Sometimes it seems as though the world has almost given up on the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC). After decades of conflict, many in the international community looked at the resource-rich nation as a lost cause. The large proxy war, known as Africa’s first world war, may have subsided, but violence flares up regularly in this sprawling, diverse land where insecurity, porous borders, government impotence, lack of rule of law, and exploitation are the status quo.
But, the DRC is also a locus of great beauty and hope. I hear it in the voice of Jewish World Watch’s (JWW) field representative, who fights tirelessly to create a new generation of Congolese peacebuilders, proving that no atrocities are damaging enough to rob the nation’s children of their resilience and desire to learn. I see it in the smile of baby Anna-Elle, an ebullient, trusting little girl, daughter of our partners in Goma who recently visited JWW’s offices — so open, curious and utterly transcendent.
Dr. Denis Mukwege
And, I see it in the eyes of Dr. Denis Mukwege, JWW’s long-time partner, the gynecological surgeon who received the Nobel Peace Prize on Oct. 5 for his lifesaving work with survivors of horrific sexual violence. Dr. Mukwege’s eyes have witnessed such brutality and cried so many angry tears. Though weary, his eyes nevertheless flicker with that mysterious something — perhaps divination — that leads him to know in his very core that once he puts women and children back together again with his hands, and gives them a new lease on life with his heart, they rise.
Congo, too, shall rise again. We can’t give up on it.
An added benefit of Dr. Mukwege’s incredible honor, along with the acknowledgment of the global problem of gender-based violence, is a renewed attention to the situation in the DRC. JWW has often spoken out to draw the world’s attention to the DRC’s upcoming December elections, to ensure that they are free and fair and that a peaceful transfer of power will occur. But, with so many mass atrocity situations peppering the globe, it is difficult to turn the spotlight to even this percolating hotspot, but this is precisely what effective prevention demands. Dr. Mukwege’s award has revived the world’s interest in Congo, and we must capitalize on this moment to push for a new Democratic Republic of the Congo that will actually live up to its name.
JWW reported earlier this summer that President Joseph Kabila’s crackdown on political protests was a harbinger of things to come, since he appears willing to go to any length to hold onto the reins of his kleptocracy. Kabila uses instability as a weapon to keep his people essentially at the mercy of his regime. It could give him a blank check for a state-of-emergency designation that he could wield to either suspend the December elections or cancel them altogether.
JWW’s partners have long picked up on this strategy. As civilians lose more and more faith in a government that does nothing to protect them, the government increases its control over the fate of the upcoming election. All of our contacts in the Congo, including our field representative and partner organizations, affirm this.
On Sept. 22, 2018, unidentified fighters killed 17 people in Beni, bringing the number of civilians killed this year in the northeastern Congolese territory to at least 235. Beni lies on the edge of the vast Virunga national park, which is used as a hideout for some of the dozens of military groups operating in North Kivu. More than 1,000 civilians have been killed in Beni in the last four years, largely due to the government’s lack of ability — or desire — to curb the violence. Beni is the home of several JWW-supported programs, including an outpost of the Sons of Congo program, which aims to reframe how Congolese men view women and gender-based violence. The city is also the epicenter of Congo’s most recent Ebola outbreak.
Kabila’s regime has consistently blamed the vast majority of the Beni attacks on the Allied Democratic Forces (ADF), a Ugandan-led Islamist armed group that has been in the area since 1996. However, findings by the UN Group of Experts on Congo, the NYU-based Congo Research Group, Human Rights Watch, and local human rights organizations point to the involvement of other armed groups, including some Congolese army officers. Evidence suggests that Brig. Gen. Muhino Akili Mundos, a Congolese army commander with close ties to Kabila, established a new armed group by recruiting ADF fighters and former fighters from local armed groups.
The presence of Congolese soldiers among the perpetrators, as well as the close relationship between Mundos and Kabila, suggests that the government may have something to do with the recurring attacks on civilians in Beni — or at least have an interest in having the unchecked violence continue. An August 2016 episode that left 36 people killed happened just three days after Kabila personally visited Beni, promising to do everything in his power to bring peace and security to the beleaguered region. In the aftermath of the unconscionable violence, where rebels “bypassed” army barracks on their way to Beni neighborhood of Rwangoma, protestors screamed, “It’s not fair that they slaughter us like goats!” and “Our government is incapable of keeping us safe!”
When the Congolese people live in constant fear of attack, rape, and pillaging, they don’t have the bandwith to notice voting irregularities or take to the streets. The atrocities in Beni have led to mass displacement, with more than half a million people fleeing their homes this year alone. If large swaths of the population are left in limbo, not having a place for their families to rest their heads, how can voting be a priority for them, no matter how much they want the government to change?
Democratic Republic of the Congo President Joseph Kabila
What compounds the situation in Beni, making it even more of a humanitarian emergency, is the contemporaneous Ebola outbreak. This is the first time this area of Congo has faced an outbreak of Ebola, which is transmitted via body fluids of infected people, including from the dead. Congo’s health ministry says there have been 130 confirmed Ebola cases, including 74 deaths, since the outbreak was declared in August. Armed violence has hampered the ability to effectively respond to the health crisis, especially since some health workers have recently been attacked. Plus, the outbreak’s proximity to the Ugandan border and the omnipresence of Ugandan armed groups in the area increase the chances for cross-border contamination. The World Health Organization says the outbreak is at a “critical point.” There is risk of the virus spreading to inaccessible “red zones” where armed groups exert complete control.
While this general climate of unrest and impunity is terribly troubling and deserves a comprehensive response, we cannot allow it to distract us from the upcoming elections. The spotlight on Congo created by Dr. Mukwege’s much-deserved recognition must be leveraged to ensure that the December elections go ahead as planned. There’s great risk, though that even if they do proceed, election tampering could occur.
Both the United States and the U.N. Security Council have warned Congo against the use of electronic voting machines. Electronic voting machines are more vulnerable to tampering, foreign interference, and cyberattacks than traditional paper ballots. The international community must insist on the use of the more trusted and transparent paper ballots so that the risk of such manipulation is lowered from an already assailable process. As The Sentry reported in June, prototype machines purchased by the DRC government from South Korean company Miru System presented vulnerabilities that could result in “potential threats to ballot secrecy as well as results manipulation.”
A delegation of the U.N. Security Council, led by French Representative Francois Delattre, arrived in the DRC last Saturday, Oct. 6. In response to the Council’s call for Congo’s electoral commission to open dialogue on the use of voting machines, the Commission president Corneille Nangaa said that 20 containers containing more than 900 machines each have already arrived in the DRC. He also made clear that other than advisers from the U.N. stabilization mission in the country, the Kabila regime would not solicit other financial or logistical support for the elections from other countries.
Whether Kabila wants the international community to intervene or not, impartial election monitors will be critical come Dec. 23. The world must continue to pressure Kabila not only to uphold the elections, but to ensure that they are as free and fair as possible. We must make him feel that we are watching, and support efforts like the bipartisan Democratic Republic of the Congo Democracy and Accountability Act of 2018 (H.R. 6207), which threatens sanctions against Kabila and his inner circle, should elections be compromised. Finally, we must encourage the opposition to rally around a single candidate in order to increase its likelihood of success. The elections could be a watershed moment for democracy and peaceful transition in the DRC. Our concerted efforts to protect the process now raise the possibility that the Congolese people can come together to celebrate another victory this year, as they did with Dr. Mukwege’s Nobel Peace Prize.
TAKE ACTION
Urge your Representative to support the Democratic Republic of the Congo Democracy and Accountability Act (H.R. 6207).
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