KINSHASA, May 17 (Xinhua) -- The mandate of the UN mission in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DR Congo) will be renewed by the end of May, local press reported on Sunday.
Gerard Araud, head of a UN delegation, told reporters that the decision was made after discussions with the authorities and members of the civil society, as well as representatives of both local and international organizations on the security situation in DR Congo.
"MONUC will not stay in DR Congo forever. It will be withdrawn when the situation has become stable. At the moment, the security situation in DR Congo remains fragile and therefore there is need to keep MONUC on the Congolese territory," Araud declared.
He pointed out that the departure of the UN mission MONUC needs to be done gradually in a peaceful environment.
"We are not talking about artificial time frames. We are acting according to the reality on the ground," he noted.
The MONUC chief praised the productive discussions with the Congolese authorities as well as the civil society.
"The objective of our visit to DR Congo is to hold dialogue with the Congolese authorities, the civil society, the population and Congolese and foreign humanitarian agencies on the future of MONUC in DR Congo. And according to these discussions, it is clear that the situation remains fragile in DR Congo, even though we know efforts are being undertaken by the Congolese authorities in collaboration with MONUC to bring about peace. As a result, the withdrawal of MONUC needs to be done after appropriate analysis of how the situation develops on the ground," Araud said.
The UN Security Council delegation arrived in Kinshasa on Friday with an aim of holding discussions with different actors in the socio-economic and political life in DR Congo.
