Policy Brief on Community-Based Protection in the DRC

Escalating violence in the DRC has exacerbated the humanitarian crisis in the east and has left more than seven million people displaced. On top of this, the U.N. mission in DRC, MONUSCO, is in the process of withdrawing, which alters the protection environment as communities are unable to rely on the direct physical protection that at times has been provided by the mission. In this context, Congolese civilians have taken key steps to protect themselves, which have taken the form of negotiating and mediating conflict with armed actors and training women and girls on identifying and mitigating protection risks. 

There is thus a pressing need to better understand and support community-based protection mechanisms that are crucial for so many experiencing violence and displacement in DRC. This includes Security Council members, donors, and humanitarian actors understanding potential linkages between community-based protection mechanisms and the community representatives interfacing with MONUSCO, or Community Liaison Assistants (CLAs), and further embedding such efforts as core mechanisms that advance the protection of civilians in DRC. 

To produce this brief, consultations and interviews were conducted by InterAction, the GPC, and the DRC Protection Cluster with local NGOs, MONUSCO Civil Affairs staff, and INGO members of the FONGI based in DRC. The attached policy brief provides an overview of what community-based protection is, how it has taken shape in DRC in practice, and how to support community-based protection initiatives in the face of the MONUSCO withdrawal. The brief also includes a set of recommendations for U.N. Security Council members, donors, MONUSCO, and international NGOs and U.N. agencies.