Phoney debate on troops from Europe is drawing attention away from genuine problems – UN Blue Helmets in the Congo need a clear mandate

The Society for Threatened Peoples (GfbV) called on Wednesday the discussion on the sending of European soldiers to support the UN peace-keeping force (MONUC) in Congo misleading. The debate is drawing attention away from the real problems in protecting the civilian population. It is not enough to talk in the Security Council on the reinforcement of the MONUC, which is also something for which the European Union is working. The GfbV said in a letter to the members of the Security Council that the main thing is to see how the efficiency of this largest peace-keeping operation of the United Nations can be improved.

The mission of the UN peace-keeping force must be made more precise. The present mandate of the MONUC dooms it to failure since it is not seen by either the civilian population or the conflict parties as a neutral force and is indeed being deliberately discredited by the Congolese army. The Blue Helmets are expected to protect the civilian population from the attacks of all conflict parties and then together with the Congolese army fight against the Hutu rebels, who are seen as responsible for the genocide in Ruanda.

„In view of the dramatic loss of trust and the low effectiveness of the MONUC the Security Council must draw consequences from the failure of the peace-keeping mission”, said the GfbV Africa consultant, Ulrich Delius. The reinforcement of the MONUC by 2,785 men proposed by France will not bring very much for the civilian population in Congo.

The call of the German President, Horst Köhler, yesterday for Europe to join in the MONUC operation is certainly to be welcomed because it draws attention once more to the terrible situation in Congo. „But the EU must face up to the question why the generous financial support of the regular army is having no results”, said the human rights worker. The EU cannot just stand by watching while Congolese soldiers are in spite of the EUSEC Programme, which began in 2005, spreading fear and terror with plundering and rape.

It is moreover clear that the Congolese army is working together with the Hutu rebels of the FDLR. Effective steps must be taken against this. The EU cannot now just turn aside after calling for years for the disarming of these rebels, who are indeed causing terror.