A photo of MONUSCO personnel in DRC. Source, MONUSCO
With major wars in Ukraine, Sudan, Yemen, Ethiopia, the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), Iran, the Sahel, and many other countries, the world is experiencing critical crises. These conflicts warrant international intervention to re(build) or re(construct) the areas experiencing such shocks. Examples of such interventions include the United Nations Interim Administration Mission in Kosovo (UNMIK), founded in 1999; the United Nations Operation in Somalia I (UNOSOM I) and UNOSOM II, established in 1992 and 1995, respectively; the United Nations Mission in Haiti (UNMIH) of 1996, the United Nations Organization Stabilization Mission in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (MONUSCO) IN 1999, and the United Nations Stabilization Mission in Haiti (MINUSTA), among others. Recently, the United Nations General Assembly (GA)’s Fifth Committee (the specialized body for administrative and budgetary issues) approved a $6.45 billion annual budget for United Nations (UN) Peacekeeping Operations (PKO) for the financial year 2022/23.
According to the UN, peacekeepers protect civilians, actively prevent conflict, reduce violence, strengthen security, and empower national authorities to assume these responsibilities. However, UN interventions are in crisis despite notable achievements in UN peacekeeping missions in recent years, including in Namibia, Cambodia, and El Salvador. While such interventions are often pursued with the best intentions, they frequently encounter “unintended” consequences, including Sexual Abuse and Exploitation (SEA), that can hinder progress and undermine the overall mandate of the UN.
To the non-expert reader, the term “sexual exploitation,” in the context of UN and other international interventions, means any actual or attempted abuse of a position of vulnerability, differential power, or trust for sexual purposes, including, but not limited to, profiting monetarily, socially, or politically from the sexual exploitation of another. Similarly, “sexual abuse” means the actual or threatened physical intrusion of a sexual nature, whether by force or under unequal or coercive conditions.
In this article, I will mostly assess MONUSCO’s work in the DRC to identify the conduct of the blue helmet mission and its consequences for the Congolese people. As the mission plans to leave the DRC, there is an ongoing debate about how much the multibillion-dollar mission has achieved since its deployment in the country.
Although the first known cases of SEA in UN peacekeeping operations were reported in Cambodia and Somalia, such acts were later reported in Kosovo, Sierra Leone, Liberia, Côte d’Ivoire, Haiti, Sudan, Guinea, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, and Burundi. To show you the extent to which SEA has become a critical issue at the UN, the UN Secretary General's office has now set aside $2 million in the Survivor Assistance Fund (SAF) to support the fight against SEA in peacekeeping operations worldwide.
The UN Chief, although acknowledging the contribution of the UN in peacekeeping, has repeatedly condemned the rising SEA cases reported in UN missions around the world, what many call “unintended consequences” of UN peacekeeping missions.
I acknowledge that the Organization has not succeeded in all respects, but neither have we stood still, - UN chief.”
What is MONUSCO doing in the DRC?
MONUSCO took over from an earlier UN peacekeeping operation, the United Nations Organization Mission in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (MONUC), on July 1, 2010. Its main job is to protect Congolese civilians against armed groups and support government efforts to stabilize the east of the country. MONUSCO started its mission in the DRC as a rather passive observer mission to oversee the Lusaka Ceasefire Agreement between the countries of Angola, the DRC, Namibia, Uganda, Rwanda, and Zimbabwe, aimed at bringing an end to the hostilities within the territory of the DRC.
However, MONUSCO has since evolved into a more militarized and perhaps most controversial UN peace operation to date. In 2013, the UN created the first-ever armed brigade, the United Nations Force Intervention Brigade (FIB), which, instead of “peacekeeping,” was the “peacemaking” body of the agency. MONUSCO was one of the first UN peacekeeping operations to try the UN FIB approach, which allows the UN Security Council (UNSC) to apply force in implementing its mandates. In this context, MONUSCO could deploy troops to fight with the aim of “making peace." This is the shift of the UN mission from “peacekeeping” to “peacemaking.” Under this approach, the UNSC deploys both military and police in its peacekeeping and peacemaking operations. Let’s have a quick look at the figures of MONUSCO troops and police as of June 2022 to get an idea of not only their numbers but also which countries the “peacekeepers” and “peacemakers” are from.
Source: MONUSCO (2023).
From the figures, you can see that 4/10 of the top troop-contributing nations to the MONUSCO mission are African countries, while 7/10 of the top police contributors are also African nations. Are you shocked that you didn’t see the U.S., Canada, the UK, Australia, and other Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) countries on the list? Well, they specialize in different jobs—providing the money, training, and general management and operation of the missions.
According to the UN, there are more than 97,000 UN uniformed personnel coming from over 120 countries. They come from nations large and small, rich and poor. They bring different cultures and experiences to the job but are united in their determination to foster peace.
Well, do not get shocked; The UN peacekeeping website mentioned, “Currently, the majority of troops come from African and Asian countries, while the contribution of Western countries is increasing.”
I randomly sampled 10 of the big countries and their total contribution to the UN in terms of troops and police as of May 2023 for you to compare and contrast.
Source: UN Peacekeeping (2023).
When the “peacekeeper” becomes the victim
The MONUSCO mission in the DRC has equally experienced instances of resistance to its work there. While many people recognize the important role the mission plays in protecting civilians and promoting peace and stability in the country, some are dissatisfied with the mission. On its official website, MONUSCO notes 245 fatalities since the mission was rolled out in July 2010.
According to an Al Jazeera story in July 2022, MONUSCO witnessed the worst protest in its history, with 37 people, including four of its staff, being killed by angry protestors. Several of MONUSCO’s buildings were also set ablaze across Congolese cities. In fact, Jänsch might be right in her analysis that MONUSCO is “no longer welcomed” in the DRC. The July protests mostly started when Bintou Keita, head of MONUSCO, stated that the mission might reach its operational limits with regard to combating the M23 rebels. A higher-level MONUSCO exit statement was made by Congolese Senate President Modeste Bahati Lukwebo, who urged MONUSCO to pack their bags and leave the DRC. In August 2022, the Congolese authorities expelled the MONUSCO spokesperson from the country. The protestors highlight one major shortcoming of MONUSCO: its failure to expel rebel groups and create peace. A smaller section of the population believes that 22 years of MONUSCO are enough and that it is time for the agency to exit the DRC. Although MONUSCO, together with the Congolese government and other actors in the DRC, temporarily defeated the M23 rebel group in 2013, the group regrouped and returned even stronger over the past decade. The M23 offensives between October 2022 and March 2023 displaced at least 602,000 people in Rutshuru, Nyiragongo, Masisi, Walikale, Lubero, and the city of Goma.
Congolese policemen stand guard to stop protesters outside the MONUSCO compound in Goma. Retrieved from Al Jajeera
With all you have learned or heard about MONUSCO, it comes without surprise that the mission is planning an exit from the DRC after over two decades of presence in the eastern African country.
In a recent statement, the UN said MONUSCO was departing the DRC soon. Although numerous members of the Council commend the mission for its contribution to maintaining stability, protecting civilians, and supporting the electoral processes, others, including Rwanda, have expressed their disappointment with the mission amid a deteriorating humanitarian and security situation. At the same time, some urged the Mission to strengthen its communication with the Democratic Republic of the Congo’s Government.
Poverty: a Catalyst for SEA by MONUSCO Staff in the DRC
Although numerous studies point out various factors that have complicated the UN peacekeeping operations and facilitated SEA, including the lack of strong institutions in host countries, the missing gender voice in the design, implementation, and evaluation of the UN’s interventions, and more, I find numerous pieces of evidence to back poverty as the primary factor in causing and sustaining SEA in the DRC. This argument is based on the “Vulnerability Theory” proposed by Martha Fineman, which asserts that all human beings are vulnerable and prone to dependency (both chronic and episodic), and the state, therefore, has a corresponding obligation to reduce, ameliorate, and compensate for that vulnerability.
If I go and see the soldiers at night and sleep with them, then they sometimes give me food, maybe a banana or a cake, …
The above statement is from 13-year-old Faela, a victim of SEA in the DRC, reported by the Independent, who became pregnant after being raped by militias. Faela’s father refused to support her because of the shame of being an unmarried mother. This could be one of the many heartbreaking cases of SEA committed by the UN.
According to the Global Hunger Index 2022 rankings, the DRC ranked 118th out of 121 countries in food security, implying 'alarming’ food insecurity. The DRC is among the five poorest nations in the world. In 2022, nearly 62% of Congolese, or around 60 million people in the DRC, lived on less than $2.15 daily. About one out of six people living in extreme poverty in Sub-Saharan Africa lives in the DRC. As Holt and Hughes put it, hungry, frightened, and helpless young women in the DRC are selling their bodies for food and shelter.
In Haiti, Marie Badeau was raped by a UN peacekeeper after she was offered a lift. I, therefore, argue that for UN peacekeeping and peacemaking operations to realize their intended results, especially in the areas of SEA reforms, better economic conditions must be created for vulnerable women and girls. In tackling security challenges solely, MONUSCO is creating more problems.
But it is not just MONUSCO that is being protested against; the EAC’s intervention in the Kivu region of the DRC, for instance, has been seen through different lenses by the locals. A collection of data from Kivu social media analyzed through AI in March 2023 revealed that the majority of the locals possess a distaste for the EAC’s presence in the region.
Peacekeeping and interventions by the UN, although well-intentioned, have yielded both positive and negative outcomes. One such profoundly negative outcome is SEA, prevalent in women and girls near the areas of operation. This and other problems have led to the question of whether or not the blue-helmet men and women are truly peacekeepers and peacemakers or merely perpetrators of crime against those they are meant to protect. I argue that the success of UN interventions in poor nations is determined by the local economic situation of women and girls in those locations.
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