Chinese envoy calls for measures to stabilize security situation in eastern DRC

A Chinese envoy on Monday called for comprehensive measures to stabilize the security situation in the eastern regions of the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC).

The security situation in eastern DRC has deteriorated with frequent activities of armed violence and successive incidents of kidnapping and killing of civilians, said Dai Bing, China's deputy permanent representative to the United Nations.

The recent violent incidents in areas such as Ituri caused great civilian casualties, including the deaths of two Chinese nationals. China strongly condemns the violence, he told the Security Council.

The DRC government has imposed a "state of siege" in the eastern regions and launched a joint military operation with Uganda to resolutely combat violent activities by armed groups, demonstrating its determination to maintain stability, he said.

China hopes that the UN peacekeeping mission in the DRC, known as MONUSCO, will maintain coordination and collaboration with the armed forces of the DRC and continue to protect civilians through joint operations and other measures, he said.

At the same time, military means alone cannot completely resolve the problems in eastern DRC. To break the vicious cycle of violent conflict, there is a need to address the root causes of the conflict, carry out regional cooperation, develop and utilize natural resources in a sound manner, advance the disarmament and demobilization program and provide local people with more jobs and livelihoods, said Dai.

DRC is facing a dire humanitarian situation with COVID-19 and epidemics, such as meningitis and Ebola, raging. There are new flows of refugees in the Ituri, North Kivu and South Kivu provinces, he noted. "The international community, the international financial institutions, in particular, must honor their pledges of assistance and increase inputs to help meet the current challenges."

China supports, in principle, a one-year extension of MONUSCO's mandate. The Security Council should respond positively to the concerns of the DRC over sanctions and avoid the negative impact of sanction measures on the country's capacity building in security, he said.