STORY: UN peacekeeping mission withdrawing from DR Congo initiated: envoy
DATELINE: June 22, 2023
LENGTH: 00:02:03
LOCATION: Kinshasa
CATEGORY: POLITICS

SHOTLIST:
1. various of the press conference hosted by MONUSCO
2. SOUNDBITE (French): BINTOU KEITA, UN secretary-general's special representative for DRC
3. various of streets and people in the Democratic Republic of the Congo

STORYLINE:

The United Nations Organization Stabilization Mission in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (MONUSCO) has already initiated the withdrawal of its mission in the country, said MONUSCO chief Bintou Keita earlier this week.

The withdrawal is made "on the basis of the achievement of the minimum conditions of the most important milestones of the transition plan," the UN envoy said at a joint press conference with the Congolese Minister of Communication and Media Patrick Muyaya.

The exact timeline was not specified, added Keita, who is the UN secretary-general's special representative for the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC).

SOUNDBITE (French): BINTOU KEITA, UN secretary-general's special representative for DRC
"We all agree to ensure a responsible withdrawal of MONUSCO under the mandate of Resolution 2666 adopted by the Security Council on Dec. 20, 2022. Considering hundreds of internally displaced people in the country, we need to make sure that there is not a vacuum with MONUSCO's withdrawal. We have been in dialogue with the Congolese authorities, which I think is positive."

According to Muyaya, the Congolese government granted the request for the departure of MONUSCO, while stressing that the process must be done "in an organized, civilized and structured manner."

"We cannot set a date, because there may be several unforeseen and imponderables," he said.

The UN peacekeeping mission has been present in the country since 1999. It is one of the largest and most expensive in the world, with an annual budget of around 1 billion dollars.

Xinhua News Agency correspondents reporting from Kinshasa.
(XHTV)