UN official says mission is countering 'disinformation' after Rwanda's public criticism of MONUSCO

A United Nations official told reporters that the UN mission known as MONUSCO is working to counter disinformation after public accusations from Rwanda that the mission has been biased.

Carine Nothomb of Radio France Internationale asked whether Rwanda's criticism — including claims that MONUSCO was not neutral, "tord[ait] les faits" and was not doing enough to combat the FDLR — had damaged the mission's credibility on the ground. Nothomb asked the question in French during a press exchange: "Le Rwanda a quand même violemment attaqué la MONUSCO au conseil ce matin, il l'a accusé de ne pas être neutre, de tordre les faits, de ne pas assez combattre les FDLR, qu'avez-vous à lui répondre et est-ce que ça a un impact sur le terrain cette décrédibilisation de la MONUSCO?"

The UN official responded in French and declined to comment beyond a general statement about the Secretariat's role. In full, the official said: "Alors je vais encore une fois utiliser mon devoir de réserve en tant que fonctionnaire international pour dire la chose suivante quand le la mission fait l'objet d'attaque de cette nature que ce soit dans les réseaux sociaux et cetera il y a plusieurs narratifs qui se propage et nous avons en tant que mission et en tant que nations unies à répondre sur de la désinformation désinformation et aussi très clairement il y a un objectif de nuire et de dépeindre la mission dans une compréhension ou c'est complètement négatif. Qu'à cela ne tienne notre rôle c'est de servir tous les États membres, les Nations unies c'est cent-quatre-vingt-treize États membres et nous sommes secrétariat et je pense que je vais rester je vais rester sur ça."

The official framed the response as a general defense of the mission and the Secretariat rather than a detailed rebuttal to Rwanda's specific claims. The official said the mission and the United Nations respond to circulating narratives and "désinformation," and noted that the Secretariat serves all 193 member states. The official did not provide further examples, evidence, or operational details about how the mission is addressing the allegations or whether the statements at the council had changed operations on the ground.

There were no formal actions, votes, or directions recorded during this exchange; the exchange consisted of one journalist question and a brief official response. The official's repeated reference to holding a "devoir de réserve" (duty of reserve) indicates an intentional limitation on comment during this briefing.

Background: MONUSCO is the UN peacekeeping mission referenced by the question. The FDLR (Forces Démocratiques de Libération du Rwanda) were named in the question as a party Rwanda said MONUSCO was not sufficiently targeting. The question also referred to an earlier "council" discussion; the official did not specify which council or any follow-up actions.

The exchange illustrates a short press briefing interaction in which a journalist pressed for clarification about allegations raised publicly by a member state and a UN official provided a guarded response emphasizing the Secretariat's role and the need to counter disinformation.