OCHA briefs the informal Security Council Expert Group on the Protection of Civilians in the Democratic Republic of the Congo

On 6 June, the Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) briefed the informal Security Council Expert Group on the Protection of Civilians on the issues pertaining to the protection of civilians in the Democratic Republic of the Congo.

On the basis of information received from humanitarian and human rights actors in the field and at the headquarters, OCHA raised the following key protection concerns:

• The impact on civilians of armed violence (military operations of the Forces Armees de la Republique Democratique du Congo against armed groups and retaliatory attacks; attacks by armed groups, including the Lord's Resistance Army);

• Conflict-related displacement, and challenges to sustainable returns and other durable solutions;

• The specific impact of violence on children (child recruitment and other grave violations committed by parties to the conflict);

• Sexual violence;

• The implementation of MONUSCO's conditionality policy and remaining challenges.

The Security Council's Expert Group on the Protection of Civilians is an informal forum chaired by the United Kingdom that was established at the beginning of 2009, in which OCHA - on behalf of the humanitarian community - brings to the attention of the Security Council current key protection concerns in a particular context on its agenda.