United Nations Organization Stabilization Mission in the Democratic Republic of the Congo – Report of the Secretary-General (S/2023/932) [EN/AR/RU/ZH] – Democratic Republic of the Congo

I. Introduction

1. The present report, submitted pursuant to paragraph 43 of Security Council resolution 2666 (2022), covers developments in the Democratic Republic of the Congo from 21 September 2023 to 30 November 2023. 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. The reporting period was marked by the publication of the final lists of candidates for the general elections to be held on 20 December 2023 and the heightened polarization of the political sphere with the start of the electoral campaign, amid continued regional tensions.

3. On 8 October, the Independent National Electoral Commission announced that the applications of 24 candidates had been declared admissible, and on 30 October, the Constitutional Court validated 26 candidatures for the presidential election, including two additional candidatures.

4. In total, 25,832 candidates were validated for the national legislative elections; 44,110 for the provincial legislative elections; and 31,234 for the partial communal elections. Female candidates in those elections represented around 17, 25 and 43 per cent, respectively, illustrating the strategic importance of local elections for women to gain access to political posts.

5. Members of the political opposition and civil society continued to denounce the perceived lack of transparency and inclusivity of the electoral process, including concerns about the alleged violation of the electoral law by the Independent National Electoral Commission for its failure to post the electoral lists and to publish the map of polling stations by 20 October. On 28 October, the Commission announced the publication of the electoral roll for consultation in its 179 satellite offices and on its website, but opposition and civil society stakeholders deemed the read-only format to be ineffective to ensure the evaluation of the roll. On 13 November, the Electoral Observation Mission of the National Episcopal Conference of the Congo and the Church of Christ in the Congo denounced the duplication of 3,706 polling stations, while others reported difficulties for voters in obtaining duplicates of illegible or lost voter cards because their names did not appear on the electoral register, or because the electoral officers appointed to produce the duplicates had asked for bribes. The Commission promised to address the situation. On 16 November, Mr. Tshisekedi confirmed in an interview to international media that elections would not take place in most of the Masisi and Rutshuru territories of North Kivu owing to persistent insecurity.

6. Meanwhile, the African Union, the Economic Community of Central African States (ECCAS), the Southern African Development Community (SADC), the East African Community, the Carter Center and the European Union announced plans to deploy electoral observation missions to the country, in November or December. On 6 November, the European Union deployed an election observation mission for the 20 December elections.

7. Tensions mounted in Katanga between youth wings of the Union pour la démocratie et le progrès social, the Ensemble pour la République and the Union nationale des fédéralistes du Congo, leading to clashes on 8 October in Fungurume, Lualaba Province, and on 7 November in Kasumbalesa, Haut-Katanga Province.
From 11 to 13 November, violent confrontations ensued between Kasaians and Katangese communities in Malemba-Nkulu territory, Haut-Lomami Province, following the murder of a motorcyclist by alleged Kasaians.

8. On 19 November, the electoral campaign was officially launched. The same day, presidential candidate Augustin Matata Ponyo announced his withdrawal from the elections in favour of Mr. Katumbi, followed on 20 November by presidential candidates Seth Kikuni and Frank Diongo.

9. On 12 October, Mr. Tshisekedi announced a transitional system to allow for the gradual lifting of the state of siege measures in effect in Ituri and North Kivu. To that end, on 10 November, the Council of Ministers adopted a draft ordinance amending and supplementing that of 3 May 2021 on measures to implement the state of siege in Ituri and North Kivu, while the sixty-first extension of the state of siege, previously adopted by the Council on 22 November, came into effect on 28 November for a 15-day period.

10. Tensions between the Democratic Republic of the Congo and Rwanda remained high, marked by increasingly hostile rhetoric, mutual accusations on the use of armed groups as proxies, increased cross-border incidents, while the implementation of the Nairobi and Luanda processes stalled, despite ongoing diplomatic efforts.

11. On 19 and 20 November, the United States of America Director of National Intelligence visited Rwanda and the Democratic Republic of the Congo in an effort to de-escalate tensions between both countries. According to an official statement by the United States published on 21 November, the two Heads of State committed to take specific steps towards de-escalation, building on regional efforts under the Luanda and Nairobi processes. On 20 November and 21 November, respectively, the French Minister for Europe and Foreign Affairs spoke with the Deputy Prime Minister and Minister for Foreign Affairs and Francophonie of the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Christophe Lutundula Apala Pen’Apala, and his Rwandan counterpart, Vincent Biruta, and encouraged continued dialogue between both countries, particularly within the framework of the Luanda and Nairobi processes.

12. On 6 October, following the quadripartite summit of 27 June, the Chiefs of Defence Staff of the East African Community, ECCAS, the International Conference on the Great Lakes Region and SADC met in Addis Ababa under the aegis of the African Union and with the participation of the United Nations to coordinate and harmonize peace initiatives in eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo. Participants agreed to ensure the alignment of the timetable for the withdrawal of existing missions on the ground and planned force deployments, to maintain dialogue on the political track of the Nairobi and Luanda processes, to speed up efforts to establish humanitarian corridors, and to reconvene before the end of the year.

13. On 8 October, at an extraordinary meeting of the East African Community Sectoral Council on Cooperation in Defence Affairs held in Arusha, United Republic of Tanzania, the Congolese Government announced that it would not seek the renewal of the East African Community regional force mandate that will expire on 8 December 2023. The Council recommended that a summit of East African Community Heads of State be convened to authorize the use of force by the regional force against the Mouvement du 23 mars (M23), urged the facilitator of the Nairobi process to accelerate the political track of the process by committing M23 and other armed groups to an immediate cessation of hostilities and called for the resolution of the financial problems facing the regional force.

14. On 1 and 4 November, the Heads of State and Government of SADC held a summit on the deployment of a SADC mission to the Democratic Republic of the Congo. They commended member States for making additional commitments to the deployment of the mission, reiterated the need for SADC to lead efforts to mobilize resources for peace and security in the SADC region and mandated the Chairperson of SADC, the President of Angola, João Lourenço, to intensify diplomatic efforts to diffuse tensions between the Democratic Republic of the Congo and Rwanda.

15. On 9 November 2023, the Special Representative of the Secretary-General for the Democratic Republic of the Congo led a MONUSCO delegation to Gaborone, where she met with the Executive Secretary of SADC, Elias Magosi; the Chairperson of the SADC Organ on Politics, Defence and Security Affairs; the Chiefs of Defence of the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Malawi, South Africa and the United Republic of Tanzania; and the new SADC mission Force Commander. Discussions centred on the deployment of the mission, potential MONUSCO support and cooperation on the ground. On 17 November, Mr. Tshisekedi presided over the ceremony at which the Democratic Republic of the Congo officially signed the status of forces agreement of the mission.

16. On 24 November, at their twenty-third ordinary summit, East African Community Heads of State noted that the Democratic Republic of the Congo would not extend the mandate of the East African Community regional force beyond 8 December 2023 and requested the Chiefs of Defence Staff of the East African Community and SADC to meet before 8 December and submit their recommendations on the way forward to the Defence Ministers.