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Publications >> Staff Testimonies and Presentations
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Statement of Learned Dees Program Officer for Africa National Endowment for Democracy Senate Sub-Committee on Africa April 9, 2002 |
Mr. Chairman and Members of the Sub-Committee: Thank you for inviting me to testify on the topic of Weak States in Africa-US Policy Options in the Democratic Republic of the Congo. The National Endowment for Democracy (NED) is a nonprofit, bipartisan grant-making organization created in 1983 to strengthen democratic institutions around the world through nongovernmental efforts. With its annual Congressional appropriation, the Endowment makes hundreds of grants each year to support pro-democracy groups in every region of the world. Endowment programs in the areas of labor, free-market and political party development are conducted by four core institutes: the American Center for International Labor Solidarity (ACILS), the Center for International Private Enterprise (CIPE), the International Republican Institute (IRI) and the National Democratic Institute for International Affairs (NDI). The discretionary grants program assists pro-democracy organizations in other countries doing work in areas such as human rights, civic education and political participation, independent media and the free flow of information, the rule of law and democratic governance and conflict resolution. The National Endowment for Democracy has been providing support for civil society organizations in what is now the Democratic Republic of Congo (formerly Zaire) for more than a decade. The Endowment's first grants there were made in 1990 to human rights organizations which documented the abuses of the Mobutu Sese Seko regime. Among NED's first grantees was the Voice of the Voiceless, the country's oldest human rights group, which was founded by idealistic college students in the late 1980s. In 1993, the Endowment made a grant to the International Human Rights Law Group for human rights training and capacity building in the east of the country. It was the first international assistance specifically for human rights capacity building and contributed to the training of a generation of human rights activists, many of whom have assumed leadership positions in the human rights movement, including Immaculee Birhaheka, the 2000 winner of the Martin Ennals Award, a prize awarded annually by the world's 10 leading human rights organizations. The Endowment was among the first international funding organizations to support the efforts of these Congolese human rights pioneers and over the years Endowment assistance has helped human rights groups in almost every region of the country. In FY 2001, Congo was the number one priority for NED's Africa grants program and more than 30 grants were awarded to human rights and pro-democracy groups. NED's direct assistance to civil society organizations in Congo has taken place in the context of political chaos, state collapse and war. From the slow but steady deterioration of the state under Mobutu Sese Seko, to the war launched in 1996 with the aim of overthrowing Mobutu, to the invasion in 1998 by Rwanda and Uganda, aimed at toppling his successor, Laurent Kabila, Congo has been caught in a cycle of violence, retribution and war. THE HUMAN RIGHTS SITUATION AND THE ROLE OF CIVIL SOCIETY The impact of this conflict on Congo's 60 million people has been nothing less than calamitous. Indeed, the conflict in the Congo has led, directly and indirectly, to the deaths of more than an estimated three million people. More people have died as a result of the conflict in the Congo in the last six years than from any other conflict in the world. The collapse of the country's health infrastructures, the destitution of hundreds of thousands of internally displaced people fleeing the conflict and the continued availability of arms have exacerbated a desperate situation, especially in the Eastern portion of the Congo now under control of various factions seeking to overthrow the current government of Joseph Kabila in Kinshasa. This vicious cycle of war and retribution has filtered down from cities to towns to villages. Innocent civilians are at the mercy of numerous armed groups who roam the countryside. Both international human rights groups and local groups have documented numerous massacres of civilians by marauding combatants who make no distinction between other armed combatants and innocent bystanders, including women and children. In this context of conflict, clearly the human rights situation is grave. Numerous human rights organizations have detailed the extensive use of arbitrary arrest, imprisonment and torture. In the east of the country, the human rights situation is extremely poor. Soldiers from Uganda and Rwanda, allied with local Congolese forces, operate with impunity. The three rebel movements, the Congolese Rally for Democracy (RCD/Goma), the Movement for the Liberation of the Congo (MLC), and the Congolese Rally for Democracy- based in Bunia (RCD/ML)have no popular support for their political or military aims in the regions they occupy. According to the 2001 State Department report on human rights, and local reports from human rights organizations, these rebel groups and foreign troops from Rwanda and Uganda are responsible for a long list of abuses including deliberate, large scale killings, disappearances, torture, rape, dismemberment, extortion, arbitrary arrest and detention, and forcible recruitment of child soldiers. Human rights activists and journalists face severe restrictions and are often targets for abuse for disseminating human rights reports or news stories critical of local military or political officials. Many human rights activists, including some supported by NED in Kisangani, Goma, Uvira, Beni and Butembo, have themselves been victims of human rights abuses, including torture. In addition to these abuses local military and political leaders have manipulated and exacerbated ethnic tensions with disastrous consequences. One such example is the conflict between people from Hema and Lendu ethnic groups in North Kivu. Since the fighting began in 1999, nearly 8,000 people have been killed and 200,000 displaced. Both local and international reports implicate Ugandan army commanders in causing or exacerbating the conflict. In South Kivu, fighting has broken out recently between the RCD and members of the Banyamulenge ethnic group. This conflict has serious consequences for this vulnerable Tutsi community which has had its nationality questioned and been the target of ethnic attacks for the better part of the last decade. The Banyamulenge community has requested that UN peacekeepers visit the High Plateau area of South Kivu to verify the gravity of the situation. A significant and underlying cause of continued conflict is the presence of Rwandan soldiers and militias associated with the Rwandan genocide in 1994( formerly known as Interhamwe now known as ALIR forces). Estimates on the number of these Rwandan combatants rage from 10,000 to 20,000. Regardless of the numbers, their mere presence in the east of the Congo is a destabilizing force. They have been armed by and allied to the Kinshasa government and, on occasion, allied with local militias against the Rwandan-backed rebels. Thus, the resulting conflict between Rwandan combatants on Congolese soil victimizes first and foremost innocent Congolese civilians caught in the middle. Many innocent civilians have been killed after allegations of assisting or siding with one or the other of these armed groups. Without a clear resolution to the fundamental disposition of these culpable armed combatants from Rwanda, who have escaped justice, conflict is likely to continue. Another substantial armed force operation in the east of Congo is the local self-defense militias, known as Mai-Mai, who are likewise responsible for human rights abuses against civilians including killings, rapes, torture, kidnaping and the arbitrary arrest and detention of civilians. In Congo human rights abuses are not limited to one portion of the country. Significant abuses, in fact, are also occurring in government held territory. According to local human rights reports, the administration of Congolese President Joseph Kabila, which rules by decree, uses arbitrary arrest, torture and detention as a weapon against it critics. The government security forces operate with complete impunity. Among its many targets are journalists, human rights activists and political opponents. One such victim was Golden Misabiko, a staff member of the African Association in Defense of Human Rights(ASADHO), who was detained for alleged complicity in the assassination of the head of state, Laurent Kabila, tortured and later released. The government, like the rebel movements, often forcibly recruits child soldiers. Further complicating this all around dismal human rights picture is the connection between the conflict and control over precious natural resources. This was the subject of two reports last year conducted by the United Nations Security Council appointed Panel of Experts on the Illegal Exploitation of Natural Resources. The panel concluded that exploitation of resources was systematic and systemic, involving networks of government officials, military officers, and military owned companies from, Rwanda, Zimbabwe, Uganda, and Congo with the involvement of European and American businessmen and companies. According to a recent Oxford Analytica brief on the Congo, illegal exploitation of the country's mineral resources including diamonds, timber, coltan and gold continues despite increased international attention. The report draws a connection between fighting and resources, noting that recent outbreaks of fighting in eastern Congo have been highly localized around key coltan mining areas. It is clear that Congo provides fertile ground for any criminal network in the world wishing to launder money in exchange for illicit goods such as diamonds. There is, in conclusion, a strong financial disincentive for ending the war. The United Nations Peace Keeping mission (MONUC) has played an important role in verifying and maintaining the fragile cease-fire. With a mandate of slightly more than 5,000 troops and support staff and monitors, MONUC has deployed to the front lines and many Congolese consider their presence important and reassuring. In a fluid and complex conflict MONUC has provided an independently reliable source of information, and despite its limited size, an effective force of intervention. In many ways this thin blue line is all that separates Congo from complete chaos. Yet, despite this bleak environment and great hardships borne by the majority of the Congolese, civil society continues to fill the space left vacant by inaction and war. Efforts to rebuild Goma, for example, which was almost completely destroyed by the recent eruption of a volcano, are being led by local NGOs whose grassroots links have made distribution of humanitarian assistance possible. NGOs and religious organizations based in Catholic and Protestant churches are filling gaps in the health, developmental, and agricultural sectors. Although their self-reliance skills are finely honed, these NGOs are now greatly tested by the war and economic collapse. Regardless of the outcome of the current political discussions and military situation, civil society, including religious institutions, nongovernmental organizations, professional associations, and trade unions will continue to play a significant role in the country's future, if properly supported. The Inter-Congolese Dialogue After the assassination of Congo's President Laurent Kabila in January 2001, at the hands of his own bodyguards, the moribund peace process was given new life. Kabila's son Joseph took over and articulated a desire for peace. The Lusaka Accord, which was brokered with US assistance and first signed in 1999 was suddenly back in play. The agreement itself included a cease-fire, the introduction of United Nations peacekeepers, provisions for a roundtable discussion bringing together the government, civil society, political parties and rebel groups. This discussion, known as the Inter-Congolese Dialogue, was set up to be the central forum in which Congolese leaders would devise a plan of action for moving the country from war to peace. The meeting was charged with, among other things, devising a legal framework for a transitional government, and the institutions for the transition, creating a national army, and establishing a timetable for the withdrawal of all foreign forces as well setting a timetable for future elections. So far the 400 Congolese participants, including representatives of the Congolese government, armed and unarmed opposition members and members of civil society have divided up into five commissions aimed at presenting final recommendations for the group's final approval this week. The commissions are
2) the humanitarian social and cultural commission assigned to examine modalities and timing for humanitarian relief and setting up a peace and reconciliation committee, 3) the defense and security commission, assigned to determine the timing of the withdrawal of foreign troops, constituting a new army, and disarmament of armed groups, 4) economic and financial commission assigned to look at how to jump start the economy, the impact of economic decisions made during the war as well as economic revitalization, and 5) the commission of peace and reconciliation. Among the sticking points are the dates and timing for the retreat for foreign troops, the structure and identity of the individuals who will lead the transition, and a strategy for reconstituting the army. These, of course, are the most important points for a transition to peace. Recent African led-efforts to dislodge the blockage surrounding some of these issues have failed. With now just days to go before the conclusion of the discussion to bring peace, there is a real fear that dialogue which does not deliver at least some substantive agreement pointing in the direction of peace, will in effect, mean a maintenance of the status quo in the best case, and a return to war in the worst case. It is the maintenance of the status quo which the majority of the Congolese people reject. The status quo means the continued division of the country, continued violence, the continued misery of 60 million people who, for all practical purposes are stateless, with only themselves to depend upon. The status quo means continued repression against ideas not in synch with those who control the various areas. For the belligerents, of course, the perspective is different. It means the ability to maintain control over the levers of coercion. It also means the ability to maintain control over the abundant and precious resources in the areas under their control. Urgent action is required to prevent the return to war. The following is a list of recommendations which could help avert the looming disaster. RECOMMENDATIONS The views reflected in this document are my own. |
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