United Nations Secretary-General Antoino Guterres on Thursday, March 5, appointed American diplomat James Swan as the new head of the UN peacekeeping mission in DR Congo (MONUSCO). ALSO READ: MONUSCO’s fatal imbroglio: Taking stock of Bintou Keïta’s tenure A former US Ambassador to DR Congo and Djibouti, Swan replaces Bintou Keita, a Guinean diplomat who had led the mission since January 2021 before stepping down in late 2025, three months before the expiration of her mandate in February 2026. Swan served as US ambassador to Kinshasa from 2013 to 2016. He had held the same position in Djibouti between 2008 and 2011. ALSO READ: MONUSCO boss arrives in Goma to advance ceasefire monitoring Most recently, since March 2025, he has served as Special Representative of the Secretary-General for Somalia and Head of the United Nations Transitional Assistance Mission in Somalia (UNTMIS), a role he previously held in an acting capacity from May 2024 until his appointment to the position. Earlier he was also Special Representative and Head of the United Nations Mission in Somalia (UNSOM) from 2019 to 2022. In a statement announcing the appointment, the UN SG's office described Swan as an experienced diplomat with a long career in African countries facing complex political and security transitions. Swan takes over from Keita, whose tenure drew criticism over supporting the Congolese army coalition that is accused targeting Congolese Tutsi communities. This is addition to MONUSCO's failure to end insecurity in eastern DR Congo, despite being one of the UN's largest and longest serving mission. ALSO READ: MONUSCO chief ignores root cause of Congo conflict, says Amb. Karega He comes at a time the UN mission has been tasked with monitoring the ceasefire between the Congolese government coalition and the AFC/M23 rebels, who control key cities in eastern DR Congo, including Goma. Crisis observers accused the mission of misreading developments on the ground and providing assessments that influenced decisions within the UN system. Under Keita’s tenure, the mission has also faced increased mistrust from the AFC/M23 movement, which has repeatedly accused its personnel of abandoning neutrality and producing reports it considers biased. ALSO READ: Drones, MONUSCO intelligence used in Minembwe, Uvira civilian massacres – warns M23 Swan's appointment comes at a particularly tense moment in eastern DR Congo, where security conditions have deteriorated amid fragile ceasefire efforts involving Congolese forces and their allies, including Burundian troops, foreign mercenaries, the Kinshasa-backed Rwandan genocidal militia FDLR, Wazalendo and other local militias, against AFC/M23 Movement. ALSO READ: MONUSCO will leave a trail of failures - experts Violence has continued to plague eastern DR Congo, where civilians, particularly communities such as the Banyamulenge and other Congolese Tutsi groups, remain vulnerable to attacks by armed coalitions aligned with Kinshasa. Established in 1999 as MONUC before transitioning into MONUSCO in 2010, the mission remains one of UN’s longest-running and most expensive peacekeeping operations,with more than $25 billion spent in just over two decades. It operates under mandates renewed annually by the UN Security Council, whose permanent members France, China, Russia, United Kingdom, and US hold decisive authority over its direction. Although Kinshasa and the UN agreed in November 2023 on a gradual withdrawal plan for MONUSCO, the mission’s mandate was later extended. Most recently, the Security Council renewed it until December 20, 2026.
