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Congo-Kinshasa: Still No Peace in the East
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AfricaFocus (Washington, DC)
ANALYSIS
2 May 2008
Posted to the web 2 May 2008
Washington, DC
"On January 23, 2008, after weeks of talks, the Congolese government signed a peace agreement in Goma, North Kivu, with 22 armed groups committing all parties to an immediate ceasefire and disengagement of forces from frontline positions. Yet since the signing, scores of civilians have been killed, hundreds of women and girls raped, and many more children recruited into armed service ..." - report from 63 Congolese and international NGOs
In January, a major step towards peace in eastern Congo was taken at the Conference on Peace, Security and Development in the Kivus, held in Goma from 6 to 25 January with some 1,250 delegates, including representatives of Congolese armed groups, local communities, local authorities, political parties and civil society. The work of the conference was conducted in two seminars, one for North Kivu and one for South Kivu. The participants adopted a wide range of recommendations and commitments to resolve the main problems facing the populations of the Kivus, including agreements to a ceasefire and demobilization of militia groups, as well as providing for return of refugees and internally displaced persons.
Implementation of the agreement, however, remains problematic.
This issue of AfricaFocus Bulletin contains (1) a press release from this group of NGOs, including Human Rights Watch, Oxfamm CRONGD (North Kivu), Centre Olame (South Kivu), Enough, Global Witness, and International Rescue Committee, (2) a report on a recent statement by Alan Doss, the UN Secretary-General's Special Representative for Democratic Republic of Congo, and a report from IRIN on the continuing threat of land mines in the Congo..
Articles on other recent developments in the Congo include
an Inter Press Service report on the indictment of militia leader Bosco Ntaganda for a consistent pattern of war crimes.
(http://allafrica.com/stories/200805010667.html)
a Washington Post article on road reconstruction in the Congo, highlighting as an example new opportunities for the village of Kilongo, only 30 miles from the city of Lubumbashi, but until recently almost cut off by the lack of a passable road (http://tinyurl.com/3wtfu3)
Human Rights Watch calls for transparency in investigation of charges against UN peacekeepers.
(http://allafrica.com/stories/200805020178.html)
The latest report of the UN Secretary-General on the Democratic Republic of the Congo (April 2, 2008) is available at: http://www.monuc.org/downloads/25SGreportENG.pdf
For previous AfricaFocus Bulletins on the Democratic Republic of the Congo, and related links, see
http://www.africafocus.org/country/congokin.php
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DR Congo: End the Horrific Suffering in Eastern Congo
63 Leading NGOs Press for Urgent Implementation of Goma Peace Agreement
(London, April 23, 2008) - The government of the Democratic Republic of Congo, the armed groups, and international parties to the Goma peace agreement should urgently implement the accord and end the horrific suffering of hundreds of thousands of men, women and children facing brutal violence and deadly diseases in eastern Congo, 63 international and Congolese human rights and aid groups said in a joint statement today.
The non-governmental organizations (NGOs) are urging the United Nations and the international players that helped negotiate the Goma agreement to appoint a high level independent special advisor on human rights for eastern Congo to focus attention and ensure action on protecting civilians at risk, specifically women and girls threatened by sexual violence. It also urged the international players such as the African Union, European Union, and the United States to support the appointment politically and financially.
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"Hundreds of thousands of victims clung to the hope that the peace deal would end their suffering. Sadly, no meaningful progress has been made on human rights commitments," said Anneke Van Woudenberg, Senior Researcher at Human Rights Watch. "We urge for the immediate appointment of a special advisor on human rights to help the parties honor their human rights commitments and to provide a voice for the victims who suffer in silence."
On January 23, 2008, after weeks of talks, the Congolese government signed a peace agreement in Goma, North Kivu, with 22 armed groups committing all parties to an immediate ceasefire and disengagement of forces from frontline positions. Yet since the signing, scores of civilians have been killed, hundreds of women and girls raped, and many more children recruited into armed service, adding to the extraordinarily high number of civilians who have already endured such crimes over the past decade.
An estimated 1.1 million people are displaced in North and South Kivu provinces, of which 550,000 fled from the fighting since 2007.
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