A/HRC/30/32 1. Current situation and action taken by the Government 57. In eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo, civilians remain vulnerable to the continued armed conflict between the Congolese army and various armed groups. The United Nations Joint Human Rights Office continued to document the killing and injuring of civilians, as well as rapes, abductions and looting by armed groups and State agents in the context of operations against such groups. 58. During the reporting period, military operations to neutralize armed groups, including Operation Sukola I against the Allied Democratic Forces and Operation Sukola II against the Forces démocratiques de libération du Rwanda and the Forces de résistance patriotique en Ituri, seem to have resulted in the radicalization of these groups. All those combatants targeted civilians in retaliation for the victims’ real or perceived support to FARDC in military operations against them. 59. On the night of 6 June 2014, 31 civilians were killed by members of a Barundi and Banyamulenge militia group in Mutarule, Uvira territory, South Kivu, in an outdoor church service. The FARDC commander stationed nearby had reportedly been repeatedly warned and informed of the attack by the local population, but failed to prevent or stop the killings. From 1 October to 31 December 2014, a series of attacks in several localities of Beni territory resulted in the killing of at least 237 civilians by combatants of the Allied Democratic Forces. At the request of the Government, the United Nations Joint Human Rights Office has granted support to the national investigation into the killings. 60. In the context of the drawdown of MONUSCO, it is especially important that State security forces take the lead in the protection of civilians. To this effect, FARDC and the MONUSCO force regularly undertake day and night joint patrols in volatile areas. Officers of the United Nations police also cohabit with Congolese national police agents in provincial offices of eastern Congo. Provincial officials participate alongside MONUSCO and other protection stakeholders in the provincial Senior Management Group on Protection. 2. Action taken by the United Nations Joint Human Rights Office 61. The protection of civilians remains the core priority for MONUSCO and the United Nations Joint Human Rights Office. Besides various protection mechanisms, in an effort to be proactive rather than reactive in protecting civilians, the Joint Office spearheaded the establishment of an early warning alert and response cell, with corresponding provincial and local entities. MONUSCO also stepped up efforts to protect civilians through increased interaction with the local population and advocacy efforts with local and national authorities. It conducted awareness-raising activities on the early warning networks in areas that could be affected by military operations against the Forces démocratiques de libération du Rwanda and worked with some 90 communities in North Kivu to improve local early warning systems. Furthermore, through routine inductions for newly deployed United Nations police and MONUSCO, the Joint Office has sought to maintain the focus on protection in eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo. 62. Protection of civilians in the context of the series of attacks by the Allied Democratic Forces in Beni territory, North Kivu, mainly during the period OctoberDecember 2014, presented some challenges.10 However, in view of FARDC unilateral 10 See Report of the United Nations Joint Human Rights Office on international humanitarian law violations committed by Allied Democratic Forces (ADF) combatants in the territory of Beni, North Kivu province, between 1 October and 31 December 2014, jointly published by OHCHR and MONUSCO in May 2015. 15