Democratic Republic of Congo

Alert has been working in DRC since 2002, when we began research and advocacy partnerships with Congolese NGOs from the Kivus. 2006 saw a significant expansion of our work into other provinces and with other partners, and our DRC programme now makes up the largest part of Alert’s work in the Great Lakes region. We are currently expanding our offices and field presence in DRC to better execute our projects and provide technical support to local partners.

Building and expanding on our past engagement in the DRC, Alert currently works in four areas:

	Promoting dialogue – Alert believes that civil society could play a more constructive role in peacebuilding in the DRC if there existed spaces for dialogue between those holding different perspectives. We therefore work to stimulate and support dialogue among a cross-section of Congolese civil society.
	Strengthening governance through civil society – Alert currently works with Congolese partners to contribute to a new political culture which emphasises inclusiveness and accountability. We support watchdog civil society organisations and strengthen their capacity to scrutinise government administration.
	Research and advocacy – We have a number of research and advocacy projects in DRC focusing on sexual violence against women and influencing international policy.
	Women and political leadership – We work with our partners to inform women in the DRC about the legislation and their rights, providing training to increase their capacity for gender analysis, political leadership, networking and advocacy.

Congo’s particularly difficult colonial experience was followed by 40 years of President Mobutu’s predatory regime and then, from 1996 to 2003, civil war, bolstered by its neighbouring countries; Rwanda and Uganda backing the rebellion led by the late Laurent Kabila and troops from Zimbabwe, Angola, Uganda, Namibia, Chad and Sudan intervening to support the Kinshasa regime. After an estimated 3.5 million deaths in six years, and under intense international and South African pressure, these neighbouring countries negotiated the withdrawal of their armed forces in 2003. Under the same pressure, the main internal factions and warlords negotiated power-sharing arrangements for a transitional government in July 2003, headed by Joseph Kabila (son of Laurent).

The UN-lead transition period wound down in mid 2006, when Kabila faced Jean-Pierre Bemba in DRC’s first democratic elections since independence from Belgium in 1960.The election process was a massive undertaking for a country the size of Western Europe, lacking in infrastructure and divided by internal and external players. Elections should wrap up in early 2007 but it is important for both international and local actors to recognise that the transition period will not end there. Over the coming years, the DRC will continue to face enormous challenges as it continues its transition from war to peace.

For instance, progress on the critical issue of army integration and reform has been slow and uncertain, with mutinies and desertion on a major scale in the east. The predatory Zairian/Congolese state has no history of accountability or culture of democratic citizenship, so effective state institutions will need to work against a history of corruption, malpractice and non-performance. Women also continue to be excluded from most areas of leadership and decision-making and must be encouraged to participate and take lead in the country’s transition to peace. Strategic peacebuilding requires a break from the warlordism of the past and present.

There is continued insecurity in the east of the country, in particular the provinces of North and South Kivu and the territory of Ituri. And there is a desperate need for appropriate reconciliation processes at the community level and institution building at all levels. Perhaps most importantly for the transition, a new sense of nationhood and citizenship needs to be build in Congo that unites the country and moves beyond the many divisions of the past.

For more information, contact Sylvie Pereira

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Last updated: November 2006