This report presents the results of a mixed-methods study conducted in eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) between November and December 2013, to assess the population’s perceptions, knowledge, and attitudes about peace, security and justice. The study included a survey of 5,166 randomly selected adult residents, to provide results that are representative of the adult population of territories and major urban areas in the provinces of North Kivu and South Kivu, and the district of Ituri.
The study sought to contribute to an understanding of the following questions: what is the population’s sense of security and how do they perceive security actors; what is the population’s understanding of, access to and perception of justice and justice actors; what are the sources of tensions and factors hindering or promoting social cohesion; what are the priorities of the population; what is the prevalence of various forms of violence and crimes; how are disputes and crimes addressed/resolved and by whom; how are these processes perceived; how is progress toward peace and stability perceived; and how are institutions and their capacity for response perceived by the population.
Key findings:
- Respondents’ priorities for themselves and for the government highlight the continued need for the consolidation of peace and security, as well as for economic revitalization. For respondents, achieving a lasting peace is possible, but will require a wide range of measures, including having inter-ethnic dialogue, defeating armed groups, establishing the truth about the conflict, arresting those responsible for the violence, providing jobs and reviving the economy, and having a dialogue with armed groups. Respondents most frequently identified the government as the key actor that must take action, followed by God, and the population/communities themselves.
- Despite the critical role of the government in bringing peace, respondents questioned the commitment of the government to improve security, peace, and services. The security role of the United Nations stabilization mission (Mission de l’Organisation des Nations Unies pour la Stabilisation en République Démocratique du Congo – MONUSCO) is also perceived negatively, with respondents showing distrust. However, there were important differences. For example, in the territories of Rutshuru and Nyiragongo, nearly half the respondents judged positively the contribution of MONUSCO to security, likely reflecting recent progress against the M23 armed group in and near those territories.
- Overall, improvements in sense of security and social relations mask some negative trends. Women, for example, were significantly less secure than men, and were more likely to report no improvement in security over the last year. The justice system remains negatively perceived overall. Despite significant improvement, knowledge of formal justice systems was low. A larger percentage of respondents ranked positively their knowledge and access to traditional and local justice mechanisms. Women however had lower reported knowledge levels and access, especially with regard to customary and local justice mechanisms. Majority of respondents described the formal justice system as corrupted, non-existent/ enabling impunity, being biased / in favour of the rich and requiring payment.
Recommendations:
- The state must take steps to be trusted among the population so that it is perceived as working to improve daily lives, rather than being perceived as corrupted, focused on rapid gains, and failing to deliver basic services. These steps must include: (a) effective execution of public policies and service delivery, (b) inclusiveness, (c) increased transparency and accountability, and (d) public outreach and communication to engage the population with the role and capacity of the state.
- There is a need to deploy, train, pay regularly, and equip properly the FARDC and the police. At the same time, MONUSCO should step up and improve its community outreach and dialogue efforts, including information exchange, and develop better strategies to increase its visibility among other security actors and communities.
- The independence of the justice system, including military courts, must be established and maintained. Considering the heavy reliance on local and customary justice systems, it is necessary to build the capacity of the local actors administering those systems and take steps to ensure that they uphold the rights of all parties in disputes.