Brasília (DF) – Otávio Rodrigues de Miranda Filho, Brazilian Army, was chosen by the United Nations (UN) Secretary-General to be the new Military Commander of the United Nations Stabilization Mission in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, MONUSCO, replacing Marcos de Sá Affonso da Costa.
With over 40 years of service, General Miranda Filho, who was Commander of the 8th Military Region, had already integrated a UN peacekeeping mission (UNMIS, in South Sudan), as military observer and member of the staff of the mission’s Force Commander.
When he takes office in March 2023, the new Force Commander will have a staff of approximately 15 thousand military personnel, from about 50 UN troop contributing countries. MONUSCO’s main objectives are the protection of civilians, the facilitation of humanitarian aid and the disarmament of demobilized combatants, and this year, 2023, support for the holding of elections in December.
Since April 2013, this is the fifth time that MONUSCO has had a Brazilian commander, which is an honor for Brazil, given the relevance and international prominence of the function.
The Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), located in the central region of the African continent, has serious social problems and several armed conflicts. Despite being one of the largest countries in the world in terms of land area and having many natural resources, its human development index is very low, while infant mortality is very high.