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The UN’s oath to protect international peace seems compromised, as violence between the two Central African states re-emerged.
Pete unseth, CC BY-SA 4.0 <https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0>, via Wikimedia Commons
In the spring of 2022, a group of rebels called M23 resurfaced in the form of violent attacks against Congolese troops as well as UN peacekeepers in the region of Kivu in DRC. This rebellious movement was created in 2012 during the armed conflict opposing it to the DRC’s government in the aftermath of the Second Congo War. The renewed violence has led to the displacement of thousands of civilians and serves as a token for the still unresolved tensions existing between Rwanda and DRC.
Indeed, Kinshasa (DRC) has accused Kigali (Rwanda) of supporting the rebels from the M23 movement as they are a majority of Tutsi ethnicity, which claim is supported by both the African Union and the USA. Mutually, Rwanda criticizes the DRC for supporting Hutu extremist milices. The current situation is one of complexity as the M23 movement itself splits into factions carrying different objectives. One of them justifies the violence as a means to reclaim justice, stating that the DRC’s government has not honoured its part of the peace agreement signed in 2013. Another faction affirms to defend the Tutsi minority in the Kivu region against Hutu militants reinforcing the Congolese army.
The tensions in the region between DRC and Rwanda have been present since the 1990s with the First Congo War and the Rwanda genocide. In the aftermath of the latter, about 2 million Hutu refugees fled to the DRC to settle in the Kivu region, fearing retribution and prosecution in Rwanda where a Tutsi government won against the previous Hutu genocidal authorities. The new Rwandan government under Paul Kagame launched an invasion of the Congolese region where the Hutus had escaped, considering their presence a threat to the Tutsi population. The conflict between both countries and both ethnicities stretched until the Second Congo War. It involved other neighbouring countries such as Namibia, Angola, Burundi, Zimbabwe and Uganda, sending their troops and rebel groups to support either side. Adding to the tense political conflict, the 21st century brought about a race for metals and rare earth minerals which Congo hosts a great quantity of. Local armed groups, multinational companies and foreign actors have shown a greater interest in the conflict as they get involved in the exploitation of these resources.
The situation is of utmost concern from a humanitarian viewpoint. Indeed, the DRC is considered to have about 5,7 million internally displaced people who have fled from their homes due to the repeated violence often targeting civilians. The living conditions in DRC are of great poverty and lack of food security causing 6,4 million of people to suffer from acute malnutrition. The critical sanitary conditions have allowed the propagation of epidemics such as yellow fever, malaria and cholera. Human rights are also threatened in the region, indeed, the Joint Human Rights Office in DRC has reported several arbitrary executions, kidnappings and rapes of women and girls.
Relating to these concerns, the international community of the UN established the MONUC in November 1999 with the objectives of ensuring the respect of the cease-fire and the disengagement of forces. The mandate was later expanded for the peacekeepers to cover additional tasks and renewed multiple times after being renamed MONUSCO. However, the mission is widely criticized in the RDC leading to several demonstrations and attacks on the Mission’s premises. The peacekeepers are accused of being inefficient in the combat against M23 and the establishment of peace in the region. UN Secretary-General, Antonio Guterres declared in August of this year that the mission had entered its final phase leading to the probable departure of the peacekeepers.
The persistent violence in the region shows a diplomatic failure of the UN mission to establish peace and prevent further Human Rights violations. The question of international justice is not yet on the table but the tensions still at play seem to prevent any foreseeable settlement.
References
AfricaNews. (2022, May 23). DR Congo: UN condemns M23 rebel attacks on peacekeeping force in North Kivu. Africanews. https://www.africanews.com/2022/05/23/dr-congo-un-condemns-m23-rebel-attacks-on-peacekeeping-force-in-north-kivu/
AfricaNews. (2023, October 18). The UN worries about a risk of “direct confrontation” between DRC and Rwanda. Africanews. https://www.africanews.com/2023/10/18/the-un-worries-about-a-risk-of-direct-confrontation-between-drc-and-rwanda/
BBC News Afrique. (2023, September 19). Manifestations violentes contre la MONUSCO à Goma : Ce qu’il faut savoir. BBC News Afrique. https://www.bbc.com/afrique/region-66686786
Conflict in the Democratic Republic of Congo | Global Conflict Tracker. (n.d.). Global Conflict Tracker. https://www.cfr.org/global-conflict-tracker/conflict/violence-democratic-republic-congo
Democratic Republic of the Congo. (2023, September 25). OCHA. https://www.unocha.org/democratic-republic-congo
Facts and figures. (2023, May 17). MONUSCO. https://monusco.unmissions.org/en/facts-and-figures
Schwikowski, M. (2022, April 13). M23 rebels resurface in DR Congo. dw.com. https://www.dw.com/en/m23-rebels-resurface-in-dr-congo/a-61383104