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UN / DRC
STORY: UN / DRC
TRT: 03:07
SOURCE: UNIFEED
RESTRICTIONS: NONE
LANGUAGES: FRENCH / ENGLISH / NATS
DATELINE: 09 DECEMBER 2022, NEW YORK CITY / FILE
FILE - NEW YORK CITY
1. Wide shot, exterior, United Nations Headquarters
09 DECEMBER 2022, NEW YORK CITY
2. Wide shot, Security Council
3. SOUNDBITE (French) Bintou Keita, Special Representative of the Secretary-General for the Democratic Republic of the Congo and head of the UN Organization Stabilization Mission in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (MONUSCO):
“DRC continues to show resilience despite the challenges that the country is facing. The macroeconomic performance of the country is encouraging and is proof of this. The national assembly, on the 3rd of December, adopted the draft budget law for 2023 amounting to 15,8 billion dollars, a significant increase compared to the 10,7 billion of 2022.”
4. Wide shot, Security Council
5. SOUNDBITE (French) Bintou Keita, Special Representative of the Secretary-General for the Democratic Republic of the Congo and head of the UN Organization Stabilization Mission in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (MONUSCO):
“This budget increase is a sign of hope. It is essential in order to fund the necessary strategies for the progressive improvement of the well-being of the Congolese population, as well as of that of the security sector.”
6. Wide shot, Security Council
7. SOUNDBITE (French) Bintou Keita, Special Representative of the Secretary-General for the Democratic Republic of the Congo and head of the UN Organization Stabilization Mission in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (MONUSCO):
“In the same way, we should welcome the publication of the electoral calendar, which sets the presidential and legislative elections on 20 December 2023, and which details the provisions and measures taken by the Independent National Electoral Commission (CENI) to begin, on 24 December 2022, the registration of voters.”
8. Wide shot, Security Council
9. SOUNDBITE (English) Bintou Keita, Special Representative of the Secretary-General for the Democratic Republic of the Congo and head of the UN Organization Stabilization Mission in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (MONUSCO):
“One of the most significant challenges they face today is insecurity. Over the past weeks, the security situation in eastern DRC has deteriorated dramatically. Since 20 October, the M23 has resumed hostilities and extended its control over Rutshuru territory in North Kivu.”
10. Wide shot, Security Council
11. SOUNDBITE (English) Bintou Keita, Special Representative of the Secretary-General for the Democratic Republic of the Congo and head of the UN Organization Stabilization Mission in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (MONUSCO):
“The reports of atrocities and other crimes committed by the M23 and other armed groups are gravely concerning.”
12. Wide shot, Security Council
13. SOUNDBITE (English) Bintou Keita, Special Representative of the Secretary-General for the Democratic Republic of the Congo and head of the UN Organization Stabilization Mission in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (MONUSCO):
“An estimated additional 370,000 people have been uprooted and forced from their homes in the latest round of hostilities involving the M23. The outbreak of inter-communal violence in the western provinces of Mai-Ndombe, and Kwilu, has also led to the displacement of over 50,000 thousand people, mostly women, and children.”
14. Wide shot, Security Council
15. SOUNDBITE (French), Christophe Lutundula Apala Pen Apala, Deputy Prime Minister, Minister of Foreign Affairs, Democratic Republic of the Congo:
“The DRC Government asks the Council to condemn these heinous crimes strongly – obviously – but also to request an independent international investigation to determine the perpetrators and to severely punish the material and intellectual bakers of these.”
16. Wide shot, Security Council
Briefing the Security Council today (9 Dec), the head of the UN Organization Stabilization Mission in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (MONUSCO) Bintou Keita, said that the country continues to show resilience despite the challenges that it is facing.
“The macroeconomic performance of the country is encouraging and is proof of this,” Bintou Keita, Special Representative of the Secretary-General for the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) and head of MONUSCO, added.
The national assembly, on the 3rd of December, adopted the draft budget law for 2023 amounting to 15,8 billion dollars, “a significant increase compared to the 10,7 billion of 2022,” she noted.
According to Keita, the budget increase is a sign of “hope” and is essential to fund the necessary strategies for the progressive improvement of the well-being of the Congolese population and the security in the Country.
With this ambitious budget, the DRC is also giving itself the necessary means to prepare for the 2023 elections, she added.
In this regard, the Special Representative welcomed the publication of the electoral calendar, which sets the presidential and legislative elections on 20 December 2023, and details the provisions and measures taken by the Independent National Electoral Commission (CENI) to begin the registration of voters on 24 December 2022.
She also said that while the 2023 elections could significantly contribute to strengthening democracy and stability in DRC, one of the most significant challenges they face today is insecurity.
“Over the past weeks, the security situation in eastern DRC has deteriorated dramatically. Since 20 October, the M23 has resumed hostilities and extended its control over Rutshuru territory in North Kivu,” she said.
Keita noted that MONUSCO has continued to provide operational, logistical, and tactical support to both the Armed Forces of the Democratic Republic of the Congo (FARDC) and Congolese National Police (PNC) in their efforts to confront armed groups in Eastern Congo, most notably the March 23 Movement (M23).
On human rights, MONUSCO chief said, “the reports of atrocities and other crimes committed by the M23 and other armed groups are gravely concerning.”
She reported that the preliminary findings of the United Nations fact-finding team established in response to allegations of human rights abuses and violations of international humanitarian law by M23 combatants in Kishishe and Bambo, Rutshuru territory, North Kivu, has confirmed that at least 131 civilians (102 men, 17 women, and 12 children) were either shot dead or killed by bladed weapons by M23 fighters.
During the same period, M23 combatants raped at least 22 women (one of whom was killed after the rape).
The team also confirmed the destruction of four schools and the occupation of two others by M23 combatants.
She stated that those responsible for these and other atrocities against the civilian population must be prosecuted nationally or internationally.
Keita said that the M23’s offensives have further exacerbated the ongoing humanitarian crisis.
She explained that the DRC already plays host to the highest number of internally displaced persons anywhere on the African continent, due in large part to the activities of the Allied Democratic Forces (ADF), the Coopérative pour le Développement du Congo (CODECO), Zaire, Twirwaneho, and Mai-Mai groups.
She continued, “An estimated additional 370,000 people have been uprooted and forced from their homes in the latest round of hostilities involving the M23. The outbreak of inter-communal violence in the western provinces of Mai-Ndombe, and Kwilu, has also led to the displacement of over 50,000 thousand people, mostly women, and children.”
In this dangerous environment and despite persistent access constraints, particularly in areas under M23 and ADF control, humanitarian actors continue to deliver indispensable aid and lifesaving services.
She, therefore, urged partners to actively continue supporting the Humanitarian Response Plan and the specific North Kivu response plan.
She also noted that, encouragingly, regional initiatives have intensified in response to the increasing insecurity and regional tensions.
Christophe Lutundula Apala Pen Apala, DRC’s Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs addressed the Security Council today, too.
He said that his government “asks the Council to condemn these heinous crimes strongly – obviously – but also to request an independent international investigation to determine the perpetrators and to severely punish the material and intellectual bakers of these.”
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