Refugees International: Articles: "Seizing This Moment of Hope" Calls Security Most Pressing Humanitarian Issue in D.R. Congo

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"Seizing This Moment of Hope" Calls Security Most Pressing Humanitarian Issue in D.R. Congo

10/17/2006

Contact: Megan Fowler, 202-828-0110 x214
megan@refugeesinternational.org

“Seizing This Moment of Hope” Calls Security Most Pressing Humanitarian Issue in D.R. Congo

Ending Violence Requires More Peacekeepers and Support for Congolese National Army

New York, NY – As the situation in the Democratic Republic of the Congo improves, increasing security for civilians is the most pressing humanitarian priority, says a new report by Refugees International. Seizing This Moment of Hope: Towards a Secure Future in the Democratic Republic of the Congo calls on the international community and the Congolese government to end the violence by rehabilitating the Congolese armed forces, expanding the UN peacekeeping force in the country and enforcing an existing embargo on arms and natural resources. The report also provides recommendations on how the country can continue to maintain progress after the presidential runoff election on October 29 by offering concrete steps for improving humanitarian assistance, funding and coordination.

“There is a real sense of hope that things are getting better in the Democratic Republic of the Congo. The elections are moving forward, fighting has slowed down in the east, and refugees are starting to return home,” said Rick Neal, Advocate for Refugees International and author of Seizing This Moment of Hope. “But this is a long process, and now is not the time to turn our backs and walk away. Doubling our efforts at this crucial moment will have a tremendous impact towards ensuring that the Congolese people have the food, shelter and security they need to get home and restart their lives.”

Fighting in many parts of the D.R. Congo has dramatically decreased, largely due to the expansion of the UN peacekeeping force (MONUC), withdrawal of foreign troops and the formation of a transitional government in July 2003. On July 30, seventy percent of the electorate voted in the first democratic election for president in four decades. However, pockets of extreme insecurity and acute need persist. To address this, the report recommends strengthening the new Congolese national army (the FARDC) by giving troops a living wage, improving training, and holding soldiers and their superiors accountable as necessary for human rights abuses, particularly rape.

“Although the new Congolese national army has committed serious human rights abuses, peace and stability will not arrive in the Congo until the army changes -- and it will not change by itself,” said Mr. Neal. “Rehabilitating the army and authorizing a short-term expansion of the UN peacekeeping mission will help resolve the humanitarian crisis and bring peace to the Democratic Republic of the Congo.”

The report calls for expanding the UN peacekeeping mission by four additional battalions to protect civilians, deter fighters and enforce an embargo on the transfer of weapons and natural resources that the UN first imposed in 2003. Rwanda and Uganda must also prevent the flow of arms and natural resources across their borders and be held accountable for violations of the embargo.

“Elections alone will not solve problems like the ongoing flow of weapons into the country, continued displacement and the inability of aid agencies to reach people in need,” said Ken Bacon, President of Refugees International. “While some suggest reducing the number of UN peacekeepers in the country in 2007, this would only jeopardize the UN’s substantial investment before it has had a chance to succeed.”

The Democratic Republic of the Congo is the third largest country in Africa -- about the size of the eastern United States -- with an estimated population of 60 million. Four million people have died in the country since 1998 from war-related causes and another two million people remain displaced from their homes inside the country or as refugees in neighboring countries. The report recommends increased funding for humanitarian assistance for displaced people, and action to guarantee that the return of refugees and internally displaced people is voluntary and safe.

Refugees International is a 27-year-old advocacy organization based in Washington, DC that works to generate lifesaving humanitarian assistance and protection for displaced people around the world and works to end the conditions that create displacement.

Seizing This Moment of Hope is available online here.

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