UN must avoid past mistakes in new DR Congo mission

UN must avoid past mistakes in new DR Congo mission

Ray Murphy
Last Updated: Thursday, April 4, 2013, 21:29

Irish Times

The first UN peacekeeping mission to the Congo, from 1960 to 1964, will be
remembered by many as a baptism of fire for Irish peacekeepers.

Fifty years later, the country is still in turmoil with the Congolese
subject to unrelenting violence and rights abuses.

The Democratic Republic of Congo's conflict can be seen as three
interrelated wars, the first two of which were fought when neighbouring
states sought to overthrow leaders. To stem the current crisis in the east
of the country, the UN Security Council has authorised a new "intervention
brigade" with an unprecedented mandate to carry out targeted offensive
operations.

This is the first time such a brigade has been created within a peacekeeping
force. However, it is not the first time the UN has gone on the offensive.
The track record does not inspire optimism. In 1961, UN peacekeepers in the
Congo, which included Irish Defence Forcespersonnel, were authorised to use
force as a last resort to deal with the civil war and general disturbances .

Subsequently, peacekeepers were authorised to take vigorous action during
the campaign to suppress foreign-supported secessionists in the mineral-rich
Katanga province. Although the campaign was successful, it proved very
controversial.


Black Hawk Down
The infamous Black Hawk Down incident in Somalia which led to the deaths of
18 US special forces and hundreds of Somalis in 1993 is also a stark
reminder of how offensive operations can go wrong. The follow-up operations
by the UN against warlord Gen Mohammed Farah Aideed led to the withdrawal of
all UN forces.

More recently, in 2006, eight Guatemalan special forces were killed by
friendly fire when the UN attempted to capture Joseph Kony, leader of the
Lord's Resistance Army. It was a vivid reminder of the perils of offensive
tactics.

The UN resolution authorising the new brigade states that it will be
established for one year on an exceptional basis and without creating a
precedent or any prejudice to the agreed principles of peacekeeping. Only
the UN could dream up such a contradictory statement. The real aim is to
defeat the so-called M23 rebel group and other armed elements that have
wreaked havoc in the eastern Congo.

UN peace operations alone cannot end a war, nor will the robust
interpretation of a mandate provide the solution to intra-state conflict.

The use of force by or on behalf of the UN must be resorted to only in the
context of a political strategy with clearly defined goals. To be fair to
the UN, the secretary general's recent report on the DRC outlined a
multifaceted approach.

It is in this context that Mary Robinson, the special envoy for the Great
Lakes region, has a special role. She must work closely with governments of
the region to guarantee non-interference in the internal affairs of the DRC.


Illegal trading
This is a critical political role as all the regional states have
contributed to the destabilisation of the DRC. Rwanda has been linked to
armed groups operating in eastern Congo. However, the conflict has been
fuelled by illegal trading by states throughout the region.

Past UN failures to halt advances by armed groups have led to violent
demonstrations against the UN. The human rights violations prompted a demand
for a tougher response from the UN. Previous UN reports were critical of the
"glacial speed" of the response to attacks on civilians. In Bosnia, the
rhetoric in the security council did not match reality.

Achieving effective military capability among the participating states will
be difficult. The challenge is to establish the intervention brigade in a
way that brings a speedy resolution. In the past, UN and national forces
have been blamed for abuses. Support will evaporate if this occurs again or
if there are military setbacks.


Dr Ray Murphy is professor at the Irish Centre for Human Rights, school of
law, NUI Galway. He is director of the LLM programme in peace operations,
humanitarian law and conflict at NUI Galway and has served on UN
peacekeeping missions


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