Entre as operações de manutenção da paz e a democracia: a atuação da MONUC na República Democrática do Congo (1999-2010)

Abstract

The Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) has faced decades of instability, marked by prolonged conflicts, internal disputes, escalating violence, and recurring humanitarian crises. In this context, this study aims to analyze the role of the United Nations Mission in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (MONUC) and investigate how its limitations impacted the country's democratic transition process. To achieve this, the research examines the mission’s history, its strategies, and the challenges encountered throughout its implementation. The study is justified by the need to understand the challenges faced by United Nations (UN) peacekeeping operations in prolonged conflict scenarios and the limitations in institutional reconstruction and democratic governance strengthening. The research follows a qualitative and descriptive approach, based on the analysis of official UN documents, reports, academic articles, and specialized literature. The 1999–2010 period was chosen as the timeframe, covering MONUC’s activities and its impact on the political transition in the DRC. The findings indicate that the mission exhibited significant shortcomings in three key areas: structural, political, and operational. Consequently, it is concluded that MONUC’s limitations hindered the consolidation of an effective democratic transition in the DRC, as the mission failed to neutralize the dynamics of violence and to sustainably strengthen the country's political institutions.