In a recent briefing, the UN Secretary General’s Special Representative (SGSR) for the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), Ambassador Roger Meece, said that the most important rebel group in the eastern DRC, the Democratic Front for the Liberation of Rwanda (FDLR) was weakening and the threat posed by its forces could ultimately disappear. He added that “it is certainly premature to assert that the FDLR is collapsing but the group’s capacity is diminishing, for the first time … I believe the outlines can be seen of an eventual resolution of this long–standing threat to the population of the region.” Recent arrests in Europe of FDLR leadership in exile, as well as joint military operations between the UN Stabilisation Mission in the DRC (MONUSCO) and the Congolese armed forces (FARDC), has created internal and operational strains on the FDLR resulting in an increase in the surrender of senior officers asking to be repatriated to Rwanda. It is estimated that the number of FDLR still in eastern DRC cannot be more than 2 000.

During the briefing it became clear that serious challenges persist including those posed by the Lord’s Resistance Army (LRA), Mai-Mai as well as the FARDC itself. According to Ambassador Meece the LRA remains a major threat to stability and to the population in the northern provinces of the DRC. Mai-Mai groups are active in both North and South Kivu resulting in high levels of insecurity and human rights abuse. To complicate the situation, the FARDC is also involved in grave human rights violations and other crimes, one of the most serious of which is rape. Even the growing number of arrests for this crime seems to have had little deterrent effect. Of even greater concern was the remark by Ambassador Meece that the UN civilian protection programme had suffered setbacks by the continued human rights abuses perpetrated by rebels and the FARDC. The human rights abuses and the massive displacement of peoples have created the perception that the FARDC is part of the problem rather than the solution. The danger of this scenario is that many Mai Mai groups have aided the FDLR and resorted to vigilante justice, seeing no other viable solution to their problems.

The SRSG also addressed the most serious challenges confronting MONUSCO in its attempt to achieve a stable DRC. During the end of 2010 troop contributors had decided for reasons of internal security to withdraw one of the biggest assets of the mission, its attack helicopters along with some of its transport helicopters. This has had a massive adverse impact on the reaction capacity of the mission, affecting its ability to fulfill its mandate in terms of the protection of civilians as well as other aspects of the mission. The timing could not be worse as the issue of mass rapes in the DRC remains a huge problem. Without rapid reaction capabilities many of the declarations made by the UN regarding this issue will seem empty.

A shortage of funding for the reform of the judicial system and the integration process is cause for concern. Much still needs to be done on completing military and police reform, and in inculcating a culture of discipline and respect for human rights.

These issues need to be addressed as a matter of urgency to ensure that the planned elections for 2011 can take place in a more favourable atmosphere. The international community must spare no cost in assisting MONUSCO and the Congolese government and its electoral commission. Key to the stability in the Eastern DRC is the completion of the disarmament, demobilisation and reintegration processes, involving the Mai-Mai and the CNDP. Numerous foreign armed groups still at large must be neutralised or, at least, marginalised. Ideally, it should be possible for the FARDC to return to barracks, leaving the police with the principal responsibility for internal security. This however is a long-term goal, as many of the police will require training and equipment, which would allow them to fulfill their duties. This is unlikely to happen, however, and discipline and human rights training remain priorities for the Congolese security forces across the board. A possible option to address the conduct of soldiers and police is the deployment of military and police observers from SADC to keep watch. This can also help to prepare a stable environment for the upcoming elections. A possible way also to improve the operational capacity of the protection mandate of MONUSCO is to improve the operational capacity and composition of the civilian protection units or to establish a component within the military battalions consisting of military and civilian personnel to deal with social, gender, health and communications issues. This will improve the flow of information between MONUSCO and the population and could contribute to countering one of the most recalcitrant problems in the DRC: attacks on the population.

Written by Henri Boshoff, Head Peace Missions Programme, ISS Pretoria Office