The
Situation in the Democratic Republic of
the Congo and the Prospects for Peace
Address by Hon. David Kilgour, Secretary
of State (Africa and Latin America)
At the National Press Club of Canada, 23
March 2000
Good morning
ladies and gentlemen, your excellencies
and distinguished guests. I have the honour
of talking to you today about the current
situation in the Democratic Republic of
Congo and the prospects for peace. The conflict
which simmers in the heart of Africa threatens
peace and security in the whole region and
deserves our genuine attention and concern.
If this century is to truly be the ‘African
century’ a speedy and peaceful resolution
to the DRC conflict will have to be found.
Some academics and journalists have dubbed
this Africa’s first World War, with
the DRC becoming one of the biggest battlegrounds
in Africa’s history, with the potential
to destabilize a large portion of the continent.
Already 1 million people are displaced as
a result of the conflict, and 500,000 refugees
reside both within and outside the country.
The complexity
of the crisis cannot be overstated with
troops from six neighbouring states fighting
inside the DRC and at least nine rebel groups
using the DRC as a springboard from which
to launch attacks into neighbouring countries.
The appetite for mineral resources has clearly
been a major underlying factor in sustaining
the conflict given the rich deposits of
diamonds, uranium, gold and timber. All
of this set against the backdrop of a country
almost the size of Western Europe which
has almost no economic or physical infrastructure
such as roads, communications, schools or
health centres, and a political system which
has been unable to meet the basic needs
of its citizens. More than 10 million people
in the DRC are now considered vulnerable
by the United Nations.
The glimmer
of hope in this tragedy had been the signing
last summer of the Lusaka Cease-fire Agreement
by the government and rebel forces involved.
The agreement called for a cease-fire, the
demobilization of forces, the withdrawal
of foreign troops, and the creation of a
Joint Military Commission to oversee the
implementation of the agreement until the
arrival of a UN peacekeeping force. The
Peace Agreement also called for an Inter-Congolese
dialogue and the disarmament of the Interahamwe
militia who were responsible for the Rwandan
genocide in 1994.
The implementation
of the agreement has been slow and fraught
with cease-fire violations, raising questions
as to whether there is the requisite political
will on the ground to end hostilities. I
had the opportunity of attending the UN
Security Council discussions on the DRC
in January this year where seven African
Presidents re-pledged their commitment to
the Lusaka Ceasefire Agreement. African
governments also used the forum to call
upon the international community to deploy
a peacekeeping mission as soon as possible
to facilitate the implementation of the
agreement. Canada voted in favour of UN
resolution 1291 to establish a 5, 537 member
military observer mission of which 500 will
be observers, to be sent to the DRC in the
coming months. We do have reservations,
however, over the size of the mission which
we feel is insufficient to fulfill its mandate.
Our hesitation
in supporting the resolution was also due
to the fact that we believe the Security
Council could have done better. While the
resolution has provisions to review force
levels in light of the security situation,
we believe this contingency should have
been factored into the numbers approved.
We would also have liked to see a more capable
UN observer mission with a greater extraction
capacity, even if this required more personnel,
but there was reluctance on the part of
some Council members (such as the US) to
approve a larger force, partly because of
cost implications. It is our hope that this
phase of MONUC will pave the way to a third
phase of substantial UN peacekeeping in
support of the DRC peace process.
Canada continues
to strongly support the Lusaka Agreement.
To strengthen the process Foreign Affairs
Minister Lloyd Axworthy announced contributions
of $500,000 to the Joint Military Commission,
$1 million for the Inter-Congolese Dialogue
and $1 million for the demobilization and
integration of child soldiers. There are
an estimated 10,000 child soldiers under
the age of 15 who have been recruited by
the armed forces and rebel groups in the
DRC. Canada currently has one Colonel with
MONUC on the ground and is ready to deploy
up to 10 military observers. What is now
needed more than anything else is momentum
to get Phase II of MONUC off the ground.
The message
which the international community is continually
stressing to all sides in the conflict is
that the war cannot be won militarily and
there is no alternative to a negotiated
political settlement. Words are not enough,
the protagonists will be judged on their
deeds.
We must realize
though that the Lusaka Agreement, the deployment
of MONUC, and the holding of a national
dialogue will not necessarily bring peace
to the DRC. These developments must be coupled
with economic and political initiatives.
Peace is certainly more than the absence
of war or the containment of conflict. Peace
requires economic justice and social harmony.
In order to achieve real and lasting peace,
the Congolese will have to address the human
security concerns which plague the nation.
This necessitates going beyond purely military
considerations to include the personal security
of individuals.
The people
of the DRC must enjoy sustainable economic
development, human rights and good governance,
which have been sorely lacking for many
years. Visionary leaders will also have
to tackle the sensitive issues of ethnic
discrimination, particularly in the East
of the country, in addition to questions
of land and citizenship rights. These issues
are most contentious in the Kivus of Eastern
Congo, which has been described as a ‘simmering
cauldron.’ Land is a genuine human
security concern due to the high density
of the population. Competition over land
and resources has led to ethnic rivalry
and at times pogroms are carried out by
one ethnic group against another. For these
issues to be resolved there must be concerted
efforts at grassroots peacebuilding.
There will
also be no meaningful resolution to the
Congo crisis for as long as the Interahamwe
militias remain armed and camped close to
Rwanda’s border. President Bizimungu
of Rwanda has repeatedly said that Rwanda
will never withdraw its forces from the
DRC until these militias have been disarmed.
This stands as probably one of the greatest
impediments to achieving lasting peace.
Understandably, Rwanda sees the presence
of these forces as a threat to its national
security. Regional and foreign powers do
not seem to have the capacity or the appetite
to undertake the difficult task of disarming
these irregular forces. There are no easy
answers as to how such a mission could be
accomplished, but mediators need to be seized
with the issue as it will not go away.
Ultimately
peace will depend on the extent of the political
will on the ground to adhere to the precepts
of the cease-fire agreement. For the moment
it appears as though too many interests,
or shall I say economic interests are served
by the status quo. Daily the mineral and
other resources of the Congo are exploited
by troops and rebel militias, with areas
of the country carved up into zones of influence.
It is imperative that the natural resources
of the DRC benefit all those who live in
the country, and be utilized for much needed
development, health care and education.
It is our
responsibility to do everything we can to
facilitate the peace process, inject momentum
and heighten the profile. I will visit the
Great Lakes region in the coming months
in order to support this process and assess
developments on the ground. Humanity is
indivisible and we must stop at nothing
to stem the untold human suffering in central
Africa. To the pessimists we must say that
hope is a determinant of the future. Thank
you.
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