               United Nations                                                                 S/RES/1906 (2009)
               Security Council                                               Distr.: General
                                                                              23 December 2009




               Resolution 1906 (2009)
               Adopted by the Security Council at its 6253rd meeting, on
               23 December 2009

                    The Security Council,
                    Recalling its previous resolutions, in particular resolution 1896 (2009),
               1856 (2008), 1843 (2008), and the statements of its President concerning the
               Democratic Republic of the Congo,
                     Reaffirming its commitment to the sovereignty, territorial integrity and
               political independence of the Democratic Republic of the Congo,
                     Stressing the primary responsibility of the Government of the Democratic
               Republic of the Congo for ensuring security in its territory and protecting its
               civilians with respect for the rule of law, human rights and international
               humanitarian law, and stressing the importance of urgently undertaking
               comprehensive and lasting security sector reform and of permanently disarming,
               demobilizing, resettling or repatriating, as appropriate, and reintegrating Congolese
               and foreign armed groups for the long-term stabilization of the Democratic Republic
               of the Congo, and of the contribution made by international partners in this field,
                     Calling on all parties to armed conflict in the Great Lakes region to comply
               with the obligations applicable to them under international humanitarian law to take
               all required steps to protect civilians and to facilitate the rapid and unimpeded
               passage of relief consignments, equipment and personnel,
                    Encouraging the countries of the Great Lakes region to maintain a high level
               of commitment to jointly promote peace and stability in the region and welcoming
               the recent improvements in the relations between the Governments of the
               Democratic Republic of the Congo and Rwanda, Uganda and Burundi,
                     Stressing that the Goma and Nairobi processes as well as the 23 March 2009
               Agreements are the appropriate framework for stabilising the situation in the eastern
               part of the Democratic Republic of the Congo, and urging all parties to fully abide
               by and implement these agreements,
                    Deeply concerned that some militias and armed groups in the eastern part of
               the Democratic Republic of the Congo have not yet laid down their arms and
               continue to prey on the population,



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                     Expressing its extreme concern at the deteriorating humanitarian and human
               rights situation and the continued impunity of those responsible for human rights
               abuses and other atrocities, condemning in particular the targeted attacks against the
               civilian population, widespread sexual violence, recruitment and use of child
               soldiers and extrajudicial executions, stressing the urgent need for the Government
               of the Democratic Republic of the Congo, in cooperation with the United Nations
               Organization Mission in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (MONUC) and
               other relevant actors, to end violations of human rights and international
               humanitarian law, and to bring the perpetrators to justice, and calling on Member
               States to assist in this regard and to continue to provide medical, humanitarian and
               other assistance to victims,
                    Calling upon all parties concerned to create the conditions conducive to a
               voluntary, safe, dignified and sustainable return of refugees and internally displaced
               persons,
                     Welcoming the commitments made by the Government of the Democratic
               Republic of the Congo to hold accountable those responsible for atrocities in the
               country, noting the cooperation of the Government of the Democratic Republic of
               the Congo with the International Criminal Court, and stressing the importance of
               actively seeking to hold accountable those responsible for war crimes and crimes
               against humanity in the country,
                     Recalling its resolutions 1325 (2000), 1820 (2008), 1888 (2009) and
               1889 (2009) on women and peace and security, its resolution 1502 (2003) on the
               protection of United Nations personnel, associated personnel and humanitarian
               personnel in conflict zones, its resolutions 1674 (2006) and 1894 (2009) on the
               protection of civilians in armed conflicts, and its resolutions 1612 (2005) and
               1882 (2009) on children and armed conflict, and recalling the conclusions of the
               Security Council Working Group on Children and Armed Conflict pertaining to
               parties in the armed conflict of the Democratic Republic of the Congo
               (S/AC.51/2009/3),
                     Emphasizing that the linkage between the illicit exploitation and trade of
               natural resources and the proliferation and trafficking of arms is one of the major
               factors fuelling and exacerbating conflicts in the Great Lakes region, particularly in
               the Democratic Republic of the Congo, urging all States, particularly those in the
               region, to implement fully the measures set out by its resolution 1896 (2009), and
               reiterating its determination to continue to closely monitor the implementation and
               compliance with the measures set out by the resolution 1896 (2009),
                    Underscoring the long-term, sustainable efforts needed from the Government
               of the Democratic Republic of the Congo to provide a calendar for local, general
               and presidential elections, with full respect for the provisions of the Constitution, to
               consolidate democracy and promote the rule of law, democratic governance,
               recovery and development, with the support of its international partners,
                    Expressing its full support for MONUC, condemning all attacks against United
               Nations peacekeepers and humanitarian personnel, regardless of their perpetrators,
               and emphasizing that those responsible for such attacks must be brought to justice,
                    Taking note of the 30th regular report of the Secretary-General on the United
               Nations Organization Mission in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, dated
               4 December 2009 (S/2009/623), and of its recommendations,


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                Determining that the situation in the Democratic Republic of the Congo
           continues to pose a threat to international peace and security in the region,
                Acting under Chapter VII of the Charter of the United Nations,
                 1.    Decides to extend the deployment of MONUC until 31 May 2010, with
           the intention to extend it further at that date for twelve months, authorizes the
           continuation until that date of up to 19,815 military personnel, 760 military
           observers, 391 police personnel and 1,050 personnel of formed police units, and
           stresses its intention to consider in the subsequent resolution assessing and adjusting
           the mandate and to remain strongly committed to contributing to the long-term
           stability of the Democratic Republic of the Congo;
                 2.    Requests the Secretary-General to conduct a strategic review of the
           situation in the Democratic Republic of the Congo and MONUC’s progress toward
           achieving its mandate, taking into account the Integrated Strategic Framework for
           the United Nations presence in the country, to further develop the existing
           benchmarks for this purpose, and to determine, in close cooperation with the
           Government of the Democratic Republic of the Congo and MONUC troop- and
           police-contributing countries, the modalities of a reconfiguration of the mandate of
           MONUC, in particular the critical tasks that need to be accomplished before
           MONUC can envisage its drawdown without triggering a relapse into instability,
           and to report to the Security Council with recommendations by 1 April 2010;
                 3.   Urges the Government of the Democratic Republic of the Congo to
           establish sustainable peace in the eastern part of the country, to effectively protect
           the civilian population, to develop sustainable security sector institutions which
           fully respect the rule of law, and to ensure respect for human rights and the fight
           against impunity by strengthening the capacity of the judicial and correctional
           systems;
                 4.     Recognizes the interrelated nature of the effective protection of civilians,
           reduction and removal of the threat of armed groups, and comprehensive and
           sustainable security sector reform, and underlines that efforts made in each of these
           key areas contributes significantly and with complementarity both to the aim of
           improving the humanitarian situation and to the strategic objective of peace and
           stability in the Democratic Republic of the Congo;
                 5.   Decides that, from the adoption of this resolution, MONUC, working in
           close cooperation with the Government of the Democratic Republic of the Congo,
           shall have the following mandate, in order of priority:
                (a) Ensure the effective protection of civilians, humanitarian personnel and
           United Nations personnel and facilities, in accordance with paragraph 3 (a) to (e)
           and 4 (c) of resolution 1856 (2008) and paragraphs 7 to 18 below;
                 (b) Carry out enhanced activities of disarmament, demobilization and
           reintegration (DDR) of Congolese armed groups and of disarmament,
           demobilization, repatriation, resettlement and reintegration (DDRRR) of foreign
           armed groups, including as set out in paragraphs 19 to 28 below and paragraphs
           3 (n) to 3 (p) of resolution 1856 (2008);
                (c) Support the security sector reform led by the Government of the
           Democratic Republic of the Congo, including as set out in paragraphs 29 to
           38 below;


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                    6.    Authorizes MONUC to use all necessary means, within the limits of its
               capacity and in the areas where its units are deployed, to carry out the tasks of its
               mandate listed in paragraph 3 (a) to (e) of resolution 1856 (2008) and paragraphs 9,
               20, 21 and 24 below;

               Protection of civilians, including humanitarian personnel and human rights
               defenders, and United Nations personnel and facilities
                     7.   Emphasizes that the protection of civilians, as described in paragraph
               5 (a), must be given priority in decisions about the use of available capacity and
               resources, over any of the other tasks described in paragraph 5 (b) and (c);
                     8.    Recalls that the protection of civilians requires a coordinated response
               from all relevant mission components and encourages MONUC to enhance
               interaction, under the authority of the Special Representative of the Secretary-General, between its civil and military components at all levels and humanitarian
               actors, in order to consolidate expertise on the protection of civilians;
                     9.   Requests MONUC to build on best practices and extend successful
               protection measures on protection piloted in North Kivu, in particular the
               establishment of Joint Protection Teams, Early Warning Centres, communications
               liaisons with local villages and other measures, to other areas, particularly South
               Kivu;
                    10. Demands that all armed groups, in particular the Forces Démocratiques
               de Libération du Rwanda (FDLR) and the Lord’s Resistance Army (LRA),
               immediately cease all forms of violence and human rights abuse against the civilian
               population in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, in particular gender-based
               violence, including rape and other forms of sexual abuse;
                     11. Demands that the Government of the Democratic Republic of the Congo,
               in furtherance of resolution 1888 (2009), immediately take appropriate measures to
               protect civilians, including women and children, from violations of international
               humanitarian law and human rights abuses, including all forms of sexual violence;
               urges the Government of the Democratic Republic of the Congo to ensure the full
               implementation of its “zero-tolerance policy” with respect to discipline and human
               rights violations, including sexual and gender-based violence, committed by
               elements of the Armed Forces of the Democratic Republic of the Congo (FARDC)
               and further urges that all reports of such violations be thoroughly investigated, with
               the support of MONUC, and that all those responsible be brought to justice through
               a robust and independent process;
                     12. Requests the Secretary-General to continue to fully investigate the
               allegations of sexual exploitation and abuse by civilian and military personnel of
               MONUC, and to take the appropriate measures set out in the Secretary-General’s
               bulletin on special measures for protection from sexual exploitation and sexual
               abuse (ST/SGB/2003/13);
                     13. Requests the Secretary-General to ensure that technical support is
               provided, in predeployment and in theatre, to MONUC’s troop- and policecontributing countries to include guidance and training for military and police
               personnel on the protection of civilians from imminent threat and appropriate
               responses, including on human rights, sexual violence and gender issues;



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                14. Encourages MONUC to enhance its interaction with the civilian
           population to raise awareness and understanding about its mandate and activities
           and to collect reliable information on violations of international humanitarian law
           and human rights abuses perpetrated against civilians;
                 15. Demands that all armed groups, in particular the FDLR and LRA,
           immediately stop recruiting and using children and release all children associated
           with them and calls upon the Government of the Democratic Republic of the Congo
           to continue to work with MONUC, the Monitoring and Reporting Mechanism and
           other relevant actors to finalise the elaboration of an Action Plan to release children
           present in FARDC and to prevent further recruitment;
                 16. Calls upon the governments of the Great Lakes region to coordinate their
           efforts to address the threat posed by the LRA and strongly encourages enhanced
           regular information-sharing about the LRA in this respect, with MONUC and other
           United Nations Missions in the areas where the LRA is threatening the population
           and requests the Secretary-General to enhance cooperation and information-sharing
           between United Nations missions in the region on all issues related to regional
           security threats;
                 17. Calls upon the States in the region to ensure that any military actions
           against armed groups are carried out in accordance with international humanitarian,
           human rights and refugee law, and that they take appropriate measures to protect
           civilians and reduce the impact of military actions upon the civilian population,
           including through regular contacts with and early warning of the civilian population
           on potential attacks;
                 18. Requests the Special Representative of the Secretary-General to identify
           women’s protection advisers (WPAs) among MONUC’s gender advisers and human
           rights protection units in line with MONUC’s comprehensive strategy against sexual
           violence;

           DDR of Congolese armed groups and DDRRR of foreign armed groups
                 19. Demands that all armed groups, in particular the FDLR, the LRA and
           other foreign armed groups immediately lay down their arms and demands further
           that the Congolese armed groups present themselves without any further delay or
           preconditions to Congolese authorities and MONUC for DDR, and that the foreign
           armed groups similarly present themselves to Congolese authorities and MONUC
           for DDRRR;
                 20. Underlines that MONUC shall deter any attempt at the use of force to
           threaten the Goma and Nairobi processes from any armed group, particularly in the
           eastern part of the Democratic Republic of the Congo, and undertake all necessary
           operations to prevent attacks on civilians and disrupt the military capability of
           armed groups that continue to use violence in that area;
                 21. Requests MONUC, working in close cooperation with the Government of
           the Democratic Republic of the Congo, to continue its coordination of operations
           with the FARDC brigades deployed in the eastern part of the Democratic Republic
           of the Congo, premised on the protection of civilians as a priority, on operations
           being jointly planned with these brigades, and in accordance with its Policy Paper
           referenced in paragraph 23 below, with a view to:



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                     (a) Disarming foreign and Congolese armed groups in targeted areas in order
               to ensure their participation in the DDRRR and DDR process;
                    (b) Holding the territories cleared of armed groups in order to ensure the
               protection of civilian populations;
                     (c) Helping the Government of the Democratic Republic of the Congo to
               restore its authority in these territories, in particular in the eastern part of the
               Democratic Republic of the Congo, areas freed from armed groups and key mining
               areas;
                     (d) Carrying out enhanced efforts to prevent the provision of support to
               armed groups, including support derived from illicit economic activities and illicit
               trade in natural resources;
                     22. Reiterates, consistent with paragraphs 3 (g) and 14 of resolution
               1856 (2008) that the support of MONUC to FARDC-led military operations against
               foreign and Congolese armed groups is strictly conditioned on FARDC’s compliance
               with international humanitarian, human rights and refugee law and on an effective
               joint planning of these operations, decides that MONUC military leadership shall
               confirm, prior to providing any support to such operations that sufficient joint
               planning has been undertaken, especially regarding the protection of the civilian
               population, calls upon MONUC to intercede with the FARDC command if elements
               of a FARDC unit receiving MONUC’s support are suspected of having committed
               grave violations of such laws, and if the situation persists, calls upon MONUC to
               withdraw support from these FARDC units;
                     23. Notes in this regard the development by MONUC of a Policy Paper
               setting out the conditions under which the Mission can provide support to FARDC
               units, and requests the Secretary-General to establish an appropriate mechanism to
               regularly assess the implementation of this Policy;
                     24. Urges MONUC, in close cooperation with other partners, including the
               World Bank and United Nations Development Programme, to contribute further to
               the implementation of DDR of Congolese combatants and their dependents, with
               particular attention to children, by monitoring the disarmament process and
               providing, as appropriate, security in some sensitive locations, as well as supporting
               reintegration efforts pursued by the Congolese authorities in cooperation with the
               United Nations Country Team and bilateral and multilateral partners;
                     25. Urges MONUC to enhance its support to the voluntary demobilization
               and repatriation of disarmed foreign combatants and their dependents and calls upon
               the Governments of the Democratic Republic of the Congo and the neighbouring
               States to remain engaged in this process;
                   26. Urges the Governments of the Democratic Republic of the Congo and
               Rwanda to work together and to agree on a clear set of end-state objectives on the
               FDLR, in the framework of a multidimensional approach;
                     27. Urges all States to take appropriate legal action against FDLR leaders
               residing in their countries, including through effective implementation of the
               sanctions regime established by resolution 1533 (2004) and renewed by its
               resolution 1896 (2009);




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                 28. Urges all States, especially those in the region, to take appropriate steps
           to end the illicit trade in natural resources, including if necessary through judicial
           means, and, where necessary, to report to the Security Council, and urges MONUC,
           in accordance with paragraph 3 (j) of resolution 1856 (2008), to consolidate and
           assess, jointly with the Government of the Democratic Republic of the Congo, its
           pilot project of bringing together all State services in five trading counters in North
           and South Kivu in order to improve the traceability of mineral products;

           Support for security sector reform
                 29. Reiterates the primary responsibility of the Government of the
           Democratic Republic of the Congo regarding the reform of its security sector, and
           encourages the Government of the Democratic Republic of the Congo, working in
           cooperation with MONUC and other international partners, to build a core, wellvetted, multi-ethnic force, whose size, composition and structure should be
           developed by the Government, with the support of MONUC, with a view to
           strengthening the capacity, discipline and professionalism of the FARDC;
                30. Requests MONUC, in cooperation with the Congolese authorities, to
           coordinate the efforts of the international community, including all bilateral and
           multilateral actors working in this field, on security sector reform issues, and calls
           upon all Member States and international organisations to fully cooperate with
           MONUC in this regard;
                 31. Further requests MONUC to provide military training, including in the
           area of human rights, international humanitarian law, child protection and the
           prevention of gender-based and sexual violence, to the FARDC, including to the
           integrated brigades deployed in the eastern part of the Democratic Republic of the
           Congo, as part of broader international efforts to support security sector reform;
                 32. Reiterates its call upon the Congolese authorities, with the support of
           MONUC, to establish an effective vetting mechanism, in accordance with
           international standards, for the FARDC and the national security forces, to ensure
           the exclusion of those persons associated with violations of international
           humanitarian law and human rights abuses and to trigger the judicial process against
           such persons where appropriate;
                 33. Encourages the Government of the Democratic Republic of the Congo,
           with the support of MONUC, to ensure that armed groups newly integrated into the
           FARDC are deployed throughout the country and not restricted to their regions of
           origin;
                34. Urges the Government of the Democratic Republic of the Congo to
           expeditiously adopt legislation related to the reform of the FARDC, the High
           Defence Council and the status of the FARDC military personnel by the Parliament,
           as well as the legislation on police reform, urges further the Government of the
           Democratic Republic of the Congo to ensure progress in their implementation
           within the timeframe of this resolution, and urges further still the adoption of a
           comprehensive national strategy for the security sector on the whole territory;
                35. Requests that the Government of the Democratic Republic of the Congo,
           with the support of MONUC and other international partners, ensure appropriate
           conditions for the FARDC, including attributing ranks to the newly integrated
           elements, ensuring salary payments and equipments and providing barracks;


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                    36. Calls upon all the parties to the March 23 Agreements to fulfil their
               commitments and accelerate the implementation of all aspects of, the Agreements
               and requests MONUC to assist in this regard by helping with the integration of the
               armed groups and the establishment of mechanisms for resolving local disputes as
               foreseen in those Agreements;
                     37. Recommends that the Government of the Democratic Republic of Congo,
               in particular through the FARDC and the Congolese National Police (PNC), working
               in cooperation with MONUC, pursue its efforts to maintain a comprehensive and
               accurate database containing all the available information on the weapons and
               ammunition under their custody;
                     38. Demands that all parties cooperate fully with the operations of MONUC
               and that they ensure the security of as well as unhindered and immediate access for
               United Nations and associated personnel in carrying out their mandate, throughout
               the territory of the Democratic Republic of the Congo, and requests the Secretary-General to report without delay any failure to comply with these demands;
                     39. Requests MONUC and the United Nations Country Team to continue
               their support to extend State authority in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, in
               particular within the framework of the Government’s Stabilization and
               Reconstruction Plan (STAREC) and the United Nations Security and Stabilization
               Support Strategy (UNSSSS), with a particular emphasis on strengthening
               democratic institutions and building effective rule of law capacity, including justice
               and corrections;
                     40. Requests the Secretary-General to provide a briefing on the
               implementation of the system-wide protection strategy and a progress report on the
               Integrated Strategic Framework to the Security Council and troop- and policecontributing countries by 16 February 2010;
                     41. Requests further the Secretary-General to provide a full report on the
               situation in the Democratic Republic of the Congo and on MONUC’s activities, by
               1 April 2010, in order to prepare the strategic review as set out in paragraph 2 of this
               resolution, and that this full report should include:
                     (a) Specific information on the challenges of MONUC’s role in the
               protection of civilians, an assessment of existing protection mechanisms, in
               particular the measures described in paragraphs 8, 9, 11, 12 and 13 of this
               resolution, and assessment of special measures for protection from sexual violence;
                     (b) Assessment of the implementation of the Policy Paper setting out the
               conditions of MONUC’s support to FARDC as described in paragraphs 22 and 23 of
               this resolution;
                    (c) Information on the further deployment and use of the additional
               capabilities authorized by resolution 1843 (2008);
                     (d) Assessment of the progress in the security sector reform, including the
               effectiveness of the training measures set out in paragraph 31 of this resolution;
                    42. Commends the contribution of troop- and police-contributing countries
               and donors to MONUC and calls on Member States to pledge and contribute the
               remaining helicopters, air capabilities, intelligence assets and other force enablers
               required for the Mission;



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                 43. Requests the Secretary-General to ensure that MONUC’s concept of
           operation and rules of engagement are regularly updated to bring them fully in line
           with the provisions of this resolution and to report on this to the Security Council
           and troop-contributing countries;
                44. Requests the Secretary-General, through his Special Representative for
           the Democratic Republic of the Congo, to continue to coordinate all the activities of
           the United Nations system in the Democratic Republic of the Congo;
                45.   Decides to remain actively seized of the matter.




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