Event: The Politics of Force in the Democratic Republic of the Congo

Event recording from 28/06/2017 THE POLITICS OF FORCE IN THE DEMOCRATIC REPUBLIC OF THE CONGO: A CLOSER LOOK AT THE UN'S STRATEGIES FOR NEUTRALIZING ARMED GROUPS Speaker: Adam Day, Senior Researcher at the UN University and formerly Senior Political Advisor with MONUSCO in the Democratic Republic of Congo This talk examined the current security dynamics in eastern DRC, looking in particular at the armed groups which are the priority targets for MONUSCO’s neutralization mandate. Based on his recent experience as the Senior Political Adviser to MONUSCO, Adam Day described the strategies MONUSCO is implementing to address the threats posed by these armed groups, some of the unintended consequences of the use of force, and implications for the UN’s broader mandates to protect civilians and stabilize conflict-affected areas. Biography: Adam Day joined as Senior Policy Adviser in the UNU Centre for Policy Research in January 2017. Prior to UNU, he served for a decade in the UN, focused on peace operations, political engagement in conflict settings, mediation and protection of civilians. He served as Senior Political Adviser to MONUSCO (DRC), in the UN Special Coordinator’s Office for Lebanon, in the front offices of both UNMIS (Khartoum) and UNAMID (Darfur), and was a political officer in both the Department of Political Affairs and the Department of Peacekeeping Operations in New York. Prior to the UN, Mr Day worked in Human Rights Watch’s Justice Program, for the Open Society Justice Initiative in Cambodia, and supported the International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia. An attorney and former member of the New York Bar Association, Mr Day was an international litigator in New York, where he also worked pro bono for the Center for Constitutional Rights on behalf of Guantanamo detainees in their suits against former US officials for torture.