WINTER 2022 The Linguist 7
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FEATURES
Bokani Hart considers how language gaps are impeding the
UN's peacekeeping mission in eastern Congo
O
nce again, the eastern provinces of
the Democratic Republic of the
Congo (DRC) are on a knife edge.
And, once again, the United Nations
peacekeeping mission in the DRC
(MONUSCO) is in the firing line for allegedly
not doing enough to protect civilians from
the armed groups that have been terrorising
local communities there for decades. In late
July, violent clashes erupted in Goma, the
capital of North Kivu province, in the latest
round of anti-MONUSCO protests, which
quickly spread. According to the Congolese
government, 36 people, including four UN
peacekeepers, were killed.
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Winning hearts and minds in the DRC
continues to be an uphill battle for one of the
UN's largest peacekeeping missions. That's
despite its robust Chapter VII mandate, which
authorises the use of force in highly volatile
regions. The UN would argue that although
MONUSCO currently has over 17,000
peacekeepers, they operate in a vast and
often inaccessible country with 95 million
inhabitants. This has severely hampered its
ability to fulfil its peacekeeping mandate. But
there's still plenty of room for improvement.
In March 2018, at the UN Security Council's
High-Level Debate on Collective Action to
Improve UN Peacekeeping Operations, the
UN Secretary-General, António Guterres,
stated: "UN peacekeepers are often under-
equipped, under-prepared and unready for
the dangerous environments in which they
now operate. There are gaps in command
and control, in culture, in equipment and in
training. Our peacekeepers are vulnerable,
and they are targetted for attack."
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He went on to launch Action for
Peacekeeping (A4P) and the 'Declaration of
Shared Commitments on United Nations
Peacekeeping Operations'. Judging from the
anti-MONUSCO protests, translating these
commitments into meaningful action remains
a challenge, especially in eastern Congo.
INTRODUCTION TO THE DRC
I first travelled to the DRC in early 2005 to
work for an international humanitarian aid
organisation based in the capital, Kinshasa.
This was in the run-up to the DRC's historic
2006 presidential and legislative elections –
the first since Congo's independence in 1960.
I was excited at the thought of participating in
this democratic process and made a point of
learning as much as I could about the country
before I arrived. One of my first responsibilities
was to work with local partners on developing
voter education materials in both French
HEARTS AND MINDS
A VOLATILE SITUATION
Armed UN peacekeepers in the back of a
pick-up in Goma, North Kivu in the DRC
©
SHUTTERSTOCK
