United Nations Secretary-General António Guterres has appointed US diplomat James Swan as the Special Representative of the Secretary-General for the United Nations Mission in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (MONUSCO).
A UN statement said that James Swan will lead the United Nations Mission in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (MONUSCO), succeeding Bintou Keita, who the UN thanked for her work in the mission.
The appointment means that Swan will leave his post in Somalia, where he has been the Special Representative of the Secretary-General and Head of the United Nations Transitional Assistance Mission in Somalia (UNTMIS) since March 2025. He also previously led the United Nations Assistance Mission in Somalia (UNSOM) from 2019 to 2022.
Swan’s departure from Mogadishu comes at a time of heightened political tension in Somalia, with the country’s political leadership divided over constitutional amendments and the electoral process.
Meanwhile, the MONUSCO operation that Swan will lead is a UN mission established in 2010 to protect civilians, support the Congolese government, and stabilize conflict-ridden regions, particularly in the east of the country.
The regions are still being fought over by armed groups including the March 23 Movement (M23), which controls large swathes of territory including the cities of Goma and Bukavu. The Congolese government and the UN also accuse Rwanda of supporting the M23, a charge Kigali has strongly denied.
