COLLECTIF DES ORGANISATIONS DES JEUNES SOLIDAIRES DU CONGO - KINSHASA «COJESKI / RDC» NGO in Special Consultative Status with the Economic and Social Council of the United Nations (ECOSOC) MONUC : THE END OF THE MISSION MEMORANDUM addressed to His Excellency BAN KI-MOON, Secretary General of the United Nations COJESKI DRC National Network of 340 Congolese Youth Organisations Operating in DRC since 1995, Endowed with legal personality and Observer Status to the African Commission for Human and peoples rights / African Union. - Kinshasa, September 16th, 2008 - SIEGE ADMINISTRATIF : N 22, Av.Cimbushi, Quartier Motel Fikin, Commune de Limete B.P.: 448 Kinshasa I République Démocratique du Congo, Téléphone: + 243.98.121.369 / + 243.81.660.12.90 - Fax: + 0033.821.188.448 E-mail : cojeski_rdcongo@yahoo.com / cojeski.rdc@cojeski.cd Sites Web: www.cojeski.org / www.societecivile.cd
- 2 - Kinshasa, September 16 th 2008 N/Réf: 1089/COJESKI/CN/88/uf To His Excellency Mr BAN KI-MOON Secretary General of the United Nations United Nations Headquarters 1 UN Plaza, DC1-1228 New York, N.Y 10017 United States of America Subject: End of the UN Mission (MONUC) in the Democratic Republic of the Congo Your Excellency, We have the honor to present you our compliments and send you this memorandum to request through your authority from the United Nations Security Council the end of the United Nations Mission in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (MONUC) on October 31, 2008. Indeed 48 years after the accession of the Democratic Republic of the Congo to international sovereignty (1960-2008), period during which the country had been subjected to 42 years of dictatorship (1965-2006), 15 years of political transition (1990-2005), 07 years of internationalized armed conflicts that caused the death of more than four million people among unarmed civilians (1996-2003), 03 years of an concerted management of the country and the administration by the sole warlords of the national public life yet presumed perpetrators of imprescriptibly crimes committed in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (2003-2006) and 09 years of presence on the ground in Democratic Republic of the Congo of the biggest, the most important and the most expensive peacekeeping mission of the United Nations (1999-2008); Congolese populations continue to be abandoned to their own fate in all their vital fields despite the 52 resolutions that the United Nations Security Council has already adopted on DRC for the only period going from 1997 to 2008, a record never reached by any country and which gives much evidence that DRC is undoubtedly under the United Nations protectorate. The overall situation of the Democratic Republic of the Congo comes down to the 12 following points for which the United Nations Missions in Congo (MONUC) and the United Nations Security Council have not yet found sustainable solutions : 1) MONUC and the United Nations do not want to understand that peace and security in the Democratic Republic of Congo are reliant on rapid organization of the inter Rwandan dialogue, an overall dialogue intending to call together at a table all the living strength of Rwanda from the main three ethnical communities of the country namely the Hutu, the Tutsis and the Twa. The inter Rwandan dialogue is likely to facilitate DDRRR operations of the ex FAR and interhamwe who sow distress in several Congolese villages they have been occupying since 1994 ; 2) MONUC and the United Nations do not want to understand that all the distant and immediate causes of conflicts that have split socially and economically the Democratic Republic of Congo since 1994 up to now originate from Rwanda and Congolese populations are just victims of the exportation of Rwandan recurrent conflict on Congolese territory ;
- 3-3) MONUC and the United Nations could not understand that they were several times requested to do their best so that PEACE and SECURITY in the Democratic Republic of the Congo be quickly effective and sustainable in order to avoid historical and regrettable mistakes committed throughout the world by the majority of the United Nations peacekeeping missions (since 1992, the UN interventions seem to be limited only to humanitarian mandate of the organization. In this way the UN mission in Angola (UNAVEM, 1989-1997) did not prevent the nearly destruction of the country despite a lot of attempts to stop civil war. The sending of FORPRONU (United Nations protection force, 1992-1996) in the former Yugoslavia succeeded neither to stop the continuation of hostilities nor the ethnic cleansing operations, nor the massacre of the inhabitants of security areas established by the Security Council without having foreseen means to protect them against the attacks of the Serbian army. Western powers, either through Security Council or limited groups of contact are not able to agree a common policy concerning Yugoslavian conflict. FORPRONU peacekeepers only had to take note of human rights abuses and destruction of cities, attempting to protect humanitarian aid convoy. For the international public opinion, it is an impression of incompetence, hesitations and awkwardness that dominates. In 1994, the departure without glory of the United Nations aid mission in Rwanda (MINUAR), while the genocide in preparation in Rwanda and which will kill several hundreds of people is far from improving this negative image. Moreover, the United Nations Observation Mission in Uganda-Rwanda (MONUOR) in charge of observing the border between Uganda and Rwanda and make sure that no military aid is provided to Rwanda (1993-1994) was not able to fulfill its mandate for Uganda Kept in backing militarily the Rwanda Patriotic Front (FPR) until the assassination of Rwandan president Juvenal Habyarimana and power seizure in Kigali by the FPR. In the former Congo belge (now Democratic Republic of Congo), the central government threatened by rebel forces requested the help of the UN in 1960. An international peacekeeping force made up of 20,000 peacekeepers is sent within the framework of the United Nations operations in Congo (ONUC). The killing of the first prime minister of DRC, Mr Patrice Emery Lumumba with the involvement of the UN gave rise to the USSR protests. It is only in 1964 that the UN forces of the ONUC, operation of the United Nations in Congo (ONUC) set up to ensure the withdrawal of Belgian forces, to restore public order and maintain the Country Unity (Intervention against Katanga rebellion) ; 4) The United Nations have to understand that it is high time that the MONUC leave DRCongo because it has no added value and that its mandate in DRCongo is at the end. Peace and security in the Democratic Republic of Congo is absolutely dependent on the fight against impunity. The presence of the United Nations in DRCongo can in no way support or regard as sacred or institutionalized impunity in all its forms ;
- 4-5) MONUC and the United Nations have to understand that they have a certain responsibility in connection with large scale massacres, systematic violation of the International Humanitarian law and imprescriptibly crimes committed in Congolese soil during the whole period of their deployment allover the Democratic Republic of the Congo (1999-2008). Congolese populations still remember the failure of the ONUC in 1960 in the Democratic Republic of Congo; 6) MONUC and the United Nations have not been able to understand that they had to protect and reinforce operational capacities of Democratic and constitutional Institutions born of free and fair 2006 elections in the Democratic Republic of Congo. The provincial and national institutions should no in no way be victims of criminal and terrorist practices in the presence of the United Nations in DRC. The United Nations have in no way to protect a criminal like KARUMUNA NKUNDABATWARE Laurent, presumed as the main perpetrator of imprescriptibly crimes committed in Kisangani, Bukavu and Nord-Kivu ; 7) MONUC and the United Nations do not want to understand they should accompany Congolese populations for the latter to enjoy fully their legitimate and inalienable right to selfdetermination. The United Nations have a big responsibility when they observe powerlessly and/or backing tacitly plundering of energy, forest and mining resources of the Democratic Republic of the Congo by dominant powers through their transnational and multinational companies; 8) MONUC and the United Nations have forgotten that they have to contribute enormously to the advent of the rule of law in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, a country in postconflict reconstruction. To establish the rule of law in DRC, it is important and crucial to set about vetting public institutions, particularly the dismissal from the police and the army of all those, in a way or another are responsible for abuses against the population during the period of wars and political transition in our country (1996-2003). It is also important that our army and our police after vetting profit from training programs taking into account basic principles of human rights and international humanitarian law. 9) MONUC and the United Nations have forgotten they had to do their best to help the Democratic Republic of the Congo to have two necessary citizen institutions to consolidate the fragile Democracy and the rule of law in gestation namely : A new Truth and Reconciliation Commission and the National Commission for Human Rights. 10) MONUC does not want to respect scrupulously at any time and every where the terms of its mandate which in addition cannot remain unlimited. At the end of its mandate, MONUC must pull out of the Democratic Republic of Congo and handover its prerogatives to the traditional agencies of the United Nations that are present in the Democratic Republic of the Congo ; 11) The United Nations Security Council should adopt a Marshall Plan for the global reconstruction of the Democratic Republic of Congo and review the level of implementation of its 52 resolutions adopted on the Democratic Republic of the Congo for the period going from 1997 to 2008.
- 5 - The majority of its resolutions have half been implemented and the others have been ranked discontinued. We do not refer to other resolutions on DRC adopted by the United Nations Human Right Commission/United Nations Human Rights Council and the General Assembly of the United Nations. The are particularly the following resolutions of the United Nations Security Council: 1097/1997, 1234/1999, 1258/1999, 1273/1999, 1279/1999,1291/1999, 1304/2000, 1316/2000, 1323/2000, 1332/2000, 1341/2001, 1355/2001,1376/2001, 1399/2002, 1417/2002, 1445/2002, 1457/2002, 1468/2002, 1484/2002, 1489/2003, 1493/2003, 1499/2003, 1501/2003, 1522/2003, 1533/2003, 1552/2003, 1555/2004, 1565/2004, 1592/2005, 1596/2005, 1616/2005, 1621/2005, 16282005, 1635/2005, 1649/2005, 1653/2006, 1654/2006, 1669/2006, 1671/2006, 1693/2006, 1698/2006, 1711/2006, 1736/2006, 1742/2007, 1751/2007, 1756/2007, 1768/2007, 1771/2007, 1794/2007, 1797/2008, 1799/2008, 1804/2008 and1807/2008; 12) MONUC must leave the Democratic Republic of Congo because it has no reason of being. Indeed MONUC has been founded on November 30, 1999 with resolution 1291 of the Security Council after the signing of Lusaka agreement. It is currently the most important of the 18 UN peacekeeping missions in the world and the most expensive one. Its mandate had mainly four stages : - The first stage focused on the implementation of Lusaka cease-fire agreement (stage achieved); - The second stage on the follow-up of any violation through appropriate ways (achieved); - The third stage (underway and for which MONUC seeks to perpetuate its presence in DRC), deals with DDRRR process (disarmament, demobilization, repatriation, reinstallation and reinsertion); - The fourth stage was to facilitate the transitional process for the organization of reliable election (stage achieved). MONUC mandate rests on chapter VII of the UN Charter. It complies with the use of all necessary means, within the limit of its capacity and in the deployment areas of its troops, to dissuade any attempt of resorting to force that would threaten the peace process, by any foreign or Congolese group in particular the ex-far and interahmwe, and ensure the protection of civilians under impending threat of physical violence (MONUC has not resorted to this mandate in the majority of cases). MONUC can, in accordance with its mandate use tactics of surrounding and research to prevent attacks against civilians and against military capacities of illegal armed groups which continue to use violence in these regions (MONUC refuses to resort to this mandate to put an end to armed groups in North and South Kivu and chiefly not to put an end to the CNDP of criminal Laurent KARUMUNA NKUNDABATWARE).
- 6 - For remind, COJESKI-DRC is a national network of 340 interdependent youth organisations. Is operational in the Democratic Republic of the Congo since 1995. COJESKI is a youth- led organisation that unites the efforts of young people working to improve human rights, peace, youth participation, justice and sustainable development in the Democratic Republic of the Congo. The Network connects youth organisations in over 11 provinces of the DRCongo. This non-governmental organisation is in special consultative status with the Economic and Social Council of the United Nations (ECOSOC), and in observer status with the African Commission for Human and Peoples Rights of the African Union. The COJESKI-RDC is member of the DRC Civil Society, member of the International Peace Bureau (IPB), member of the Coordinating Council of the World Civil Society Forum (WCSF), founding member of the National Network of Congolese Human Rights NGOs (RENADHOC), member of DRC National Youth Council, member of NGOs Coalition for the International Criminal Court, member World movement for democracy (WMD), member of the African Democracy Forum (ADF), member of Youth Employment Summit (YES Network), member of Global Youth Action Network (GYAN), member of the Coalition for an Effective African Court on Human Rights and peoples' Rights, member of the African Civil Society early warning system to the African Union (SALAAMNET), member of the World campaign for in-depth reform of the international institutions, member of the World coalition against the Death Penalty and member of World NGO coalition for the International criminal court. Thank you very much beforehand and we look forward to hearing from you. With all devotion to peace and human rights. Sincerely, For the Congolese Youth, the COJESKI-DRC Ir. Léon KEKYA N. Secretary General Fernandez MURHOLA National Coordinator Copy for information to: - Democratic Republic of the Congo Government; - Democratic Republic of the Congo National Assembly; - Democratic Republic of the Congo Senate;
- 7 - - Democratic Republic of the Congo Civil Society; - United Nations Security Council; - United Nations Executive Office of the Secretary-General (EOSG); - United Nations Office of the Internal Oversight Services (OIOS); - United Nations Office of Legal Affairs (OLA); - United Nations Department of Political Affairs (DPA); - United Nations Department of Disarmament Affairs (DPA); - United Nations Department of Peacekeeping Operations (DPKO); - United Nations Office of the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA); - United Nations Department of Economic and Social Affairs (DESA); - United Nations Department of General Assembly and conference management (DGACM); - United Nations Department of Public Information (DPI); - United Nations Department of Management (DM); - United Nations Office of the Special Adviser for Africa (OSAA); - United Nations Office of the Special Advisor to the Secretary General on Prevention of Genocide; - United Nations Office of the Special Representative of the Secretary General for Children and Armed conflict; - United Nations Office of the Special Representative of the Secretary-General for the Great Lakes Regions; - United Nations Human Rights Treaty Bodies; - United Nations Human Rights Special procedures; - All United Nations member States; - United Nations Senior Management Group (SMG); - European Union (EU); - African Union (AU); - COJESKI / United Nations; - COJESKI Global Network; - National Network of Congolese Human Rights NGOs ( RENADHOC ). SIEGE ADMINISTRATIF : N 22, Av.Cimbushi, Quartier Motel Fikin, Commune de Limete B.P.: 448 Kinshasa I République Démocratique du Congo, Téléphone: + 243.98.121.369 / + 243.81.660.12.90 - Fax: + 0033.821.188.448 E-mail : cojeski_rdcongo@yahoo.com / cojeski.rdc@cojeski.cd Sites Web: www.cojeski.org / www.societecivile.cd