Content_paragraphs:  I am deeply concerned by the serious deterioration of the security situation in 
  
  Ituri Province, where a surge in violence deliberately targeting certain communities 
  
  has caused mass displacement and serious human rights violations that the Office of 
  
  the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights has warned may amount 
  
  to crimes against humanity. This violence has inflicted a particularly heavy toll on 
  
  women and children. Parts of South Kivu Province have also seen an alarming 
  
  resurgence in violence along ethnic lines. Eliminating the threat posed by armed 
  
  militias in these contexts will require a comprehensive approach that goes beyond 
  
  military intervention and seeks to address the root causes of recurring cycles of 
  
  intercommunal violence, including access to land and competition for political power 
  
  and economic resources. To this end, MONUSCO will continue to support the 
  
  Congolese authorities in their efforts to protect civilians by neutralizing the threat 
  
  
  
   
  S/2020/554 
  
   
  
  15/17 20-07645 
  
   
  
  posed by armed groups and ensuring that perpetrators of serious crimes are brought 
  
  to justice, while providing mediation support to help to address the underlying drivers 
  
  of conflict.