Argument: Peace may finally be at hand

With the Ceasefire Agreement of Lusaka in July 1999 the so-called "Africa's World War" ended. Foreign occupiers (Rwanda, Uganda, Angola, Zimbabwe…) officially removed their troops from the territory under the sovereignty of the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC). MONUSCO has been involved in the process of peace-building ever since the Lusaka Agreement. The agreement ended the international element of the fighting leaving just conflicts with rebel militias. This too is now close to being finished. In November a peace deal was signed between the government and M23 in Kenya as a result of aggressive UN action. [1] With a deal struck with the biggest remaining rebel group DRC is close to permanent peace.

[1] ‘DR Congo government 'signs deal with M23 in Kenya'’, BBC News, 12 December 2013, http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-africa-25357821

Candidate 1: "Not all rebels have disarmed; the FDLR group has said it will disarm but has not done so. [1] The disarmament, demobilization and reintegration programme faces coordination and financial problems. There is a security threat from volatile border regions that might reverse the whole DDR effort as militias and military units struggle for control over resources and terrorise the local population. MONUSCO can't protect the repatriated civilians, which may mean any demobilisation is only temporary. If violence flares then so will guns be taken up once more.

[1] Mvano, Chrispin, ‘U.N. Congo peacekeepers question Rwandan rebel disarmament claim’, Reuters, 4 February 2014, http://www.reuters.com/article/2014/02/04/us-congo-democratic-rwanda-idUSBREA130UR20140204"
Candidate 2: "As recently as January 2014 the United Nations Security Council noted in a resolution “that the situation in the DRC continues to constitute a threat to international peace and security”. [1]

In the border regions of Ituri and Kivu armed fighting still goes on despite the supposed defeat pf M23. In December 2013 the bodies of 21 slaughtered civilians were found with the finger of blame pointing at the National Army for the Liberation of Uganda (NALU) and the Allied Democratic Forces (ADF) showing that the fight is not yet fully won; there are still groups fighting. [2]

[1] ‘Resolution 2136 (2014)’, United Nations Security Council, 30 January 2014, http://www.securitycouncilreport.org/atf/cf/%7B65BFCF9B-6D27-4E9C-8CD3-CF6E4FF96FF9%7D/s_res_2136.pdf

[2] UN News Service, ‘Congo-Kinshasa: UN Boosts Attack Force in East After Gruesome Massacre of Civilians’, allAfrica, 16 December 2013, http://allafrica.com/stories/201312170071.html"
Candidate 3: "The presence of the UN has not stopped human rights abuses. A recent UN report has highlighted that the Congolese army itself has been involved in such abuses particularly sexual violence. Convictions by the ICC are welcome but prosecuting a tiny number of leaders is a drop in the ocean of criminality that occurred, and still occurs in the DRC."
Candidate 4: "Elections do not show the UN is moving Congo towards becoming a functioning democracy. In 2011 President Kabila has changed the election system to strengthen his own chances of re-election. The elections were hardly free and fair; the AU election monitors have every incentive to praise the elections but even they noted violence occurring. The US state department said “we believe that the management and technical execution of these elections were seriously flawed, lacked transparency and did not measure up to the democratic gains we have seen in recent African elections.” [1] The Carter Center found “multiple locations… reported impossibly high rates of 99 to 100 percent voter turnout with all, or nearly all, votes going to incumbent President Joseph Kabila.” [2] Worse the elections were marred by violence with at least 18 people killed in the run up to the vote. [3]

[1] Nuland, Victoria, ‘State Department on Results of Presidential Election in DRC’, US State Department, 14 December 2011, http://iipdigital.usembassy.gov/st/english/texttrans/2011/12/20111214164808su0.76815.html

[2] ‘Carter Center: DRC Presidential Election Results Lack Credibility’, The Carter Center, 10 December 2011, http://www.cartercenter.org/news/pr/drc-121011.html

[3] Callimachi, Rukmini, ‘Congo Elections 2011: Violence Kills At Least 18 People’, Huffington Post, 2 December 2011, http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2011/12/02/congo-elections-2011-violence_n_1125142.html"

As recently as January 2014 the United Nations Security Council noted in a resolution “that the situation in the DRC continues to constitute a threat to international peace and security”. [1]

In the border regions of Ituri and Kivu armed fighting still goes on despite the supposed defeat pf M23. In December 2013 the bodies of 21 slaughtered civilians were found with the finger of blame pointing at the National Army for the Liberation of Uganda (NALU) and the Allied Democratic Forces (ADF) showing that the fight is not yet fully won; there are still groups fighting. [2]

[1] ‘Resolution 2136 (2014)’, United Nations Security Council, 30 January 2014, http://www.securitycouncilreport.org/atf/cf/%7B65BFCF9B-6D27-4E9C-8CD3-CF6E4FF96FF9%7D/s_res_2136.pdf

[2] UN News Service, ‘Congo-Kinshasa: UN Boosts Attack Force in East After Gruesome Massacre of Civilians’, allAfrica, 16 December 2013, http://allafrica.com/stories/201312170071.html
