The Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) has long suffered from violent conflict. Serial efforts to resolve the conflict have ended in failure. In an attempt to find a resolution, the United Nations peace operation in the DRC, MONUSCO, was given a new mandate in early 2013. The mandate allows the mission to use unprecedented means of engagement in the armed conflict. This report presents a thorough analysis of the mandate and discusses its implications for peace operations in general and the conflict in the DRC in particular. The mandate can be held to authorise MONUSCO to engage as combatants in the armed conflict and to use force according to the laws of war. This raises several important questions of a legal and political nature. While such a robust mandate may be needed to resolve such a long-standing conflict, it may have consequences for national and regional security. It may also turn the longstanding principles of peacekeeping on their head.