NEW YORK: The UN Security Council on Tuesday voted for gradual withdrawal of UN peacekeepers starting this month, a year earlier than originally planned from the Democratic Republic of Congo.
The resolution includes plans for the departure of peacekeeping mission known as MONUSCO from South Kivu province of the African state by the end of April.
The drawdown comes despite United Nations concern about increase in violence in the eastern part of Congo.
The country ravaged by conflict, will host high-risk presidential and parliamentary elections on Wednesday, a vote that coincides with the expiry of the mandate of the UN peacekeeping force.
Despite a volatile domestic situation, the Congolese government has been calling for withdrawal of UN peacekeepers, by the end of 2023 rather than the end of 2024.
It believes the UN force is ineffective in protecting civilians from the armed groups and militias that have plagued the eastern parts of the country for three decades.
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Earlier, other African countries have made such accusations notably Mali, which has demanded the emergency departure of the UN Minusma mission.
Several UN Council members, notably the United States, in recent months have voiced doubts as to whether DRC forces are ready to replace Monusco to protect civilian population. However, the UN peacekeeping missions cannot operate without the authorization of host countries.
United States Deputy Ambassador to the UN Robert Wood has said Members of the UNSC will be closely monitoring the country after Monusco draws down.
The Council has agreed to initiate the gradual, responsible and sustainable withdrawal of the mission, in a plan signed in November between Kinshasa and Monusco.
