INTRODUCTION
The civil war in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) in which various regional countries took part has largely subsided, though large areas of the country, especially in the east, remain deeply unstable and insecure. After years of a bitter and disastrous conflict, a Global and All-Inclusive Peace Agreement was signed in December 2002 in South Africa. This led to the establishment in June 2003 of a transitional power-sharing government, composed of representatives of the former government and a number of Congolese armed groups that had been involved in the conflict. The transitional government had the responsibility (1) of uniting the country in preparation for national elections. (2)
By June 2003 it was estimated that there were between 300,000 and 330,000 (3) fighters in the DRC. One of the objectives of the peace agreement was the disarmament, demobilization and reintegration (DDR) into civilian life of an estimated 150,000 (4) former fighters and the integration of the remainder into a unified national army, the Forces Armées de la République Démocratique du Congo (FARDC), (Armed Forces of the Democratic Republic of Congo).
However, the transitional government has been beset by factionalism and a series of political and military crises. Progress towards unification has been slow on almost every front, including that of military integration, and the country, to some extent, remains divided into different zones of de facto military and political control. (5)
In three years of transition, from 2003 to 2006, and despite the presence of a thinly-spread UN peacekeeping force, known by its French acronym, MONUC, (6) conflict has continued and serious human rights abuses are still being committed. By early 2006, it is estimated that 3.9 million people have died since 1998 as a result of the direct and indirect consequences of the ongoing conflict. (7) Between 1.4 and 1.66 million people, most of them women and children, are now displaced within the DRC, and an additional 1.3 million 'returnees' are in need of urgent assistance. (8)
The political parties making up the transitional government have obstructed the implementation of major reforms and the transitional government has been seriously undermined by political, military, ethnic and economic rivalries inherited from the war. (9) The transitional parliament has promulgated important pieces of legislation such as the nationality law, media law, business investment law and the electoral law. However, these laws have often been difficult to implement because of the inefficient 1+4 structure of government (10), and the fact that large areas of the DRC continue to escape effective government control.
The integration of the former fighting forces into a unified national army (FARDC) with a single, uniform and accountable chain of command is indispensable not only to the stability of the DRC post the 2006 elections, but also for the improvement of human rights. The demobilization and army reform programme is taking place in a context characterized by serious human rights violations, an apparent lack of political will and ineffective control of troops.
The way that reform of the army is being conducted is symptomatic of a chaotic transition and risks compromising the whole political process and the country's future stability. Urgent measures are required to create a framework that incorporates effective vetting mechanisms to exclude from the army those reasonably suspected of committing human rights violations until cleared by an independent and impartial investigation. In addition, the army reform programme must ensure that FARDC personnel are provided training in human rights and international humanitarian law.
A failed army reform programme risks a new cycle of political and military crises that may lead to an escalation of violence and a deterioration of the humanitarian and human rights situation in the war-torn country. The August 2006 fighting in Kinshasa, following the release of the presidential election provisional first-round results, between the Garde Républicaine (GR), Republican Guard controlled by President Joseph Kabila and a faction of the FARDC controlled by Vice President Jean-Pierre Bemba, which left 23 dead, clearly demonstrated the fractious nature of FARDC, and the urgency of an effective and sustainable army reform and integration programme.
This report identifies human rights concerns arising from a case-study of the Disarmament, Demobilization and Re-integration (DDR) and army reform programme in among others, the Ituri, Katanga and Kivu regions of the DRC. It details Amnesty International's concerns over the human rights implications of a flawed and/or failed DDR and army reform programme, the way the reform is being conducted, the quality of the integrated soldiers and their conduct once deployed.
This report is the product of Amnesty research covering most of the regions involved in the reform and the DDR operations, including the Kivus, Ituri and Katanga. It is also based on information collected by the organization in Katanga, Kasaï and other districts of eastern DRC, such as Haut and Bas Ouélé. It sets out specific recommendations to all the major actors, including the Congolese government, armed groups, MONUC and intergovernmental organizations involved in peacekeeping in DRC.
Notes:
(1) Under the terms of the Global and All-Inclusive Peace Agreement, the transitional government was assigned five major objectives: (1) reunification, the re-establishment of peace, reconstruction of the country, restoration of territorial integrity and the re-establishment of the state's authority over the whole of national territory; (2) national reconciliation; (3) the formation of a restructured and integrated national army; (4) the organization of free and transparent elections at all levels with a view to the establishment of a democratic constitutional regime; and (5) the establishment of structures aimed at creating a new political order.
(2) The first round of national elections took place on the 30 July 2006. A run-off between Joseph Kabila and Jean-Pierre Bemba was organized on 29 October 2006 and at the time of writing this report the results remained unknown.
(3) The actual number of fighters remains unknown, but estimates suggest that the number of fighters range from 300,000 and 330,000. Refer to Programme National de Désarmement, Démobilisation et Réinsertion du gouvernement de la RDC p.21
(4) The figure of 150,000 is again an estimate because the actual figure of fighters remains unknown. Two partial censuses on the number of fighters in the DRC were conducted ; one by the South African military in conjunction with the SMI which suggested that between 30% and 55% of the fighting forces were "fictitious" or "phantom" ("fictif / fantôme") ; another by the FARDC High Command which indicated a 30% fictive rate. Source: EUSEC (European Union advisory and assistance commission on security sector reform in the DRC) analysis report, Administration de la solde et des vivres au sein du ministère de la défense et des forces armées de la RDC, 31 August 2005, Annex C section 1(b), and AI interview with EUSEC officials, Kinshasa, November 2005.
(5) North-Kivu: Civilians pay the price for political and military rivalry, Amnesty International September 2005 (AI Index: AFR 62/013/2005)
(6) Mission de l'Organisation des Nations Unies en RD Congo, United Nations Organization Mission in the DR Congo.
(7) International Rescue Committee (IRC) (2006) 'Mortality in the Democratic Republic of Congo: a Nationwide Survey', The Lancet, Vol. 367, Issue 9504, 7 January 2006, pp44-51, See also www.thelancet.com
(8) Action Plan 2006, Democratic Republic of the Congo, UNOCHA, p.28.
(9) The main political parties involved in the transitional government include the PPRD of Joseph Kabila, the MLC of Jean-Pierre Bemba and the RCD-Goma of Azarias Ruberwa, all of which are former belligerents. The main civilian political opposition party, the UDPS of Etienne Tshisekedi Wa Mulumba did not take part in the transition and boycotted the national elections.
(10) This is the formula used for sharing presidential power. It involves one president of the republic and four vice- presidents from the other political and military signatories of the Global and All-Inclusive Peace Agreement. By virtue of this agreement, Joseph Kabila is head of state. The four vice-presidents are from the RCD-Goma, MLC (two former armed groups), civil society and the former Mouvance Présidentielle, Presidential Party.