What exactly is the role of the United Nations system in the Democratic Republic of Congo?
The United Nations in the DRC is not only one peacekeeping mission -MONUC- but also 20 agencies and institutions of the United Nations system which help the country, its authorities and the population. Each one has its mandate, which is specific, and intervenes in the country with the invitation of the government, to answer, according to its expertise, to the needs of the population. To simplify, one could summarise what the United Nations does in the DRC in the following way. The first role of the United Nations is to help to protect, which is the role of MONUC in particular. MONUC made a big contribution to the return of peace and democratic institutions and now assists these institutions to better protect the population, both physically and in regard to their rights. The second role of the United Nations is the humanitarian role: to help the population, by mitigating the effects of the worst crises, in terms of food, health and sanitation for example. Here one finds the UN system ag
