Civilian Protection in the Eastern DRC: Evaluation of the MONUSCO Peacekeeping Operation
Abstract
Since 2003, language mandating civilian protection (POC) has increasingly appeared in United Nations Security Council resolutions, peace support doctrine, and humanitarian frameworks. Despite the frequency of its use, the term lacks a universal definition and a clear gap exists between military operations that attempt to establish, introduce, and/or enforce "civilian protection" and humanitarian approaches to civilian protection. This thesis posits three metrics that should be used to evaluate the effectiveness of peacekeeping operations that aim to establish POC: rates of civilian massacres, rates of internally displaced persons, and incidents of rape and sexual violence. These criteria share both military and humanitarian priorities, and they also represent elements of conflict present in the eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) since at least 1998. Each must be reduced to establish a minimum standard for civilian protection in the country. The United Nations Organization Stabilization Mission in the Congo (MONUSCO) was charged with implementing POC in the eastern regions of the DRC beginning in 2008. This thesis considers the ability of MONUSCO to address each of these POC metrics, and shows that the mission has fallen short of achieving its mandate to instill minimum standards of civilian protection. An evaluation of the three metrics requires a brief overview of the significant armed groups in the eastern DRC to better understand their involvement in the factors of instability that undermine POC. The significant combatant groups are the state's official military, the Armed Forces of the Democratic Republic of Congo (FARDC); the Democratic Forces for the Liberation of Rwanda (FDLR); National Congress for the Defense of the People (CNDP); and the Lord's Resistance Army (LRA). Other agents of conflict certainly perpetuate insecurity in the eastern DRC, but these are the most identifiable and disruptive actors.
Document Details
- Document Type
- Technical Report
- Publication Date
- Mar 01, 2012
- Accession Number
- ADA560583
Entities
People
- Thomas F. Copeland
Organizations
- Naval Postgraduate School