations Security Council on 28 March 2013 through Resolution 2098. Although it is not the first instance in which the use of force was authorized by the UN, the Force Intervention Brigade is the first UN peacekeeping operation specifically tasked to carry out targeted offensive operations to "neutralize and disarm" groups considered a threat to state authority and civilian security. In this case, the main target was the M23 militia group, as well as other Congolese and foreign rebel groups. While such operations do not require the support of the Armed Forces of the Democratic Republic of the Congo (FARDC), the Force Intervention Brigade often acts in unison with the FARDC to disarm rebel groups.
Brazil and the Democratic Republic of the Congo established diplomatic relations in 1968. Both nations are members of the Group of 24, Group of 77 and the United Nations.
The Safe Schools Declaration is an inter-governmental political commitment that was opened for endorsement by countries at an international conference held in Oslo, Norway, on 28–29 May 2015. The Declaration provides countries the opportunity to express political support for the protection of students, teachers, and schools during times of armed conflict; the importance of the continuation of education during armed conflict; and the implementation of the Guidelines for Protecting Schools and Universities from Military Use during Armed Conflict.
Virginia Gamba de Potgieter is the Special Representative of the Secretary-General of the United Nations for Children and Armed Conflict. She was appointed 12 April 2017 by United Nations Secretary-General António Guterres as the replacement for Leila Zerrougui.
The 2017 Semuliki attack was an attack carried out by elements of the Allied Democratic Forces on a United Nations Organization Stabilization Mission in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (MONUSCO) operating base in the Beni Territory, North Kivu region of the Democratic Republic of the Congo on December 7, 2017. The attack was highly coordinated and resulted in the deaths of fifteen U.N. peacekeeping personnel and wounds to 53 others making it the deadliest incident for the U.N. since the deaths of twenty-four Pakistani peacekeepers in an ambush in Somalia in 1993. The attack was among many of the latest flare-ups in violence in the North Kivu region which borders Uganda and Rwanda and one of the ADF's deadliest attacks in recent history. U.N. Secretary-General António Guterres labeled the attack, "the worst attack on UN peacekeepers in the organization's recent history."
The Office of the Special Representative of the Secretary-General on Sexual Violence in Conflict (OSRSG-SVC) is an office of the United Nations Secretariat tasked with serving the United Nations' spokesperson and political advocate on conflict-related sexual violence, the Special Representative of the Secretary-General on Sexual Violence in Conflict (SRSG-SVC). The Special Representative holds the rank of Under-Secretary-General of the UN and chairs the UN Action Against Sexual Violence in Conflict. The mandate of the SRSG-SVC was established by Security Council Resolution 1888, introduced by Hillary Clinton, and the first Special Representative, Margot Wallström, took office in 2010. The current Special Representative is Pramila Patten of Mauritius, who was appointed by UN Secretary General António Guterres in 2017. The work of the SRSG-SVC is supported by the UN Team of Experts on the Rule of Law/Sexual Violence in Conflict, co-led by the Department of Peacekeeping Operations (DPO), Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) and the UN Development Programme (UNDP), also established under Security Council Resolution 1888.
Bintou Keita is a United Nations diplomat from Guinea. She is an expert in conflict resolution. Since January 2021, she has been the Special Representative of the Secretary-General in the Democratic Republic of the Congo.
