GREAT LAKES: IRIN-CEA Update 1,050
DRC: Problems continue to thwart UN deployment
The UN Mission in the DRC (MONUC) still faced a number of difficulties
which were blocking its deployment of peacekeeping troops, Assistant UN
Secretary-General for Peacekeeping Operations Hedi Annabi told a meeting
of the Security Council on Thursday. "The main problems remain the
possibility of further violations of the ceasefire, uncertainty over the
status of the Lusaka Accord, and the lack of freedom of movement for UN
personnel in the DRC," Annabi told the Council in a closed-door meeting
described as a "brainstorming session." He pointed to a recent study
showing that in a three-week period in October, the government of DRC
President Laurent-Desire Kabila had cancelled 21 out of a total of 32
MONUC flights, a UN press release stated.
The Security Council established MONUC after the DRC and regional states
signed the Lusaka Ceasefire Agreement in 1999. It has an authorised
strength of 5,537 military personnel, including up to 500 military
observers, supported by specialists in human rights, humanitarian affairs,
public information, child protection, political affairs, and medical and
administrative support. As of 1 November, 218 military observers, 24
troops, and 207 international and 117 local civilian personnel were
deployed in the field, according to the UN statement.
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