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STORY: UN / DRC PRESSER
TRT: 05:08
SOURCE: UNIFEED
RESTRICTIONS: NONE
LANGUAGES: ENGLISH / NATS
DATELINE: 27 JANUARY 2025, NEW YORK CITY
FILE – NEW YORK CITY
1. Wide shot, United Nations headquarters
27 JANUARY 2025, NEW YORK CITY
2. Wide shot, press briefing room
3. SOUNDBITE (English) Jean-Pierre Lacroix, Under-Secretary-General for Peace Operations, United Nations:
“Well, what I can tell you, basically, the situation on the ground obviously remains volatile and dangerous.”
4. Wide shot, press briefing room
5. SOUNDBITE (English) Jean-Pierre Lacroix, Under-Secretary-General for Peace Operations, United Nations:
“The civilian population in a region that is already massively affected, and where the humanitarian challenges are daunting, certainly the risks of a broader humanitarian disaster are very high. And of course, we also want to avoid the risk of a broader war.”
6. Med shot, journalist
7. SOUNDBITE (English) Jean-Pierre Lacroix, Under-Secretary-General for Peace Operations, United Nations:
“The mission has begun temporarily relocating its personnel and their dependents from Goma over the weekend, by air and road. The process is ongoing, with relocations continuing as I speak. Obviously, the safety and security of our personnel is and must be paramount.”
8. Wide shot, press briefing room
9. SOUNDBITE (English) Jean-Pierre Lacroix, Under-Secretary-General for Peace Operations, United Nations:
“But parallel to that, of course, our colleagues from MONUSCO continue to deliver on the obligation to protect civilians to the best of their ability, and that includes disarming combatants in conformity with international humanitarian law. There are significant numbers of civilians and also disarmed combatants that are currently in various MONUSCO premises.”
10. Wide shot, press briefing room
11. SOUNDBITE (English) Bruno Lemarquis, Deputy Special Representative of the Secretary-General, Resident Coordinator and Humanitarian Coordinator for the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC):
“With close to 6.5 million displaced people in the country, including close to 3 million displaced people in North Kivu, over one-third of the population of North Kivu is already displaced, and now this Goma crisis is unfolding. So, the humanitarian situation in and around Goma is extremely, extremely worrying, with new thresholds of violence and suffering reached today, as active zones of combat have spread to all quarters of the city—all the neighborhoods of the city. Civilians are bearing the brunt of the escalating hostilities. This morning, heavy artillery fire was directed at the city center.”
12. Wide shot, press briefing room
13. SOUNDBITE (English) Bruno Lemarquis, Deputy Special Representative of the Secretary-General, Resident Coordinator and Humanitarian Coordinator for the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC):
“As of last Friday, 300,000 of those internally displaced were totally moved towards Goma, and the IDP sites—the internally displaced sites—were totally empty. But they have no choice; they have to flee the violence.”
14. Wide shot, press briefing room
15. SOUNDBITE (English) Bruno Lemarquis, Deputy Special Representative of the Secretary-General, Resident Coordinator and Humanitarian Coordinator for the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC):
“Hospitals in Goma are overwhelmed in spite of the support provided, for example, by MSF and ICRC. They are struggling to manage the influx of wounded people. For example, the General Hospital, the main hospital for this kind of treatment—one of the city’s main healthcare facilities—is far exceeding its capacity. As of three days ago, it was treating 259 patients, including 90 civilians, with only 146 beds.”
16. Wide shot, press briefing room
17. SOUNDBITE (English) Bruno Lemarquis, Deputy Special Representative of the Secretary-General, Resident Coordinator and Humanitarian Coordinator for the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC):
“And today alone, the ICRC reported 117 additional injured individuals needing critical treatment. Basic services in Goma are becoming critical. They have been severely disrupted. Water and electricity are compromised, and Internet service was cut today, for example, at 1 p.m. Phone networks remain operational, but it's patchy and not helping the humanitarian response and coordination.”
18. Wide shot, press briefing room
19. SOUNDBITE (English) Bruno Lemarquis, Deputy Special Representative of the Secretary-General, Resident Coordinator and Humanitarian Coordinator for the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC):
“We have taken both our international personnel and national personnel and their dependents to two locations—one in-country, Kinshasa, and the other one in Entebbe, where we have a large UN base. So that's where they are being sent to.”
20. Wide shot, press briefing room
21. SOUNDBITE (English) Jean-Pierre Lacroix, Under-Secretary-General for Peace Operations, United Nations:
“The recent announcement of an upcoming meeting of the AU Peace and Security Council is very important. We look forward to further engagement by the African Union in the efforts that are currently being made with a view to bringing about the cessation of hostilities. We count on the AU’s involvement in those efforts.”
22. Wide shot, end of press briefing
Under-Secretary-General for Peace Operations Jean-Pierre Lacroix said the situation on the ground in DRC “remains volatile and dangerous.”
During a press briefing at the United Nations headquarters today (27 Jan) Lacroix said, “The civilian population in a region that is already massively affected, and where the humanitarian challenges are daunting, certainly the risks of a broader humanitarian disaster are very high. And of course, we also want to avoid the risk of a broader war.”
To ensure the safety of UN personnel, the mission has begun evacuating staff from Goma “by air and road.”
Lacroix noted that the safety and security of the UN personnel “is and must be paramount.”
Despite the challenging environment, MONUSCO continues its efforts to protect civilians and stabilize the region, “and that includes disarming combatants in conformity with international humanitarian law. There are significant numbers of civilians and also disarmed combatants that are currently in various MONUSCO premises,” Lacroix noted.
Bruno Lemarquis, Deputy Special Representative of the Secretary-General said, “With close to 6.5 million displaced people in the country, including close to 3 million displaced people in North Kivu, over one-third of the population of North Kivu is already displaced,” in addition to the new Goma crisis unfolding.
Lemarquis described the dire conditions faced by civilians as fighting spreads across Goma. “The humanitarian situation in and around Goma is extremely, extremely worrying, with new thresholds of violence and suffering reached today, as active zones of combat have spread to all quarters of the city—all the neighborhoods of the city. Civilians are bearing the brunt of the escalating hostilities. This morning, heavy artillery fire was directed at the city center,” he reported.
Hospitals in Goma are struggling to cope. “Hospitals in Goma are overwhelmed in spite of the support provided, for example, by MSF and ICRC. They are struggling to manage the influx of wounded people,” Lemarquis said, highlighting that the General Hospital, with a capacity of 146 beds, was treating 259 patients, including 90 civilians, just three days ago.
Basic services have also been severely disrupted, with water and electricity compromised and Internet service cut as of 1 p.m. Monday. “Phone networks remain operational, but it's patchy and not helping the humanitarian response and coordination,” Lemarquis explained.
Amid these challenges, the UN is relocating personnel and their families to safety. “We have taken both our international personnel and national personnel and their dependents to two locations—one in-country, Kinshasa, and the other one in Entebbe, where we have a large UN base,” Lemarquis said.
Lacroix emphasized the importance of regional cooperation to resolve the crisis. “The recent announcement of an upcoming meeting of the AU Peace and Security Council is very important. We look forward to further engagement by the African Union in the efforts that are currently being made with a view to bringing about the cessation of hostilities. We count on the AU’s involvement in those efforts,” he said.
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