DR Congo: Turning a Blind Eye

It’s happened again.  The Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) is off of the international radar screen, despite the fact that violence and displacement continue [1].

Like many long-running humanitarian crises in the world, the DRC only seems to be the focus of international media attention and western governments when something disastrous is going on.  Take for example the events of last fall [2] or the arrival of Rwandan troops [3] in eastern DRC in January 2009 to root out the FDLR rebel group.

Both of those recent spikes in violence were followed by a flurry of activity in the media and in donor circles, with several high level diplomats and United Nations officials descending on Goma, the capital of North Kivu province, in order to show their support for humanitarian and political action [4].  All of this attention usually leads to a momentary pause in the fighting, just long enough for governments to declare that the job is now done and there is peace on the ground.  Of course, the conflict in eastern DRC will not be solved that easily, and while the international community moves on to the next major disaster, the situation continues to deteriorate, and local people continue to bear the brunt of ongoing violence. 

At the moment, I am most concerned about the Congolese government’s plans to start military operations against the FDLR rebels in South Kivu and what this means for the civilian population.  When I visited South Kivu in February [5], fighting between the Rwandan and Congolese armies and the FDLR in North Kivu had already driven thousands of displaced people to seek safety in border towns such as Hombo and Minova. People we interviewed in Mwenga told us they were frightened of the Rwandan troops, given the atrocities they had committed against civilians in the past. But they were equally scared of the FDLR, who had already threatened to punish the local population if the Rwandan and Congolese armies reached their area of control. 

The consequences of the Congolese army’s continued military campaign against the FDLR are already severe, particularly given the reprisal attacks by the FDLR against civilians [6].  In addition, the Congolese army continues to be one of the main perpetrators of abuses against local people.  In areas where army operations against the FDLR are expanding, reports have already surfaced of attacks by the national army on civilians [7], including lootings and rape.    

And yet, there is little international outcry right now about what is taking place. The UN humanitarian chief John Holmes recently raised his concerns [8] about the humanitarian situation in South Kivu. However, it was a fairly weak statement, and not exactly a rallying cry for action.

In the ebb and flow of the conflict that plagues eastern Congo, we seem due for another slip back into large scale violence and displacement in the next few months, particularly if the fighting in South Kivu is anything like what took place in North Kivu.  While an escalation in the conflict would put the DRC back on the top of the agenda for policy makers, it also means more suffering for the Congolese people, particularly the women and children forced to flee their homes.   

What the DRC needs most is sustained international attention and pressure on all parties to the conflict. There needs to be a renewed effort to find political solutions to the ongoing violence, focused on its root causes. The US in particular should use its leverage with the governments of Rwanda and the DRC to uphold previous commitments.  Only when there is lasting peace in eastern DRC can we turn our attention to what really matters – helping the more than 1 million displaced people return home and rebuild their lives.