Representatives vote on a draft resolution during a Security Council meeting at the UN headquarters in New York, Dec. 19, 2025. The UN Security Council on Friday unanimously adopted a resolution to renew the mandate of the UN peacekeeping mission in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) for one year, until Dec. 20, 2026. (Loey Felipe/UN Photo/Handout via Xinhua)

UNITED NATIONS, Dec. 19 (Xinhua) -- The UN Security Council on Friday unanimously adopted a resolution to renew the mandate of the UN peacekeeping mission in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) for one year, until Dec. 20, 2026.

Resolution 2808 retains the authorized troop ceiling of 11,500 military personnel, 600 military observers and staff officers, 443 police personnel, and 1,270 personnel of formed police units for the UN peacekeeping mission, known by its French acronym as MONUSCO.

It also retains the mission's three key priorities: protection of civilians; support for disarmament, demobilization and reintegration; and assistance with security sector reform.

The resolution strongly condemns the ongoing offensive of the March 23 Movement (M23) in South Kivu province and urges M23 to immediately halt and reverse its offensive operations, and urges Rwanda to withdraw its forces from eastern DRC.

It strongly condemns all armed groups operating in the DRC, and their violations of international humanitarian law as well as other applicable international law, and abuses of human rights.

The resolution demands that all armed groups and their support networks cease immediately all forms of violence and other destabilizing activities.

It also demands that all members of armed groups immediately and permanently disband, lay down their arms, reject violence, end and prevent violations and abuses perpetrated against children and release children from their ranks. ■