DR Congo: Managing the Transition

Discussions about the future of peacekeeping in the DR Congo and the modalities of withdrawal are happening while the east of the country remains steeped in conflict. Joint efforts by the UN stabilization mission and the Congolese Government to map remaining challenges have been rushed and incoherent. Assessment methodology was designed without reference to key actors, both inside and outside the mission. As the UN Security Council begins discussing the withdrawal of MONUSCO (formerly MONUC) forces, the assessment planning process must be made more consistent, UN agencies and civil society must be given a voice in the process, and critical civilian efforts must continue to be developed and supported.

Policy Recommendations

* MONUSCO Senior Management and the Government of the DRC should review the various methodologies used in the first joint assessment process, identify gaps and lessons learned in advance of the next joint assessment effort.
* MONUSCO should establish, and the Government of the DRC should support, a mechanism that allows the UN Country Team organizations, local civil society organizations, and NGOs to comment on the findings put forward in the joint assessment reports. Those comments should be made available to the Security Council alongside the Joint Assessment report.
* The UN Security Council should use the joint assessment reports to guide the reallocation and redeployment of MONUSCO staff and resources, and not just as a means to identify areas for MONUSCO withdrawal.
* The MONUSCO Heads of Office in North Kivu, South Kivu and Ituri should be made a part of the MONUSCO Senior Management team.

Erin A. Weir and Matt Pennington assessed the UN peacekeep- ing mission in eastern DR Congo in August 2010.