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Update on the Democratic Republic of Congo
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Contents
- Civilian Displacement and Sexual Violence
- Political Stability
- Justice and the Rule of Law
- Natural Resource Management
During 2006, in the first democratic elections in over 40 years, the people of the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) elected a government led by President Joseph Kabila. It was the first small step towards restoring order to a country that has seen more deaths from war than any other nation since World War II. Nevertheless, violence persists.
The Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees
estimates that 640,000 people have been internally displaced in
the Kivu provinces in the east of the country between June &
July 2007.[1] Since the beginning
of 2007 more than 5,000 cases of sexual violence have been registered
with the UN Mission in the DRC (MONUC) in the province of South
Kivu alone.
Civilian Displacement and Sexual Violence
As of September 2007 there are more than one million internally displaced people in the DRC. This level of displacement is a direct result of an insecure environment including violent confrontations between illegal armed groups and the newly established national army (FARDC). The majority of displaced people live in the east of the country, in North and South Kivu, and in the district of Ituri in Orientale province. There are now reports of renewed violence in the Kivus, where civilian killings have become regular. The MONUC website [http://www.monuc.org] contains monthly human rights reports that detail reported cases of murder, rape, and relevant judicial decisions.
Since war began in the Congo in 1996, all armed groups including the FARDC have harassed civilians and used sexual violence as a weapon of war. Rape, forced prostitution and abduction of civilians as sex slaves have become a common practice. Perpetrators of these crimes mostly go unpunished. In 2006 more than 13,000 cases of sexual violence were registered with MONUC.
Top
of pageAfter a four-month stalemate between the governing party and the opposition, two days of fighting erupted in the capital of Kinshasa on 22-24 March 2007. Although official figures remain unavailable, at least 400 soldiers and civilians were probably killed, and 250 more injured. Thousands of people were trapped outside their homes, forces to find shelter wherever they could.
The leader of the opposition, Jean-Pierre Bemba, subsequently fled
to South Africa and has since been exiled to Portugal. The country
is now without any significant political opposition to the President
and his ruling coalition.
On July 31, 2005 Pascal Kabangulu, Executive Secretary of Kairos partner Héritiers de la justice was murdered in his home with his wife and children present. Pascal was killed for the knowledge he had uncovered of illicit extractive sector activities and persistent violations of human rights.
Murder of those who are witness to the country’s atrocities
continue. On the night of 13 June 2007, a Radio Okapi journalist
was shot dead in front of two colleagues by unidentified gunmen
in Bukavu, South Kivu Province. The two colleagues were sentenced
to death on August 28 for allegedly ordering the murder of their
friend. Another journalist and local government official were killed
in August 2007.
The former Canadian Ambassador to the DRC participated in the International Committee in Support of the Transition (CIAT). Interviews by the International Crisis Group (ICG) in 2006 and 2007 indicate that CIAT members aided companies in obtaining mining contracts and lucrative state tenders directly from the presidency. Canada has interests in the country’s mining and other natural resources. Canada has been named by the ICG as seeking to control strategic reserves of copper, cobalt and other minerals.
[1] http://www.monuc.org/News.aspx?newsId=15175
[2] International Crisis Group interviews, Kinshasa, October 2006, January 2007. “Congo: Consolidating the Peace,” Crisis Group Africa Report No. 128. 5 July 2007.
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