Why guns won’t settle the DR Congo conflict

The United Nations (UN) has warned that no military option can ably restore peace and security in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) following severe deterioration of security in the country since December 2023.

Ms Bintou Keita, the special representative of the secretary general and head of the United Nations Organisation Stabilisation Mission in the DRC (Monusco), stressed that the security situation in the eastern DRC has further deteriorated since the end of the elections in December, with the M23 rebels advancing and “expanding its territory to unprecedented levels”. 

In describing the latest developments in the secretary general’s newest report on the DRC, Ms Keita warned that dialoguing was the only option. 

“There is no sustainable military solution to the conflict. The escalation of tensions between Rwanda and Burundi, which led to the closing of their border by Bujumbura, is an additional issue that could lead to the destabilisation of the province,” she said. 

Reiterating that all foreign forces illegally operating in the country’s territory should withdraw, Ms Keita emphasised the significance of a political process that addresses the root causes of the conflict, instead of military approaches. 

In her statement, Ms Keita noted that more than 7.1 million people had been displaced within the country, while 23.4 million people continue to suffer from food insecurity. 

“One Congolese person out of four faces hunger and malnutrition, making the DRC the country most affected by food insecurity,” she added. 

Secretary general’s report
On March 20, the secretary general’s report on Monusco, which covered the developments inside the DRC from December 1, 2023, to March 19, 2024, was launched. It highlighted a heap of challenges, including a worsening situation.  For example, within the period, the UN recorded 597 security incidents in Ituri, North Kivu, and South Kivu in which 531 civilians were reportedly killed, including 97 women and 34 children. 

The report states that the Allied Democratic Forces (ADF) and the Coopérative pour le développement du Congo (CODECO) were responsible for most killings of civilians (354 civilians killed in North Kivu and Ituri combined), whereas protection of civilian concerns in North Kivu grew significantly owing to repeated ceasefire violations between M23 and the Congolese armed forces. 

“As the East African Community Regional Force withdrew, completing the process on January 8, M23 reoccupied all former positions held by the regional force and expanded its territory beyond the pre-March 2023 ceasefire lines, moving further west and south towards Goma and Sake,” the report says. 

In the context of heightened tensions between Burundi and Rwanda, both countries strengthened their military presence along their borders following the closure by Burundi of its border with Rwanda on January 11, the report says. 

In North Kivu, 251 security incidents were recorded involving mostly ADF and M23, whereas in Ituri Province, 180 security incidents were recorded involving mostly CODECO, Zaïre, and ADF. 

In total, 219 civilians and 282 civilians were killed in North Kivu and Ituri provinces, respectively.  

“The ADF was most active north and northwest of Beni Town, near the Ituri border, relocating there to evade UPDF/FARDC operations. In addition, the group increased its movements and isolated attacks in its traditional strongholds in eastern Beni territory,” it added. 

During the period, up to 1,253 human rights violations and abuses were documented across the country. 

“In conflict-affected provinces, different Mai-Mai factions were allegedly responsible for most of the abuses (159), followed by the ADF (152), M23 (142), and CODECO (90), among others. At least 537 people were allegedly victims of summary killings by armed groups, notably the ADF (259), CODECO (88), and M23 (83).” 

The UN also revealed that at the end of February, the number of internally displaced persons in Ituri, North Kivu, and South Kivu Provinces amounted to six million out of a total of seven million displaced persons throughout the country. 

This figure places the DRC among the countries with the largest internally displaced population in the world, the report said.

Whereas by June 2023, the UN had spent more than $24.3 billion on the DRC peacekeeping mission, the security situation in the eastern DRC has continued to deteriorate, with the number of illegal armed groups reaching 250. 

Ms Jacquie-Anna, a civil society representative from the National Technical Secretariat for the Implementation of the UN’s Resolution 2250 (2015), detailed the alleged use of sexual abuse as weapons of war by the Rwandan occupation army. 

“The DRC has no more future, given that its youth are savagely destroyed by the effects of Rwanda’s war of aggression. The Congolese women in the east of the DRC lost their dignity, with thousands living with the moral dilemma of having to kill their children conceived by rape,” she said. 

“How long will this situation last? How many women will have to be raped in front of their husbands and children? How many young people will have to see their future stolen from them and be recruited into armed groups?” she added. 

History
For two decades, the aggression against the DRC by Rwanda has destroyed everything in its path, she told a UN Security Council meeting on March 27 on the situation in the DRC.

“This has caused anxiety in young people who have lost all hope. It makes them fall prey to violent extremism and child recruitment. A youth without education has known nothing but war, violence, and bloodshed,” she said.

Explaining Kigali’s continued occupation and military advancement in the DRC, Rwanda’s representative to the UN said the country is securing the safety and rights of its Tutsi and Kinyarwanda-speaking communities in the DRC.

“Hate speech, persecution, and ethnic cleansing targeting Congolese Tutsi communities reached unprecedented levels under the watch of the international community. Any initiative that neglects to uphold the rights of Congolese Tutsi and Kinyarwanda-speaking communities will not yield sustainable results,” Mr Ernest Rwamucyo said.

He expressed to the council Rwanda’s concern about the declaration of the presidents of Burundi and the DRC, who have repeatedly threatened to inflict “regime change” in Rwanda.

The meeting also discussed how DRC has desperately continued to pursue military options to settle a political problem.

The UN’s panel (group) of experts on the DRC says both the DRC and Burundi were fighting alongside the genocidal militia groups against the M23 in an attempt to end a political problem through military means.

Whereas the EAC regional forces made strides in imposing a ceasefire and the accompanying peace process, the Kinshasa government is accused of fiercely opposing the force by muzzling the force to serve its own goal of pursuing a military solution.

On one end, Rwanda’s concerns remain unanswered, including the threatening presence and preservation of genocidal forces in DRC and the recent public declaration of the presidents of Burundi and the DRC who have repeatedly threatened to cause regime change in Rwanda.

Meanwhile, Mr Georges Nzongola-Ntalaja, the DRC’s permanent representative to the UN, blames Kigali, its armed forces and the M23 associated with it for the worsening security situation in the country. 

While emphasising the DRC’s commitment to achieving lasting peace throughout its territory, Mr Ntalaja said the DRC will not tolerate any window-dressing arrangements and called for the unconditional withdrawal of Rwandan forces and M23 from the DRC.

Denouncing the FDLR forces in the DRC, Mr Zéphyrin Maniratanga, the Permanent Representative of Burundi to the UN, called for the cessation of support given by FARDC and that the FDLR elements be disarmed, demobilised, and repatriated to Rwanda.  

“The international community must avoid being bystanders in the face of the genocide unfolding against the Congolese Tutsi community,” he said. 

The UN Security Council called on Rwanda to urgently pull out its forces from the DRC.