In the meeting of the United Nations Security Council held on Thursday, September 28, the representative of France, Nicolas de Rivière, expressed his country’s concerns regarding Rwanda’s support for the M23 and the continued presence of Rwandan soldiers in the Congolese province of North Kivu.
France strongly condemned the maintenance of the M23 in its conquered positions in the eastern Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) and called on the group to withdraw and participate in the cantonment process. She also proposed, with the United Kingdom and the United States, sanctions against two officials of the M23 and the Democratic Forces for the Liberation of Rwanda (FDLR) for the abuses committed in the east of the DRC.
The issue of withdrawal of the United Nations Organization Stabilization Mission in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (MONUSCO) was also discussed during the meeting. Nicolas de Rivière stressed the importance of close collaboration between the DRC and MONUSCO in order to enable a responsible withdrawal of the mission while ensuring the security of the civilian population.
He also indicated that France supported the orientations of the report on MONUSCO withdrawal options, submitted by the UN Secretary General in August, which recommends a progressive and responsible withdrawal taking into account the reality of the situation on the ground. He called on the Security Council to take into account the concrete requests of the Congolese authorities regarding an accelerated withdrawal of MONUSCO.
In this perspective, France will propose the adoption of a declaration by the Presidency of the Security Council in order to prepare the next stages of the withdrawal of MONUSCO.
In sum, the UN Security Council meeting highlighted France’s concerns regarding Rwanda’s support for the M23 and the presence of Rwandan soldiers in the DRC. She also underlined the importance of close collaboration between the DRC and MONUSCO for a progressive and responsible withdrawal of the UN mission. France has proposed sanctions against M23 and FDLR leaders and calls for the Congolese authorities’ requests for an accelerated withdrawal of MONUSCO to be taken into account.
Sources:
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