Transcript Slide 1

The Democratic Republic of Congo
Points to consider:
How has nearly 70 years of colonialism affected the DRC?
 How have problems from neighbouring nations have spilled into the DRC?
What role did unsuccessful and violent dictatorships have in creating political instability
in the DRC?
A miner holding ‘conflict
minerals’
A ‘child soldier’
Survivours of ‘sexual violence’
Suggestion: Briefly research these terms online
TIMELINE OF EVENTS IN THE DRC
1800s –Belgian Rule
1965 –Belgians overthrown and Mobutu Sese Seko has
absolute control over the DRC for the next 30 years
1994 –Rwandan genocide begins and Hutus fleeing the
newly formed Tutsi government flee to Congo, and some
form a militia group called the FDLR to kill Tutsis in Congo
–Mobutu supports the Hutu and orders Tutsis to leave
Congo
–Tutsis rebel but Uganda and Rwanda invade Congo to stop
them through much violence, and then make Laurent Kabila
president
Mobutut Sese Seko
–Kabila asks Ugandan and Rwandan armies to leave Congo,
but they leave behind their own rebel groups
and the FDLR continues attacking Rwanda This
Since 1998, an estimated 5.4 to
consequently weakens the Congolese army.
7.8 million Congolese people
-Local War Lords then form militia groups to
have lost their lives due to
fight Kabila’s Congolese army
conflict in the DRC
Current Situation
For over 10 years, the people of the Congo
suffered as war continued between the
army and the militia groups
In 2000 the UN sent in troops, called
MONUC, to help the Congolese
government, now led by Kabila’s son, to
take control of the country.
Under MONUC, the situation improved
enough for Democratic elections to be
held. Kabila won these elections.
What can the international community
do to improve the situation?
The UN also helped in other ways:
• They set up refugee camps, they helped the
army fight come of the rebel groups
•They started a peace process between some of
the warring groups.
•Eventually some of the militia groups agreed
to become part of the Congolese Army, helping
to bring peace
Thought Point:
The DRC is a nation which has an
abundance of natural wealth but it
has struggled to retain control
over these resources. Many
Congolese people are too poor to
access basic services. Consider
the connection between this and
the DRC’s many years of political
instability.
However…
Congolese
government
troops, the
FDLR rebels
and the CDNP
are accused of
systematic
killings and
raping through
the conflict
Many of the old Warlords and their troops have
become officers in the Congolese army, and are
now using parts of the army for their own
personal power and enrichment
Rebel groups still remain in the
DRC and corrupt members of the
Congolese army have been
accused of working with, instead
of fighting against, the FDLR as
allowing the conflict to continue
means they can obtain wealth
from Congo’s mines
Although the war was officially
over in 2003- the east of the
country continues to be
unstable and the victim of
continued violence
THE ROLES
OF THE UN
In November 1999, the
United Nations
Organization Mission
(MONUC) in the
Democratic Republic of
the Congo was created
to help bring peace and
stability to the DRC
July 10, 1999, the DR Congo,
Namibia, Rwanda, Uganda, Zambia
and Zimbabwe signed the Lusaka
Agreement which officially declared an
end to the Second Congo War through
a ceasefire. The UN then deployed
peacekeepers
MONUC is responsible for:
negotiating between the fighting groups and
to aid the government in the dismantling and
disarmament of fighting factions in the country.
 MONUC has been key in the United
Nation’s efforts to implement ceasefires in the
DRC, and with the cooperation of the
Government, it was partly responsible for the
DRC’s first democratic elections in 40 years
Child Soldiers in the DRC
When rebel groups, such as the FDLR enter villages, they
often kidnap children. Over time the young people begin to
see themselves as part of the group. They received training in
fighting and killing, and learn to hate the groups’ enemies.
In some circumstances the groups entice children to
voluntarily join, by promising them food, friendship, and
guns.
In addition many girls are also recruited by the militias.
Some of these became active fighters, others became slaves to
the militia, and often are sexually abused.
The Security General of the UN
recently argued for “more vigorous measures
against persistent violators who have been
listed in my annual report for
grave violations against children."
It is estimated that there are at
least 8,000 Child Soldiers in the
Congo at present, many of these
in the North Kivu Region in the
conflict area between the FDLR
and the Congolese government.
Possible solutions
Disarmament & Demobilization
Reintegration
Disarmament: Child soldiers must be disarmed
before they can return to society
After the child is demobilized, he or she
must be reintegrated into society. This
involves re-establishing contact with his or
her family and community as well as ensuring
the child receives an education.
After disarmament, child soldiers need to go
through a demobilization process. Many NGOs
run demobilization camps around the world. These
camps help provide these children with new skills
as well as emotional and physical support to make
the transition from combatant back to their
communities.
Watch this video from UNICEF of an interview with a
former Congolese child soldier:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=a66LppV4I-w
In light of the comments made by Maisha in this video, consider the following
fact:
Unicef helped reintegrate 4,657 child soldiers into their communities
last year at a cost of $700 per child, but lack of funding means
that a backlog of 3,000 youngsters are denied the specialist help
on offer here.
Research Tip:
What should the UN do to help
organisations such as UNICEF provide
support for other former child soldiers?
Use this helpful website to track the
progress being made both in the
DRC and across the world to tackle
the issue of child soldiers:
www.childsoldiersglobalreport.org
Conflict Minerals in the Congo
Congo’s wealth of minerals and diamonds has
played a major factor in fueling the conflicts
taking place in the region.
First, warlords and generals are key to control
areas of the Congo as they can become wealthy
from Congo’s mines, demanding a percentage of
any minerals that are found and sold.
The Countries and companies that sign up to the
Kimberley process guarantee that their
diamonds were not mined in areas of conflict.
The Kimberley process requires that all
diamonds be certified from their point of origin,
as “conflict free.” The Kimberley process has
greatly reduced the trade in diamonds by rebel
groups in the Congo and neighbouring nations.
Kimberley process:
In the 1990s a group of
regulations were put into place to
help control the diamond trade.
These regulations are called the
“Kimberley process.”
Read this article from The Economist for
further information:
http://www.economist.com/node/16846816
Did you know…?
Wealth generated by
mines can also be
used to buy
weapons, making
conflicts become
longer and more
deadly
There is no similar
regulation in place
for the sale of
mineral ore
containing tantalum,
tungsten, tin and
gold
Tantalum from
Congo is used to
make electrical
capacitors that go
into phones,
computers and
gaming devices
Research Resources:
www.bbc.co.uk
www.amnestyus.org
www.globalissues.org
Questions to Consider:
What actions should be taken to ensure that mines are not in the hands of
soldiers?
What actions should be taken to stop the sale of blood minerals around the
world?
What actions should be taken to make those responsible pay for their crimes?
How can the UN help in this?
Sexual violence
In Congo, sexual Violence has become a weapon of
war. In some cases when militias take over a town
one way in which they terrorise the local population
is through rape and sexual assault. In 2007 27,000
sexual assaults were reported in 2006 in South Kivu
Province alone, and that may be just a fraction of the
total number across the country.
In August 2010, Human
rights groups say sexual
violence in Congo has
been widespread and
systematic over the last
15 years, with more than
a dozen armed groups
using rape to terrorise,
punish, and control
civilians.
Read the following article:
http://www.sciaf.org.uk/news/ne
ws_archive/2008_news/more_ai
d_needed_to_combat_mass_ra
pe_in_the_dr_congo
Questions to Explore:
What actions should be taken to
help the victims of sexual
violence?
What actions should be taken to
halt sexual violence by militia?
Should actions be taken to
punish the perpetrators of this
violence? Should the UN have a
role in this?