SC.Kivu.eng

Committee : Security Council

Issue : How to bring peace to the Kivu region?

President : Adrien Rapoport

Introduction

The Kivu conflict is a complex conflict taking place in the Kivu region of the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), near Rwanda and Uganda. It has grown into having an economic dimension with the finding of many natural resources and the crumbling of the Congolese economy. It took root in the Belgian colonization of Congo from 1885 to 1960 and the Rwandan genocide of 1994.

Key terms

Transitional government: A transitional government is a government temporarily set up to prepare to give way to a permanent government.

Clientelism: A social order which depends on relations of patronage. Often describes the exchange of goods and services against political support.

Genocide:The deliberate and systematic extermination of a national, racial, political, or cultural group.

Colonization: The act or process of establishing a colony or colonies.

Colony: (A group of people who form) a settlement in one country.

Coup d’état: The sudden overthrowing of a government by a usually small group of persons in or previously in position of authority.

Conflict minerals: Conflict resources are natural resources extracted in a conflict zone and controlled by the fighters. In the DRC many sources of diamonds, gold, oil, timber, and even drug crops and medicinal plants are exploited by rebel groups. Because they are in conflict zones they are considered as conflict resources. They are often cheap because no taxes are paid by the groups selling them, and basic human rights concerning working conditions aren’t respected.

Rwandan genocide: Refers to the killing of between 500 000 and 1 million Tutsis (mostly), and moderate Hutus by Hutu extremists in 100 days (1994)

Hutus and Tutsis: They were defined by social class more than ethnicity. Otherwise, they spoke the same language, lived in the same areas and followed the same traditions. In the 1980’s Hutus were the majority of the Rwandan population (85%). They were mostly peasants. Tutsis formed the rest of the population and gained wealth, and then power thanks to cattle ownership. They created a Tutsi aristocracy and were backed by the Belgians during colonization. Hutus didn’t have the same rights and access to education and were subject to forced labor. This created division between the Hutus and Tutsis and led the Hutus to riot in 1959 and the prosecution of the Tutsis (20 000 killed and 1.5 million displaced). This time the Belgians sided with the Hutus. Tutsis fled to Uganda, and started building the Rwandan patriotic front (RPF) to return to their country. In 1994 the Hutu president plane was shot, the Tutsis were blamed for this, and the Hutus murdered up to 1 million Tutsis (Rwandan genocide). This pushed more Tutsis to join the RPF and led to the Tutsis succeeding to take over Rwanda (under Paul Kagame). 2 million Hutus were displaced, up to 850 000 fled to Congo.

MONUC: The United Nations Mission aiming to restore peace in the DRC. Started out as a simple supervisor of the cease-fire in 2001 and went on to implementing it. In 2010 the mission received a new mandate to protect civilian and human rights, and support the DRC government to restore stability to the region.

AFDL: Alliance of the democratic forces for the liberation of Congo; Founded in 1996 and backed by Rwanda, this force aimed at hunting down the soldiers responsible for the rwandan genocide. Laurent Kabila was the leader of the AFDL, he went on to taking over Congo in 1997.

Conflict history

The conflict can be traced back to Belgium’s colonization of Congo (1885-1960). In 1885 Leopold II, king of Belgium founded the Congo Free State. The land, its resources and its inhabitants were considered as his property. He then turned the land over to Belgium. Leopold II, and then Belgium both treated the Congolese people in horrible conditions by using violence and torture whilst forcing them into labor. In 1960 Belgium rapidly decolonized Congo. At that point Congo was unprepared for its own independence as Belgium’s colonization had denied the Congolese access to education or the development of institutions and infrastructure.

In 1965 Joseph Mobutu enacted a military coup and took control of the government (and renamed Congo as Zaire). He was corrupt and controlled all the wealth with a few high placed officials. He stole wealth from the national treasury and even prevented development to get more foreign aid. After the Rwandan genocide in 1994 up to 850 000 Rwandan Hutus fled to Congo. Kagame wanted to punish the Hutus for the Tutsi genocide that the Hutus had caused. However, he had no hold over the refugees living across the border. Therefore, he helped create the AFDL with at its head was Laurent Kabila. Mobutu had plunged Congo into debt and governed the country undemocratically, while exerting clientelism. The Congolese didn’t see him as fit enough to continue governing the country. He also didn’t manage to stop the AFDL’s uprising, he therefore fled to Morocco. Laurent Kabila started governing Zaire (and renamed it the Democratic Republic of Congo) in 1997. However, Kabila was an authoritarian and corrupt leader and in 1997 exiled the Rwandans that had helped him take over Congo.

In 1998 Rwanda started invading Congo in response to the exile of Rwandan populations but didn’t fully manage to do so as Kabila (head of the Congolese government at the time) created a coalition with Angola and Namibia to fight back against Rwanda, along with Uganda and Burundi. Rwanda’s military forces were pushed back to the region of Kivu and its surrounding. The region has abundant natural resources which were exploited by the troops. The cause of the fighting becomes economic and the natural resources exploited there become conflict resources. Moreover, the many militia groups that Congo supported to fight its war against Rwanda turned against each other to take hold of the resources. Another reason for that was that Congo’s economy was crumbling, which made it very tough for people to live honestly. Laurent Kabila was assassinated in 2001.

After 2 years under a transitional government, and history’s largest UN peacekeeping operation (MONUC) supervising the conflict after the passing of Resolution 1355, Joseph Kabila (the son of Laurent Kabila) took over the role of president 10 days later and was elected as president in 2006 and 2011. He continued ruling with corruption in his country and led it in an authoritarian manner. Once again Congo’s economy was weak and its population remained poor and uneducated.

There are still many rebel groups in the region, along with DRC and Rwandan troops fighting over geopolitical conflicts and conflict resources. The FDLR (Democratic Forces for the Liberation of Rwanda) is one of them, and has in its ranks some of the Hutus responsible for the Rwandan genocide of the Tutsis in 1994. The FDLR attacks Tutsis and steals Congolese resources.

In 2004, Laurent Nkunda uprose against the DRC with a part of the DRC’s troops and support from Rwanda. His claim was that the DRC was persecuting the Tutsi minority. He formed a government ruling over North-Kivu and surrounding regions and named it the CNDP (National Congress for the Defense of the People).

In 2009 Rwanda and the DRC allied themselves against rebels in the Kivu region; Rwanda managed to capture Nkunda (it isn’t clear why Rwanda turned against Nkunda; some say it was because he was looking towards the whole of the DRC instead of concentrating on protecting minorities, and he was a liability to Rwanda). In 2012 the newly-founded M23 rebel group mutinied against the DRC government in response to the non-respected accords of the Congolese government concerning the Tutsis. The group also aimed to fight the FDLR. Rwanda and Uganda were accused by the DRC of supporting the group. The M23 captured the city of Goma, in the DRC, before being dissolved in 2013.

Nowadays most rebel groups lie in North Kivu and continue to exploit these conflict minerals. It is commonly accompanied by violations of human rights such as killings, rape, torture, and use of child labor. Countries and companies buying conflict resources are indirectly financing and supporting the conflict. An estimated 6 million people have died from this conflict. See: http://notaweaponofwar.org/

Timeline summary

1885-1960: Congo is a Belgian colony.

1960: Congo is rapidly decolonized.

1965: Joseph Mobutu enacts a military coup and renames Congo Zaire.

1994: Rwandan genocide (up to 1 million Tutsis are killed), followed by Paul Kagame leader of the RPF taking over Rwanda. Up to 850 000 Hutus flee to Congo.

1996: The AFDL is created with Laurent Kabila as its leader.

1996-1997: The AFDL takes over Congo and renames it the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC).

1997: Laurent Kabila exiles the Tutsis from the DRC.

1998: Rwanda starts invading the DRC.

1998-1999: Angola and Namibia help Congo push back Rwandan troops. The fighting goes on in the Kivu region and parties start fighting to exploit the resources in the region.

2001: Kabila is assassinated, a transitional government is put in place, and the largest peacekeeping operation in history is put in place to supervise a cease-fire around the conflict (MONUC).

2003: Joseph Kabila is elected president of the DRC.

2004: Nkunda starts an uprising against the DRC. He is backed by Rwanda.

2007: China invests 9 billion dollars in the DRC. Nkunda’s troops also join the DRC’s ranks.

Later in 2007: Nkunda and his troops separate from the DRC because MONUC denounces the presence of Rwandan and Ugandan troops in the DRC.

2009: Rwandan troops capture Nkunda during a joint operation between Rwanda and Congo.

2013: The M23 is dissolved but rebel groups are still fighting in the Kivu region. Many war crimes are committed and populations flee.

Conclusion

This is a very complex conflict as the DRC has been ruled in an undemocratic way: this makes it more complicated for leaders to denounce and punish war crimes. Many of those responsible for the Rwandan genocide either live in the DRC or are part of the army, and the DRC cannot stand against so many uprisings and mutinies. Sending troops to back one party is also taking a risk because both sides have their rights and wrongs, and war crimes. Moreover, the UN isn’t favorably viewed in the region as it didn’t intervene during the Rwandan genocide, only after it, during the Second Congo War. On the other hand, if the UN forces don’t continue to operate in the region, the conflict might continue.

Countries and organisations involved

China: In 2007, China invested 9 billion dollars into the DRC in a deal which granted them future resource and service trade opportunities . “New players such as China and South Africa are eager to invest in the vast mineral-rich country without asking a lot of questions about human rights, democracy or corruption.”

-Collette Brackman

Belgium: Belgium has tense relations with the DRC in part because of their former colonization of Congo.

USA: The USA along with western countries has concerns of the economic ties between China and the DRC as it prevents it from having leverage over the DRC and influencing it into establishing democracy. “U.S. relations with the D.R.C. are strong. U.S. foreign policy in the D.R.C. is focused on helping the country become a nation that is stable and democratic, at peace with its neighbors, extends state authority across its territory, and provides for the basic needs of its citizens. The U.S. is also working with the GDRC to ensure national elections consistent with the constitution.” “The top U.S. import from the D.R.C. is oil, accounting for more than 90% of all U.S. imports.” -US Department of State . The US opposed sending in any more peacekeepers as the mission has already cost 1 billion dollars. The US also passed the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform Act of 2010 which mandates that if companies use minerals from Congo or an adjoining country, they must file a report with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission describing what they have done to ensure the source of the minerals.

EU: The European Union has donated roughly 300 million euros to the DRC since 2003 for the promotion of health and infrastructure in the country. However, the EU has refused to stop using conflict resources from the DRC altogether during negotiations with its government.

France: The DRC’s exports to France from 1% of their exports and are mainly agricultural products. Also, France has been accused by Paul Kigali of supporting the Hutu extremists during the Rwandan genocide. They would have done this to maintain and strengthen ties with the Rwandan government.

Possible solutions

Carefully choose which groups to back.

Help create infrastructure for education, economy, and health.

Create refugee camps while controlling who is given refuge to.

Have neighboring countries participate in peace talks and cooperation.

Strengthen the DRC’s economy to enable people to earn a living without the illegal exploitation of conflict resources.

Ban the trade of conflict resources.

Help stop corruption in the DRC

More facts

The UN is not favorably viewed in the region as it didn’t intervene during the genocide, only after it, during the Second Congo War, even though it has enabled peace talks between Rwanda and Congo. Here we can see Joseph Kabila, Ban Ki-Moon, and Paul Kagame:

To get a better idea of the conflict and of its solutions you can visit this website: http://www.cfr.org/congo-democratic-republic-of/eastern-congo/p37236?cid=otr-marketing_use-Congo_InfoGuide#!/p37236?cid=otr-marketing_use-Congo_InfoGuide

CONGO

Industry: Mining (diamonds, copper, zinc), mineral processing, consumer products

Agriculture: Coffee, sugar, palm oil, rubber; wood products

Exports: Diamonds, copper, crude oil, coffee, cobalt

Population: 60,764,000

Capital: Kinshasa; 5,717,000

Area: 2,344,855 square kilometers (905,365 square miles)

Language: French, Lingala, Kingwana, Kikongo, Tshiluba

Religion: Roman Catholic, Protestant, Kimbanguist, Muslim, traditional

Currency: Congolese franc

Life Expectancy: 48