Mr President,
I would first like to thank the Secretary-General for Peace Operations, the Special Representative of the Secretary-General, and the Assistant Secretary-General for Humanitarian Affairs for their interventions. I welcome the presence among us of the Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Democratic Republic of Congo.
The Security Council is meeting today due to the rapid deterioration of the situation in North Kivu, Democratic Republic of the Congo, the capture of Saké and the encirclement of Goma by the M23, enabled by active support of the Rwanda Defense Forces. The situation is serious and this Council must take stock of it.
France reaffirms its solidarity with the Democratic Republic of Congo and its unwavering attachment to its territorial integrity and sovereignty. She expresses her very serious concern about the dangerous escalation of the conflict in North Kivu around Goma. It strongly condemns the ongoing offensive led by the M23, actively supported by Rwanda. The presence in the DRC of a foreign military force against the will of the Congolese state is a clear violation of the United Nations Charter. This offensive, like the support for armed groups by all parties, poses a major risk to the security of civilian populations and is currently leading to the displacement of tens of thousands of civilians. The M23 must immediately cease its offensive and withdraw from the territories it has taken control of.
France urges a return to the ceasefire and a resumption of dialogue. There is no military solution to the conflict. The President of the Republic, Emmanuel Macron, reminded this yesterday to Presidents Kagame and Tshisekedi with whom he spoke.
The dialogue initiated within the framework of the Luanda and Nairobi processes, with the full support of France, must resume without delay. A political process must restart. France is ready to support it. Force is not an option. In this context, France calls for the withdrawal of Rwandan troops from Congolese territory and the implementation of the plan to dismantle the Democratic Forces for the Liberation of Rwanda, in accordance with the commitments made within the framework of the Luanda process.
-Finally, France expresses its full support for MONUSCO, which plays an indispensable role in the protection of civilians, and whose mandate was unanimously renewed on December 20. We strongly condemn the attacks carried out by the M23 against it, which have already led to the death of several peacekeepers in recent days. We recall that attacks against peacekeepers are likely to constitute war crimes.
We salute the courage of the soldiers deployed as part of MONUSCO and we express our condolences to the families of those who made the ultimate sacrifice, as well as to South Africa, Uruguay and Malawi. France also condemns all measures that hinder MONUSCO’s ability to carry out its mandate, in particular the deployment of surface-to-air missile systems and GPS signal jamming in areas controlled by the M23, with direct support of the Rwandan Defense Forces.
The reactions of the international community must be commensurate with the humanitarian and political consequences caused by the ongoing M23 offensive supported by the Rwandan defense forces. France calls on the entire Security Council to mobilize and condemn with one voice this serious threat to regional and international peace and security, as the Secretary-General of the United Nations did again this morning in very clear terms.
Thank you.
