4. Peace enforcement and regional forces: a via­ble alternative? Criticism over mission mandate is at the centre of the controversies surrounding MONUSCO and the EAC-RF in recent years. The East African regional force found itself embroiled in controversy over the meaning of its mandate. The texts governing its mandate authorised it to engage in combat and eradicate armed groups, and this was the same understanding held by the informants interviewed in this study. However, this mandate was not the understanding of the troop contributing countries. To the commander of the EAC-RF force, the mandate seemed to sometimes entail protecting the city of Goma and other times to simply provide a buffer zone following the withdrawal of the M23 in accordance with the Nairobi process. However, this study shows that MONUSCO, like the EAC-RF, is judged primarily on by the public’s expectations of its protection mission derived from the missions stated objectives and long duration. Increasingly, regional actors deploying mission under African Union mandates or under other regional designations. Once on the ground, they also face impatience from civilian populations who long for peace. These forces face challenges of funding, coordinating actions, adherence to international law, civilian protection, and supporting security reform. Efforts to address these challenges led to the adoption of Resolution 2719, which allows for the financing of African missions by the United Nations. The big problem is that sometimes governments sign agreements that they hide from the public and its representatives. In principle, these should be win-win agreements(...) This reduces suspicion, which is an important factor in relations between the population and these foreign forces, which often do not enjoy the support of the population because of these so-called hidden agreements(...). Every effort must be made to ascertain the agendas of the States willing to participate in the composition of the force. We need to know what they are officially aiming for and what they are unofficially aiming for. The theories about the interests of troop contributing countries were cited as key to informant’s understanding of the missions. Interviewees came to two different conclusions about the role of regional interests. Some informants believed that African missions were best placed to intervene because of their geographical and cultural proximity. Another opinion focuses on the interest that some countries in the region would have in maintaining insecurity in the eastern DRC. Interviews conducted for this report show that, contrary to the international community’s enthusiasm, these regional missions raising even more public concerns in eastern DRC. These concerns are fuelled by the lack of transparency of the mission, mandate and activities; the composition of their troops; and the regional dynamics of the crisis in eastern DRC. Those interviewed within civil society discuss MONUSCO’s mandate readily, but their understanding of the corresponding mandates for the EAC-RF, SAMIRDC, Ugandan, or Burundian interventions remains limited. The mandate of these regional missions is unclear. Communication between regional missions and the population is not as regular or systematic as it is with MONUSCO. This lack of information fuels suspicion. 16 Friedrich-Ebert-Stiftung e.V.