The UN’s current mission in the Democratic Republic of Congo, called MONUC, is entering its thirteenth year. MONUC is the UN’s largest and longest-lasting mission to date.
It is mandated to protect civilians and also help in the reconstruction of the country. With 18,000 people, MONUC is spread thinly across northeastern Congo and is largely unable to halt attacks. Rebels continue to kill and plunder natural resources with impunity. Some claim the rebels are supported by an international crime network stretching through Africa to Western Europe and North America.
The international community’s support for political and diplomatic efforts to end the war has been relatively consistent, but no effective steps have been taken to abide by repeated pledges to demand accountability for the war crimes and crimes against humanity that are routinely committed in Congo. United Nations Security Council and the U.N. Secretary-General have frequently denounced human rights abuses and the humanitarian disaster that the war unleashed on the local population. But they have shown little will to tackle the responsibility of occupying powers for the atrocities taking place in areas under their control, areas where the worst violence in the country took place.
On March 14, 2012, the International Criminal Court (ICC) issued a ‘guilty’ verdict against Thomas Lubanga Dyilo on charges of rape, murder, and the use of child soldiers, the first verdict for the ICC.
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