This Global Witness report highlights the corruption and fraud that plague mining in the Democratic Republic of the Congo province of Katanga, one of the world's richest copper and cobalt producing areas. While the people of the Congo remain mired in poverty, government and security officials ignore or actively collude in smuggling large quantities of precious minerals out of the country.

No newspapers were published in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) for a day in protest at the killing of a reporter 10 days ago, according to a report on Irinnnews.org. "A day without newspapers throughout the country; it is our way of protesting against those who want to muffle the freedom of the press and that of expression. We are not afraid of death, but we will continue doing our work," John Richard Kasonga, the secretary of the National Union of the Congolese Press, said. The protest was held July 18.

The Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) is experiencing a deluge of forgotten diseases. The collapsing health system, wars and ensuing movements of people created fertile ground for their revival. The most feared disease is African trypanosomiasis or sleeping sickness: it leads to the graveyard if left untreated.

Strides have been made in securing peace and security for the DRC, writes Yav Katshung Joseph ahead of crucial July 30 elections, the first in 40 years. But threats remain to the electoral process from vested interested and rogue militia.

Violence and conflict have plagued the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) since its independence from Belgium in 1960. Forty-six years later, could we attempt to say that violence and conflict are no longer the normal state of affairs in the DRC? The DRC has travelled a long and difficult way. It has faced thirty-two years of authoritarian regime with Mobutu, followed by the 1996-1997 war led by Kabila and then the 1998-2003 war, with its international and regional aspects.

While the dynamics of conflict and violence in the DRC are complex, we should recognise that the country has made - with the assistance of the international community - considerable progress in consolidating the peace process. Warring factions signed a peace-accord in 2003 with the “famous” 1 + 4 power sharing formula, with mandate, among others, to organise elections, to promote peace, stability and security and, to integrate the former warring parties into a single national army. At this moment, significant strides have been made in achieving the above mandate, but several threats remain.

Currently in the DRC, there is an overwhelming commitment to peace and security on the part of all the stakeholders, including those who will not be participating in the electoral process such as Etienne Tshisekedi. All stakeholders agree that the Congolese have endured instability and violent conflict for far too long and therefore peace and stability are inevitable for sustainable development, not only for the DRC but for the region and the continent as a whole.

However, there is concern firstly with regard to insecurity in some parts of the country, particularly North and South Kivu as well as Northern Katanga; and secondly with regards the electoral climate, as the transition period that began with the establishment of transitional national institutions in July 2003 is moving towards its conclusion. The elections will lead to the end of the negotiated transition by setting up an elected government. Thirdly, there is concern about the re-integration of the former warring parties (yet to be completed) into a unified national army. There is the existence of armed combatants that are loyal to and under the control of some of the political contestants. In sum, the ghost of violence and conflict continues to haunt the DRC.

Postponed for the third time, the first round of presidential and parliamentary elections is scheduled for 30 July 2006. However, as the DRC prepares for its first nationwide elections in 40 years, several obstacles are undermining prospects for a successful poll. In order words, although necessary for peace following years of brutal warfare, these elections could create more instability. Currently on the ground these are some of the threats:

1. High levels of insecurity and human rights abuse continue in the eastern part of the country and there is a heightened risk of violence in the approach to national elections in July, as well as in the immediate post-election period;

2. Some armed factions appear to favour a continuation of violence as a means of achieving their political and economic objectives ;

3. Some leaders of political parties and presidential candidates are seen to be linked with the area’s bloody past, and therefore, are not willing to give up power;

4. In the unstable eastern Kivu, fearing to lose the elections, some leaders are rousing hatred against their communities or encouraging violence against rival ethnic groups in an attempt to derail the polls;

5. Some opposition groups (round 50 political parties and associations in the DRC) demand political talks to be held before elections.

The army unification process was considered an essential precondition to the staging of national elections. As part of the process of transition, the integration of the various armed factions into the new national military, the Armed Forces of the DRC (FARDC), referred to as brassage, was initiated early in 2005, and was intended to result in the creation of a unified, non-partisan, disciplined and efficient Congolese army that would address internal security problems, including the presence of foreign armed groups. The brassage process is complemented by the disarmament, demobilisation and reintegration programme which aims to demobilise those unfit or unable to join the new army and support their return to civilian life. For children under 18, a special programme has been put in place. However, we should note that, currently, this integration of the army is incomplete. It will (the army unification process) only be partly complete by the time of national elections scheduled for July, posing major questions for the security of the elections.

Moreover, a number of armed groups continue to resist unification, encouraged by leaders who fear losing control of the ethnically-configured armed groups which form the basis of their power. Some political and military leaders continue to show extreme reluctance to dismantle their military structures in favour of a unified national army, because these structures are the foundation of their power. In areas like the Ituri district, the Kivus and Katanga, some of the most notorious groups known for abuses against civilian population still refuse to join the army integration process and the disarmament, demobilization and reintegration programme. (Large parts of Katanga, especially the northern and central areas, are still under the control of various Mai-Mai groups who have remained outside the official disarmament, demobilisation and reintegration programme. On 12 May 2006, however, an important breakthrough was made when Kyungu Mutanga, a Mai-Mai leader also known as Gédéon, operating in Katanga Province, surrendered in Mitwaba. He was accompanied by more than 150 combatants, 76 of whom were children.) These dissident and non-aligned groups constitute a serious threat to stability and may obstruct the electoral process. Also, some communities, manipulated by their leaders, remain deeply suspicious of the army unification process - fearing the loss of protection by local armed groups.

Conclusion

Significant strides have been made in the DRC in achieving peace and security. However, more needs to be done for sustainable peace and security. There is still the danger of wider insecurity present in the country after elections. That is true because it has been established that one third of all civil wars in Africa are restarts. This will impact negatively on the precarious human security situation in the country. But the DRC will see democratic elections being held on 30 July 2006. The hope is to see peace and security prevailing in the country. The people of this country have suffered for far too long.

* Yav Katshung Joseph is a Lecturer in Law, at the Faculty of Law, University of Lubumbashi, Democratic Republic of Congo. He is also the Executive Director of CERDH (Centre d’Etudes et de Recherche en Droits de l’Homme, Democratie et Justice Transitionnelle/Centre for Human Rights, Democracy and Transitional Justice Studies), and Coordinator of the UNESCO Chair for Human Rights, Peace, Conflict resolution and Good Governance/University of Lubumbashi. He holds an LL.B and LL.M from the University of Lubumbashi; another LL.M from University of Pretoria, South Africa, and a Diploma in Transitional Justice from the Transitional Justice Fellowship Programme (ICTJ & IJR joint programme), South Africa. He is also an Advocate of the Court of Appeal of Lubumbashi. For contact: [email][email protected] or [email][email protected] Phone: +243 9 970 21 758 Fax:+1 501 638 4935

* Please send comments to [email protected] or comment online at www.pambazuka.org

Several people have died in the Democratic Republic of Congo after gunmen fired on an election rally. At the same time, the UN-backed committee overseeing the elections has called for the army to be confined to barracks during the poll on 30 July.

About 15 years after a process was initiated to create a Protected Area for the conservation of one of the world's best studied bonobo populations, the Ministry of Environment and Conservation of Nature, Waters and Forests has announced today (17 July) the gazettement of the Faunal Reserve of Lomako-Yokokala.

Diamonds, the top export in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), are mostly extracted from the middle of the country at Kasai Oriental Province. Yet people there are among the poorest in the DRC and diamonds seem to be tearing apart their society. Children do much of the work and many are killed in accidents or in fighting over diamonds. Distrust is feeding superstition and causing a strange and terrible phenomenon: thousands of children are being accused of witchcraft.

Three suspects have appeared before a military tribunal in Kinshasa, capital of the Democratic Republic of Congo, facing murder charges over the death of a journalist and his wife eight months ago. The suspects are two policemen and a soldier. They allegedly murdered Franck Ngyke and his wife on 3 November at their Kinshasa residence.

A Congolese rebel leader who kidnapped seven Nepalese United Nations peacekeepers in May has agreed to lay down his weapons, the UN says. Peter Karim and 60 of his fighters have agreed to end their war against the government, a UN spokesman said.

Riot police in Kinshasa, capital of the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), fired into the air and used tear gas to disperse demonstrators calling for transparency in the country's general elections, scheduled for 30 July. One demonstrator lost his hand when a tear-gas canister exploded, while a parliamentary candidate was admitted to hospital suffering from tear-gas inhalation after the demonstration on Tuesday.

As is the case for most public schools in the DRC, the government is responsible for paying teachers' salaries and providing benches, tables and classrooms for the 150 pupils at the Lokanja Lina Nkoy village school. However, students here are crowded into four classrooms where the sun shines through gaping holes in the roof. They sit on logs, bare feet in the sand, wearing shabby clothes instead of uniforms. Still, the children are enthusiastic about learning, even if they must do so without even the most basic supplies.

A local journalist in DRC was shot dead on Saturday (July 7) at his home in Kinshasa, press rights group Journalists in Danger (JED) said. Bapuwa Mwamba was killed by three armed men around midnight at his house in the Matete district JED said. Bapuwa Mwamba worked for a number of newspapers in the capital, including the opposition daily Le Phare. JED said the murder "did not seem to be an act of chance", coming about three weeks before crucial presidential and legislative elections in the vast Central African country, reports the Mail and Gaurdian.

International companies and local elites in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) are pocketing revenues from copper and cobalt production instead of sharing it with local communities or spending it to reduce poverty, a watchdog group has said. A new report by the London-based Global Witness says that despite being one of the richest copper- and cobalt-producing areas in the world, the province of Katanga in southeastern DRC remains severely poor and the population has little or no infrastructure or public services.

Twenty of the 33 candidates are calling for a delay, say the elections are being badly organised and question why an extra 5m ballot papers have been printed. The United Nations is helping to organise the polls, which follow five years of conflict. The east remains unstable - some 5,000 people have fled their homes recently.

Within the past two weeks the New York Times ran two front page stories on the Congo and the Washington Post ran a feature story. Both papers ought to be commended for addressing the worst humanitarian crisis in the world and the deadliest conflict since World War Two. However, once again major media outlets fall short in articulating the source of the conflict and the role that foreign governments and multinational corporations play in fueling the conflict.

Humanitarian actors in the Democratic Republic of Congo's northeastern district of Ituri are finding it difficult to reach thousands of civilians displaced by recent militia attacks, a United Nations official has said. At least 7,000 displaced people have arrived in Bunia, the main town in the district.

The international community should help the new government in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) tighten its surveillance of the diamond mining industry to lift the poor nation out of corruption and conflict, long associated with trade in the precious gem, a rights group said. Global Witness, the London-based non-governmental organisation that monitors industry-related corruption, said in a new report that regulations over mining and trade in rough diamonds passed by the transitional government in Kinshasa were woefully inadequate.

Adults and children lie on a concrete floor between steely skeletons of beds that once had mattresses in the Isangi public hospital. The collapse of their health system horrifies Congolese. "It's disgusting. The medical team helps out in emergencies," Dr Jean-Robert Tshimanga, the hospital director, said "but if they [patients] have no money what can we do?

Thirteen people were killed in political violence as campaigning began for the Democratic Republic of Congo's first competitive elections in decades. Demonstrators in the western city of Matadi attacked and killed a soldier on Friday 30 June before troops retaliated, firing on the crowd and killing 12 civilians, said Christian Malidini, of DRC's Association of Human Rights Defenders.

Presidential aspirants in the Democratic Republic of Congo kicked off their nationwide campaigns on Friday 30 June for the country's first democratic elections in 45 years, due on 30 July. There are 33 presidential candidates, and 9,780 aspirants vying for 500 parliamentary seats. Presidential frontrunner and incumbent Joseph Kabila is contesting as an independent.