By Matthew Russell Lee
UNITED NATIONS, March 19 -- After the UN Security Council's open meeting about the Democratic Republic of the Congo and the UN Mission there on March 19, DRC Foreign Minister Raymond Tshibanda told Inner City Press that the UN had given waivers and worked on Itura and against the Lord's Resistance Army with the two Congolese generals it now refuses to support to fight the FDLR militia.
This give rise to the question, if the UN Security Council says neutralizing the FDLR is so important, why is MONUSCO or DPKO in New York applying a more strict standard for UN support to this fight than they did to the fight against the LRA?
When UN Security Council President for March Francois Delattre of France emerged after Council consultations, Inner City Press asked him just this.
Delattre's answer, video here, was about the UN's stated Human Rights Due Diligence Policy, but did not explain why a waiver was sought and granted for the LRA fight, and now not to fight the FDLR.
From the French Mission to the UN's transcript:
From the French Mission to the UN's transcript:
Inner City Press : On the due diligence policy, the foreign Minister Tshibanda here said that the two generals had issued that MONUSCO had previously worked with them in Ituri and on the LRA. So, some people are left wondering, if fighting the FDLR is so important, why was a waiver given to other fight and not for this one ? Despite how important the policy is. What has changed that MONUSCO can’t find a way to be involved or fight the FDLR directly ?
A: Here, our understanding is that, as you said, this question is really part of the UN human rights due diligence policy. This policy has been in place in DRC for many years and has proven its usefulness to ensure that all military operations in DRC are conducted in accordance with human rights and international humanitarian law. So we have a framework here and we fully support this policy in DRC and elsewhere by the way.
Inner City Press began to ask this follow-up on the waiver but was cut off. While others spin, we will continue with this question - watch this site.
