United Nations Security Council Resolution 2148 – Democratic Republic of the Congo

Resolution 2147 (2014)

The Security Council,

Recalling its previous resolutions and the statements of its President concerning the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), especially its resolutions 2136 (2014), 2098 (2013), 2078 (2012), 2076 (2012) and 2053 (2012),

Recalling its resolution 2086 (2013) and reaffirming the basic principles of peacekeeping, including consent of the parties, impartiality, and non-use of force, except in self-defence and defence of the mandate, and recognizing that the mandate of each peacekeeping mission is specific to the need and situation of the country concerned,

Reaffirming its strong commitment to the sovereignty, independence, unity and territorial integrity of the DRC as well as all States in the region and emphasizing the need to respect fully the principles of non-interference, good-neighbourliness and regional cooperation,

Stressing the primary responsibility of the government of DRC for ensuring security in its territory and protecting its civilians with respect to the rule of law, human rights and international humanitarian law,

Noting that eastern DRC has continued to suffer from recurring cycles of conflict and persistent violence by armed groups, both Congolese and foreign, and emphasizing the need to address the root causes of conflict to put an end to these recurring cycles of violence,

Welcoming the efforts of the Secretary-General of the United Nations, the International Conference on the Great Lakes Region (ICGLR), the Southern African Development Community (SADC), and the African Union (AU) to restore peace and security in eastern DRC, and encouraging the government of the DRC to continue to ensure close cooperation with these and other international parties,

Recalling the signing in Addis Ababa on 24 February 2013 of the Peace, Security and Cooperation Framework for the Democratic Republic of the Congo and the region (“the PSC Framework”), under the auspices of its guarantors, namely the Secretary-General of the United Nations, the Chairperson of the AU Commission, the Chairperson of the SADC and Chairperson of the ICGLR, and calling on all parties to continue to implement promptly, fully and in good faith their respective commitments,

Welcoming the Regional Oversight Mechanism’s calling for a broader political dialogue in its January 2014 communique, and the initial dialogue between key signatories states initiated by Angola in its role as Chair of the ICGLR, encouraging the continuation of such dialogue under the auspices of the PSC Framework to resolve the root causes of conflict in the DRC and the Great Lakes region, and welcoming the continued engagement of the Special Envoy of the Secretary-General for the Great Lakes region,

Reaffirming its strongest support to the Special Representative of the Secretary-General (SRSG) and the United Nations Organization Stabilization Mission in the DRC (MONUSCO) in the implementation of their mandate, and strongly encouraging the continuation of their efforts,

Reiterating its deep concern regarding the security and humanitarian crisis in eastern DRC due to ongoing destabilizing activities of foreign and domestic armed groups, and stressing the importance of neutralizing all armed groups, including the Democratic Forces for the Liberation of Rwanda (FDLR), the Allied Democratic Forces (ADF), the Lord’s Resistance Army (LRA), the Bakata-Katanga and various Mayi Mayi groups,

Welcoming the end of the rebellion by the 23 March Movement (M23) and the signing in Nairobi by the M23, the Government of DRC, the SADC and the ICGLR of the documents concluding the Kampala Dialogue facilitated by Uganda as chair of the ICGLR, stressing the importance of ensuring that all provisions of the signed documents are implemented swiftly and in good faith and, in this regard, that the M23 does not regroup and resume military activities, in line with the Nairobi declarations and relevant Security Council resolutions,

Expressing deep concern regarding the sustained regional threat posed by the FDLR, a group under UN sanctions whose leaders and members include perpetrators of the 1994 genocide against the Tutsi in Rwanda, during which Hutu and others who opposed the genocide were also killed, and have continued to promote and commit ethnically-based and other killings in Rwanda and the DRC, and stressingthe importance of permanently addressing this threat,

Expressing concern that the FDLR, as well as other armed groups, continue to have freedom of movement in the DRC, noting with deep concern reports indicating FARDC collaboration with the FDLR at a local level and welcoming in this regard the plans by the FARDC, supported by MONUSCO, to neutralize the FDLR, and stressing the need to put such plans into sustained action,

Recalling the Security Council’s Presidential Statements on the Central African Region and the LRA, including S/PRST/2013/18 and S/PRST/2013/6, commending the important ongoing efforts being undertaken by MONUSCO in the fight against the LRA, encouraging further efforts of the AU-Regional task force, and urging greater cooperation and information-sharing between relevant UN bodies, the AU-Regional Task Force regional forces and non-governmental organisations in tackling the threat of the LRA,

Expressing deep concern regarding the increasing number of internally displaced persons in the DRC, now reaching more than 2.9 million, and the over 450,000 refugees from eastern DRC caused by the various Congolese and foreign armed groups active in the region, calling upon the DRC and all States in the region to work towards the peaceful environment conducive to the eventual voluntary return and reintegration of refugees to the DRC, with the support, as appropriate, of the UNHCR, commending in this regard the support provided by neighbouring countries to refugees from the DRC and encouraging the Rwandan and the Ugandan Governments, United Nations and international organizations to work together to urgently address the situation of former M23 combatants in Uganda and Rwanda,

Noting that it has been more than a year that hundreds of M23 combatants, including individuals designated by the Security Council, fled from the DRC into Rwanda on 18 March 2013, encouraging the Government of Rwanda, with the assistance of relevant UN and international organizations, to continue to ensure that these combatants are permanently demobilized and are dealt with according to relevant international law including special attention to children and women among them, and recalling the Member States’ obligations, as renewed by resolution 2136 (2014),

Calling upon all parties in the conflict to respect the impartiality, independence and neutrality of humanitarian actors,

Remaining greatly concerned by the humanitarian situation that continues to severely affect the civilian population, in particular in eastern DRC, and the persistent high levels of violence and violations and abuses of human rights and violations of international law, condemning in particular those involving the targeted attacks against civilians, widespread sexual and gender-based violence, systematic recruitment and use of children by certain parties to the conflict, the displacement of significant numbers of civilians, extrajudicial executions and arbitrary arrests and recognizing their deleterious effect on the stabilization, reconstruction and development efforts in the DRC,

Recalling its resolutions 1325 (2000), 1820 (2008), 1888 (2009), 1889 (2009), 1960 (2010), 2106 (2013) and 2122 (2013) on women, peace and security, its resolutions 1265 (1999), 1296 (2000), 1674 (2006), 1738 (2006) and 1894 (2009) on the protection of civilians in armed conflict, and its resolutions 1612 (2005), 1882 (2009), 1998 (2011), 2068 (2012) and 2143 (2014) on children and armed conflict,

Welcoming the efforts of MONUSCO and international partners in delivering training in human rights, child protection and protection from sexual and gender-based violence for Congolese security institutions and underlining its importance, and welcoming the establishment of the Women’s Platform for the PSC Framework in an effort to ensure the full participation of women in the PSC Framework peace process,

Noting the ongoing efforts made by the Government of the DRC to combat sexual violence in conflict including through the implementation of its National Strategy and the commitments outlined in the Joint Communiqué between the Government of the DRC and the United Nations on the Fight Against Sexual Violence in Conflict adopted in Kinshasa on 30 March 2013, and strongly encouraging the Government of DRC to increase its efforts in this regard,

Acknowledging the adoption of the Framework of Cooperation between the United Nations Office of the Special Representative of the Secretary-General on Sexual Violence in Conflict and the African Union Commission Concerning the Prevention and Response to Conflict-related Sexual Violence in Africa adopted in Addis Ababa on 31 January 2014,

Taking note of the report of the Secretary-General S/2014/181 which includes a list of parties responsible for patterns of rape and other forms of sexual violence in situations of armed conflict,

Condemning the mass rapes in Minova and the surrounding villages in November 2012 reportedly committed by soldiers of the Armed forces of the DRC (FARDC), taking note of the investigations and arrests undertaken thereafter by the Congolese authorities and the initial trials that are underway, expressing concern at the delays in the trials of those indicted, and urging the Congolese authorities to hold the perpetrators accountable while ensuring all investigations and trials respect due process,

Calling for all those responsible for violations of international humanitarian law or violations and abuses of human rights, as applicable, including those involving violence or abuses against children and acts of sexual and gender-based violence, to be swiftly apprehended, brought to justice and held accountable,

Stressing the need for cooperation with the International Criminal Court (ICC) by the Government of the DRC, welcoming the commitment made by the Government of the DRC to hold accountable those responsible for serious crimes, i n particular war crimes and crimes against humanity, in the country, and stressing the importance of actively seeking to hold accountable those responsible for war crimes and crimes against humanity in the country and of regional and international cooperation to this end,

Recalling the Secretary-General’s call to the Council to reject any endorsement of amnesty for genocide, war crimes, crimes against humanity or gross violations of human rights and international humanitarian law, and welcoming in this regard the promulgation of the Amnesty law in DRC, excluding those who have committed genocide, war crimes, crimes against humanity or gross violations of human rights and international humanitarian law, and urging the government of DRC to follow through by undertaking the necessary judicial reform to ensure that the DRC effectively addresses impunity,

Urging the Government of the DRC to remain fully committed to the implementation of the PSC Framework, including through the adoption of a priority action plan, and to protecting the civilian population through the swift establishment of professional, accountable and sustainable security forces, the deployment of an accountable Congolese civil administration, in particular the police, judiciary, prison and territorial administration and the consolidation of rule of law and promotion and protection of human rights,

Urging the Government of the DRC to take immediate steps to uphold its commitment to security sector reform, including the creation and support of a Rapid Reaction Force, the development of a roadmap for the security and justice sectors, the development of a comprehensive Disarmament, Demobilization and Reintegration (DDR) and Disarmament, Demobilization, Repatriation, Resettlement and Reintegration (DDRRR) plan, noting in this regard that the Government has proposed a new DDR plan, all of which will require the allocation of necessary resources and a continued commitment from the Government to prioritize reform, and regretting that progress has been slow up to date,

Reiterating its call on all parties to cooperate fully with MONUSCO, and its condemnation of any and all attacks against peacekeepers, emphasizing that those responsible for such attacks must be held accountable, and recalling its decision to extend sanctions measures outlined in paragraph 3 of the resolution 2136 (2014) to individuals and entities who plan, direct, sponsor or participate in attacks against MONUSCO peacekeepers,

Reiterating its call upon the Secretary-General to take all measures deemed necessary to strengthen UN field security arrangements and improve the safety and security of all military contingents, police officers, military observers, and especially unarmed observers,

Recognizing the significant sacrifices made by MONUSCO, commending the active steps taken by MONUSCO, including its Intervention Brigade acting with the support of and in cooperation with MONUSCO’s wider Force structure, to implement fully its mandate, in particular the protection of civilians, and encouraging the continuation of these efforts by the Mission,

Affirming that the successful protection of civilians is critical to the fulfilment of MONUSCO’s mandate and the delivery of an improved security environment, in this regard, recognizing that MONUSCO has successfully deterred attacks on civilians through its approach to protection of civilians and welcoming the efforts made by the mission to adapt the Force in order to enhance the delivery of the mission’s comprehensive protection of civilians strategy, including by becoming more flexible, versatile, and widely deployable across the whole of eastern DRC,

Underlining the importance of MONUSCO deterring any threats to the implementation of its mandate,

Recognizing the contribution of MONUSCO to a comprehensive strategy for durable peace and security, noting with appreciation the contribution that MONUSCO makes to early peacebuilding and emphasizing that MONUSCO’s activities should be conducted in a manner so as to facilitate post-conflict peacebuilding, prevention of relapse into armed conflict and progress towards sustainable peace and development,

Stressing the importance of the full and urgent implementation of the PSC Framework to permanently reducing threats against civilians, noting the need for MONUSCO to strengthen support to the government of the DRC to enable it to address security challenges and extend state authority of the government of DRC as expressed in paragraph 5 of the PSC Framework, and recognizing the need for a comprehensive peace process to put an end to the sources of conflict in the region,

Determining that the situation in the DRC continues to constitute a threat to international peace and security in the region,

Acting under Chapter VII of the Charter of the United Nations,

Adopted by the Security Council at its 7150th meeting, on 28 March 2014.