Security Council resolution 2053 (2012) [on extension of the mandate of the UN Organization Stabilization Mission in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (MONUSCO) until 30 June 2013]
Symbol: S/RES/2053(2012)
Date: 2012-06-27
Status: adopted
Agenda: S/67 [104] UN ORGANIZATION STABILIZATION MISSION IN THE DEMOCRATIC REPUBLIC OF THE CONGO
S/67 [102] DEMOCRATIC REPUBLIC OF THE CONGO SITUATION
Subjects: UN Organization Stabilization Mission in the Democratic Republic of the Congo|Democratic Republic of the Congo. Commission électorale nationale indépendente|UN. Special Representative of the Secretary-General for the Democratic Republic of the Congo|Democratic Republic of the Congo. Forces armées|Lord's Resistance Army (Uganda)|Charter of the United Nations (1945). Chapter VII|PEACEKEEPING OPERATIONS|PEACEBUILDING|SECURITY SECTOR REFORM|ELECTION VERIFICATION|HUMAN RIGHTS MONITORING|DEMOCRATIC REPUBLIC OF THE CONGO|DEMOCRATIC REPUBLIC OF THE CONGO SITUATION|HUMAN RIGHTS IN ARMED CONFLICTS|POST-CONFLICT RECONSTRUCTION|WAR CRIMES|CRIMINAL INVESTIGATION|COUNTRY TEAMS|GOOD OFFICES|PARAMILITARY FORCES|DISARMAMENT|MILITARY DEMOBILIZATION|REINTEGRATION|FREEDOM OF MOVEMENT|HUMANITARIAN ASSISTANCE
Votes in favour: 15
Votes against: 0
Abstentions: 0
Voting record:
country: AZERBAIJAN
vote: yes
country: CHINA
vote: yes
country: COLOMBIA
vote: yes
country: FRANCE
vote: yes
country: GERMANY
vote: yes
country: GUATEMALA
vote: yes
country: INDIA
vote: yes
country: MOROCCO
vote: yes
country: PAKISTAN
vote: yes
country: PORTUGAL
vote: yes
country: RUSSIAN FEDERATION
vote: yes
country: SOUTH AFRICA
vote: yes
country: TOGO
vote: yes
country: UNITED KINGDOM
vote: yes
country: UNITED STATES
vote: yes

                United Nations                                                                 S/RES/2053 (2012)*
                Security Council                                                Distr.: General
                                                                                27 June 2012




                Resolution 2053 (2012)
                Adopted by the Security Council at its 6792nd meeting, on
                27 June 2012

                     The Security Council,
                     Recalling its previous resolutions and the statements of its President
                concerning the Democratic Republic of the Congo,
                      Reaffirming its commitment to the sovereignty, territorial integrity and
                political independence of the Democratic Republic of the Congo,
                      Stressing the primary responsibility of the Government of the Democratic
                Republic of the Congo for ensuring security in its territory and protecting its
                civilians with respect for the rule of law, human rights and international
                humanitarian law,
                      Acknowledging that there have been positive developments relative to the
                consolidation of peace and stability across the Democratic Republic of the Congo,
                but stressing that serious challenges remain, particularly in the eastern provinces,
                including the continued presence of armed groups in the Kivus and Oriental
                Province, serious abuses and violations of human rights and acts of violence against
                civilians, limited progress in building professional and accountable national security
                and rule of law institutions, and illegal exploitation of natural resources,
                      Expressing deep concern at the deteriorating security situation in the eastern
                provinces of the Democratic Republic of the Congo, including attacks by armed
                groups, attacks on peacekeepers and humanitarian personnel, which have restricted
                humanitarian access to conflict areas where vulnerable civilian populations reside,
                and the displacement of tens of thousands of civilians, and calling on all armed
                groups to cease hostilities, including all acts of violence committed against
                civilians, and urgently facilitate unhindered humanitarian access,
                      Stressing the need for the Congolese authorities to address the irregularities
                and challenges identified by national and international observers during the
                presidential and general elections on 28 November 2011 as well as the need to hold
                provincial and local elections in a timely, inclusive, peaceful, credible and
                transparent manner,


            * Reissued for technical reasons on 27 September 2012.


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                     Encouraging the enhanced regional cooperation in the Great Lakes region and
               encouraging further efforts to promote peace, stability and economic development
               in the region, including through existing regional mechanisms,
                     Recognizing the importance of supporting peacebuilding efforts in order to
               achieve further progress in the stabilization of the country, underlining the
               importance of economic development to ensure long-term stabilization and peace
               consolidation, and stressing the need for sustained international support to ensure
               early recovery activities and lay the foundations for sustainable development,
                     Emphasizing that the linkage between the illicit exploitation and trade of
               natural resources and the proliferation and trafficking of arms is among the major
               factors fuelling and exacerbating conflicts in the Great Lakes region, urging all
               States, particularly those in the region, to implement fully the measures set out by
               its resolution 1896 (2009), reiterating its determination to continue to closely
               monitor the implementation and compliance with the measures set out by the
               resolution 1896 (2009) and paragraph 5 of resolution 1807 (2008), and urging all
               States to take legal action where appropriate in accordance with these measures
               against the Forces démocratiques de libération du Rwanda (FDLR) leaders residing
               in their countries,
                     Remaining greatly concerned by the humanitarian situation and the persistent
               high levels of violence and human rights abuses and violations against civilians,
               condemning in particular the targeted attacks against civilians, widespread sexual
               and gender-based violence, recruitment and use of children by parties to the conflict,
               in particular the mutineers of ex-Congrès National pour la Défense du Peuple
               (ex-CNDP) and the 23 March Movement (M23), the displacement of significant
               numbers of civilians, extrajudicial executions and arbitrary arrests and their
               deleterious effect on the stabilization, reconstruction and development efforts in the
               Democratic Republic of the Congo, reiterating the urgent need for the swift
               prosecution of all perpetrators of human rights abuses and international
               humanitarian law violations, urging the Government of the Democratic Republic of
               the Congo, in cooperation with the United Nations, the International Criminal Court
               and other relevant actors, to implement the appropriate responses to address these
               challenges and to provide security, medical, legal, humanitarian and other assistance
               to victims,
                     Recalling its resolutions 1325 (2000), 1820 (2008), 1888 (2009), 1889 (2009)
               and 1960 (2010) on women, peace and security, its resolution 1894 (2009) on the
               protection of civilians in armed conflict, and its resolutions 1882 (2009) and 1998
               (2011) on children and armed conflict, and recalling the conclusions of the Security
               Council Working Group on Children and Armed Conflict pertaining to parties in the
               armed conflict of the Democratic Republic of the Congo, especially in relation to
               the adoption of an action plan to put an end to the recruitment and use of children,
                     Welcoming the efforts of MONUSCO and international partners in delivering
               training in human rights, child protection and protection from sexual and genderbased violence for Congolese security forces and underlining its importance,
                     Condemning all attacks against United Nations peacekeepers and humanitarian
               personnel, regardless of their perpetrators and emphasizing that those responsible
               for such attacks must be brought to justice,




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                Recognizing the significant sacrifices made by MONUSCO, expressing
           appreciation for its efforts to improve peace and stability in the Democratic
           Republic of the Congo,
                Emphasizing the importance of the continued support of the United Nations
           and the international community for the long-term security and development of the
           Democratic Republic of the Congo,
                 Encouraging relevant international actors to support efforts and to assist in the
           restoration of basic services, especially in conflict-affected areas of the Democratic
           Republic of the Congo,
                  Reiterating its call upon the African Union and all relevant subregional
           organizations to further engage in support of the stabilization efforts in the
           Democratic Republic of the Congo, notably in the fields of security and combating
           illicit exploitation and trade of natural resources,
                 Welcoming the efforts of the African Union to address the threat posed by the
           Lord’s Resistance Army (LRA) and welcoming MONUSCO’s intention to provide
           logistical support for the establishment of the African Union-Regional Task Force
           Sector Headquarters in Dungu, and encouraging the African Union to share further
           information on the implementation of the initiative in the Democratic Republic of
           the Congo,
               Taking note of the report of the Secretary-General on the United Nations
           Organization Stabilization Mission in the Democratic Republic of the Congo
           (MONUSCO), dated 23 May 2012, and of its recommendations,
                Determining that the situation in the Democratic Republic of the Congo
           continues to pose a threat to international peace and security in the region,
                Acting under Chapter VII of the Charter of the United Nations:
                 1.   Decides to extend until 30 June 2013 the mandate of MONUSCO as set
           out in resolution 1925 (2010), paragraphs 2, 11 and 12 (a) to (p) and (r) to (t),
           reaffirms that the protection of civilians must be given priority in decisions about
           the use of available capacity and resources and encourages further the use of
           innovative measures implemented by MONUSCO in the protection of civilians;
                 2.    Reiterates its request that MONUSCO, consistent with the authorization
           provided by resolution 1925 (2010), keeps a reserve force capable of redeploying
           rapidly in the country within its mandated strength;
                 3.    Reiterates that the Government of the Democratic Republic of the Congo
           bears primary responsibility for security, national reconciliation, peacebuilding and
           development in the country, and encourages the Government of the Democratic
           Republic of the Congo to remain fully committed to protecting the civilian
           population through the establishment of professional, accountable and sustainable
           security forces, the deployment of Congolese civil administration, in particular the
           police, judicial personnel and territorial administration and the establishment of rule
           of law and respect for human rights, and encourages the Government to promote
           non military solutions as an integral part of the overall solution for reducing the
           threat posed by Congolese and foreign armed groups and to restore full State
           authority in the areas freed from armed groups and to consolidate state authority
           throughout the territory;



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                    4.   Reiterates that future reconfigurations of MONUSCO should be
               determined on the basis of the evolution of the situation on the ground and on the
               achievement of the following objectives to be pursued by the Government of the
               Democratic Republic of the Congo, with the support of the United Nations Mission:
                    (a) The completion of the ongoing military operations in the Kivus and
               Orientale Province, resulting in reducing to a minimum the threat from armed
               groups and restoring stability in sensitive areas;
                    (b) An improved capacity of the Government of the Democratic Republic of
               the Congo to effectively protect the population through the establishment of
               professional, accountable and sustainable security forces with a view to
               progressively taking over MONUSCO’s security role;
                     (c) The consolidation of State authority by the Congolese Government
               throughout the territory, through the deployment of Congolese civil administration,
               in particular the police, territorial administration and rule of law institutions in areas
               freed from armed groups;
                    5.    Encourages the ongoing strategic partnership between the Congolese
               Government and MONUSCO, in particular through the joint assessment process,
               and encourages the continuing of such assessment discussions to enable the Security
               Council to take into account the joint assessment reports when making decisions
               regarding any reconfiguration of the Mission, in accordance with the provisions of
               paragraph 4 of this resolution and paragraph 7 of resolution 1925 (2010);
                     6.    Stresses that while protection of civilians remains MONUSCO’s priority,
               security sector reform (SSR) should be the primary focus within the stabilization
               and peace consolidation mandate of the Mission as defined in paragraph 12 (l) to
               (p), (r) and (s) of resolution 1925 (2010) as SSR is critical for the achievement of
               the objectives defined in paragraph 4 above;
                     7.   Requests MONUSCO to undertake a strategic review on the
               implementation of the International Security and Stabilization Support Strategy
               (ISSSS), providing a clear definition of stabilization in the context of Eastern DRC
               and a strategy and timeframe for achieving these stabilization goals, with the view
               to strengthening its efforts and engaging closely with the Government of the
               Democratic Republic of the Congo to ensure these efforts are closely aligned with,
               and provide effective support to the Government’s Stabilization and Reconstruction
               Plan (STAREC), requests further the Secretary-General to present the results of this
               review in an annex to his report in February 2013, and encourages donors to support
               the relevant Congolese authorities in fully implementing the STAREC;
                    8.    Urges the Government of the Democratic Republic of the Congo, which
               bears the primary responsibility regarding the reform of its security sector, to
               operationalize and implement, with the support of MONUSCO, a national and
               comprehensive vision and strategy for the security and justice sectors, including in
               the area of transitional justice, in order to establish democratic, accountable and
               professional national security and judicial institutions;
                    9.    Underlines the need for an overall Congolese SSR strategy that focuses
               on the professionalization of security sector institutions, including oversight bodies,
               and that helps to ensure coherence and efficiency and avoid duplications or gaps,
               encourages at the same time the Government of the Democratic Republic of the



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           Congo, to engage in a new strategic partnership with MONUSCO in the area of SSR
           in order to identify the priorities of each component of the security sector and
           possible new approaches for MONUSCO to support Congolese authorities in the
           area of SSR to build the capacity of the military, police, justice and other security
           institutions to consolidate Congolese State authority, and requests the Secretary-General to report on these priorities and approaches in an annex to his report in
           November;
                 10. Calls upon the Congolese authorities to share its priorities and strategies
           with international partners on a regular basis, requests MONUSCO to support
           effective coordination, transparency and harmonization of efforts, as well as a clear
           division of tasks and responsibilities of all international partners involved in
           assisting the SSR, in this regard, calls upon the Government, with support from
           MONUSCO, to make strategic use of the information on internationally supported
           SSR projects already being collected by the Ministry of Planning, and calls upon all
           Member States and international organizations to improve information sharing and
           to fully cooperate with the Congolese authorities and MONUSCO in this regard;
                 11. Reiterates its call upon the Government to address the underlying issue
           of the cohesion within the national Army, including by establishing an effective
           vetting mechanism and further developing its efforts to ensure proper integration of
           former armed groups, in particular the CNDP, into the Armed Forces of the
           Democratic Republic of the Congo (FARDC), with the advisory support of
           MONUSCO, encourages the Government to ensure that members of the National
           Army are adequately paid and in a timely fashion, operate in accordance with
           established command and control regulations, and are subject to such disciplinary or
           judicial action as may be appropriate when regulations and laws are violated and
           reiterates its concern at the promotion within the Congolese security forces of
           well-known individuals responsible for serious human rights violations and abuses;
                 12. Urges the Congolese Government to implement the multi-year joint
           United Nations justice support program with the support of international partners,
           recalls the need for all crimes, including crimes against women and children, to be
           expeditiously investigated and the need for all perpetrators of those crimes, in
           particular Bosco Ntaganda, to be arrested and brought to justice, and encourages the
           Congolese authorities to pursue their efforts to combat impunity against all
           perpetrators of human rights and international humanitarian law violations,
           including those committed by any illegal armed groups or elements of the
           Congolese security forces;
                 13. Further stresses the importance of the Congolese Government actively
           seeking to hold accountable those responsible for war crimes and crimes against
           humanity in the country and of regional cooperation to this end, including through
           cooperation with the International Criminal Court, calls upon MONUSCO to
           support the Congolese authorities in this regard, and takes note of the recent positive
           steps taken by the Congolese authorities to apprehend Bosco Ntaganda;
                 14. Calls upon MONUSCO to continue to work with the United Nations
           country team and the Congolese authorities towards the adoption and
           implementation of the Peace Consolidation Programme covering provinces not
           affected by the conflict and requests MONUSCO, where appropriate, to continue
           transferring tasks to the United Nations country team in those provinces;



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                     15. Urges the Congolese authorities to ensure that the provincial and local
               elections are conducted in a timely, credible, peaceful and transparent manner,
               which includes ensuring respect for human rights and fundamental freedoms,
               ensuring full and effective participation of women in the electoral process,
               strengthened engagement and cooperation with the civil society, equitable access to
               media including State media, safety for all candidates, as well as for election
               observers and witnesses, journalists, human rights defenders and actors from the
               civil society including women;
                     16. Decides that MONUSCO shall support the organization and conduct of
               provincial and local elections, through the provision of technical and logistical
               support, in accordance with the paragraph 7 of resolution 1991 (2011), decides
               further that this support will be continually assessed and reviewed according to
               progress made by the Congolese authorities on consolidating the credibility of the
               Commission Electorale Nationale Indépendante (CENI), agreeing on viable
               operational plans in order to ensure international support, adopting a realistic
               electoral calendar and continuing to ensure the full access of observers and political
               parties’ representatives to all electoral sites and operations, recalls the need for the
               Special Representative of the Secretary-General to promote and facilitate inclusive
               and transparent political dialogue among various Congolese stakeholders, including
               women groups, supports the establishment by the Congolese authorities of the
               Constitutional Court, calls upon the Election Partnership Committee to meet more
               regularly to closely follow and adapt international support to the electoral process,
               and requests the Secretary-General to report on these progress in his November
               report;
                     17. Welcomes the positive steps taken by the Congolese Government to
               investigate the violations of human rights alleged to have been committed in
               Kinshasa in the context of the 28 November 2011 elections, urges the Government
               of the Democratic Republic of the Congo to prosecute those responsible, calls upon
               the Government of the Democratic Republic of the Congo to protect and promote all
               human rights throughout the country and ensure full respect for fundamental rights
               and liberties, including freedom of expression and freedom of peaceful assembly, in
               light of the upcoming provincial and local elections scheduled for 2013 and decides
               that MONUSCO shall pursue its monitoring, reporting and following-up on human
               rights violations, including by using the good offices of the Special Representative
               of the Secretary-General for the Democratic Republic of Congo as required;
                     18. Demands that all armed groups, in particular mutineers of ex-CNDP and
               M23, the FDLR, the LRA and the Allied Democratic Forces/National Army for the
               Liberation of Uganda (ADF/NALU), immediately cease all forms of violence and
               human rights abuses against the civilian population in the Democratic Republic of
               the Congo, in particular against women and children, including rape and other forms
               of sexual abuse and child recruitment, and demobilize;
                    19. Condemns recent mutiny led by Bosco Ntaganda and all outside support
               to all armed groups and demands that all forms of support to them cease
               immediately;
                    20. Urges the Government of the Democratic Republic of the Congo, with
               support from MONUSCO, to sustain its action against armed groups, especially
               mutineers of ex-CNDP and M23, restore order and bring the perpetrators to justice,
               while ensuring the protection of the civilian population, and address the underlying


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           causes of instability, in particular the impact of the return of displaced persons and
           refugees and possible land-related social tensions;
                 21. Reiterates support to the respective initiatives taken by the United
           Nations and the African Union to facilitate regional action against the LRA and to
           protect civilians, encourages relevant parties to enhance cooperation to help end the
           threat to civilians posed by the LRA, welcomes the steps taken by MONUSCO to
           enhance information sharing and coordination with those conducting military
           operations against the LRA and to promote and facilitate defections from the LRA’s
           ranks, encourages MONUSCO to coordinate closely with and provide technical
           expertise, as appropriate and within the limits of its capacities, to United Nations
           missions across the LRA-affected region to help advance the United Nations
           regional strategy to address the LRA, especially with regard to disarmament,
           demobilization, repatriation, resettlement and reintegration (DDRRR), and
           encourages MONUSCO to deepen its contacts with LRA-affected communities and
           humanitarian partners and keep under review the coordination and deployment of its
           available resources to ensure maximum effect;
                 22. Underlines the urgent need for continued progress in addressing the
           threat of foreign and national armed groups, including through further progress in
           the DDRRR process, urges the international community and donors to support the
           Government of the Democratic Republic of the Congo and MONUSCO in DDRRR
           activities, calls upon the Government of the Democratic Republic of the Congo and
           neighbouring States to remain engaged in the process and urges the Government to
           make progress on the national programme for disarmament, demobilization and
           reintegration (DDR) of residual Congolese armed elements in eastern Democratic
           Republic of the Congo, with the support of MONUSCO;
                 23. Encourages the Government of the Democratic Republic of the Congo to
           continue to build on its cooperation with the Special Representative of the
           Secretary-General for Children and Armed Conflicts and the Special Representative
           of the Secretary-General on Sexual Violence in Conflict and to meet, without further
           delay, its commitments to adopt and implement an action plan to halt the
           recruitment and use of children by the Armed Forces of the Democratic Republic of
           the Congo (FARDC), in close collaboration with MONUSCO;
                24. Encourages MONUSCO to enhance its interaction with the civilian
           population to raise awareness and understanding about its mandate and activities
           and to collect reliable information on violations and abuses of international
           humanitarian and human rights law perpetrated against civilians;
                 25. Welcomes the steps taken by the Congolese authorities to address the
           tracing and certification of minerals, encourages further cooperation throughout the
           region, urges demilitarization of the mining areas in the Democratic Republic of the
           Congo and the professionalization and deployment of Congolese Mining Police in
           these areas, calls upon MONUSCO to support the relevant Congolese authorities in
           preventing the provision of support to armed groups from illicit economic activities
           and illicit trade and natural resources, including to carry out spot checks and regular
           visits to mining sites, trade routes and markets, in the vicinity of the five pilot
           trading counters and encourages the Congolese Government to further increase
           transparency in the administration of contracts for mining rights and the collection
           and accounting for taxes;



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                     26. Demands that all parties cooperate fully with the operations of
               MONUSCO and allow, in accordance with relevant provisions of international law,
               the full, safe, immediate and unhindered access for United Nations and associated
               personnel in carrying out their mandate to all those in need and delivery of
               humanitarian assistance, in particular to internally displaced persons, throughout the
               territory of the Democratic Republic of the Congo, including in the LRA-affected
               areas, and requests the Secretary-General to report without delay any failure to
               comply with these demands;
                    27. Commends the contribution of troop- and police-contributing countries
               and donors to MONUSCO, calls on Member States to pledge and provide the
               remaining force enablers, in particular military air assets, required for the mission
               and recalls the importance of close consultations with troop- and police-contributing
               countries;
                     28. Requests the Secretary-General to report by 14 November 2012,
               14 February 2013 and 24 May 2013 on the progress on the ground, including on the
               progress made towards the objectives mentioned in paragraph 4 above, recommended
               benchmarks for measuring progress and the impact of the DDRRR process on the
               strength of foreign armed groups, and further requests the Secretary-General to
               include specific thematic annexes in his report in November on the assessment of
               the electoral process as mentioned in paragraph 15 and possible new approaches in
               SSR as mentioned in paragraph 9 above and in February on the review of ISSSS as
               mentioned in paragraph 7 above and on the strategy and efforts to effectively
               transfer the responsibility of some MONUSCO tasks to members of the UNCT;
                    29.   Decides to remain actively seized of the matter.




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