Statement by Permanent Representative Vassily Nebenzia at a UNSC Briefing on the DRC

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28 January 2025

Mr. President,

We thank Deputy Special Representative of the Secretary General Viviane van de Perre for her briefing. We have listened carefully to the statements by representatives of civil society. We welcome the participation in this meeting of Therese Wagner, Minister for Foreign Affairs of the Democratic Republic of the Congo, and the representatives of other countries who requested the floor under rule 37.

Distinguished Colleagues,

Two days ago, we gathered together in this chamber to discuss the alarming developments in the east of the DRC. Over the past 48 hours, the situation has significantly exacerbated, especially due to the seizure of Goma, where there are over one million civilians.

Russia strongly condemns the actions of M23.

We call for an immediate cessation of hostilities and for a withdrawal of the rebels of this illegal armed group from the towns, villages and territories they have seized. We also call on external players to stop supporting M23 and recall their military units.

The Luanda negotiation process must be resumed without delay. We must not allow the escalation to spiral out, as it endangers people’s lives on both sides of the border and can potentially evolve into a regional inter-State conflict.

We are deeply concerned about the humanitarian repercussions of what is going on. Before our very eyes, the already dire situation in North Kivu is turning into an utter humanitarian disaster. Goma is de facto cut off from the outside world, which could severely affect the residents of the city and the internally displaced persons who have fled there.

Once again, we express our condolences to the families of the demised citizens of the DRC, UN peacekeepers and fallen soldiers of the Southern African Development Community (SADC). We stand in solidarity with the Governments of the DRC and those States that have lost their service personnel. We wish a speedy recovery to all those injured.

I would like to emphasize that Russia unequivocally condemns attacks on peacekeepers; this is absolutely unacceptable. We firmly support the United Nations Stabilization Mission in the DRC (MONUSCO), its leadership and the Blue Helmets.

We also condemn any attacks and acts of aggression against foreign diplomatic missions. Such actions have whatsoever nothing to do with peaceful demonstrations. We urge Kinshasa to ensure the protection of foreign missions and diplomatic staff pursuant to the Vienna Convention and its international obligations.

The violence in the east of the DRC must be put to an end. However, there is no military path to resolve this crisis. It is absolutely clear that this is only possible through a political agreement. We are convinced that the Luanda process remains the best platform to reach this agreement.

We carefully listened to the representative of Angola at the Council’s meeting on Sunday. He clearly stated that the only obstacle preventing the signing of a reconciliation document between Kinshasa and Kigali is the issue of the cessation of State interaction with illegal armed groups, primarily with M23. Without deciding on the status of that group within the inter-Congolese dialogue, no attempts to improve relations between the DRC and Rwanda will bear fruit. Thus, there is an urgent need to either relaunch the Nairobi process or to prompt similar regional initiatives. There is no alternative to this.

Mr. President,

Attempts to settle the crisis will not bear fruit either if the countries of the Great Lakes region fail to take decisive measures to combat the illegal exploitation and smuggling of natural resources. The lion’s share of these resources is known to come from the east of the DRC, which is beset by instability.

There is also a need for extra-regional “players” and large transnational corporations to reconsider their approaches to using these resources; and it is precisely these corporations that are interested in unabated illegal supplies of “bloody” minerals.

These very States have all the tools needed to stop the hot phase of the conflict and to pressure the parties into returning to negotiations. These tools must be harnessed to save people’s lives and to end the suffering of hundreds of thousands of civilians. Unfortunately, we have all seen that the statement adopted by the Council has failed to stop M23 and those who support this group from seizing Goma and continuing their hostilities.

Russia, for its part, will do everything possible, including on the platform of the Council, to stop the escalation and restore prospects for a diplomatic settlement for the sake of stability in the east of the DRC.

Thank you.

 

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