08 April 2003
DRC Must Remain High on U.S. Agenda, Human Rights Director Says
(ICG's F. Grignon testifies before House Africa Subcommittee) (800)
By Jessica Allen
Washington File Staff Writer
Washington -- "The Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) must be given
high priority on America's foreign policy agenda. If America turns a
blind eye to the DRC, the country could easily slip back into endless
chaos and fragmentation," says Dr. François Grignon, director of the
Central Africa Project at the International Crisis Group (ICG).
"The Congo peace process has reached its crucial implementation stage"
and "the U.S. government should increase its involvement in the region
as soon as possible," Grignon told the Africa Subcommittee at an April
3 hearing on the crisis in the Great Lakes Region.
"Statelessness in the Congo," he said, "carries the risk of offering
endless supplies of natural resources for the financing of illicit
arms networks, human and drug trafficking, as well as terrorism
worldwide."
Despite his bleak assessment of current problems in the Congo, Grignon
told the lawmakers the peace process in the DRC still "shows signs of
hope."
According to Grignon, a key factor to the continued turmoil in the
region has been Burundian and Rwandan armed insurgents that have
organized themselves in the refugee camps of Eastern Congo. "Their
presence has led to two wars: the first in 1996-1997 led to the
overthrow of Zairean President Mobutu, and the second, which began in
1998, continues today."
Grignon said the current civil war has resulted in a three-year
"occupation of DRC territory by six foreign armies, who have
partitioned the Congo into three separately administered territories."
The result, he said, is that more than two million civilians in the
Great Lakes region have died from war, famine and disease.
He encouraged the U.S. to warn all foreign actors involved or seeking
involvement in the Congo conflict that their presence is unacceptable,
and suggests that the U.S. pressure DRC President Joseph Kabila to
participate more actively in the disarming, demobilizing,
repatriating, reintegrating, and resettling of armed groups.
"The United States Government should also push for the U.N. Security
Council to give the U.N. observer's mission a peacekeeping mandate, as
well as the funds to carry out the disarmament/resettlement process,"
said Grignon, who added, "With cooperation from African nations and
western partners, the U.S. can play a special role in helping to
create and train a reformed army for the DRC composed of rebel groups
and the Mai Mai militias."
According to Grignon, the U.S. should also help establish regulatory
codes of conduct for business in Congo in order to shut down illicit
trade channels, as well as to create a tax system beneficial to a
government under reconstruction.
After the intervention of the international community in Central
Africa following the failure of the Lusaka Agreement of 1999, "there
have been a number of breakthroughs in the peace process," said
Grignon. One of the most significant breakthroughs has been the
withdrawal of non-Congolese troops and joint security agreements with
bordering nations.
[The Lusaka Agreement called for the disarming of non-Congolese armed
groups in Eastern Congo, the withdraw of foreign forces, and an
Inter-Congolese Dialogue among government, rebels, unarmed opposition,
and civil society.]
Although some of Rwanda's national troops remain in the Congo, most
have been removed, and the Rwandan government has signed bilateral
security agreements for border control with the DRC, explained
Grignon. The leadership of the Rwandan Hutu rebel group, the
Democratic Forces for the Liberation of Rwanda, has been expelled from
the Congo, he added, along with much of the rebel army.
Zimbabwe and Angola have withdrawn all of their troops and Uganda has
agreed to a joint security agreement with the DRC, though its troops
still occupy DRC territory. And on March 6, 2003 the parties of the
Inter-Congolese dialogue signed a final "Constitution of Transition"
that included an explanation of how all 'belligerent' forces would be
joined into one national army.
Despite these advances, "many challenges remain," said Grignon. "The
future government of transition will be faced with the uphill task of
stopping violence, reunifying a country torn by a series of three
intertwined conflicts (regional, national, and local) and the outcome
of thirty years of destructive politics. Separatist political forces
and ethnic warlords supported by Congo's neighbors are already
creating obstacles to the implementation of this new agreement," he
said.
In his closing remarks Grignon said, "Without the support and guidance
of the United States government, the Congolese state will remain
incapable of reestablishing security on its territory. To guarantee
long-term stability in the Great Lakes Region, there must also be a
concerted effort by the Congolese and the rest international
community."
(The Washington File is a product of the Office of International
Information Programs, U.S. Department of State. Web site:
http://usinfo.state.gov)
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