The Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) has
suffered nearly two decades of turmoi...
The Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) has
suffered nearly two decades of turmoil, particularly in the eastern provinces.
The use of landmines was a feature during the conflict and Explosive Remnants
of War from the fighting remain a hazard.
UNMAS established a presence in the DRC in 2002 to
assist MONUSCO and GoDRC with explosive hazard management activities. In
compliance with Security Council Resolutions 2098 (2013), 2463 (2019) and more
recently 2502 (2019), UNMAS DRC runs two main projects in the DRC, one in
support of MONUSCO and another one in support of the GoDRC and the UN Country
Team (UNCT).
UNMAS DRC supports MONUSCO in the achievement of
its mandated objectives under the strategic component: (1) Protection of
Civilians (PoC) and Human Rights. UNMAS DRC does so through explosive hazard
management, including survey, clearance and disposal of explosive hazards,
including unsafe ammunition stockpile of FARDC and Congolese national police,
assessment and destruction of unserviceable, obsolete or surplus ammunition
from Troop/Police Contributing Countries (T/PCCs) and assessment and
destruction of weapons and ammunition surrendered during the disarmament,
demobilization, repatriation, reintegration and resettlement process,
supporting national efforts to address the threat posed by the uncontrolled
proliferation and misuse of SALW in the DRC; provision of awareness sessions to
UN personnel; as well as through the provision of technical support and advice
on weapons and ammunition stockpile management both to the GoDRC and relevant
MONUSCO sections. UNMAS DRC also stands ready to support any other requests
from the Mission, wherever possible, for example, the assessment and clearance
of Mission premises on closure, prior to returning to civilian use. These
activities are in line with the UNMAS Strategic Objective 2 and 4 of the UNMAS
Multi-Year Strategic Plan and contributes to UNMAS vision for the DRC: “ a
country free from the threat of mines, explosive hazards, and armed violence,
where communities live in a safe and secure environment, and where national
security institutions and authorities have the capacity to address the residual
explosive threat and adequately store and manage their weapons, ammunitions and
stockpiles.”
UNMAS Objectives
In accordance with MONUSCO mandate and strategic
objectives, UNMAS aims to develop National capacities to improve the security
of Small Arms & Light Weapons (SALW) and ammunition of the National Defence
and Security Forces. The project focuses on equipping and training the National
Forces and Police for a better physical security and management processes of
weapons and ammunition of stated owned stockpiles. In addition, the program
plans to establish an Explosive Ordnance Disposal (EOD), Improvised Explosive
Device (IED) Threat Mitigation capacity in DRC, with the objective of ensuring
effective prioritization of tasks, utilization of resources, and encouraging
common messaging by all UN, governmental, non-governmental and commercial
implementers engaged in related activities countrywide.