By Anjali Sharma
UNITED NATIONS –UN Security Council on Friday unanimously extended the mandate of the UN peacekeeping mission in the Democratic Republic of the Congo for a year, as fighting in eastern intensified after renewed offensives by the M23 rebel group.
The resolution 2808 (2025) extends the mandate of the UN Organization Stabilization Mission in the DRC until 20 December 2026.
It is maintaining an authorized troop ceiling of 11,500 military personnel, 600 military observers and staff officers, 443 police personnel and 1,270 formed police unit personnel.
The resolution under the resolution, MONUSCO’s core area of operations remains North Kivu and Ituri, with any deployment linked to ceasefire monitoring in South Kivu subject to security conditions and prior notification to the Council.
The mission’s Force Intervention Brigade was also renewed on an “exceptional basis,” with the Council underlining that precedent was created.
The specialized force was created in 2013 and tasked disrupting and disarming armed groups.
The resolution highlights what it calls a “rapidly deteriorating security and humanitarian crisis” in eastern DRC due to the armed group M23 offensive in North Kivu and South Kivu “with the direct support and participation of the Rwanda Defence Forces.”
It condemns the group’s seizure of Uvira, a strategic city in South Kivu on the shores of Lake Tanganyika, warning it risks destabilizing the wider region.
France, the penholder on the file, said the Council negotiated the draft under “unusual circumstances” as the M23 continued its offensive in South Kivu.
French Ambassador Jérôme Bonnafont said, introduced the text. “In light of the gravity and the urgent nature of the situation, and following this resolution, France calls upon all parties to honor their commitments for the achievement of a lasting peace in the east of the DRC and in the Great Lakes region,”
US envoy said negotiations were “yet again disrupted” by M23 advances “supported by the Rwanda Defence Forces,” and urged the group to comply with its commitments under the Doha framework.
Jennifer Locetta, Ambassador and Alternative Representative for Special Political Affairs said “M23 must immediately withdraw at least 75km from Uvira and return to compliance with all of its obligations undertaken in the Framework Agreement”.
China and Russia, supported the renewal, emphasized that the mandate was the product of difficult compromises and cautioned against politicizing the mission.
Sun Lei, Ambassador and Deputy Permanent Representative of China, said the Council should uphold the “independence, neutrality and authority” of the operation.
He stressed that China “firmly supports” the DRC’s sovereignty, independence and territorial integrity, adding that “all countries from outside the region should stay truly committed to peace in eastern DRC, and stop taking advantage of the situation and seeking economic resources and other selfish interests.”
Russian Ambassador and Deputy Permanent Representative Anna Evstigneeva said her country expected detailed proposals on modalities for MONUSCO’s role in ceasefire monitoring by 1 March 2026, while also calling on all parties to comply with their obligations under Council resolutions.
“We call upon the parties to cease fire, to honor their obligations to implement Security Council resolution 2773, which spells out the key solutions for resolving this conflict for the benefit of the millions of residents of the DRC and of other countries in the region,” she added.
