Panel Discussions - Thursday, April 28, 2011
The Way Forward For MONUSCO
One year ago, the UN Security Council adopted Resolution 1925, which extended the UN mandate in the Democratic Republic of the Congo and renamed the mission "the UN Organization Stabilization Mission in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (MONUSCO)" to reflect the trend toward increased peace consolidation and ensuring the long-term protection of civilians.
In advance of the May 18th debate by the UN Security Council to discuss these peace consolidation efforts, IPI hosted a seminar entitled “From Peacekeeping to Peacebuilding: The Way Forward for MONUSCO.”
The meeting focused on how to progress in the areas of security and stability, governance and democratization, and sustainable socioeconomic development, with the aim of developing recommendations on how MONUSCO can best support the priorities and efforts of the Congolese authorities in these areas.
Discussions highlighted the importance of continued dialogue between the international community and the DRC authorities to better define the road map ahead, particularly with regard to the transition of the UN mission toward an increased focus on stabilization and peacebuilding activity.
The discussions reinforced the need for ownership by the Congolese government and its population of the country’s peacebuilding strategy, and for the sustained support of the international community, especially given the risk that recent high-profile global events, combined with donor fatigue, might result in the DRC slipping further down the international agenda.
The April 28th seminar brought together officials from the DRC government, representatives of civil society organizations in the DRC, as well as experts from member states, the UN Secretariat and UN agencies, the African Union, the World Bank, and the international NGO community. It was organized by the International Peace Institute, the Permanent Mission of France to the UN, and the Policy and Strategic Affairs Department of French Ministry of Defence.
The meeting was held under the Chatham House rule of non-attribution.
A full summary of the seminar’s discussions is available here:
English French
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