United Nations Congo mission at crossroads

The United Nations peacekeeping mission in Congo is close to losing all credibility. On its 10-year watch, millions of Congolese have been killed or displaced, raped or forced to toil in mines for precious minerals. The U.N. troops, known as MONUC, certainly are not to blame for those atrocities or for the country’s civil strife -- rebels from neighboring Rwanda are mostly at fault. But Congolese soldiers fighting the Democratic Liberation Forces of Rwanda, or FDLR, also have been accused of persecuting civilians, and they, unlike the rebels, have had the logistical support of troops provided by the U.N.

Sent to the Democratic Republic of Congo at the end of the 1990s, the peacekeepers provide fuel and food, medical aid, transportation and firepower to help government troops retake areas controlled by the FDLR. Their mission: Assist the government and protect civilians. The problem is that those goals sometimes conflict. In November, the U.N. announced it had pulled logistical support for one army unit after determining it had intentionally killed 62 civilians. And last month, Human Rights Watch said that although a notorious lieutenant colonel, Innocent Zimurinda, had reportedly ordered another massacre, he remained in command of a unit receiving rations, fuel and other U.N. support.

That’s why, when it came time for the Security Council to decide whether to withdraw the peacekeepers or extend their mission, groups frequently at odds with one another were united in wanting the U.N. forces out -- international human rights organizations and nongovernmental agencies working in Africa, the Congolese government and even many of the citizens the peacekeepers had been sent to protect. The Security Council, however, in an act of diplomatic dexterity that satisfied no one, late last month extended MONUC’s stay, but for only five months instead of the usual year.

The question remains: Can the U.N. help the government overcome rebels who torture and kill civilians without assisting, even inadvertently, Congolese soldiers who are allegedly engaged in similar human rights abuses?

With the extension, a new phase of MONUC’s mission begins this month. It’s called “AmaniLeo,” Swahili for “Peace Today.” Its goals include helping Congolese troops secure territory already liberated from rebels, destabilizing the FDLR and encouraging its recruits to lay down their weapons. And the U.N.’s top official for Congo went there to hold discussions on improving civilian protection. Ten years have seen little success in this area, and many are skeptical that it can be achieved. But that’s what has to happen if MONUC’s credibility is to be restored. And it has to happen in the next five months.