UNITED NATIONS (AP) — The Security Council on Tuesday voted unanimously to start the withdrawal of the U.N. peacekeeping force from Congo before the end of the year as the conflict-ridden country prepares to elect its next president on Wednesday.

The resolution adopted by the U.N.’s most powerful body orders “the gradual, responsible and sustainable withdrawal” of the peacekeeping mission, known as MONUSCO, starting in South Kivu in eastern Congo, and the gradual handover of its responsibilities to the Congolese government.

In a speech to the U.N. General Assembly in September, Congolese President Felix Tshisekedi, who is running for re-election against about 20 candidates, called for an accelerated withdrawal of the 15,000 peacekeepers. He has said “the phased withdrawal of the U.N. mission must be responsible and sustainable.”

Congo’s Foreign Minister Christophe Lutundula and the U.N.’s top official in Congo, Bintou Keita, signed agreements on Nov. 21 to end the presence of U.N. peacekeepers after more than two decades in the Central African nation.

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Eastern Congo has long been overrun by dozens of armed groups seeking a share of the region’s gold and other resources. Some have been quietly backed by Congo’s neighbors. U.N. experts have noted “substantial evidence” that Rwanda is supporting the resurgent M23 rebel group, which Rwanda has denied.

In October, the Congolese government directed an East African regional force, deployed last year to help end the fighting, to leave the country by December. The government alleged a “lack of satisfactory results on the ground.”

MONUSCO’s primary mission has been the protection of civilians. But frustrated Congolese say that no one is protecting them from rebel attacks, leading to protests against the U.N. mission and others that have at times turned deadly.

The Security Council said in Tuesday’s resolution that the withdrawal from South Kivu should be completed by the end of April 2024, and expressed readiness to consider further withdrawals at the end of this phase based on progress in the U.N. disengagement plan and the situation on the ground.

The council extended the mandate for MONUSCO until Dec. 20, 2024 and decided that its troop ceiling until June 30, 2024 should be 13,500 military personnel, 660 military observers and staff officers, and 2.001 international police. It ordered a reduction from July 1, 2024 to 11,500 military personnel, 600 military observers and staff officers and 1,713 international police.

The resolution strongly condemns all armed groups operating in Congo and demands that they immediately stop violent and destabilizing activities and the illegal exploitation and trafficking of the country’s natural resources.

It singles out “so-called ‘conflict minerals’ like tin, tantalum, tungsten, gold, diamonds, cobalt and coltan, as well as cocoa, charcoal, timber and wildlife” being exploited by armed groups and criminal networks supporting them.

The resolution reaffirms that eliminating the threat posed by armed groups requires a regional approach and strong political engagement by Congo’s government, the African Union and regional groups — and it calls for “calm and increased dialogue” between Congo and Rwanda to further peace in the region.

The council welcomed president Tshisekedi’s commitments and actions to reform the security sector, consolidate state authority and promote reconciliation, tolerance and democracy.

It called on the government to remain committed and allocate sufficient resources “to protecting the civilian population through the swift establishment of professional, accountable and sustainable security forces that respect international humanitarian law and domestic and international human rights law.” And it urged “the deployment of an accountable Congolese civil administration -- in particular the police, judiciary, prison and territorial administration -- and the consolidation of rule of law and promotion and protection of human rights.”

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