Ten years after the end of the second Congo war, violence in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) persists and armed groups operate with impunity. This Centre for Humanitarian Dialogue paper examines key lessons learned from recent mediation efforts and current challenges to durable peace in DRC. There is an urgent need to address the issue of long-term international and regional engagement and create a comprehensive political framework for building a sustainable peace currently lacking in DRC.
Mediation to end DRC wars in the late 1990s included brokered agreements often led by South Africa, with international support and pressure on Rwanda, Uganda and DRC. However, these efforts often excluded political leaders who had considerable public support. The 1999 Lusaka Ceasefire Agreement ending the second war recognised more actors, but froze the status quo and zones of influence of rebel factions.
While efforts to address Lusaka Agreement weaknesses continued into the 2000s, marginalisation of some actors continues. Many Congolese feel disenfranchised by their heavy-handed government. Tensions with Rwanda have re-emerged over its continued support of rebel groups active in eastern Congo.
Despite deep regional divisions, regional actors can initiate and successfully negotiate agreements to end conflicts in which large portions of the region are participants. Other lessons from DRC’s continuing post-conflict struggle include:
- In DRC, the problem has not been negotiating agreements so much as ensuring their implementation after signing.
- Mediation efforts have failed to address impunity and begin a serious national dialogue about justice. Neglect of justice has contributed to ongoing cycles of violence by allowing actors with shady records to operate freely.
- Since the International Criminal Court (ICC) in DRC only has temporal jurisdiction (dating from 2002), it can not address all DRC war crimes. It is also unclear whether the ICC will go up the chain of command even when that chain crosses national borders.
- It is important not to over-subscribe to resource-based, “greed” explanations of DRC conflicts. Political grievances are real and demand political solutions.
- The recent sudden rapprochement between Rwanda and DRC was met by both caution in DRC and alarm that Rwandan forces were back in the country.
- Observers worry about the concentration of power around the DRC president, shrinking space for political dialogue and the country’s general crisis of leadership.
Key challenges for building sustainable peace in DRC include:
- The DRC-Rwanda rapprochement notwithstanding, regional insecurity and tensions remain high.
- It is currently unclear which international or regional entities should lead future mediation efforts.
- Past mediation efforts in DRC have deeply neglected politics and Rwanda’s real interests in the region.
- Future mediation should address the issue of long-term international engagement and identify clear and productive division of labour between international and regional actors.
- International and regional engagement should be structured to produce and implement a comprehensive political framework for building a sustainable peace in DRC.
