Goma, 20 July 2012 – Over the last three months, the latest humanitarian catastrophe has been sweeping the eastern region of the Democratic Republic of Congo. For the first time since 2009, the number of internally displaced persons (IDPs) in this immense central African country has exceeded one million.
In the last two weeks, the number of registered IDPs in North Kivu alone, where JRS teams have been actively providing services for the last two years, has exceeded 220,000. Men, women and children are forced to flee their home villages yet again in order to save their lives and to protect themselves from sexual violence, which is being used as a tool of war.
In an interview with the JRS Director in the Democratic Republic of Congo, Romeo Cagatin SVD, offers an insight into the effects on the civilian population caught in the middle of yet another humanitarian crisis in North Kivu.
Director, what are the main consequences for the population?
After their flight, IDPs began living in the camp where there are enormous needs in terms of access to food, shelter, healthcare and education. It is like the famous African proverb goes, "when elephants fight, the grass gets trampled", meaning the ever-growing population of victims is civilians. Forced displacement caused by armed conflicts is the social and political scandal of the twenty-first century.
How do you imagine the situation evolving in the Congo?
Two possible scenarios come to mind – positive and negative. Firstly, following the recent international conference on the Great Lakes region, held in Addis Ababa, we proceed along the road towards a long-term solution, putting an end to the 20-year cycle of violence in eastern Congo, especially in North and South Kivu. For this to happen there needs to be a political agreement at regional and international level. Everyone around here knows that a military solution to the crisis will not produce lasting peace and stability.
And the negative scenario?
If the Congolese government, or the neighbouring countries, continue to fail to demonstrate a concrete will to find an agreed political solution, the situation will get worse, possibly beyond repair. Consequently, hundreds of thousands will continue to be displaced and to suffer. People in the Democratic Republic of Congo have lived in a state of constant of humanitarian crisis for the last 20 years. This is unacceptable.
What is JRS doing in the area of advocacy to find a solution to the conflict?
In the area of advocacy, JRS is working at the international level, together with other groups and organisations, putting pressure on the Congolese government and the international community (African Union, European Union the UN and donor nations) to come up with an agreed strategy to end the conflict in the east of Congo.
In what way have the recent outbreaks of conflict affected the work of JRS in the field?
Unfortunately, the ongoing insecurity prevents our teams from moving freely in the field and as such we are unable to reach all the IDP camps in which we would like intervene. That said we remain in the field close to the population and will continue to do our job everywhere we are able to reach. Our mission is the "apostolate of presence" close to the displaced. What fills our hearts with joy is to see that they are happy simply because we are there; these people who have been displaced need someone to listen to them and the opportunity not to lose hope in the future.
What is the cause of the current crisis?
The latest massive forced displacement in eastern Congo was sparked when a group of few hundred soldiers deserted the national army and set up a rebel group, loyal to the former General Bosco Ntaganda, for whom an arrest warrant has been issued by the International Criminal Court for crimes against humanity.
In the last few weeks, violent clashes broke out between the new rebel group, M23, and the national army. According to a recent document of the UN Group of Experts on the Democratic Republic of the Congo, the rebels are receiving support from the Rwandan government, which if true, would be an explicit violation of international law. Kigali has clearly denied any involvement in this latest rebellion in Congolese territory.
Moreover, in a recent international conference on the African Great Lakes region, held in Addis Ababa, the Congolese and Rwandan governments have agreed to cooperate to disarm the rebel groups in North and South Kivu. Among the points agreed is the deployment of a neutral international peacekeeping force to ensure security at the borders of the two countries.
In addition to the chaos caused by the presence of M23, eastern Congo is characterised by violence and armed incursions of numerous local and foreign rebel groups. Among these is the Democratic Forces for the Liberation of Rwanda (FDLR) which has been taking advantage of the absence of the Congolese army, busy fighting M23, to take control of other areas of North and South Kivu provinces.
Danilo Giannese, Advocacy and Communications Officer, JRS Great Lakes Africa