Congo Facts

Here are some facts about the ongoing conflict in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, provided by one of our Congo research interns:

1.Since 1998, the fighting in DRC has claimed over 5.4 million lives. Over 100, 000 people have been displaced.

2. In 1994 the Rwandan conflict broke out. Hundreds of thousands of Hutus and moderate Hutus were killed. They had been persecuted by the FAR (Forces Armees Rwandaises). The Hutus were then kicked out of Rwanda after being defeated by the Tutsi led RPA (Rwandan Patriotic Army). A good number of the Hutus then relocated to DRC.

3.Because the DRC is rich in resources (diamond, copper, tin, oil, coltan) fighting in mining area continue to this very day. This poses a threat to any process of peace or reconstruction.

4. Although leaders from Rwanda claim that they are helping to protect the Tutsi population from the the Hutus who have migrated to the DRC, they are just as responsible for these atrocities. They are mainly motivated by DRC's wealth of resources.

5.In almost every conflict throughout the world, rape is used as the number one weapon of war. It is used for purposes such as intimidation, political terror, satisfaction and ''ethnic cleansing." This is especially true in the Congo.

6. But even before the war in the Congo, women and girls were/still are second class citizens. The law and its social norms define women as subordinate. Her status depends on whether or not she is married. Once raped she becomes "worthless" and is left to fend for herself in patriarchal society.

7.Many times, those who are responsible for acts of such violence (rape, murder etc) remain unpunished . Factors contributing to this impunity are-
-laws granting amnesty to perpetrators
-there is often an acceptance of rape and other forms of sexual violence as an inevitable aspect of war
-the presence of special legislation in many countries that prevent prosecutions for crimes committed in war

8.The United States has professed a commitment to maintaining the national integrity of the Congo but at the same time has given political backing to Rwanda, which field troops their regular armies in the eastern DRC. Even in the face of mounting evidence that Rwandan troops had committed crimes, the US had remained silent. The implication here is simple, the United States' has become a staunch ally of Rwanda because it acts as a client state. Rwanda has received millions of dollars of military aid, which in turn is used to cause destruction and death.

Soon to come : a more detailed look at the conflict.