The president of the Democratic Republic of Congo, Felix Tshisekedi, has called for the accelerated withdrawal of UN forces in his country to begin this year.
He told the UN General Assembly on Wednesday that he had instructed his government to begin talks with the UN to bring forward “the start of this progressive withdrawal from December 2024 to December 2023”.
He said the mission had failed to bring peace in the country despite being there for about 25 years, adding that it was illusory and counterproductive to continue to cling” to the force to maintain peace.
"It is time for our country to take full control of its destiny and become the main actor in its own stability,” he said.
The UN mission in the country, Monusco, is the second largest UN mission globally and has become increasingly unpopular in recent years.
It has been criticised for failing in its mission to bring about stability in eastern DR Congo, recently sparking protests in the region.
Last year, a Monusco special representative of the UN secretary general told the BBC that the peacekeeping mission would be evaluated amid the deadly protests, in which dozens were killed.
BBC