« Boboto – Amani » A report for Peace
Report from the Special Envoy for Humanitarian Affairs
Dr. Réginald Moreels
Peace, Boboto, Amani, Paix, Shalom, is the word I heard most during my field visits to the Congolese sub-continent and neighbouring countries.
“If you, the international community, wish to help us, please, help us restore peace. Allow us to write our own history, but we invite you to help us in the editing”.
CONTENTS
1. Anecdote 3
2. Introduction 4
3. The Politico-Humanitarian Situation 5
4. Context 6
5. Strategies 9
How can humanitarian access be expanded? 9
How can we force improved humanitarian access? 9
The armed forced in the East 10
The DDRR programme 11
Priority measures 11
How to bring about lasting peace 12
How to strengthen the state 13
The reform period: helping the state to implement new policies. 14
Reform of Public and Territorial Administration 14
How to encourage investment and growth 14
How to support the local economy: the Congolese miracle 16
How to remove children from situations of violent conflict 17
How to change donor trends 18
6. Sectors 18
Education 18
Health 19
Infrastructure 20
Justice and Human Rights 22
7. Conclusion 24
8. Annexes 25
Priority measures 25
Education 25
Year 25
Health 26
Infrastructure 27
Justice and Human Rights 28
Year 29
Non-violence: «non-violent human relations and non-violent conflict management» 30
The Win-lose model 30
Mechanisms of violence 30
The Equivalence model 31
Equivalence in practise 32
9. Bibliography 33
Governmental reports 33
DRCongo 33
Belgium 33
International Organisations 33
NGO reports 34
Scientific and Press articles 34
Mission Reports from Special Representatives 35
International Accords 36
Other 36
10. Acknowledgements 37
- Anecdote
The crisis, born out of recent events, whilst destroying the socio-economic fabric of the country, has struck the entire population, including those families able to remain in their homes.
Widespread displacement, isolation of the countryside, and lack of disposable income, resulting in considerably reduced purchasing power, have prevented the population from developing survival strategies:
- Extreme restrictions on spending for health, education and clothing.
- Redirection of the young workforce towards the mining sector.
- Absence of motorised transport, forcing the population to transport large quantities of goods across the entire country via bicycle. Getting from Kinshasa to Kikwit in a 4X4 takes 4 days, and one month in a lorry. By bicycle it takes 3 months to cross the 700 km from Bunia to Kisangani.
- To alleviate the lack of protein from animal meat, local populations have dug ponds for each family, stocked with fish from the river. To give some indication, in the first 12 km heading south from Kindu, over 200 ponds, which have been created since the outbreak of the second war, can be counted.
- Families welcomed in by their fellow countrymen undertake the daily chores in order to limit the burden on their host families.
- Wives of the military join forces to request support from churches and NGOs, and in the worst-case scenario resort to prostitution.
- Many families who have adapted to life in the forest are not likely to return in the absence of a lasting peace.
- Amongst those who have returned to their homes, many families divide their time between the crop growing developed in the forest and recovered accommodation in villages or even in town.
- The majority of civil servants have abandoned their positions to become farmers to meet their basic needs.
All layers of society, from shopkeepers to farmers and even civil servants, have been affected by the events. Given the conditions in which some of the population are living, even basic requirements such as access to drinking water, electricity, health and education are not guaranteed, be it in towns or in the countryside.
The following few figures give an indication of the socio-economic situation in the country: teachers’ salaries are at $0.6 / month, a nurse in a health centre will earn $3 / month and a term’s school fees for a private school have come down from the pre-war level of $20 to $1 as it stands.
- Introduction
Reconstruction of the Democratic Republic of Congo and peace in the Great Lakes Region are urgently needed. The scale of the human catastrophe is colossal. It is the Congolese people who are suffering. They beg of their new leaders to bring about peace. To be able, once again, to eat, drink, work, be healed and educated.
Yet in this conflict, which has spread across central Africa, the people continue to fight for their lives with courage, resignation and great creativity. The typical cheeky, smiley look of the Congolese people has turned to one of sadness, for millions have perished. They suffer in silence, their plight not recorded by any cameras.
For many years I have been convinced that Africa would overcome the convulsions of its recent history and become, once again, the cradle of mankind. My conviction is tempered with realism. We are confronted with an enormous political challenge, just like that of economic wealth and cultural diversity. Currently in the sub-region of the DRC, the people are taking control of their destiny, at the cost, however, of great bloodshed and tears. So let us turn our attention once again to our black brothers and sisters who we have ignored for so long. We have an obligation to go beyond rhetorical declarations and intentions and to reinvest in the country in a culture of respect that respects Congolese culture. At the same time we must push for peace.
This report, inspired by other international in-depth analyses and excellent national programmes, is more than anything a strategy founded on the hope of possible reconciliation, drawing on modern dialogue techniques and concrete projects with rapid and sustainable impact. In our recommendations, we will give a contextual analysis of the situation and set out details of sectoral strategies designed to be implemented with immediate effect. These will take into consideration the flourishing local culture and economy which form the basis of life and survival for the population.
The stance I take has been developed through meetings with local people, official authorities and the international community present in the conflict areas. Similarly, from meetings in European capitals, at the United Nations and other Bretton Woods institutions. I have travelled to different conflict zones and neighbouring countries. I have listened to and transmitted messages expressing a desire to initiate dialogue, to put an end to this bloody and futile war. I have been supported by very competent and committed friends and consultants. I pay tribute first and foremost to the Congolese people, to the victims of this humanitarian tragedy. I take this opportunity to encourage the leaders, endowed with vision and fresh transparency, to set in motion the Inter-Congolese Dialogue and for the signatures to the Lusaka Accord to respect their commitments. I denounce all parties involved who, for reasons of profiteering, are bent on fuelling the conflict, denying access to humanitarian agencies, and insidiously sabotaging the peace process.
I pay homage to the members of the I.C.R.C. who were murdered in Bunia for their impartiality, independence and human qualities.
We aim to convey to the Belgian Presidency, and to the international community, the urgency of the humanitarian situation, the almost permanently changing security situation, and the tight link between political dialogue, humanitarian action and the economic interests in this DRC conflict which has spilled over into Central Africa.
- The Politico-Humanitarian Situation
A. Right at the outset, in the name of both the Congolese people and the humanitarian actors, I appeal for IMPARTIAL AND EVENLY DISTRIBUTED humanitarian assistance to the ENTIRE nation. In the absence of this, the Inter-Congolese Dialogue cannot get off the ground.
Extreme poverty on the one hand and insecurity, specifically in the East, on the other, restrict humanitarian ACESS. We can no longer accept the death and suffering of millions of people, hidden away in highly populated areas of the main cities, backward rural zones and dense forest. In the Eastern provinces, more than 85% of the territory is inaccessible to all humanitarian organisations.
We call upon the cameras to take the risk and bear witness to this widespread human catastrophe.
Furthermore, criminal groups supported through obscure and complex alliances have assassinated humanitarian workers. These people continue to target and pillage humanitarian assistance, threatening the remaining safe havens where local populations can still benefit from external aid.
This impartiality serves to encourage RECONCILIATION, from the highest political level to the simple communities and villages. Humanitarian activity, which brings people together, must extend to all sides of the conflict to work to help and witness the suffering and hopes of all concerned.
We lend our support to the humanitarian workshops run by OCHA, designed for this purpose, which we are convinced will have a concrete impact. The goal, among others, of MONUC’s presence, logistic mobilisation and reconciliation, is to permit access for men and women to markets, health centres and farm land unseen for the last five years.
B. Simultaneously, we appeal for an approach and technique based on NON-VIOLENCE[1] in all aspects of the Inter-Congolese Dialogue, reaching from the high political strata to the community level, just as in the sub-regional, regional and international dialogue. We feel encouraged by “The Decade of Non-violence and Peace for Children of the World”[2]. There is a strong demand in the east for training in non-violence.
The Inter-Congolese Dialogue (of which humanitarian aid and the re-starting of the economy will be crucial) is the key to bring about peace in the region. Each side must make concessions, and not cling intransigently to their positions. This is not solely a question of politics, but, as far as we are concerned, it is even the beginnings of an approach based on non-violence.
Traditional conflict management is based on the Major-minor scenario. Where each side seeks to prove he is right, to dominate, to place themselves in a superior position (M) and to weaken the opposition (m).
The alternative to this M-m situation is the equivalence model (E). That is, to be aware of one’s own ideological basis, to listen and to be open to the reasoning and stance of the opposition. Following which, a solution can be drawn up which is equitable to all parties concerned.
DRC has a president and his government. There are opposition groups, some armed, some not, with their own political leaders. Finally, there is the civil society which is well organised and represented. It is necessary, from the very beginning, to accept the role and specific mandate of each actor in the Dialogue, with respect for opposing positions. If there is a single empty chair at the negotiation table, it must be recognised, with total honesty, that the dialogue is incomplete. The internal and external actors who sabotage this dialogue will bear a heavy debt towards their people. Diplomatic initiatives must support those who will the dialogue to go forward, whilst, at same time, being realistic and very firm with those intent on sabotaging the peace process.
Next, there is the question of how to agree on the agenda for the negotiations and the strict timing of meetings. This is the task of the designated facilitator, President Masire, and all parties to the conflict, with particular emphasis on the Congolese leaders. The relevant actors must welcome the transition as an historical opportunity for peace and stability in their region. It is up to the Congolese people to take their fate into their own hands and for us to lend our support.
The Lusaka Peace Accords essentially call for a ceasefire rather than for peace. However, the priorities remain clear:
o Territorial unification of DRC and the withdrawal of all foreign troops.
o Transition to a nationally unified government, a parliament and future elections.
o The demilitarisation programme (DDRR) in the East.
o The question of nationalities.
o Humanitarian assistance to all the country. This last point must be emphasised.
All points are delicate, requiring a new approach, which will incorporate: open communication; transparency; self-confidence; positive recognition of one another; creativity and honouring one’s word and signature.
- Context
Peace is a political, humanitarian and economic challenge. Peace is the word I heard most commonly uttered in the field. It is the prerequisite for all humanitarian assistance.
It is in this paradoxical context – caught between the necessity for rapid progress and the impossible task of building sound foundations for peace in a short space of time – that we locate political and humanitarian actions in the region.
The conflict in the Great Lakes is unique in its complexity, its numerous contradictions and paradoxes, its unlikely and changeable alliances between belligerents and its logical succession. At the same time, we can identify elements typical of African conflicts.
Since the fall of the Berlin wall, new types of conflict have arisen, characterised by:
· Criminalisation: due as much to non-payment of military salaries as to a lack of cohesion and leadership and the existence of natural riches. Applicable to private actors and armed forces alike.
· Multi-faceted nature of criminalisation: these wars are fuelled by exploitation of natural resources, and the trafficking of light arms and children.
· Double privatisation: On the one hand, the armed protection of mines and illicit trafficking. On the other, the often constraining and even threatening protection of humanitarian convoys by rebel forces or armed groups.
Access to the populations has become the key problem in these wars. Humanitarian assistance is limited to the periphery of conflict zones, preventing aid to the victims at the heart of the inaccessible areas.
· The normalisation of suffering and death: the majority of victims are civilians. Children are profoundly involved in the conflict (as soldiers, street-kids, abductions); the arms used are lo-tech, but the wounds inflicted can be deadly. The ratio of deaths stemming directly from the war compared to those who have died through a lack of access to basic services is 80-90% in favour of the latter.