18 09 13 Reuters: U.N. must revamp plan to protect Congo civilians -document
The
briefing, dated Sept. 7, said the strategy resulted in an illusion of
protection rather than real security, putting pressure on the United
Nations' biggest peacekeeping
mission that has been dogged by criticism since its launch 13 years
ago.
Inaction
by the U.N. force
when rebels seized the eastern city of Goma in November led to the
creation in March of a new brigade with an unprecedented mandate to
confront and disarm armed groups in Congo's restive eastern
provinces.
This
force, made up of South African, Tanzanian and Malawian soldiers, has
since helped Congo's army drive rebels away from Goma in heavy
fighting.
However,
the briefing provides a rare, detailed critique of the broader
18,500-strong, $1.5 billion-a-year mission, which many Congolese
complain has failed to protect civilians from a plethora of armed
groups roaming the east.
The
document says U.N. operating bases are poorly situated, allowing for
only short range patrols and limited civilian protection by the
force, known as MONUSCO.
"Protection
by presence is not effective," it says. "MONUSCO
is delivering false reassurance – maintaining the illusion of
protection – through static presence and consuming significant
resources to little enduring effect."
The
briefing calls on soldiers to use their rules of engagement to the
fullest extent and retake the initiative on the ground, where their
movements are sometimes curtailed by armed groups.
Citing
instructions from General Carlos Alberto dos Santos Cruz, the U.N.'s
force commander in Congo, the document says MONUSCO
must review its operations and "orient the force towards
defeating emerging threats".
Dos
Santos Cruz, a Brazilian who previously commanded the U.N.
mission in Haiti, has been credited with
pushing the force to be more pro-active since he took over in May.
While
the newly created Intervention Brigade explicitly calls on U.N.
troops to go on the offensive, the mission
has long operated under a Chapter 7 mandate, which allows
peacekeepers to
use deadly force to protect civilians.
However,
some countries contributing soldiers to the force are more reluctant
than others to see their troops go on the offensive in a U.N.
mission.