United Nations Organization Stabilization Mission in the Democratic Republic of the Congo – Report of the Secretary-General (S/2024/251) [EN/AR/RU/ZH] – Democratic Republic of the Congo

I. Introduction

1. The present report, submitted pursuant to paragraph 47 of Security Council resolution 2717 (2023), covers developments in the Democratic Republic of the Congo from 1 December 2023 to 19 March 2024. 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 political dynamics during the reporting period were marked by the organization of the presidential, national, provincial legislative and partial communal elections, amid logistical, technical and security challenges. The Independent National Electoral Commission opened the voting process on 20 December, in line with the Constitution, but extended voting operations for several days to compensate for delays. The Commission, the Government, representatives of the political majority, opposition and civil society, as well as some national and international electoral observation missions acknowledged cases of violence, including against women, and alleged irregularities, such as insufficient or malfunctioning voting machines, incomplete electoral lists and fraud. On 5 January, the Commission shared the preliminary conclusions of its investigations during voting operations, which lead to the cancellation of the results of the legislative elections in Masimanimba (Kwilu) and Yakoma (North Ubangi) and the cancellation of votes cast for 82 candidates, including 15 women. National elections were not held in the territories of Masisi, Rutshuru (North Kivu) and Kwamouth (MaiNdombe) owing to the security situation. Despite calls from several presidential candidates, including Moïse Katumbi, to cancel the election process citing widespread irregularities, the Constitutional Court dismissed these requests as unfounded.

3. On 9 January, the Constitutional Court confirmed the re-election of Félix Tshisekedi as President, with 73.47 per cent of the votes, followed by Moïse Katumbi with 18 per cent of the votes. According to the provisional results legislative elections announced by the of the Independent National Electoral Commission, the political platform Union sacrée de la nation representing President Tshisekedi received around 450 of the 500 seats in the National Assembly. Women’s representation is at 13.2 per cent of seats, representing a slight increase from 10.3 per cent during the 2018–2023 legislature term. Union sacrée de la nation candidates also dominated the provincial and partial communal elections. On 12 March, the Constitutional Court delivered its verdict on the appeals contesting the results of the national legislative elections of 20 December. Reportedly, of the 1,123 files received, the Constitutional Court deemed 43 cases admissible and founded, prompting some stakeholders, including from the political majority, to denounce the decision of the Court as being politicized. On 20 January, Félix Tshisekedi was sworn in for his second presidential term in the presence of 18 Heads of State.

4. On 7 February, the President appointed the Secretary General of Union pour la démocratie et le progrès social, Augustin Kabuya, tasked with consulting political parties, groupings and personalities represented in the National Assembly to inform the composition of the new Government. On 20 February, the Prime Minister, Jean-Michel Sama Lukonde, presented his resignation letter to the President to take up his mandate as a member of the National Assembly, prompting the resignation of the entire Government. The President, however, asked the outgoing Government to continue its duties until the formation of a new Government.

5. During and after the election campaign, tensions and clashes between the Union pour la démocratie et le progrès social and the political party representing Moïse Katumbi Ensemble pour la République, emerged along community lines between Kasaians and Katangese communities. On voting day, two women, an activist of Ensemble pour la République and the Chair of the local branch of the Independent National Electoral Commission were separately assaulted and stripped naked by several men around polling stations in the Provinces of Kasai Oriental and Lomami, respectively. In response, on 19 January, the Minister of Gender, Family and Children adopted the road map for the prevention and response to electoral violence against women involved in politics for the 2024–2028 electoral cycle.

6. During the electoral process, the good offices of MONUSCO facilitated dialogue between relevant national and international stakeholders and promoted the safe, meaningful and constructive participation of women, youth and Indigenous People, as well as initiatives against hate speech, political intolerance and gender-based violence.
The Mission encouraged candidates dissatisfied with election outcomes to pursue legal and peaceful means and explore alternatives to continue their civic and political participation, considering the upcoming senatorial, gubernatorial and local elections. MONUSCO supported civil society and candidates to advocate against gender-based violence, focusing on the protection of female candidates and observers, and ensured those messages were extensively promoted on social media.

7. At the request of the Government, MONUSCO deployed 131,302 tons of electoral material and 101 Independent National Electoral Commission personnel and recovered 14,141 tons of material and 226 personnel between 4 December 2023 and 4 January 2024.

8. Tensions between the Democratic Republic of the Congo and Rwanda were marked by increasingly hostile rhetoric, mutual accusations of the use of armed groups as proxies and deadly cross-border incidents. During a campaign rally on 18 December, President Tshisekedi declared that he would seek authorization from Parliament to declare war on Rwanda should the latter not stop supporting the Mouvement du 23 mars (M23). On 18 February, in a press release, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Rwanda expressed its concern about the abandonment of the Luanda and Nairobi Processes by the Democratic Republic of Congo, adding that Rwanda had taken measures to degrade the offensive air capabilities of the Democratic Republic of the Congo.

9. Tensions also flared up between Burundi and Rwanda following attacks by Résistance pour un État de droit au Burundi (RED Tabara) in Burundi in December. On 21 January, following the decision by Burundi to close its border with Rwanda on 11 January, the President of Burundi, Evariste Ndayishimiye, accused Rwanda of supporting the RED Tabara armed group based in South Kivu. The following day, the Government of Rwanda deplored the “inflammatory statements” by President Ndayishimiye.

10. Following the public announcement by the former president of the Independent National Electoral Commission, Corneille Nangaa, of the creation of the politicomilitary movement, Alliance Fleuve Congo (AFC), on 15 December in Nairobi, in the presence of the political leader of M23, Bertrand Bisimwa, the Democratic Republic of the Congo recalled its ambassador from Kenya and the United Republic of Tanzania, which hosts the headquarters of the East African Community.

11. On 16 and 22 January, respectively, the Secretary of State of the United States of America, Antony Blinken, met with the President of Rwanda, Paul Kagame, and President Tshisekedi in support of the Nairobi and Luanda processes. Following the mini-summit on the security situation in the Democratic Republic of the Congo convened by the President of Angola, João Lourenço Gonçalves, in his capacity as Chairperson of the Southern African Development Community, on 16 February and on the sidelines of the thirty-seventh African Union Summit in Addis Ababa, with the participation of President Kagame and President Tshisekedi, President Lourenço met separately on 27 February, in Luanda, with President Tshisekedi, who agreed to meet President Kagame under certain conditions, including the withdrawal of Rwandan troops from Congolese territory, the cessation of hostilities and the cantonment of M23. On 11 March, President João Lourenço received President Kagame in Luanda. Following the meeting, the Foreign Minister of Angola, Tete António, announced that a meeting between the presidents of the Democratic Republic of the Congo and Rwanda could take place soon. The African Union Peace and Security Council, held a virtual meeting on 4 March to discuss the situation in eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo. In its communiqué, the Council endorsed the Southern African Development Community Mission in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, which started to deploy in Goma on 15 December, while stressing the need to implement the outcome of the quadripartite summit of the East African Community, the Economic Community of Central African States, the International Conference on the Great Lakes and the Southern African Development Community, under the auspices of the African Union, held on 27 June 2023, in Luanda.