Cross Border and Women (DRC)

Dear Secretary-General,

As NGOs working in the eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), we remain very concerned by the grave humanitarian situation that continues to severely affect the civilian population, characterized by persistent high levels of violence, human rights abuses and violations of international humanitarian law. Renewed fighting between M23 and FARDC around Goma this month highlights the significant and continuing insecurity faced by communities.

For years the international community has attempted to help stabilize Eastern DRC, at the expense of billions of dollars, yet sustainable peace remains elusive. Elections in November 2011 were widely seen as lacking credibility¹ and provincial and local elections have been delayed indefinitely. There has been scant progress on critical reforms in justice, security, land and governance. Successive military campaigns have failed to remove foreign and domestic armed groups and have increased the population’s suffering causing large scale displacement.

Depuis plusieurs années la communauté internationale a essaye de stabiliser l'Est de la RDC, a un cout des milliards de dollars, mais cette paix durable continue de faire défaut. Les élections présidentielles et législatives de novembre 2011 étaient perçues comme étant peu crédibles¹ et en ce qui concerne les élections provinciales et locales, elles ont été reportées indéfiniment. Peu de progrès ont été constatés quant aux réformes cruciales dans les secteurs de la justice, la sécurité, les affaires foncières et de la gouvernance.

This report analyses the dynamics of small cross-border trade in eastern DRC, and between Burundi and Rwanda, and ways to improve  such trade in order to advance the economic power of women, contributing to peace and security in the region.

Full report

Annexes (in French)

Chris Dolan, director of the Refugee Law Project in Uganda, has recently been conducting research for International Alert for an upcoming report on sexual violence in eastern Congo. In this interview he concluded democracy is not possible in the eastern Congo without big changes in relations between men and women. Article published on 20th October 2010, Guardian.