 |
|
 |
|||||||||||
|
|
||||||||||||
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Democratic Republic of the CongoLast updated June 2009 The Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), the huge and resource-rich "heart of Africa," has suffered decades of external manipulation and internal conflict. Like most conflicts in Africa, the causes of the DRC's quagmire are deeply rooted in its colonial history. In the 1870s, King Leopold II of Belgium claimed Congo as his private possession, accruing vast personal wealth. His reign resulted in the mass murder of 10 million Congolese from forced labor and starvation. United States intervention in the DRC, from the time of its independence in 1960 through the Cold War, undermined its stability and development. The U.S. was involved in and approved of the actions that led to the assassination of Patrice Lumumba, the country's first Prime Minister in 1961. Under U.S.-sponsored dictator Mobutu Sese Seko, corruption and political oppression scarred the Congo for more than 35 years. Mobutu was finally overthrown in 1997 by forces led by Laurent Kabila. Since 1998, the DRC has struggled with a highly complicated and destabilizing conflict that has caused social and economic devastation. Termed "Africa's world war" by some, this conflict drew in forces from Rwanda, Uganda, Zimbabwe, Angola, Namibia and Uganda. According to the International Rescue Committee (IRC), the war cost nearly 4 million lives in 6 years. More than 2 million people were driven out of their homes and 18.5 million people were left without healthcare. Ultimately, African peace-making efforts succeeded in moving negotiations forward, obtaining the withdrawal of foreign forces, and achieving a significant peace agreement in April 2003. That same year, a "Government of National Unity" was established to integrate the various armed Congolese factions into a national army and to govern until multi-party elections could be held to determine the country's political future. In December 2006, it celebrated its first democratic elections since independence and Joseph Kabila won the presidency in polls which observers widely considered free and fair. However, Kabila's time in office as popularly elected head of state (he had served as president since the death of his father Laurent Kabila in 2001) has proven disappointing so far. Insecurity throughout the country remains high, especially in the militia-dominated eastern regions that border Rwanda and Uganda. Guerrilla groups opposed to the leadership in Rwanda and Uganda, rebel groups fighting against the Congolese government and opportunistic militias make up the complex mix of armed groups in the eastern region. The ongoing violence in the east has contributed to the displacement of 1.4 million people within the country; 250,000 of these have become internally displaced people between August 2008 and June 2009. An important aspect of this conflict is sexual violence perpetrated by the guerrilla groups, rebel groups, militias and government forces. The DRC has the highest rate of sexual violence in the world. In the first quarter of 2009, 463 women had been reportedly raped. The Congolese soldiers themselves are responsible for 143 of them. Though these numbers are high, the real number of rapes is undoubtedly higher, as the stigma surrounding rape is surely preventing many women from reporting their assaults. Sexual violence is regarded as the most widespread form of criminality in the current conflict. Political dissent also simmers in western areas, and Kabila has responded to protests with repressive force. This continuing insecurity, coupled with the destruction wrought by over seven years of war, puts the lives of thousands of Congolese at risk on a daily basis. Many Congolese do not have access to healthcare, education and other basic social services. As a result, the average life expectancy is 54 years; the infant mortality rate is 81 for every 1,000 live births. Over a million Congolese are living with HIV/AIDS. What this reality of poverty and hardship does not reveal is the immense amount of mineral wealth that lies within the Democratic Republic of the Congo, including thirty percent of the world's diamonds and seventy percent of its coltan. Throughout the war, these natural resources were not only regularly stolen but they, in fact, partially fueled the conflict. Today, they continue to be illegally mined both by the Congolese and by surrounding countries. Unfortunately, even the wealth that is legally obtained by the government often times does not reach the country's citizens. Most of these conflict minerals are used in modern technology, from cell phones to laptop computers. In light of this, the Congo Conflict Minerals Act was introduced to the Senate in April 2009. The Act would have U.S. companies track and disclose the country of origin of the minerals used in common technological products. This is a strong first step towards acknowledging the conflict and using American consumer power and corporate reforms to help decrease the financial incentives of maintaining a situation of violence and instability in the DRC. Graft, corruption and bureaucratic ineffectiveness remain ongoing problems within the new democratic government. As the DRC continues to grapple with the aftermath of war and seeks to take concrete steps towards consolidating a multi-party democracy, the U.S. has an important role to play. In addition to promoting transparency, the U.S. must also support the newly elected government as it seeks to address massive political, economic and social challenges. This is critical for peace and democracy in the entire Great Lakes region. The rehabilitation of the DRC is heavily burdened by the country's massive foreign debt, much of which is the legacy of the corrupt Mobutu regime from the Cold War era. The estimated debt reached $10 million in 2007. This debt is illegitimate and should be canceled by the U.S. and other countries as a gesture of support for the people of the Congo and their new government. The DRC faces a serious fiscal crisis, and the government has practically no budget to address either social services or security. Corruption remains a real obstacle to achieving stability and growth, and to improving the lives of the people of the DRC. The U.S. should seek to support Congolese efforts to counter corruption and promote good governance in the future. In addition, to tackle the problem of ongoing insecurity, the U.S. should provide strong financial support for the work of the United Nations (UN) peacekeeping force (known as MONUC) especially in the eastern regions of the country. Efforts must also be made by the U.S. to support the reconstruction of the infrastructure and social services that were destroyed during the war and undermined by earlier Cold War manipulations. This kind of investment would save lives in the immediate term, and would improve the future for millions of Congolese. Laurent Nkunda, the leader of the National Congress for the Defense of the People (CNDP), a rebel group active in the DRC, was arrested January 23, 2009. Accordingly, the CNDP rebels have been assimilated into the national military forces. The government of the DRC also invited Rwandan and Ugandan troops into the eastern region of the DRC in the first months of 2009; their aim was to help combat their respective rebel groups operating from the DRC and to restore peace. These efforts have largely failed, and MONUC and government forces are attempting to quell the rebel violence on their own. Since 1994, 5.4 million people have been killed or died as a result of the conflict, and millions have been displaced. As the DRC attempts to move past its conflict-ridden history, the U.S. and the international community have an historical and moral obligation to support democracy and development in the Congo. The country's size, its centrality, and its potential wealth make this an investment not only in the people of the DRC, but also in the future of the entire African continent. LinksAfrica Action on CNN, Inside Africa: Money, Politics and Human Rights
'Owning up to Africa': Gerald LeMelle on Sirius XM Satellite Radio
Media Briefing Booklet: President Barack Obama's Visit to Ghana July 10, 2009
Latest news from AllAfrica.com Basic information on DRC (CIA World Factbook) DRC: Ravaged Land
|
|
Resources on Key Countries
