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The 'Mission of the United Nations in the Democratic Republic of Congo' (DRC), abbreviated 'MONUC' (a French acronym for 'M'ission de l' 'O'rganisation des 'N'ations 'U'nies en République démocratique du 'C'ongo) is a United Nations peacekeeping force established on February 24, 2000, by Resolution 1291 of the United Nations Security Council to monitor the peace process of the Second Congo War, though much of its focus subsequently turned to the conflict in the Ituri.
The headquarters of this mission are in Kinshasa, DRC. The mission views the DRC as consisting of 6 sectors, each with its own staff headquarters. In 2005-6 the Eastern Division however was formed at Kisangani and took over brigades in North Kivu, South Kivu, and Ituri, along with two or three of the Sector HQs. The approved budget for MONUC, from July 1, 2006 to June 30, 2007, is US$1,138.53 million, the largest for any current UN peacekeeping operation.

Contents

Force numbers and fatalities

Sector HQs

Staff and forces

Military

Civilian Police

Civilians

Abuses

See also

References

External links

Force numbers and fatalities

In July 2004 there were 10,531 UN soldiers under MONUC's command. On October 1, 2004, the UN Security Council decided to deploy 5,900 more soldiers to Congo, although UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan had asked for some 12,000.
On 25 February 2005, nine Bangladeshi peacekeepers were killed by members of the Nationalist and Integrationist Front militia in Ituri province. The FNI killed another Nepali peacekeeper and took seven captive in May 2006. Two of the seven were released in late June and the UN was trying to secure the release of the remaining five.^[1] In total, 83 members of MONUC have been killed since its establishment. ^[2] By November 2005, MONUC consisted of 16,561 uniformed troops. MONUC's mandate has been extended to September 30, 2006. On July 30, 2006, MONUC forces were charged with keeping the 2006 general election —the first multiparty election in the DRC since 1960— peaceful and orderly. MONUC troops began patrolling areas of eastern DRC after armed clashes broke on August 5 following the chaotic collection of election results.
Total strength, on 30 November, 2006 was 18,473 uniformed personnel, including 16,622 troops, 776 military observers, 1,075 police, who were supported by 953 international civilian personnel, 2,079 local civilian staff and 660 United Nations Volunteers.
The UN has recorded a total of 98 fatalities among MONUC personnel, up to the end of 2006, as follows: 68 military personnel, 10 military observers, 2 UN police, 9 international civilian, and 9 local civilian.

Sector HQs

★ MONUC HQ: Kinshasa

★ Sector 1: Mbandaka

★ Sector 2 and Eastern Division HQ: Kisangani

★ Sector 3: Kananga

★ Sector 4: Kalemie

★ Sector 5: Kindu

★ Sector 6: Bunia

Staff and forces

Military

Military: 15,051 troops (nearly 10,000 from Bangladesh, India, Pakistan, Nepal, South Africa and Uruguay) and 724 military observers, from 49 countries.
;Africa

★ Algeria: 5 observers

★ Benin: 18 observers

★ Burkina Faso: 12 observers

★ Cameroon: 1 observer

★ Egypt: 19 observers

★ Ghana: 459 troops, 22 observers

★ Kenya: 6 troops, 34 observers

★ Mali: 25 observers

★ Malawi: 23 observers

★ Morocco: 801 troops, 4 observers

★ Mozambique: 1 observer

★ Niger: 19 observers

★ Nigeria: 29 observers

★ Senegal: 459 troops, 24 observers

★ South Africa: 1,196 troops, 16 observers

★ Tunisia: 464 troops, 24 observers

★ Zambia: 21 observers
;Americas

★ Bolivia: 218 troops, 7 observers

★ Canada: 9 observers

★ Guatemala: 105 troops, 6 observers

★ Paraguay: 17 observers

★ Peru: 5 observers

★ Uruguay: 1,524 troops, 47 observers
;Asia

★ Bangladesh: 1,293 troops, 24 observers

★ China, People's Republic of: 218 troops, 13 observers

★ India: 3,495 troops, 40 observers

★ Indonesia: 175 troops, 13 observers

★ Jordan: 27 observers

★ Malaysia: 18 observers

★ Mongolia: 2 observers

★ Nepal: 1,119 troops, 22 observers

★ Pakistan: 3,717 troops, 41 observers

★ Sri Lanka: 2 observers
;Europe

★ Belgium: 7 observers

★ Bosnia and Herzegovina: 5 observers

★ Czech Republic: 3 observers

★ Denmark: 2 observers

★ France: 3 troops, 3 observers

★ Ireland: 3 observers

★ Poland: 150 troops, 3 observers

★ Romania: 22 observers

★ Russia: 22 observers

★ Serbia: 6 troops,

★ Sweden: 5 observers

★ Switzerland: 2 observers

★ Spain: 2 observers

★ United Kingdom: 7 observers

★ Ukraine: 12 observers

Civilian Police

Civilian Police (CIVPOL): 320, from 20 countries:

★ Argentina: 2

★ Benin: 12

★ Burkina Faso: 69

★ Cameroon: 24

★ Central African Republic: 8

★ Chad: 6

★ Côte d'Ivoire: 8

★ Egypt: 13

★ France: 10

★ Guinea: 47

★ Jordan: 5

★ Madagascar: 3

★ Mali: 7

★ Niger: 37

★ Nigeria: 3

★ Portugal: 6

★ Romania: 1

★ Russia: 6

★ Senegal: 32

★ Sweden: 6

★ Turkey: 18

★ Vanuatu: 2

★ Yemen: 1

Civilians

International civilian employees and volunteers, and DRC nationals: 2,636

★ International Employees: 816

★ United Nations Volunteers: 482

★ DRC nationals: 1,338

Abuses

The BBC alleges that in 2005, the Pakistani MONUC peacekeepers in Mongbwalu entered in a trading relationship for gold with Nationalist and Integrationist Front militia leaders, eventually drawing Congolese army officers and Indian traders from Kenya into the deal. It is further alleged that these peacekeepers returned weapons taken from the FNI as part of demobilization efforts to FNI leaders known for human rights violations.^[3]

See also

★ Second Congo War

★ Ituri conflict

References

★ Tim Butcher: ''Blood River - A Journey To Africa's Broken Heart'', 2007. ISBN 0-701-17981-3
1. "Two DR Congo peacekeepers freed", ''BBC'', 27 June 2006
2. "Congo conflicts defy peace", ''Reuters'', 24 February, 2006
3. "UN troops 'traded gold for guns'" by Martin Plaut, ''BBC News'', 22 May 2007

External links

★ Official site

★ UN MONUC site