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Jean-Pierre Lacroix, Deputy Secretary-General of the United Nations in charge of peacekeeping operations, ended the mission, which began a week earlier in the Democratic Republic of Congo on Friday 18 December. He met with the country’s political actors, including President Félix Tshisekedi, Martin Fayulu and other stakeholders in the institutional crisis that has developed. What is his view on the Congolese political crisis? What is the priority for MONUSCO, whose mandate was renewed on Friday? He answers questions from Patient Ligodi.
For six months, there has been a blockade at the top of the state. Was this crisis inevitable?
Jean-Pierre Lacroix: When I went to Kinshasa, I met the President of the Republic, I met the political actors. For us, it is important to be able to work in partnership with the Congolese authorities. It is not for us not to prescribe this or that election of majority, this or that political orientation, this or that action. That is not our role. On the other hand, we must support ourselves and support policies, measures, initiatives initiated by the authorities, whether national or local. And in that sense, it is obviously desirable from our point of view that a government can be set up quickly so that this partnership, which is necessary between the UN and the Congolese authorities, can continue and even intensify.
In your opinion, did Félix Tshisekedi make the right choice to seek a new majority in the National Assembly?
Again, it is absolutely not for the UN to comment on this. We must support policies that make it possible to raise important issues of security and create the conditions for development, especially in the troubled areas of the East, where we are more present.
The international community does not hide its preference for Félix Tshisekedi between Félix Tshisekedi and Joseph Kabila. Is this also your opinion?
You are once again asking me a question about Congolese internal politics. But let’s look at it, say another way. What is the UN doing? What does Monusco do? We support the population, we protect civilians. I was yesterday and the day before in two areas, one in northern Kivu in what is called the Masisi region, Walikale, the next day in Bunia and then in the Roe region where there is a camp for displaced people. . In the short term, where we can, we do our best. We provide security, we help colleagues in humanitarian agencies to provide support to these vulnerable populations. Then there is the issue of long-termism. How can it be ensured that lasting security is established, that the rule of law is established, that economic activity can be developed? And there, the UN, international partner Monusco can help. And they are helping, they are already doing work in aid, state capacity building, security, justice, etc. But what is important is again the policy that the local and national authorities have initiated in these major areas. How to strengthen the armed forces, the security forces, how to strengthen justice, how to ensure that the return of the state takes place in all regions where it has little or no presence, how to initiate a program that creates the conditions for economic development?
The mandate for the UN mission in Congo, Monusco, is extended by one year. What should we focus on for 2021?
Firstly, in the regions most affected, it is the direction of the directions that until then has guided the development of MONUSCO, that is, the eastern regions, and in particular Ituri, northern Kivu, southern Kivu, part of Tanganyika. Elsewhere, in Kasai, Monusco has gradually given way to other forms of international support, apparently in partnership with the Congolese authorities. And then, a little later, we imagine in Tanganyika that the same thing can be done. It is a concentration in the most difficult areas, of course prioritizing the protection of civilians, strengthening the partnership with the institutions, the Congolese authorities. There is currently a political situation here that you mentioned, we obviously do not know how it will be resolved. We hope that the result will be fairly quick. In addition to the very important work, but more short-term support for the displaced population, humanitarian, security, there is indeed work on long-term issues that make it possible to consider that, gradually, a peacekeeping operation may give way to other international partnerships as soon as security conditions in particular are more favorable.
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