DRC: Resolving conflict crucial for human rights in Africa

“Conflict is like a fire: It can keep you warm and can cook your food, but if it gets out of control, it can burn your house down.”

One thousand people die every day in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) and nearly half of these deaths are accounted for by children under five years of age, according to a report released this week by the International Rescue Committee (see Conflicts and Emergencies for more details). The IRC says these deaths add daily to the cumulative total of 3.8 million fatalities since the crisis began in August 1998 to the end of April 2004. Far from being resolved, the volatile situation in the east of the country continues to cause grave concern, with recent reports that Rwandan troops have entered the DRC to pursue rebels it says threaten its security. Pambazuka News emailed some questions about the situation in the DRC to YAV KATSHUNG JOSEPH, Executive Director of CERDH (Centre for Human Rights and democracy Studies / Centre d’Etudes et de Recherche en Droits de l’Homme et Démocratie).

PZ: News reports indicate a higher level of sabre rattling between Rwandan president Paul Kagame threatening to pursue forces hostile to Rwanda in the DRC and the DRC government sending troops to the eastern border. Reports indicate that Rwandan troops are operating in the DRC. In May, Bukavu was the focus of violent conflict, with Rwanda fingered as having provided logistical support, but strongly denying any involvement. This time Rwanda has stated in a very clear way that they will cross into the DRC to pursue forces that threaten them. What are the circumstances and the sequence of events that have led to this situation?

YKJ: Rwanda’s goals are to neutralise the rebel groups/interahamwe based in the DRC who destabilise peace; to prevent incursions from the DRC based rebel-groups; and natural resources control, etc. The DRC goals are security of the people, resources, property and state.

I noted with surprise that barely a week after the conclusion of the international conference on the Great Lakes, where leaders of the DRC, Uganda and Rwanda expressed willingness to co-operate in matters of common concern, there has been an eruption of fresh conflict. In fact, reports are that Rwanda has re-invaded the DRC.

Rwanda has twice invaded DRC in recent years - it says to attack Rwandan rebels based there. Rwanda has consistently said it is prepared to take military action because of the threat it says is posed by the group of some 8,000 men, which includes fighters who took part in the 1994 genocide of Tutsis and moderate Hutus. As usually, Rwanda justified their invasion by saying that they were pursuing interahamwe who were said to have sought refuge in the DRC.

Even after signing an agreement in Dar es salaam (Declaration on the Great Lakes) in November 2004, the Rwandan president threatened to pursue forces hostile to Rwanda in the DRC. Under the peace deal, the Hutu rebels were supposed to have been disarmed but progress has been slow. For Rwanda, the deadline of demobilizing the interahamwe have passed and the DRC and MONUC failed to do so and therefore, Rwanda would like to do it by force.
PZ: How serious is this latest round of hostilities and what are the implications for the transitional government in the DRC and peace in the Great Lakes region?

YKJ: The Congolese government said 6,000 Rwandan troops had crossed the border and attacked villages. Some 2,000 people have fled in North Kivu province. As a consequence, some 10,000 troops have been sent to expel Rwandan forces from the Democratic Republic of Congo. Rwandan military action is unravelling tentative moves towards peace throughout the Great Lakes region and the trust between the various elements in government has thinned because, the RCD (Congolese Rally for Democracy) is seen to deal with the Rwandans.

PZ: The Great Lakes conflict involving Zimbabwe, Namibia, Angola, DRC, Rwanda, Uganda and Burundi is reported to have resulted in three million deaths and more than two million refugees and internally displaced people. In the east of the country instability and the flagrant violation of human rights has continued. The scale of the human suffering is almost unprecedented and yet somehow it seems that the DRC crisis has played second fiddle to other international and regional concerns, such as for example Sudan. Why do you think this is?

YKJ: The war in the DRC has resulted in one of the world’s worst humanitarian crisis with over 3.4 million displaced persons scattered throughout the country. An estimated 3.5 million people have died as a result of the war. This is a figure much higher than the national population of many African countries and several times superior to the number of victims of the Rwandan, Yugoslav, Sierra Leonean and Sudan conflicts that attracted so much attention. All in all, the international response to human rights violations in the DRC was an unsatisfactory one. Even worse was the response of the African Commission. Anyone concerned with the protection of human rights should be interested in the DRC conflict which impacted so negatively on the rights of more than 50 million African people and the resolution of which constitutes a step forward in the promotion of human rights in Africa as a whole.

PZ: South Africa has played a role in the peace negotiations in the DRC but the process seems to keep on stumbling against the same obstacles. What does this say about the South African approach to establishing peace on the continent in relation not only to the DRC, but also their involvement in the Ivory Coast?

YKJ: It is true that South Africa has been instrumental in putting in place the transitional Government in the DRC and actually, facilitating negotiation in the Côte d’Ivoire (Ivory Coast). However, there is a kind of fear at some level regarding the Congolese experience. In fact, initially, people were very enthusiastic about its role in the DRC as the main engine driving the process.
Things have however changed. Firstly, there is a general feeling that it is not Congolese, or Rwandans who won the war (if the armed conflict can be considered as such), but South Africa. This is largely in economic terms. South African companies have since invested heavily in the DRC and are behind most explorations and other economic activities. Some even think that this could have been the driving force behind South Africa's fervent involvement in the process. Others are saying that South Africa simply wants to have control in Africa and it is behaving like an imperialist characterized by hegemonic ideas. To me, the South African approach to establishing peace on the continent is a good thing but the objective must be genuine and for the interest of Africa.

PZ: What action needs to be taken and structures put in place to end this latest threat to peace and secure human rights in the region?

YKJ: The Security Council urged Rwanda not to send troops into DRC but did not condemn Rwanda's action or impose sanctions on the President, as the Congolese had wanted.

Incursion of the forces of one state into another can lead to rising tensions and inter-state armed conflicts. If the conflicts are not addressed, this can affect the well-being of the population’s socio-economic development and resources might be diverted to warfare instead of human and economic development; and if the conflict is not addressed it can have an impact on inter-state trade and restrict free movement of the people.

THERAPY:

1. There is a need to Disarm, Demobilise, Repatriate and re-integrate armed groups;
2. The international community should assist with the quick implementation of the agreements signed;
3. There is a need to put into consideration/revisit the mandate of MONUC-reinforcing the capacity of MONUC within a realistic time frame to implement the Agreement;
4. Establish joint border patrols between the national armies of all countries;
5. Need to reinforce confidence-building measures and joint and regional verification mechanisms should be reinforced with continued dialogue;
With regards the internal crisis in the DRC, the transitional government brought relative peace to the country, however there still exist pockets of crisis in the eastern regions. The transitional government should be pressurized by the international community and supported to conduct elections in June 2005 as planned. Furthermore, the MONUC should assure the security in the eastern borders of the country for the disarmament of armed groups

PZ: Further comments?

YKJ: In conclusion, all states in the Great Lakes region must know that: “Conflict is like a fire: It can keep you warm and can cook your food, but if it gets out of control, it can burn your house down.”

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