Congo: Consolidating the Peace
Africa Report N°128
5 Jul 2007
EXECUTIVE SUMMARY AND RECOMMENDATIONS
To the Government of the Democratic Republic of Congo:
Regarding Security
1. Launch with the support of the UN Mission in Congo (MONUC) and in collaboration with parliament and provincial institutions a comprehensive peace initiative for the Kivus, emphasising diplomacy and dialogue more than military action, including:
a) a diplomatic chapter addressing bilateral sources of tension, cross-border economic relations, the return of refugees and the restoration of full diplomatic relations with Rwanda and Uganda;
b) a political chapter seeking lasting solutions to inter-communal tensions, addressing land security and promoting the role of provincial institutions to settle local political tensions;
c) a security chapter, addressing small arms, army integration, disarmament, demobilisation and reinsertion (DDR) of militias and foreign armed groups;
d) an economic chapter addressing local regulation of resource exploitation, including foreign investment and contracts signed during the war, and creation of an economic environment conducive to stabilisation of the provinces;
e) a transitional justice chapter, addressing crimes committed by all sides during and after the war and the modalities of inter-communal reconciliation;
f) an outreach campaign to inform and reassure the population about the peace initiative; and
g) an action plan, drafted with MONUC, for integration of the mixed brigades and militia remnants.
2. Ratify the Pact on Security, Stability and Development in the Great Lakes Region, re-open embassies in Kigali and Kampala and work jointly for resolution of the FDLR (Forces Démocratiques de Libération du Rwanda) and LRA (Lord’s Resistance Army) threats from Congo territory.
3. Prepare an army White Paper in consultation with parliamentarians, civil society and donors that includes provisions for a well-funded, independent oversight body and an ombudsman to register complaints about human rights violations, and allow parliament’s defence and security commissions to monitor the implementation of reforms.
4. Start the drawdown of the Presidential Guard to brigade size and the integration of its remaining personnel into the regular army rather than police.
5. Open judicial inquiries into the killings of security and civilian personnel in Bas-Congo and Kinshasa in January and March 2007 and immediately suspend the commanding officers of the units involved.
Regarding Democracy
6. Prepare a justice White Paper and introduce in parliament the organic laws envisaged in the constitution to establish the Constitutional Court and High Council of Justice and ensure judicial independence.
7. Start negotiations and information sessions with provincial institutions over the transfer of competencies pursuant to the law on decentralisation, revenue sharing and establishment of an equalisation fund, and set up a permanent forum, including national and provincial government, parliament and civil society representatives, to talk through decentralisation issues instead of referring every problem to the Constitutional Court.
8. Ensure that the required laws and regulations on decentralisation are swiftly adopted to minimise the risk of a legal vacuum during implementation of the decentralisation program and that parliament adopts the organic law on the new independent electoral commission so that it can start its sensitisation activities on the local elections before the end of 2007.
9. Make public the findings and recommendations of the mining contracts review and maintain a moratorium on new forestry and mining concessions until a natural resources watchdog is put in place.
Regarding International Engagement
10. Reassert desire to work with the international community; present new roadmaps for governance and security sector reforms at the next meetings of the Consultative Group and the Contact Group respectively; and establish a limited-membership forum, chaired by the prime minister and including parliament and civil society representatives, to address governance and security challenges with major donors.
To the Speaker of the National Assembly, the President of the Senate and Other Parliamentarians:
11. Challenge the government to draw up comprehensive peace actions plans for the Kivus, Ituri, Maniema and Katanga and consult actively on this with MONUC.
12. Initiate a consultative process with other branches of government and international representatives so as to guarantee security for the prompt return to Kinshasa of Senator Jean-Pierre Bemba.
13. Ensure that the role of Coordinator of the opposition and the rights of opposition parties are respected, so that the legislative branch serves as an effective and responsible check on executive power.
14. Press the government to improve management of natural resources, including by cancelling illegal contracts, and consider creation of a permanent watchdog for natural resource management.
To the UN Mission in Congo (MONUC):
15. Engage the government and parliament in discussion of comprehensive peace action plans, especially for the Kivus, and condition support for operations of the national army (FARDC) on their implementation.
To the Governments of Rwanda and Uganda:
16. Support Congolese efforts to prevent another Kivus crisis both bilaterally and in the Tripartite+ mechanism.
To France, the UK, the U.S., Belgium, South Africa, the EU, China and Other Major Donors:
17. Condition aid on establishment of a new joint forum to address security and governance challenges, at which the international community should press for:
a) comprehensive peace initiatives in the East, especially the Kivus;
b) overcoming differences of approach on security sector reform; and
c) full implementation of the law on the status of the opposition, early holding of free and fair local elections and consultation with all stakeholders to implement decentralisation effectively.
18. Support government efforts to improve management of natural resources, including by requiring their companies to comply with Congolese and national law, such as the U.S. Foreign Corrupt Practices Act, as well as the OECD Convention on Combating Bribery of Foreign Public Officials in International Business Transactions.
Kinshasa/Brussels, 5 July 2007