UN eases weapons embargo on DRC, extends peacekeeping force

The United Nations Security Council has passed a resolution that eases a weapons embargo on the Democratic Republic of Congo, a move hailed by Kinshasa as an "injustice repaired."

The Tuesday resolution removes a stipulation that previously required countries to inform the 15-member council of arms sales or military assistance to the DRC government.

"A battle won, an injustice repaired," government spokesperson Patrick Muyaya wrote on Twitter after passing the resolution.

Kinshasa has long complained that the requirement created an unnecessary bureaucratic hurdle in its battle with militia groups.

The DRC has been subject to the UN arms embargo since 2000, originally imposed over widespread violence in the central African nation.

In 2008, the Security Council amended the sanctions regime to apply only to armed groups.

The rules still required the government to notify a monitoring committee of arms purchases, however.

Earlier this year, the Council prolonged the regime but reduced the notification requirements for certain weapons purchases.

Kinshasa continued to push for the restrictions to be lifted amid a surge of clashes with the M23 militia in the east.

Diplomats in New York came under increasing pressure to act amid allegations that they were obstructing the Congolese military from protecting civilians.

READ MORE: Congolese refugees slam global community for its silence over atrocities

MONUSCO extension

The Council also voted to renew the mandate of the UN's DRC peacekeeping mission, MONUSCO, for another year.

The resolution that extends the UN peacekeeping force in DRC strongly condemns all domestic and foreign armed groups operating in the country and demands they immediately cease all violence and destabilising actions “and the illegal exploitation and trafficking of natural resources.”

It also demands the immediate withdrawal of M23 rebels, who have been fighting a coalition of armed civilian protection militias in the east for more than a year, as agreed at a mini-summit in the Angolan capital Luanda in late November and endorsed by the African Union.

It also expresses concern about reported links between Uganda-based Allied Democratic Forces rebels and “terrorist networks” in eastern DRC. 

The M23, or "March 23 Movement", first leapt to global prominence in 2012 when it briefly captured Goma, an important commercial hub of about a million people in North Kivu province.

A joint offensive by UN and Congolese troops drove the rebels out in 2013. But after lying mostly dormant for years, the M23 resumed fighting last year after accusing the government of failing to honour an agreement to incorporate its fighters into the army.

The DRC has accused neighbouring Rwanda of backing the M23, which Kigali has repeatedly denied.

READ MORE: M23 rebels killed dozens of civilians in DRC late last month – UN