D.R. Congo
The Situation
The Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) has been one of the most traumatized regions in the world, with many millions killed since 1996 as a direct and indirect result of the ongoing wars within its borders. When the genocide in neighboring Rwanda ended in 1994, Hutu perpetrators fled from justice into the eastern provinces of the DRC, where they formed the Forces Democratique de Liberation du Rwanda (FDLR). The ensuing conflict between the FDLR and the DRC’s military, as well as several other regional militias, drew in several neighboring countries between 1996 and 2003. The conflict, which has been nicknamed “Africa’s World War,” and its aftermath have killed an estimated five million people, making it the world’s deadliest conflict in terms of civilian casualties since World War II.
Despite various peace agreements, violence in DRC is ongoing and civilians continue to be targeted, particularly in the eastern provinces of North Kivu, South Kivu, and Orientale. Both government and rebel forces have been implicated in attacks on civilians. The ongoing violence takes many forms including mass killings, rape, and torture. The systematic sexual violence is so pervasive that the DRC is rapidly becoming known as the rape capital of the world. Hundreds of thousands of women have been raped by armed combatants and other perpetrators. A 2011 study released by the American Journal of Public Health reported that over 1,000 women are raped daily; a rate of 48 women per hour. Over two million people have been displaced from their homes due to the violence and tens of thousands are without humanitarian assistance.
The international community has responded by deploying the largest international peacekeeping force of almost 19,000 uniformed personnel known as the United Nations Organization Stabilization Mission in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (MONUSCO). However, the development of a broader strategy to address the political, economic and security challenges contributing to the crisis remains elusive.
The conflict in the DRC is fueled in part by a race for lucrative minerals. Combatants use the revenue from the mined minerals to buy weaponry and ammunition to continue their military campaigns or to enrich political leaders and warlords. Armed groups have terrorized and abducted local civilians to force them to work in the mines as slave labor. The conflict minerals, namely tantalum, tungsten, tin, and gold, end up in the world market where they are bought by manufacturers in the electronics industry. These conflict minerals end up in the cell phones, computers, and other electronics we buy every day. In 2010, Amnesty International reported that 43,000 children are working in mineral mines and around 4,000 children have been abducted to fight as soldiers.
The people of eastern DRC also continue to be terrorized by the Lord’s Resistance Army (LRA). Since September 2008, over 1,900 Congolese have been killed by LRA activity and more than 332,000 civilians remain displaced in the LRA affected areas. Led by the wanted war criminal Joseph Kony, the LRA has established itself as one of the largest threats to civilians in the DR Congo. In December 2009, the LRA attacked civilian communities in Makombo area of Haut-Uele district massacring more than 321 men and raping many women and children. Around 250 people were kidnapped, 80 of them children.
After what was widely recognized as a seriously flawed presidential election in late 2011, filled with chaos and electoral violence, President Joseph Kabila was officially announced the winner on December 9, 2011 against opponent and former prime minister Etienne Tshisekedi. A week before the announcement was made, it was reported that almost 18 people had been killed and 100 seriously injured in the violence immediately following the disputed election. In the aftermath, many angry Tshisekedi supporters took to the streets in a show of anger and frustration with the results. In late December 2011, Tshisekedi rejected Kabila’s re-election, declaring himself the DRC’s rightful president and calling for the apprehension of President Joseph Kabila. This rejection of the election results has lead many to fear an upsurge of violence in the country, primarily in the capital city of Kinshasa which strongly supported Tshisekedi.
United to End Genocide will bring you updates on the evolving situation in the Democratic Republic of Congo on its blog page.
