Maintain the UN mission in the Democratic Republic of Congo

The US must keep funding levels for UN troops intact until the Congolese government and security forces grow stronger.

from the April 23, 2007 edition

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The administration's budget projects a nearly $90 million cut – almost 35 percent – in the US share of the MONUC budget, which it says "assumes a significant reduction in mission size." As Congress looks to fund MONUC in the 2008 foreign operations spending bill, they should listen to what Mr. Swing – and more recently Secretary-General Ban Ki Moon – have said about the urgency of maintaining MONUC's force level. As the DRC government gains experience and its security forces become stronger and more efficient, some reductions will be possible and de­sirable. Until then, Congress must keep current funding levels intact.

The UN mission has in-creased humanitarian access, making possible the first Congolese elections in 40 years, and it now must build on that peace by taking on security sector reform. Rwandan and Ugandan rebels still operate in the DRC, several thousand Congolese militiamen continue to control isolated areas in the east, and the Congolese Army too often abuses the people it is meant to protect. Chiefs in the lakeside villages of Tchomia and Kasenyi recently told Oxfam that if the UN peacekeeping force were to close its base and stop patrols, the people would leave tomorrow because it simply would no longer be safe – at least not yet.

The International Crisis Group in Kinshasa recently reported that militias indeed need to be fully dismantled, but that demobilization alone is not enough to ensure stability. The full political rights of legitimate opposition parties must also be guaranteed for the infant democracy to flourish. The Bush administration should use all available diplomatic levers to assure a strong MONUC mandate that includes civilian protection, conflict prevention at the local and national levels, establishment of an international donors group, and promotion of political dialogue.

There is one constant lesson in post-conflict peacekeeping: Weakening a UN mandate and pulling troops out too soon almost always guarantees a return to war. This is precisely what occurred in Liberia and in East Timor. Despite enormous suffering and vast remaining challenges, the UN has helped create the space to build peace in the DRC. The country can't afford to lose that treasured space – nor can it afford to lose any more lives.

• Raymond C. Offenheiser is the president of Oxfam America, a nonprofit international development and relief agency. Mark L. Schneider is the senior vice president of the International Crisis Group, an international conflict prevention organization.

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