Global Policy Forum

Violence has plagued the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) since its emergence from Belgian colonial rule in 1959. Forty years later, on July 10, 1999, DRC, along with Angola, Namibia, Zimbabwe, Rwanda, and Uganda, signed the Lusaka Ceasefire Agreement for a cessation of hostilities between all belligerent forces in the Congo. The Security Council deployed the UN Organization Mission in the Democratic Republic of Congo (MONUC) in November 1999 to support the ceasefire. In July 2003, the Security Council imposed a 12-month arms embargo in the eastern part of the country where armed conflict continued. In May 2005, the Council expanded the arms embargo throughout the DRC territory, and imposed a travel ban and assets freeze on those responsible for the ongoing conflict. But with an area the size of Western Europe and porous borders, the UN has had difficulty implementing the arms embargo. In March 2005, UN Under Secretary General for Humanitarian Affairs Jan Egeland stated that Eastern Congo was scene of the greatest humanitarian crisis in the world today, with a death toll outstripping that of Sudan's Darfur region. MONUC has faced harsh criticism about its effectiveness and sustainability. Kofi Annan has repeatedly appealed for more funding and international interest in the Congo and has asked the Security Council numerous times for a substantial increase in peacekeepers to address the threats posed by foreign presence. However the US has opposed any more peacekeepers, claiming the $1 billion mission is already too expensive.

DRC's rich natural resources -- including timber, diamonds, copper, cobalt, gold, uranium and coltan -- clearly fuel the conflict. Local militias, backed by Uganda, Rwanda and mining multinationals, get supplies of food, money, and military hardware in exchange for smuggled resource riches. In October 2003, a UN panel of experts released a report accusing Rwanda, Uganda and Zimbabwe of systematically exploiting Congolese resources and recommended the Security Council impose sanctions. Doubtless due to powerful political and economic interests, the UN never followed up on the report's recommendations. In a September 2005 resolution on conflict prevention, the Security Council acknowledged for the first time the link between natural resources and armed conflict, vowing to take action against illegal exploitation and trafficking of natural resources, particularly in Africa. In January 2006, the Council took one step further and adopted Resolution 1653 on the regional dimensions of peace and security in the Great Lakes region of Africa. The resolution calls on the governments of DRC, as well as of Uganda, Rwanda, and Burundi to promote lawful and transparent use of natural resources among themselves and in the region.

Renewed tensions between DRC, Rwanda, and Uganda may plunge Congo back into instability. The governments of Uganda and Rwanda accuse the UN and Congolese troops of failing to control the rebel groups that occasionally launch attacks across their borders. But Rwanda and Uganda also continue to intervene covertly in DRC's internal affairs. On December 19 2005, a nationwide referendum approved a UN-backed draft constitution. However renewed violence risks derailing the fragile peace process, further complicating the transition to democracy.

The Security Council has extended the mandate of the peacekeeping force MONUC in the Democratic Republic of Congo for another year allowing the deployment of 22,000 soldiers in the following months. Citizens of the DRC are critical of the mandate renewal and feel the mission has failed to reform the country's corrupt and parasitical army and police forces.

The Security Council adopted Resolution 1804 regarding the continued presence of Rwandan armed groups in the Democratic Republic of Congo. Groups such as the Forces démocratiques de libération du Rwanda and the Interahamwe perpetuate violence in Eastern Congo to exploit the rich natural resources. The Resolution demands that the Rwandan armed groups lay down their arms, release all child soldiers and put an end to gender based violence.

The Group of Experts reports to the Sanctions Committee that there is " a clear geographical correlation" between the activities of armed groups and natural resources exploitation in the Democratic Republic of the Congo. The report also highlights a wide range of security threats such as lack of transparency in conducting business activities, and extortion attempts made by State actors, from low level military personnel to senior government officials. It recommends amongst other things that the Congolese government: submit monthly reports about the natural resources field to the Sanctions Committee, develop a formalized natural resource control system, and monitor arms transfers, trafficking and smuggling.

The Security Council adopted Resolution 1653 in a ministerial-level debate on regional dimensions of peace and security in the Great Lakes region of Africa. The resolution calls on the Governments of Uganda, Rwanda, Burundi and the Democratic Republic of the Congo to disarm and demobilize militias and armed groups, especially northern Uganda's Lord's Resistance Army. The resolution also acknowledges the link between the illegal exploitation of natural resources, the illicit trade of those resources and the proliferation and trafficking of arms as key factors fuelling and exacerbating the conflicts in the Great Lakes. Resolution 1653 thus urges the countries of the region to promote lawful and transparent use of natural resources among themselves and in the region.

This landmark report from the Lancet medical journal dubs the 10-year war that has plagued the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) "the world's deadliest humanitarian crisis." With 38 000 people dying every month - the mortality equivalent of the Southeast Asian tsunami  - the report accuses the rich donor countries of "miserably failing the people of Congo." While most deaths are due to preventable and easily treatable diseases, mortality rates are highest in DRC's eastern provinces, where the fighting and lawlessness cut off or reduce access to health services.

Articles & Analysis

Congolese President Joseph Kabila is putting pressure on the UN to come up with an exit strategy for peacekeeping troops in DRC. Anticipating the country's 50th anniversary next year, Kabila is eager to show that his government's reliance on MONUC - the UN peacekeeping mission which has been in DRC since 1999 - is decreasing. MONUC's mandate is to be renewed by the Security Council in December. According to UN officials, the withdrawal of the nearly 20,000 troops would have to follow benchmarks and proceed slowly. The UN plans to gradually shift away from peacekeepers to civilian experts, as well as to educate and train the Congolese army. (Reuters)

The Congolese Government is unwilling to prosecute rebels and government soldiers responsible for numerous counts of sexual violence and murder. The Government claims to fear that such action would fuel rebellion and destabilization. The author, UN Human Rights Commisioner Navi Pillay, disputes the idea that justice may be sacrificed for the sake of peace. There can, she says, be no long lasting peace or stability without justice, so the Congolese Government has a minimal obligation to investigate all allegations of human rights violations. (Huffington Post)

Following criticism by Human Rights Watch and other rights groups, the UN has reaffirmed its support for operations of the Congolese army aimed at disarming the Democratic Forces for the Liberation of Rwanda (FDLR). While the UN withdrew its support for some units of the army believed to have killed at least 62 civilians, it claims that a complete withdrawal would do more harm than good. The UN argues that its ongoing support for the Congolese army operations allows peacekeepers to better protect civilians and train Congolese soldiers in a policy of zero tolerance. (Reuters)

The UN has declared it will stop providing support to one of the units of the Congolese army which has been accused of gross human rights violations. But Human Rights Watch says it's too little, too late. The UN peacekeeping mission, MONUC, has been giving logistics and operational support to the Congolese Army since March 2009 - the beginning of the operation aimed at disarming the Democratic Forces for the Liberation of Rwanda (FDLR). During the past 8 months, more than 500 civilians were deliberately killed and thousands of women were raped by government soldiers. MONUC should cease its participation in the Congolese army's operations and find ways to disarm the FDLR that won't put the civilian population in the cross-fire. (Human Rights Watch)

The Congo Advocacy Coalition - a group of Congolese and international NGOS - is drawing attention to the UN-backed Congolese government's military operation in Eastern Congo and its unacceptable cost for the civilian population. According to the Coalition, the Congolese army - which is receiving the support of UN peacekeepers - is responsible for as many human rights abuse as the Hutu militia it is fighting with the help of UN peacekeepers.  For every rebel combatant disarmed, one civilian has been killed and seven women or girls raped, the Coalition says. It is calling for the UN to take immediate action to improve the protection of civilians and pursue human rights violators in the Congolese army. (Human Rights Watch)

During the past decade, the Democratic Republic of Congo has been the scene of a destructive war involving armies from as many as nine different African countries. Neighboring Rwanda has exercised a destabilizing influence on the region, with the intent of gaining control of Congo's enormous mineral wealth. In spite of Rwandan support for rebel groups in the DRC , the Kagame regime and its allies in Central Africa have received the support of Western powers. (The New York Review of Books)

Despite its size and resources, the UN peacekeeping mission in the Democratic Republic of Congo (MONUC) has failed to bring peace to the region. MONUC's recent failure to respond to a deadly village attack by rebels has led Congolese to express a growing distrust in its ability to protect them. Its integrity is also being questioned following accusations of sexual abuse by peacekeepers. (The Washington Times)

Difficult Peace, Limited Justice: Ten Years of Peacemaking in the DRC (March 2009)

This report describes UN peacekeeping efforts in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) from 1999 to 2009. The authors argue that because the International Criminal Court (ICC) has limited influence within the DRC, criminal justice is difficult to obtain. The DRC has yet to sign up to the ICC. Over the last 10 years, peace was further hampered, as different regional conflicts within the DRC continued to flare up. The authors conclude that lessons in peacemaking must include the following: human rights monitoring, the inclusion of the civil society and a realistic perspective of the ICC's influence. (International Center for Transitional Justice)

The arrest of General Laurent Nkunda by the Rwandan government raises questions about the effects on the situation in the Great Lakes region. The Congolese government is requesting Rwanda to extradite Nkunda, leader of the Congress of the Defence of the People (CNDP), to charge him with war crimes. Since 2004 the CNDP fought against Hutu genocidaires in Eastern Congo who fled Rwanda after the genocide. Nkunda claims that Congo has not done enough to protect Tutsi in the DRC and has been backed by the Rwandan government. However his arrest by Rwanda marks a major shift of this policy. (al jazeera)

Rwanda sends hundreds of fighters into Congo to support the Tutsi rebels and to expand its power over Congolese natural resources like coltan, cassirite and diamonds. Businesspersons, the Rwandan government and the Congolese rebel movement, led by former Rwandan army official Laurent Nkunda, take part in the illegal mineral trade between Congo and Rwanda, fuelling the Congolese war. (New York Times)

Violence has troubled the Democratic Republic of Congo since its independence in 1960, despite the presence of various UN peacekeeping troops. In October 2008, major fighting erupted between rebels, militia groups and the Congolese army. The UN peacekeeping force in Congo is the largest UN mission, consisting of 17,000 peacekeepers, but because they fail to curb the violence, the Security Council agreed on November 20, 2008 to send an extra 3,100 extra peacekeepers to the region. (CBC News)

In the 19th century, colonial power Belgium exploited rubber from Congo and after independence in 1960, Zaire’s ruler Mobutu Sese Seko used Congo’s cobalt to support the US, which used the mineral to build fighter jets. In 2008, international mining companies try to get hold of Congo’s natural resources, resulting in increased fighting between governmental and rebel troops, which try to make a profit out of the mineral business as well. (International Herald Tribune)

The majority of coltan, used in mobile phones and soup tins, comes from rebel-controlled mines in Congo. Miners pay their employees less than a dollar per kilogram of the mineral and often use children to work for them. After Congolese citizens carry 50 kilograms of coltan for more than 2 days to another part of Congo, traders sell the mineral in the UK, Belgium, and other industrialized countries. (Telegraph)

The UN faces criticism because MONUC, the UN’s biggest and most expensive peacekeeping operation, fails to protect Congolese civilians from rebel attacks. MONUC commanders stress that the peacekeepers are only in Congo to ensure the peace and not to enforce it. In addition, the UN special envoy to Congo is unsuccessful in organizing a meeting with the presidents of Congo and Rwanda, the key players in the Congolese peace process. (Der Spiegel)

The UN accuses Rwanda of supporting rebel leader Laurent Nkunda, who fights against governmental troops to expand parts of Congo under his control. However, Congolese president Joseph Kabila also involuntarily contributes to Nkunda's power by failing to govern the country properly. Because the government is corrupt, the justice system is dysfunctional and there is no education or transport system. As a result many Congolese citizens have stopped supporting Kabila and instead back Nkunda. (Der Spiegel)

MONUC, the UN peacekeeping force in Congo, has the complex mandate of simultaneously protecting civilians as well as policing buffer zones and disarming rebel fighters, but without adequate resources or political support from the UN Security Council. MONUC fails to protect civilians because it lacks manpower and a majority of the troops do not speak Congo's native languages. Civilians are unsatisfied with MONUC's work and attacked the peacekeeping force in October 2008. (Independent)

In January 2008, the Congolese government signed a UN-backed ceasefire agreement with 22 armed groups in eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo. But, civilian deaths and forced displacements continue, leaving the peace process at an impasse. This Human Rights Watch article claims the rebel groups have failed to implement all the terms of the peace deal. The article recommends that the Congolese government and the UN impose the rule of law to hold the rebels accountable and increase mediation efforts to ensure the continuation of the peace process.

Even though UN-backed disarmament, demobilization and reintegration (DDR) programs have successfully disarmed thousands of combatants in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), some armed groups continue to threaten peace in the eastern region of Ituri. Clashes between the groups and the DRC army have halted the return of displaced peoples and community reintegration. This article proposes that the government provide incentives, such as better security and a strengthening of the rule of law, for combatants to return to civilian society. (Integrated Regional Information Networks)

The United Nations Mission in Congo: Searching for the Missing Peace (July 2008)

After the establishment of MONUC in 1999, the Security Council expanded the mission's mandate to include disarmament and civilian protection in addition to monitoring the cessation of hostilities. This FRIDE report states that MONUC has successfully coordinated the elections in Congo, but that the mission failed to reform the national security sector because the country's army commanders are corrupt and its soldiers lack training.

This Le Monde diplomatique article argues that foreign mining companies profit immensely from deals made with the Congolese government in which they receive a 30-year tax exemption. Furthermore, these companies ignore the environmental and social damage that their mining contracts cause. In addition, mining contractors mostly work with machines that replace manual work, hiring only a limited number of local mine workers, who receive a small minimum wage.

A peace deal signed in eastern Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) by more than 20 militias operating in the region remains fragile. Many militias are backing out of the peace agreement because of repeated violations of the ceasefire by other signatories. This article argues that the UN peacekeeping mission in the DRC and the Congolese Army cannot contain the clashes between militias. Instead, efforts should aim at encouraging negotiations between militia leaders and the government to enforce the fragile peace accord. (Institute for War and Peace Reporting)

A Glittering Demon: Mining, Poverty and Politics in the Democratic Republic of Congo (June 26, 2008)

The Democratic Republic of Congo's vast deposits of cobalt, copper, diamonds, and gold has sparked numerous conflicts since the Belgian colonial period. Between 1999 and 2007, militia clashes over the control of mineral resources left 60,000 civilians dead. This article argues that large mining companies, such as British-owned AngloGold Ashanti, finance militias that fight over control of mines in the eastern and northern Ituri regions. The mining industry regulates most of the region's employment, allowing the companies and their militias to exploit poor workers who have no choice but to dig for minerals under the barrel of a gun. (CorpWatch)

The UN peacekeeping mission in the Democratic Republic of Congo (MONUC) will assist the government to implement the Amani Programme, which includes disarmament of militias and resettlement of displaced persons in eastern DRC. By disarming local militias, MONUC hopes to return over 10,000 displaced persons back to their homes and prepare for upcoming local elections.

In 2003, the government of the Democratic Republic of Congo and opposition militia groups signed a UN-brokered peace deal allowing the Ituri province limited autonomy with increased revenues from the area’s rich natural resources. However, the government has reneged on the deal, by signing a secret concession with transnational corporations to drill for oil near Lake Albert. As a result, militia groups are rearming against government forces and using child soldiers to transport timber resources to neighboring countries. (International Crisis Group)

Demilitarising Militias in the Kivus - Eastern Democratic Republic of Congo (May 12, 2008)

Rival militias undermine the UN peace process in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) to exploit natural resources, states the Institute of Security Studies. Due to the economic benefits of controlling mining and logging industries in the area, groups such as the Fronts de liberation de Rwanda and the Mayi Mayi in Kivu refuse to give up arms to UN peacekeepers (MONUC). The author argues that if MONUC fails to disarm the militias, civil war could return to the DRC.

The government of the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) is making progress in renegotiating mining contracts signed during the country's civil war, says World Politics Review. Rich multinational companies signed lucrative extraction deals with the government and rebel leaders during the war in exchange for money and military hardware. Although the article praises the DRC government for reviewing these mining contracts, the author warns that the renegotiation stage is open to corruption, and that any failure to distribute the natural resources fairly could trigger further violence in the country.

In March 2008, the government of the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) published a review claiming that it would renegotiate the exploitative mining contracts signed during the civil war (1996-2006). However, this renegotiation process remains secretive, with the DRC government excluding NGOs from participating in the negotiations. This report urges the DRC to distribute money from natural resources to local communities, and to publicize government income from rich multi-national corporations. (A Fair Share of Congo)

France has drafted a resolution at the Security Council exempting the government of the Democratic Republic of Congo from a UN arms embargo. Previously, the embargo prevented the government from purchasing arms for military units that had not been through a national integration program. Amnesty International criticized the exemption as premature, noting that the army and police use arms and munitions “to commit daily abuses against civilians, including widespread killings and rapes.� (Reuters)

A ceasefire has been signed in Goma, Democratic Republic of Congo between armed groups led by General Laurent Nkunda and pro-government Mai Mai militia. UN peacekeepers will be deployed as part of the agreement. Africa analyst Muzong Kodi states that both the natural resources within the country and the impunity given to rival warlords as part of the peace deal could undermine the ceasefire process. (BBC)

Congo's Contract Review: Its Strategic and Economic Significance (January 17, 2008)

This Pambazuka report illustrates the strategic and economic importance of the Democratic Republic of Congo's natural resources to Western corporations. Due to vast mineral reserves, "Congo, probably more than any other African nation, has been subjected to repeated external intervention." Highlighting the role of companies such as Tenke Mining, Phelps Dodge and Freeport McMoRan, this report concludes that mining contracts amass spectacular wealth at the expense of the Congolese people.

The United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) confirmed that half a million people have been displaced in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) in the past twelve months. The UN held a conference on January 15 in North Kivu and requested that the Congolese armed forces and the opposing rebel groups denounce the level of violence and discontinue the recruitment of child soldiers. (UN News)

UN special envoy to Sudan, Ross Mountain requested cooperation from the rebels and the governments of the DRC and Rwanda to cease fighting and help stabilize the North Kivu region. Mountain has been pleased with the efforts of the DRC and Rwanda to help North Kivu. But he still worries about the fighting between General Nkunda’s army and the DRC force. (Agence France-Presse)

The European Union joined African countries in establishing the Kimberly Process (KP) in 2002 to deal with diamonds that fuel conflict. Two years later, DR Congo, a KP member, smuggled diamonds to the EU and Middle East, which resulted in its expulsion from the KP. The DR Congo has made improvements controlling its illegal trade of rough diamonds and re-joined the KP. Soon it will resume exporting diamonds. However, the Kimberly Process still has concerns about Congo's porous border and "blood diamonds." (Voice of America)

The rebel group Democratic Forces for the Liberation of Rwanda (FDLR), under General Laurent Nkunda's command, still destabilizes eastern DR Congo, especially North Kivu. After a meeting in Nairobi with Congolese and Rwandan foreign ministers, Congo's government agreed to help disarm Hutu rebels at their border. Rwanda's administration promised to send a list of rebels accused of crimes against humanity and war crimes to the DRC and the United Nations. The DR Congo will prepare a disarmament plan by December 1, 2007 with the assistance of the UN peacekeeping mission, MONUC. Rwandan foreign minister, Charles Murigande also declared that his country would tighten border security against illegal arms trade. (Reuters)

The author argues that "coercive diplomacy" does not work, and that the peace talks in Libya on October 27 will not succeed without an established common position among Darfur Rebel Movements. The UN Security Council Resolution on Darfur will remain ineffective if the Sudanese government continues its military operations. (Sudan Tribune)

John Holmes, Under-Secretary General for Humanitarian Affairs, calls for non military action by the UN Security Council in North Kivu. Holmes argues that the DRC crisis needs greater attention than Darfur, due to its urgency. The anti-genocide campaigning group, Enough, fears that if President Kabila continues to align himself with Hutu rebels, then the return of Rwanda’s forces into DRC could cause a third major civil war. (Nation-Nairobi)

In this article, Professor Amil Omara-Otunnu discusses the history of exploitation of Congo's vast natural resources by other countries, such as Portugal, Belgium, Uganda and Rwanda, which has left the country entrenched in conflict. With 50 percent of the world's strategic minerals, the DRC can offer unprecedented economic growth for its own people as well as the African continent. However, in order for the DRC to utilize its resources, the author calls for an end to the illegal exploitation and for DRC's neighboring countries to respect Congolese human rights, democracy and territorial integrity, as provided by the UN Charter. (Black Star News)

A 1990 agreement between Uganda and DR Congo declared joint ownership and exploitation of oil fields that extend across their shared border. Several violent incidents and the concentration of Ugandan forces in its western Rwenzori border region have led the heads of the Ugandan and Congolese forces to issue a joint communiqué, promoting political solutions to these border clashes. But Uganda "reserves the right of self defense," and private military company Executive Outcome's contracts to guard Congolese mines add to the militarized nature of resource exploitation at the border. (Daily Monitor- Kampala)

This article investigates the March 2007 violence in Kinshasa, DR Congo, including MONUC's inaction. From March 22-26, President Joseph Kabila's attempts to eliminate electoral challenger Jean-Pierre Bemba led to military clashes which killed over 2,000 civilians. Conflicting influences effectively immobilized MONUC, which did little to end the violence. Despite the UN Security Council's professed neutrality, its western members push MONUC to officially back Kabila. But also, high level MONUC officials allegedly receive bribes to support Bemba. (Toward Freedom)

Uganda and the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) prepare to reach an agreement on how Kampala should pay compensations to the DRC for plundering its resources and killing civilians during the occupation that lasted between 1996 and 2001. After the ICJ found Uganda guilty in December 2005, DRC demanded a sum of US$10 billion in compensation. The negotiations have not been finalized and international law experts warn that any compensation is almost impossible to implement. Godfrey Wanzira, a Ugandan lawyer, believes that Uganda can easily prolong the process by appealing, and "DRC officials may well suspect that Kampala will never pay reparations." (Institute for War and Peace Reporting)

The UN Security Council urged Congolese government forces and rebels to avoid military confrontation, and to actively seek political or diplomatic solutions instead. To this end, the UN peacekeeping mission MONUC and DR Congo's government should promote dialogue and development. They should also disarm combatants and reintegrate them into society. (UN News)

The UN's Office for Internal Oversight Services (OIOS) will investigate UN Mission in the Democratic Republic of Congo (MONUC) peacekeepers after allegations of their spying for, and engaging in an arms-for-gold scheme with the Democratic Forces for the Liberation of Rwanda (FDLR). In 2002, MONUC reaffirmed commitments to counteract the FDLR, a rebel group that Great Lakes region governments consider a "negative force." Furthermore, Kigali claims that the FDLR – comprised of Hutu extremists who participated in the 1994 Rwandan genocide – shows genocidal tendencies towards Congolese citizens. (New Times)

Congolese President Joseph Kabila criticized the UN Mission in Democratic Republic of Congo (MONUC) for not being able to stop the fighting in the Eastern part of the country controlled by dissident groups. MONUC Spokesman Kemal Saiki justified MONUC's continuing relevancy with examples such as a December MONUC operation against eastern Congolese Nkunda soldiers who seized the town of Sake in North Kivu. But recently, MONUC expressed concern over increasing attacks on civilians and aid workers in North Kivu. (Reuters)

This ZNet article describes how minerals from Kivu Province mines in DR Congo finance conflict there. In particular, General Laurent Nkunda, whom the International Criminal Court indicted for war crimes in 2002, finances his military occupation of North Kivu with proceeds from the Lueshe mine's pyrochlore. Nkunda illegally exports the pyrochlore using circumventive methods similar to those employed in illegal diamond trade, used, for example, to fund West African rebel groups.

The UN Mission in the Democratic Republic of Congo blames Rwandan Hutu rebels from the Democratic Forces for the Liberation of Rwanda (FDLR) or local and foreign militias in a group called "Rasta" for the recent massacre of civilians which they are now investigating. FDLR deny responsibility for the attack claming that they never attack civilians. The incident follows an offensive against rebels in the area in April by UN-backed Congolese forces. (Agence France Presse)

While the myriad activists rally to intervene in Darfur, where several hundred thousand innocents have died, far fewer people - politicians and public alike - acknowledge the estimated 3-4 million deaths in the Democratic Republic of Congo. This Guardian article argues that the perceived ethnic make-up of the groups in conflict in Darfur - "Arab killers" versus "African victims" - is one reason for the disproportionate attention given to Sudan. The other reason, the author claims, is oil interest, particularly that of China and the US. The article says that "liberal interventionism" is prone to double standards and disaster.

Pakistan says that allegations that its peacekeeping troops traded illegally in gold and resold weapons to Congolese militias while serving in the country are not credible. It rejects also suggestions that there was a cover up in the investigation on the matter, saying that it was not aware that one of its battalions was being investigated, and that had there been "obstruction" of the investigation, the UN would have informed Islamabad. (BBC)

Despite the 2002 peace agreement and the democratic elections held in 2006, violence continues in the Democratic Republic of Congo. This article says that a combination of low wages and corruption means that soldiers simply loot to meet their needs. Criminals are not often prosecuted in this country where the justice system has almost collapsed. Despite the presence of 17, 000 UN peacekeeping troops, an estimated 70,000 armed militia still roam the bush - some of them young children. (BBC)

A coalition of NGOs from Europe, Africa and the United States launch an international appeal, calling on the Congolese government to "clarify and revise all mining contracts inherited from the past, set up an independent mechanism to monitor the implementation of contracts, and ensure transparent and fair management of mining resources." The aim is to try to ensure that yields from the country's vast natural resources benefit the population. The appeal will be presented to the president of the World Bank, the government of the DRC and the donors of the DRC on April 14 and 15. (Terraviva)

The Christian Science Monitor evaluates the United Nations Mission in the Democratic Republic of Congo’s (MONUC) role, as the Security Council's renewal of the Mission’s mandate draws near and troop contributing countries put pressure on the Council to downsize the largest peacekeeping operation. Despite the holding of presidential elections in late 2006, the situation in the Democratic Republic of Congo remains unstable, especially in the east of the region. Among MONUC’s present tasks are demobilizing child soldiers, road-building, setting up a court system, police force and new army.

Violent fighting took place from March 22 to 24 2007 between the Congolese Armed Forces (FARDC) and the guards of ex Vice President Jean Pierre Bemba. MONUC calls on Bemba’s guards to surrender themselves so that they may be integrated into the FARDC. Some have already done so. Further, MONUC stresses the need for respect of judicial procedures, as well as the rights and liberties that the Congolese constitution accords to all citizens in the investigation into political and military leaders of Mr. Bemba’s MLC party. (allAfrica)

UN News reports that the climate of impunity in the Democratic Republic of Congo has left civilians subject to severe human rights violations including rape, torture and summary execution, with most cases unprosecuted nor even investigated. The Human Rights Division of the UN mission in the DRC (MONUC) says that the Congolese government should establish a credible human rights commission to conduct independent and impartial investigations of high-ranking officers of the Forces Armees de la Republic Democratique du Congo (FARDC) suspected of committing serious violations of human rights.

As the Security Council discusses the mandate of the peacekeeping mission in the DRC in this post-election phase, Refugees International stresses the need to maintain MONUC at the same troop level through 2007 and to strengthen its mandate to promote disarmament, protect civilians and increase access for humanitarian assistance. Any future troop reduction should be based on indications of progress in these areas.

UN experts urge the Security Council to take further steps in halting the illegal exploitation of Congo’s natural resources by its neighbors and the military. They recommend that the Council set up a joint committee with the new Congo government to oversee the development of the natural resources control system. Further they hope that Congolese officials responsible for monitoring exploitation will submit regular reports to the Security Council which could then be used as a basis to impose sanctions if necessary. (Reuters)