United Nations Security Council Resolution 2348 – The situation concerning the Democratic Republic of the Congo

Resolution 2348 (2017)

The Security Council,

Recalling its previous resolutions and the statements of its President concerning the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), especially its resolutions 2293 (2016), 2277 (2016), 2211 (2015), 2198 (2015), 2147 (2014), 2136 (2014), and 2098 (2013),

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 peace-keeping 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,

Recalling that the Government of the DRC bears the primary responsibility to protect civilians within its territory and subject to its jurisdiction, including protection from crimes against humanity and war crimes,

Reaffirming its strong support for the “Comprehensive and Inclusive Political Agreement” signed in Kinshasa on 31 December 2016, commending the tireless efforts by the Conférence Episcopale Nationale du Congo (CENCO) mediators to facilitate the agreement, and calling for a swift implementation of the agreement, in good faith and in all its components, in order to organize peaceful, credible, inclusive and timely elections no later than December 2017, leading to a peaceful transfer of power, in accordance with the Congolese Constitution,

Recalling that full and timely implementation of the 31 December 2016 agreement is critical in supporting the legitimacy of the transitional institutions, stressing the crucial importance of a peaceful and credible electoral cycle, in accordance with the Constitution and respecting the African Charter on Democracy, Elections and Governance, for lasting stabilisation and consolidation of constitutional democracy in the DRC, and calling for the immediate implementation of confidence-building measures, as per the agreement, including by putting an end to restrictions of the political space in the DRC, in particular arbitrary arrests and detention of members of the political opposition and of civil society, as well as restrictions of fundamental freedoms such as the freedom of opinion and expression, including freedom of the press,

Stressing the importance of the Government of the DRC and its national partners taking all necessary steps to accelerate preparations for the elections without further delays, and to ensure an environment conducive to the peaceful and inclusive conduct of political activities, including the security of all political actors, and reiterating its commitment to act accordingly regarding all Congolese actors whose actions and statement impede the implementation of the agreement and the organization of the elections,

Remaining deeply concerned by reports of increased serious human rights and international humanitarian law violations committed by some members of the Armed Forces of the DRC (FARDC), the National Intelligence Agency (ANR), the Republican Guard and Congolese National Police (PNC), including against members of the opposition and of civil society in the context of the electoral process, urging all parties to refrain from violence and provocation, stressing the importance of releasing all persons detained arbitrarily, including human rights defenders and persons of different political affiliations, and emphasizing that the Government of the DRC must respect human rights and comply with the principle of proportionality in the use of force,

Reiterating its concern over the lack of progress in the investigations and prosecutions against alleged perpetrators of human rights violations and abuses committed during the 2011 electoral process, in January 2015 and in September and December 2016, and calling for further efforts to hold those responsible to account and fight impunity,

Recalling the importance of fighting impunity within all ranks of FARDC and PNC, commending the DRC authorities for prosecutions and convictions of members of the FARDC and PNC for crimes against humanity, and stressing the need for the Government of the DRC to continue to ensure the increased professionalism of its security forces,

Noting that the DRC has continued to suffer from recurring and evolving cycles of conflict and persistent violence by armed groups, expressing particular concern at the reports of growing inter-communal and militia violence in some areas of the DRC, in particular in the regions of Kasaï and Tanganyika, including attacks against religious institutions, and killings of policemen, further expressing concerns at reports of mass graves, and calling upon all parties to take appropriate measures to protect and respect United Nations, diplomatic and foreign premises, property and personnel and other civilians in the DRC,

Reiterating its deep concern regarding the security and humanitarian crisis in the DRC exacerbated by destabilizing activities of foreign and domestic armed groups, stressing the importance of neutralizing armed groups in the DRC, and recognizing the importance of efforts of the FARDC and the United Nations Organization Stabilisation Mission in the DRC (MONUSCO), including by conducting joint operations, in accordance with its mandate, in that regard, recalling the strategic importance of the implementation of the Peace, Security and Cooperation (PSC) Framework for the DRC and the region, and reiterating its call to all signatories to fulfill promptly, fully and in good faith their respective commitments under this Framework in order to address the root causes of conflict and put an end to recurring cycles of violence, and promote lasting regional development,

Recalling that it is prepared to impose targeted sanctions under paragraph 7 (d) and (e) of its resolution 2293 (2016), regarding inter alia human rights violations or abuses or violations of international humanitarian law,

Encouraging the continuation of efforts by the Secretary-General of the United Nations, the African Union (AU), the International Conference on the Great Lakes Region (ICGLR), and the Southern African Development Community (SADC) to restore peace and security in the DRC, encouraging the Government of the DRC to ensure continuous close cooperation with these and other international parties, and recognizing the efforts of the Government of the DRC aiming at the achievement of peace and national development,

Expressing concern at the illegal exploitation and trafficking of natural resources by armed groups among others, and the negative impact of armed conflict on protected natural areas, which undermines lasting peace and development for the DRC, and encouraging the Government of the DRC to strengthen efforts to safeguard those areas,

Remaining deeply concerned by the persistent high levels of violence and violations and abuses of human rights and violations of international humanitarian law, condemning in particular those involving targeted attacks against civilians, widespread sexual and gender-based violence, recruitment and use of children by armed groups and militias, the forced displacement of significant numbers of civilians, extrajudicial executions and arbitrary arrests, recognizing their deleterious effect on the stabilisation, reconstruction and development efforts in the DRC, and emphasizing that all those responsible for all such violations and abuses must be swiftly apprehended, brought to justice and held accountable, and encouraging the Government of the DRC to facilitate access for the Joint Human Rights Office in the DRC to all detention centres, hospitals and morgues and all other premises required for documenting human rights violations,

Welcoming the progress achieved by the Government of the DRC, including the Presidential Adviser on Sexual Violence and the Recruitment of Children, to cooperate with the Special Representative of the Secretary-General for Children and Armed Conflict, the Special Representative of the Secretary-General on Sexual Violence in Conflict, and MONUSCO, to implement the action plans to prevent and end the recruitment and use of children and sexual violence by the FARDC, and to combat impunity for sexual violence in conflict, including sexual violence committed by the FARDC,

Stressing the need for continued cooperation with the International Criminal Court (ICC) by the Government of the DRC, and stressing the importance of actively seeking to hold accountable those responsible for genocide, war crimes and crimes against humanity in the country,

Remaining greatly concerned by the humanitarian situation that continues to severely affect the civilian population, expressing deep concern regarding the very high number of internally displaced persons in the DRC, at more than 2.2 million, and the 452,000 refugees in the DRC, as well as the more than 468,000 refugees from eastern DRC as a result of ongoing hostilities, calling upon the DRC and all States in the region to work towards a peaceful environment conducive to the realization of durable solutions for refugees and internally displaced persons, including their eventual voluntary return and reintegration in the DRC in conditions of safety and dignity, with the support of the United Nations Country Team (UNCT), stressing that any such solution should be in line with relevant obligations under international refugee law, international humanitarian law and international human rights law, and stressing the need to manage the closure of camps in a manner that respects the rights of internally displaced persons, in accordance with international law,

Expressing further concern at increased impediments to humanitarian access in eastern DRC resulting from insecurity and violence, as well as continued attacks against humanitarian actors and assets, and calling upon all parties in the conflict to respect the impartiality, independence and neutrality of humanitarian actors,

Noting with concern the slow progress in the implementation of the national plan for the disarmament, demobilization and reintegration of former armed groups and militia combatants (PNDDR III) and, while welcoming the return of thousands of former combatants to their communities since inception of the plan, expressing concern at the lack of provision of adequate reintegration measures for these combatants,

Recalling all its relevant resolutions on women, peace and security, on children and armed conflicts, and on the protection of civilians in armed conflicts, also recalling the conclusions on children and armed conflicts in the DRC (S/AC.51/2014/3) adopted on 18 September 2014 by the Security Council Working Group on Children and Armed Conflicts pertaining to the parties in armed conflicts of the DRC, and welcoming efforts of the Government of the DRC in this regard,

Welcoming the efforts of MONUSCO and international partners in delivering training in human rights, international humanitarian law, gender mainstreaming, child protection and protection from sexual and gender-based violence for Congolese security institutions and underlining their importance,

Reaffirming that the successful protection of civilians is critical to the fulfilment of MONUSCO’s mandate and the delivery of an improved security environment, also stressing the importance of peaceful means and progress on key reforms to promote the protection of civilians, as well as appropriate prioritisation and resourcing,

Reaffirming its strong support to the Special Representative of the Secretary-General (SRSG) and MONUSCO in the implementation of their mandates, strongly encouraging the continuation of their efforts and calling on the Secretariat to support MONUSCO to fully implement its mandate,

Recalling that it is important that all MONUSCO contingents, including the contingents of the Intervention Brigade, are properly trained and effectively equipped, including with adequate language skills, staffed and supported to be able to sustain their commitment to carry out their respective tasks,

Reiterating its call on all parties to cooperate fully with MONUSCO and to remain committed to the full and objective implementation of the Mission’s mandate, reiterating its condemnation of any and all attacks against peacekeepers, and emphasizing that those responsible for such attacks must be held accountable,

Emphasizing that MONUSCO’s activities should be conducted in such a manner as to build and sustain peace and facilitate progress towards sustainable peace and development, stressing the need to involve the UNCT and, in this regard, emphasizing the importance of joint analysis and effective strategic planning with the UNCT,

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 7910th meeting, on 31 March 2017.