Highlights
-Pressure from the international community results in a cease-fire and peace accord
-Within days of the cease-fire being implemented, fighting between rival militias erupts
-Sustained involvement by the international community, including efforts to include Rwanda and the Interahamwe in negotiations, are necessary to create a lasting peace
On January 23, 2008, rebel Tutsi General Laurent Nkunda signed a peace deal with the Democratic Republic of Congo (DR Congo) and the Mai Mai militia. The peace deal was a result of significant diplomatic pressure by the United Nations (UN) and Western governments. Despite the end of the DR Congo’s 1998-2003 war, fighting has continued in the eastern part of the country in the North Kivu province (Previous Report).
The new agreement called for an immediate cease-fire, which would be followed by troops withdrawing from key areas that would fall under an UN-patrolled buffer zone. Currently, the United Nations Organization Mission in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (MONUC) is the largest peacekeeping operation in the world with 17,000 peacekeepers.
The peace accord also establishes a military technical commission to monitor the cease-fire. Additionally, limited amnesty is offered under the peace accord to rebel and militia fighters. The amnesty does not include war crimes, crimes against humanity, or genocide, which have all occurred since 1998. As an act of good faith on the DR Congo government’s part, it did not renew the arrest warrant against Nkunda.
Despite this progress, it is unlikely that the agreement will hold, as violence has already renewed. Concern in the mid to long-term remains regarding possible impact to neighboring countries if the fighting escalates.
Still No Lasting Peace
Less than one week after the peace accord, which was widely described as a groundbreaking peace accord that would finally provide stability to eastern DR Congo, fighting between Mai Mai militia fighters, who are loyal to the government, and Nkunda’s National Congress for the Defense of the People (CNDP) Tutsi rebels broke out. There are conflicting reports as to who began the fighting on January 27, 2008.
Causes of Failure
The involvement of the international community to reach a deal last week was a positive sign that countries, especially Western ones, remain concerned about violence in the DR Congo. However, by pushing for a cease-fire and peace accord through diplomatic pressure rather than allowing the sides more time to discuss the issues may, in part, be responsible for the quick failure of the cease-fire.
Further adding to the likelihood that the cease-fire would only last in the short term was the decision to exclude both the Rwandan government and the Democratic Front for the Liberation of Rwanda (FDLR), also known as the Interahamwe. The presence of FDLR militia members, many of whom played a significant role in the genocide in Rwanda in 1994 that killed over 800,000 people, has previously led the Tutsi-dominated Rwandan government to invade the DR Congo.
Outlook
Eastern DR Congo will continue to remain plagued by violence between rival militias in the near-term. While the international community will likely again assert pressure on the groups to recommit to the cease-fire agreement, until the root causes of the fighting are addressed, there will be no end to the fighting.
General Nkunda repeatedly claims his militia fights to protect the Tutsi communities in eastern Congo. Despite the DR Congo having the largest peacekeeping force in the world, it has still failed to provide security to the citizens of the DR Congo in North and South Kivu. The Hutu Interahamwe has repeatedly stated they will not leave DR Congo until Rwanda agrees to negotiate.
In order to bring an end to the hostilities, and the violence occurring daily against the citizens living in the region, the international community must make a renewed effort to reach peace.
The renewed effort must be a long-term, sustained commitment rather than the occasional pressure used to pass cease-fires and peace accords that fall apart within days. The sustained effort must include the Interahamwe and the Rwandan government in addition to the other groups operating in the region.
With the international community largely focused on other issues, including Darfur and the ongoing violence in post-election Kenya, it is unlikely the DR Congo will receive the sustained international community effort it requires.
As shown by the two wars in the 1990s that left 5.4 million people dead in Africa’s largest war, neighboring countries are affected by developments in the DR Congo. While recent fighting has yet to involve other countries in the region as it did in the 1990s, the threat of hostilities expanding to other countries remains a concern.
