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  • Essay / Evaluation of the United Nations Operation in Congo

    After the United Nations Operation in Congo (ONUC) created in 1960 to restore peace and stability after the independence of Congo (Zabeki, 2017), the United Nations intervened again by establishing the United Nations Organization Mission in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (MONUC) in November 1999 under Resolution 1291. It consisted of 5,537 personnel and up to 500 observers. MONUC's main objectives were to monitor the implementation of the ceasefire agreement, investigate the violation of the agreement, work collaboratively with the parties regarding the release of war criminals, and provide humanitarian aid. It is worth mentioning that the mentioned mandates are rather considered traditional peace operations where the United Nations only acted as observers rather than interveners. In 2003, MONUC, with its limited scope and duration, failed to prevent ethnic violence in Ituri province; therefore, the peace operation is considered a failure as it failed to stop the fighting. Nevertheless, MONUC's mandate tightened in 2004. The Security Council authorized an increase in personnel of 5,900 personnel while the Secretary General requested 13,000 personnel. General mandates included the protection of human rights, particularly of women and children, disarmament, demobilization, protection and freedom of UN personnel, installations and equipment, and presence in key areas to prevent violence. Even with the promised and improved mandates, the UN has once again failed to fulfill its duties. UN staff became targets of rebels and, worse, UN staff themselves were reported for sexual misconduct. Furthermore, the humanitarian crises have not been resolved but have, on the contrary, worsened. Ethnic cleansing, rape and violence were committed by militias and the Congolese government. However, despite the failures, the 2006 presidential election can be considered free and fair with the help of the EU (Karns & Mingst, 2010, p. 339-340). In 2008, the mandate was extended to facilitate local elections under Resolution 1797. Additionally, under Resolution 1856, MONUC's deployment was extended until December 2009 and included 19,815 members, 760 military observers, 391 police officers and 1,050 trained police officers. personnel police units. Undoubtedly, the UN encouraged collaboration with the government, particularly in the eastern part of the country, with the protection of civilian lives as a priority, but given that fighting was continuing at the time, MONUC could hardly be considered a successful peace operation (UN at United Nations, 2018a).Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on “Why violent video games should not be banned”? Get an original essay In addition to this, the UN decided to rename MONUC to the United Nations Organization Stabilization Mission in the Republic Democratic Republic of Congo (MONUSCO) in July 1, 2010 under resolution 1925 of May 28. The mandate has been extended three times so far by resolution 2098 of March 28, 2013, resolution 2147 of March 28, 2014, and resolution 2348 of March 31, 2017. On March 28, 2013, the UN established a "defense brigade" specialized 'intervention' which lasted one year. in response to instability in the Great Lakes region. It has the responsibility to thwart armed groups that pose a threat to states and civilians in the eastern regions. Based on Resolution 2147, the UN decided to extend the deployment of MONUSCO until March 31, 2015 and also included the., 2016).