Mbau: Meeting with the local authorities and civil society

The first leg of this tour was the sector of Mbau, on 8-9 September. The MONUSCO delegation, which included the Public Information, Human Rights and Civil Affairs sections, met with the local authorities, civil society members and representatives of the different component of society.

The delegation first expressed its sympathy to all the bereaved families, and then talked to the population about the existing protection mechanism in the region. The delegation together with its different interlocutors identified the vulnerable areas where security patrols needed to be reinforced.

MONUSCO reiterated its commitment to achieve its primary objective: to protect civilians.

Mangoko: meeting with a skeptical population

On 11 September, the delegation stopped off in Mangoko. This second stage of the tour proved challenging as the population criticized MONUSCO for having little success fighting the ADF rebels. The population claimed to be living in precarious conditions as they can no longer access their agricultural fields freely.

While recognizing that MONUSCO has already done a lot for them through quick impact projects, they said they needed security more than ever. The promise was made to them that the issue would be discussed with the different patrol teams involved in the protection of the area to see what measures needed to be put in place to make their mission more effective. The hotline phone numbers of the MONUSCO Police and Civil Affairs section were communicated to the population for use in case of aggression or other need for assistance.

Mantubu: first-ever visit

On 17 September the delegation finally visited to Mantumbu, a locality situated in the sector of Beni-Mbau and some 30 km from Mavivi. Mantumbu, though situated that close to Mavivi, had hitherto received no visit by a MONUSCO delegation. This first visit therefore was an opportunity for the population to express their concerns about their protection from security threats. The local authorities asked MONUSCO to continue to support the DRC Government in the search for a solution to the recurrent problem of murders and human rights violations in the region.

During his latest visit on 15 September, the Special Representative of the United Nations Secretrary-General, Martin Kobler, admitted that concerning the Beni-Mbau sector, « the job is not yet done. » The head of MONUSCO recommended that efforts should “continue, together with the FARDC and the Police to end the problem,” before concluding that “this is very important because we have the technical means and the FARDC have intelligence capabilities. It is in unity that lies the the strength to improve the situation and ultimately eliminate the threat posed by armed groups in the region.”