Attachments
I. Introduction
1. The present report, submitted pursuant to paragraph 47 of Security Council resolution 2717 (2023), covers developments in the Democratic Republic of the Congo from 20 September to 29 November 2024. It describes the progress and challenges in the implementation of the mandate of the United Nations Organization Stabilization Mission in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (MONUSCO).
II. Political developments
2. During the reporting period, political dynamics were marked by tensions within the political majority, deliberations over calls for a national political dialogue, discussions regarding a potential revision of the Constitution, the scheduling of previously annulled elections in Yakoma and Masi-Manimba territories, and ongoing regional and international efforts to de-escalate persisting tensions between the Democratic Republic of the Congo and Rwanda.
3. The allocation of posts for National Assembly standing committees sparked discontent within the ruling majority. Of the 11 committees, the presidential party, Union pour la démocratie et le progrès social, secured four positions, other majority parties six, and the opposition party Ensemble pour la République, one committee. Despite calls by both majority and opposition members of the National Assembly for the lifting of the state of siege in place in Ituri and North Kivu since 3 May 2021, it is being continuously renewed every 15 days.
4. Former presidential candidate Martin Fayulu continued to advocate the holding of a national political dialogue, which he said would restore territorial integrity, prevent mismanagement of public funds, protect human rights and guarantee transparent, credible and peaceful elections. Other actors of the political opposition, including Ensemble pour la République and Front commun pour le Congo, rejected that call. On 1 October, the President of the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Félix Tshisekedi, publicly opposed a national dialogue, arguing that there was no political crisis and that it might result in arrangements that would stall national progress.
5. Meanwhile, party executives of Union pour la démocratie et le progrès social launched a campaign calling for the revision of the Constitution. The opposition and part of civil society invoked article 220 of the Constitution, which prohibits amendments to the number and duration of presidential terms. On 23 October, Mr. Tshisekedi announced the establishment of a multisectoral national commission in 2025 to propose a new Constitution adapted to Congolese realities and written by the Congolese people.
6. On 2 October, the Independent National Electoral Commission announced the holding, on 15 December, of national and provincial legislative elections in Yakoma territory, North Ubangi province, and Masimanimba territory, Kwilu province, following the annulment of the December 2023 legislative elections due to widespread irregularities. Meanwhile, new dates for postponed local elections across the country, as well as provincial and national legislative elections in Masisi and Rutshuru territories, delayed in December 2023 due to insecurity and the presence of Mouvement du 23 mars (M23), remain to be set.
7. Coordinated diplomatic efforts remained crucial in managing tensions between the Democratic Republic of the Congo and Rwanda. On 12 October, in Luanda, the Minister of State for Foreign Affairs, International Cooperation and Francophonie of the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Thérèse Kayikwamba Wagner, and the Minister for Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation of Rwanda, Olivier Nduhungirehe, met under the auspices of the President of Angola, João Lourenço, the African Union-designated facilitator of the Luanda process, and reiterated their calls to respect the ceasefire agreement. On 5 November, in Goma, at the border between the Democratic Republic of the Congo and Rwanda, both ministers participated in a ceremony to mark the launch of the reinforced ad hoc verification mechanism. The mechanism is composed of 24 experts (18 from Angola, 3 from the Democratic Republic of the Congo and 3 from Rwanda). Previously, on 31 October, experts from both countries, in a meeting in Luanda facilitated by Angola, prepared a concept of operations for the harmonized plans on the neutralization of the Forces démocratiques de libération du Rwanda (FDLR) and the disengagement of forces, which was considered by the ministers on 25 November in Luanda.
8. In successive communiqués, Alliance Fleuve Congo (AFC)/M23 continued to demand direct dialogue with the Government of the Democratic Republic of the Congo. Meanwhile, in a letter dated 22 October addressed to the President of Angola, FDLR called for direct dialogue between the Government of Rwanda and the Rwandan opposition, including FDLR.
9. Following the request made by Angola for MONUSCO support for the operationalization of the reinforced ad hoc verification mechanism, a memorandum of understanding was signed on 23 November in Luanda by the Minister of External Relations of Angola, Téte António, and the Special Representative of the Secretary - General for the Democratic Republic of the Congo and Head of MONUSCO, Bintou Keita.
10. On 26 September, the East African Court of Justice began proceedings in Arusha, United Republic of Tanzania, in a case filed by the Democratic Republic of the Congo, which accuses Rwanda of acts of aggression that violate its sovereignty, territorial integrity, political stability and independence and argues that the actions of Rwanda have led to significant human rights violations in North Kivu. Rwanda requested that the case be dismissed, questioning the Court’s jurisdiction and citing procedural concerns. On 14 October, the Prosecutor of the International Criminal Court announced renewed investigative efforts for crimes committed in North Kivu by all conflict parties since 1 January 2022, as part of a second referral, submitted by the Congolese authorities on 23 May 2023.
11. On 8 October, the Prime Minister of the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Judith Suminwa Tuluka, announced the Government’s plan for building a responsible and sustainable mining sector, with priorities such as enhanced mineral exploration, support for legal artisanal mining and the development of a national traceability system.
12. On 20 November, at the Extraordinary Summit of Heads of State and Government of the Southern African Development Community (SADC), held in Harare, with the participation of Mr. Tshisekedi, the mandate of the SADC Mission in the Democratic Republic of the Congo was extended by one year.