Co-submitters are any delegates who have either participated in the construction of this resolution (e.g. merging, contributing clauses) or alternatively have signed that they would like to see this resolution debated in committee.

Committee: The Security Council

Question of: The Democratic Republic of Congo

Main Submitter: France

Co-submitters: USA, Brazil, China, Egypt, Gabon, Ghana, Greece, India, Ireland, Mexico, Norway, Poland, UAE and UK

THE SECURITY COUNCIL,

Reminding that only 41% of the urban population of the DRC has access to electricity, with only 1% of the rural population having access,

Further Reaffirming its strong commitment to the sovereignty, independence, unity and territorial integrity of the DRC as well as all States in the region and emphasising the need to respect, fully, the principles of non-interference, good-neighbourliness and regional cooperation,

Expressing great concern over the humanitarian situation that has left an estimated 27 million Congolese in need of humanitarian assistance,

Emphasises Article 3 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights reads, ‘Everyone has the right to life, liberty and security of person’and Article 5 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights reads, ‘No one shall be subjected to torture or to cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment’, 

Concerned by an OCHA report in November 2021 that found 27 million people in the DRC are experiencing high levels of food insecurity, the highest of any country, and that nearly 860,000 children under the age of 5 are likely to suffer acute malnutrition in 2022,

Noting with concern the 10 Ebola outbreaks that have occurred in the nation since it was first identified in the 1970s, with the most recent outbreak being declared a public health emergency of international concern by the World Health Organisation on July 17th 2019,

Concerned that 7.6 million children between the ages of 5-17 are out of school,

Recognizing that around 60% of the country’s labour force is currently employed in the domestic agricultural industry,

1.Emphasises that only a sustained focus on long-term development will break the cycle of conflict and poverty in the DRC as well as the necessity for development agencies, donors and governments and UN bodies to find ways to cooperate with the DRC government to ensure that the following measures are carried out: 

a) an outlined and cumulative wage scheme that is either a fixed salary or proportional to the company or bodies earnings ensuring proper and appropriate pay,  

b) fixed staggered break times that are contractually outlined,  

c) sanitary facilities are provided in all workplaces with: 

i) toilets and hand washing stations,  

ii) lunch stations and separate break areas to where labour is being carried out,  

iii) random inspections carried out by UN or DRC observers ensuring sanitary and human working conditions have been implemented,  

iv) sanitary bins and supplies, 

d) legislation of the DRC ensures that facilitators that have not uphold basic standards outlined be subjected to a trial by a judicial commission which can prosecute perpetrators;  

2. Requests that the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) offer tax breaks to companies both national and international of size greater than 20 employees with support of the UN if they have a minimum 75 percent of employees being DRC citizens to promote the employment of DRC citizens to help create more employment opportunities and further reduce poverty in the region with additional tax breaks for companies who ensure at least a quarter of their workforce is female or of racial minority;

3. Urges for the promotion and support of primary education in the Democratic Republic of Congo in conjunction with the state's government, UNESCO and UNICEF, in order to encourage the development of the country's labour force and skill set allowing for greater opportunities with an easier and equal access to education for all children and families regardless of their race, gender, religion or wealth respecting their right to education through means such as but not limited to:

a) Building of new school buildings and the redevelopment of present buildings,

b) National mass media campaign, using all available forms, educating the public on the importance of an education,

c) Education of new teachers to allow for a better quality of teaching and reducing class sizes,

d) Providing school supplies and school meals to students supplied by the World Food Programme;

4. Approves the creation of a bi-annual conference, the first meeting of which will be held in 6 months time in the United Nations Headquarters for Africa in Nairobi, Kenya. To be attended by the Head of Government of the Democratic Republic of the Congo, the United Nations Security Council, the High Commissioner for Human Rights alongside senior leadership from MONUSCO, the Department of Peacekeeping Operations (DPKO), the United Nations Police (UNPOL) and the United Nations Office of Counter Terrorism (UNOCT) as well as all other relevant UN bodies and surrounding African Union states to discuss all matters pertaining to the United Nations' involvement in assisting the government of the DRC such as through maintaining peace & security in the region;

5. Calls on the UN to provide adequate resources and education on agricultural farming in the DRC equally to both men and women in order to enhance food security and increase household incomes, along with aid in forms such as:

a) providing mechanical machinery such as tractors,

b) providing and encouraging the use of drought-resistant crops,

c) funding for mobile veterinary operations for a two-fold effect of both garnering support from the population as well as maintaining healthy overall livestock in the region,

d) funding drip irrigation systems,

e) grants to support farmers;

6. Further calls upon the creation of a new United Nations subcommittee to be named the United Nations Subcommittee on Congolese Displaced Persons and Refugees (UNSCDPR) which will work in conjunction with the SC committee concerning the DRC and administered by the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) that will: 

a) Co-operate with regional and local authorities and NGOs in those provinces where displaced persons are prevalent to ensure said displaced persons receive necessary resources, shelter and security and to monitor their presence by authorising the reallocation of peacekeeping personnel to ensure the safety and security of displaced persons camps that are at high risk of attack,  

b) Liaison with other African governments currently holding Congolese refugees and NGOs to ensure said refugees are fairly treated and receive basic necessities and to monitor their presence, 

c) begin talks with all relevant parties to organise the relocation of both Congolese displaced persons and refugees decided by the relevant governments to their place of origin once the regions of origin are considered sufficiently secure and stable by the Security Council to do so,  

d) open channels of discussion between relevant member nations who have the capacity to accept refugees fleeing from the conflict zones to assist in the securement of visas and work permits for the refugees who seek housing and asylum in foreign member nations as a refuge from the conflict ongoing in their homeland and ensuring that refugee camps remain as a short-term, temporary mode of accommodation;  

7. Further calls for the UN to provide aid towards the creation of renewable energy infrastructure in the DRC including, but not limited to:

a) supplying funding for the design of 5 more dams to complete the envisionment of the Grand Inga Dam system, southwest of Kinasha on the Congo River,

b) providing training for personnel to manage these hydroelectric plants,

c) Providing materials for the construction of the dam including:

i) construction materials,

ii) mechanical machinery, 

d) providing funding to increase sustainability with the joining of the power grid that can connect the DRC to the energy output of the Inga dam system,

e) provide funding for the construction of infrastructure such as solar panel farms focused on the creation of solar power,

f) provide funding for the construction of power lines with the assistance of electrical teams consisting of electricians and electrical engineers in conjunction with UN Energy to survey the feasibility of the route of these power lines and the introduction and provision of the electricity carried by the lines into homes and businesses, particularly in rural areas; 

8. Strongly urges that the United Nations Office of Counter Terrorism (UNOCT) in conjunction with the already in place United Nations Police & MONUSCO personnel, alongside the relevant law enforcement agencies in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, investigate the attacks committed by militant organisations against the civilian population, including internally displaced people camps and to report their findings to the United Nations Office of Legal Affairs, the Under Secretary General for Peace Operations and the International Criminal Court; 

9. Further urges all member nations continue or start to provide aid to the population of the of the DRC, through the Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) to combat humanitarian issues across the region in conjunction with UNESCO and with the protection of peacekeeping personnel and/ or regional police/armed forces to ensure this aid reaches the citizens of the DRC, upon consent by the DRC, the lack of such consent will cause the aid to be rediverted and redistributed depending on a decision of the SC, the aid is to entail aspects such as but not limited to:  

a) supplying essential supplies such as shelter, non-perishable foods, drinkable water, basic hygiene supplies, and first aid kits, 

b) medical supplies facilitated by the WHO along with personnel that have been vetted by local authorities to combat and prepare for future epidemics in the region such as a new mass outbreak of Ebola such as but not limited to:

i) expand ICU capacity by providing ventilators, 

ii) providing PPE equipment, 

c) economic aid and funding in the form of grants to be supplied for infrastructure such as regional and national transportation systems, 

d) medical centres and hospitals with fully trained personnel present, as well as high quality medical equipment, to provide medical care along with initiatives such as but not limited to: 

i) vaccination programmes against diseases such as malaria, hepatitis B, measles and polio,  

ii) providing contraceptive measures through door to door initiatives, 

iii) providing household equipment for disease protection such as insecticide-treated nets and water filters,

iv) providing female sanitary supplies; 

10. Further urges member nations, along with relevant UN bodies, including MONUSCO, and the DRC government, to engage in initiatives to counteract sexual abuses, through ways such as but not limited to: 

a) providing funding for international NGOs working in eastern DRC to counteract sexual abuses such as kidnapping, rape, sexual slavery, forced prostitution and genital mutilation, 

b)cooperation between MONUSCO police forces and local communities to uncover groups carrying out sexual abuses, and holding them accountable for their actions by a judicial commission which will decide the appropriate prosecution, 

c) mass media campaigns to educate people on measures to prevent sexual abuse and crime, through measures such as but not limited to: 

i) biodegradable posters in community centres, 

ii) education campaigns;