UNSC Lifts DR Congo Arms Supply Notification Requirements
The civilian protection section of the United Nations Organization Stabilization Mission in the Democratic Republic of Congo (MONUSCO) patrol during a security mission in Kitshanga, eastern Democratic Republic of Congo, on December 11, 2022. 
The Democratic Republic of the Congo continues its efforts to bring lasting peace to a country that has faced recurring armed conflicts since the mid-Nineties.Notifications of “any shipment of arms or related materiel” or “any provision of assistance, consultancy services or training in relation to military activities” to the Democratic Republic of the Congo are no longer needed, according to a unanimous decision by the United Nations Security Council (UNSC). At the same time, the arms embargo on all DR Congo non-governmental entities and individuals remains in force.The Congolese government applauded the resolution, proposed by France and supported by all other members of the council.
“The government welcomes the adoption by the UN Security Council of the resolution lifting the requirement for notification of arms purchases under the 1533 sanctions regime of the Democratic Republic of Congo,” says an official statement, stressing that “this resolution thus rectifies an injustice that prevented our country from freely acquiring military equipment to enable the Armed Forces of the Democratic Republic of Congo (FARDC) to have the necessary capabilities to defend the homeland.”
The removal of the criteria, according to Gabon’s UN Ambassador Michel Biang, “will remove all obstacles”. The Congo must “give a proper and effective response to armed groups who are pillaging resources and committing atrocities on civilians in the east”.The Security Council urged the UN and the government of the Congo to “identify concrete and realistic steps to be undertaken, as a matter of priority, to create the minimum security conditions to enable the responsible and sustainable exit of the United Nations Organization Stabilization Mission in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (MONUSCO),” working in conjunction with civil society. The UNSC also extended MONUSCO’s presence in the country until 20 December 2023 although it announced its gradual withdrawal. It also called on MONUSCO and other UN personnel in DR Congo to work together on crucial tasks to get ready for the force’s departure.According to the resolution, MONUSCO will continue to have a permitted strength of 13,500 military servicemembers, 660 military observers and staff officers, 591 individual police officers, and 1,410 members of organized police groups.MONUSCO, mainly financed by the US, was deemed ineffective and unable to protect the Congolese by local protesters in summer 2022. This was followed by a special governmental meeting concerning the force’s future. Christophe Lutundula, DR Congo’s Foreign Minister later declared that the mission was scheduled to exit the country in 2024.Recently, the DR Congo government concluded another round of peace talks aimed to put an end to the conflict between the state and more than 50 rebel groups in the east of the country that has been long troubled by armed conflicts. The talks, mediated by the Community of East African States, involve the Nairobi process, focusing on internal conflict, as well as the Luanda process, concerning Kinshasa’s international diplomatic issues.
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