CIAO DATE: 10/2012
October 2012
"Eastern Congo: Why Stabilisation Failed", the latest briefing from the International Crisis Group, examines the conflict since Bosco Ntaganda’s mutiny in April 2012 and the creation of the 23 March rebel movement (M23). Though a new situation, today’s problems closely resemble yesterday’s, which is hardly surprising because past peace deals were never implemented. To resolve the two-decades-old war, donors should learn from earlier failings. “The Kivus do not need a new strategic approach – previous peace agreements and stabilisation plans would be enough if they were treated as more than empty promises”, says Marc-André Lagrange, Crisis Group’s Central Africa Senior Analyst. “But this requires coordinated and unequivocal pressure from the donors on the Rwandan and Congolese regimes”. After the 23 March 2009 agreement between the government and the rebel CNDP (National Council for the Defence of the People), which was also supported by Rwanda, the Congolese authorities pretended to integrate the CNDP into political institutions, while the rebel group pretended to integrate into the Congolese army. Then, the make-believe broke down. In the absence of army reform, military pressure on armed groups had only a temporary effect. Post-conflict reconstruction was not accompanied by essential governance reforms and political dialogue. Violence returned.
Resource link: L'Est du Congo: pourquoi la stabilisation a échoué [PDF] - 3.0M