The resolution places at the heart of MONUSCO’s mandate the protection of civilians, who are threatened by the armed groups and local militia, and by acts of violence committed during the elections; and also the support for the electoral process and the organisation of the presidential, legislative and provincial elections which should place in December 2018, after having been repeatedly postponed since December 2016.
The resolution echoes the recommendations made by FIDH and its member organisations in DRC, the Electors’ League (Ligue des Élécteurs), the LOTUS Group (Groupe LOTUS) and the African Association for Human Rights in their advocacy memorandum sent to the members of the UN Security Council early in March, 2018. With the DRC going through a serious crisis, largely due to President Joseph Kabila’s hanging on to power beyond his second and last constitutional term of office, our organisations urge MONUSCO to fully implement its new mandate, in order to prevent electoral violence from developing, to curb the violations committed in the eastern and central regions and to support the holding of credible elections in a pacified environment.