Briefings
22 – 28 August 2013
As Micheal Djotodia was sworn in as the Central African Republic’s president on Sunday, calls for action to prevent the collapse of this volatile state fervently continued.Insecurity and humanitarian urgency in the country has reached crisis levels with fears that the CAR risks total collapse if swift action is not taken. In Bangui this week clashes between the Seleka and former President Bozize s
15 – 21 August 2013
As Micheal Djotodia was sworn in as the Central African Republic’s president on Sunday, calls for action to prevent the collapse of this volatile state fervently continued.Insecurity and humanitarian urgency in the country has reached crisis levels with fears that the CAR risks total collapse if swift action is not taken. In Bangui this week clashes between the Seleka and former President Bozize s
8 – 14 August 2013
As Martin Kobler took the reins as Ban Ki Moon’s Special Representative for MONUSCO this week, civil society representatives orchestrated a number of “dead city” strike actionsthroughout North Kivu in a bid to pressure the peacekeepers to launch offensive operations against armed groups throughout the province. There are reports of torture and poor detention conditions for those detained by the M2
1 – 7 August 2013
As MONUSCO’s security zone between around Goma and Sake became effective this week the UN force has stressed that it marks only a first step in its efforts to restore stability to the region. MONUSCO has been criticised for risking peace negotiations in establishing the zone by Rwanda, whilst in North Kivu civil society groups issued the peacekeeping force with their own ultimatum, giving it one w
25 – 31 July 2013
The last ten days have seen further controversy on the international plane. A Human Rights Watch report outlining atrocities committed by the M23 in North Kivu since March this year, including summary executions, forced recruitment and rape, outlined evidence of Rwandan support for the rebellion, last week. The report’s findings prompted calls by US State Department spokeswoman, Jen Psaki, for Rwa
11 – 17 July 2013
This week has seen an explosion of violence in North Kivu occasioning the influx of an estimated 66,000 Congolese refugees into Uganda and a resultant humanitarian crisis that aid agencies are struggling to manage. Earlier in the week Ugandan ADF-Nalu rebels, together with what has been identified as Somalian Al-Shabaab fighters, occupied the town of Kamange for 24 hours on Thursday to Friday, bei
27 June – 3 July 2013
As Roger Meece’s MONUSCO mandate came to an end this week, details of the UN’s DRC Group of Experts report to the UN Sanctions committee have been reported in the press. The report is said to include indications that whilst the M23 is still receiving some assistance from Rwanda, support for the group is weakening[…]
20 – 26 June 2013
As a UN Security Council resolution on sexual violence in conflict hit the headlines this week, France’s Minister for Women’s Rights criticised Kinshasa’s failure to adequately bring FARDC soldiers responsible for the rape of over 130 women in North Kivu last November to justice. MONUSCO has accused the M23 of committing further abuses against civilians in Rutshuru and demanded that it dismantle i
13 – 19 June 2013
This week saw Russ Feingold nominated as new US Special Envoy to the Great Lakes Region and the UK pledge US$1.2 billion in aid to the DRC. Meanwhile, MONUSCO has refuted M23 denials of child recruitment and expressed further concern over the rebel groups stated intention to try 11 young people detained during a special operation in Kiwanja. The M23’s police camp in Buchizi was attached by Nyatura
6 – 12 June 2013
As the DRC signed the Arms Trade Treaty this week, the first cracks in the M23/FARDC 22 May ceasefire emerged, with exchange of fire between the parties on the periphery of Goma. An undertaking by MONUSCO not to attack the M23 if it returns to the negotiating table in Kampala saw the dispatch of M23 delegates to Uganda by 10thJune – a move welcomed by many, though also attended by claims that the
30 May – 5 June 2013
EDITORIAL The UN’s landmark Arms Trade Treaty (ATT) opened for signature in New York on Monday, 3 June, with 67 states penning the agreement by the close of day. Reports indicate that the devastating slaughter of central Africa’s elephants is being driven by rebels such as the Lord’s Resistance Army, seeking to fund their activities through the insatiable demand for ivory on the Asian markets. Mea
23 – 29 May 2013
Following hostilities between the M23 and the Congolese army that are claimed to have taken nearly 20 lives in eastern DRC, this week saw much diplomatic movement in the region. Ban Ki-moon and Jim Yong Kim’s three day tour of the Great Lakes saw the implementation of a ceasefire between the warring parties in Mutaho for the delegation’s arrival in Goma[…]
16 – 22 May 2013
This week has seen much action on the ground with the resumption of hostilities between the Congolese army and the M23 in Mutaho, 10 km from Goma, North Kivu. Three days of fighting, which commenced on Monday morning, have so far culminated in 4 deaths and many wounded as shells hit suburbs of Goma during heavy fighting between the two forces.[…]
10 – 16 May 2013
The Africa Progress Panel’s Annual Report for 2013 was released on Friday, and this year addresses the potential contribution of Africa’s resource wealth, looking particularly at the Democratic Republic of Congo. The report laments the DRC’s loss of revenue occasioned by the sale of undervalued resource assets[…]
2 – 8 May 2013
As UN Special Envoy to the Great Lakes Region, Mary Robinson, comes to the end of her 9 day tour of the region she has reportedly re-emphasised the need to see the UN Intervention Brigade as a mere supplement to the true political work required to bring stability to the region. The M23 continues to posture over the Brigades imminent arrival, this week sending a letter to the Tanzanian State threat
25 April – 1 May 2013
As the UN’s Special Envoy for the Great Lakes, Mary Robinson, toured the region this week, the M23 appeared to be under increasing pressure. With Kampala talks effectively at a stalemate, the M23 has withdrawn its delegates and is reported to be mobilising around Rutshuru and Beni[…]
18 – 24 April 2013
The Economic Community of Central African States (ECCAS) met on Thursday to follow up on the regional block’s roadmap for transition in the Central African Republic (CAR). At the conference, attended by the CAR’s Prime Minister, ECCAS reportedly agreed to deploy a 2,000 strong force to assist the authorities to restore order in the currently unstable capital of Bangui. South Africa has apparently
11 – 17 April 2013
This week the M23 rebel movement continued to oppose and threaten the UNIntervention Brigade, which was approved by the Security Council on 28 March and whose aim is to actively fight the armed groups in eastern DRC. According to a UN top military official, the Brigade’s deployment is “imminent”. It will number 3069 men, from Tanzania, South Africa and Malawi.[…]
4 – 10 April 2013
DOWNLOAD PDF EDITORIAL Following last weeks UN Security Council resolution mandating a MONUSCO-based intervention brigade, concerns have been raised about causalities to troop contributing State forces – felt most acutely in South Africa, where President Zuma is currently under fierce scrutiny over the country’s involvement in the Central African Republic. Meanwhile, the M23 has continued to take
28 March – 3 April 2013
Tuesday saw the United Nations General Assembly approve a global arms trade treatyafter 6 years of inter-State deliberations on the issue. The consensus approach was abandoned after last Thursday, when unanimous agreement on a convention text was blocked at the conclusion of the Final UN Conference on the Arms Trade Treaty[…]
