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132. Conflict-Business Dynamics in the Democratic Republic of Congo
- Author:
- Raymond Gilpin and Richard Downie
- Publication Date:
- 11-2009
- Content Type:
- Working Paper
- Institution:
- United States Institute of Peace
- Abstract:
- Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) has enormous economic potential thanks to its rich mineral deposits and vast tracts of arable land. Historically, these resources have been exploited by predatory leaders and a host of subregional actors. The time is now ripe for the DRC to put years of war and economic underdevelopment behind it. The business community has an important part to play in promoting sustainable peace in the DRC. Business communities in Bukavu and Lubumbashi have managed to remain profitable in the very trying years following the signing of the 1999 Lusaka peace accord by showing great resilience and versatility, primarily outside formal channels. Congolese businesses face serious obstacles, including poor infrastructure, high taxes, extortion, and market distortions. However, respondents expressed relatively little concern about insecurity and violence, suggesting that these costs have been internalized or that other obstacles impose much greater costs. DRC businesses neither want nor expect handouts. Respondents would prefer assistance in removing barriers to trade, improving infrastructure, and reducing corruption. Respondents are broadly optimistic about the future and their economic prospects, and have a strong sense of being stakeholders in shaping society. This bodes well for the future of the DRC, provided public policy can harness this energy and not impede it.
- Topic:
- Conflict Resolution, Development, Economics, and War
- Political Geography:
- Africa and Democratic Republic of the Congo
133. From Uganda to the Congo and Beyond: Pursuing the Lord's Resistance Army
- Author:
- Ronald R. Atkinson
- Publication Date:
- 11-2009
- Content Type:
- Working Paper
- Institution:
- International Peace Institute (IPI)
- Abstract:
- This paper begins by providing the historical context for “Operation Lightning Thunder,” the Ugandan military's December 2008 incursion into neighboring Democratic Republic of the Congo in pursuit of the northern Ugandan rebel group, the Lord's Resistance Army (LRA). The paper first presents (1) a historical background to the northern Uganda war that produced the LRA; (2) an overview of that war, which began in 1986; and (3) an analysis of the Juba peace process initiated in 2005 and its unraveling over the course of 2008.
- Topic:
- Conflict Resolution, Arms Control and Proliferation, War, and Armed Struggle
- Political Geography:
- Uganda, Africa, and Democratic Republic of the Congo
134. Pious Words, Puny Deeds: The "International Community" and Mass Atrocities
- Author:
- Rajan Menon
- Publication Date:
- 09-2009
- Content Type:
- Journal Article
- Abstract:
- Most of the large-scale violence in the world will continue to occur within societies rather than between or among states. Yet the international community still has not developed the ethical-legal consensus or the institutions required to manage this terrible problem.
- Political Geography:
- Iraq, Bosnia, Democratic Republic of the Congo, Cambodia, and Rwanda
135. Out of Site: Building better responses to displacement in the Democratic Republic of the Congo by helping host families
- Author:
- Katherine Haver
- Publication Date:
- 09-2008
- Content Type:
- Policy Brief
- Institution:
- Oxfam Publishing
- Abstract:
- Despite new peace agreements, continued conflict among and between armed militias and government forces in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) in the last year has seen thousands of new internally displaced persons (IDPs) in the east of the country, many of whom have poured into camps seeking shelter and safety. This is a new development in DRC. Unlike Darfur and Uganda, IDPs in DRC have usually stayed with host families, returning intermittently to their homes, rather than fleeing to refugee-like camps. Around 70 per cent of DRC's IDPs are still living with host families, but the unprecedented upsurge in the number of those heading towards camps raises difficult questions. Have humanitarian organisations done enough to help IDPs in host families, and the host families themselves? If they have not, have they in fact encouraged the drive to the camps? Most importantly, how can IDPs with host families (as well as those in camps) be adequately assisted?
- Topic:
- Conflict Resolution, Humanitarian Aid, and Migration
- Political Geography:
- Uganda, Africa, Darfur, and Democratic Republic of the Congo
136. The Trouble With Congo
- Author:
- Séverine Autesserre
- Publication Date:
- 05-2008
- Content Type:
- Journal Article
- Journal:
- Foreign Affairs
- Institution:
- Council on Foreign Relations
- Abstract:
- Although the war in Congo officially ended in 2003, two million people have died since. One of the reasons is that the international community's peacekeeping efforts there have not focused on the local grievances in eastern Congo, especially those over land, that are fueling much of the broader tensions. Until they do, the nation's security and that of the wider Great Lakes region will remain uncertain.
- Topic:
- War
- Political Geography:
- Democratic Republic of the Congo
137. Congo: Securing Peace, Sustaining Progress
- Author:
- Anthony W. Gambino
- Publication Date:
- 10-2008
- Content Type:
- Working Paper
- Institution:
- Council on Foreign Relations
- Abstract:
- The Council on Foreign Relations (CFR) is an independent, nonpartisan membership organization, think tank, and publisher dedicated to being a resource for its members, government officials, business executives, journalists, educators and students, civic and religious leaders, and other interested citizens in order to help them better understand the world and the foreign policy choices facing the United States and other countries. Founded in 1921, CFR carries out its mission by maintaining a diverse membership, with special programs to promote interest and develop expertise in the next generation of foreign policy leaders; convening meetings at its headquarters in New York and in Washington, DC, and other cities where senior government officials, members of Congress, global leaders, and prominent thinkers come together with CFR members to discuss and debate major international issues; supporting a Studies Program that fosters independent research, enabling CFR scholars to produce articles, reports, and books and hold roundtables that analyze foreign policy issues and make concrete policy recommendations; publishing Foreign Affairs, the preeminent journal on international affairs and U.S. foreign policy; sponsoring Independent Task Forces that produce reports with both findings and policy prescriptions on the most important foreign policy topics; and providing up-to-date information and analysis about world events and American foreign policy on its website, CFR.org.
- Topic:
- Conflict Resolution, Conflict Prevention, and Foreign Policy
- Political Geography:
- United States, New York, Washington, and Democratic Republic of the Congo
138. Congo: Four Priorities for Sustainable Peace in Ituri
- Publication Date:
- 05-2008
- Content Type:
- Working Paper
- Institution:
- International Crisis Group
- Abstract:
- Le risque d'une reprise des violences en Ituri est aujourd'hui limité du fait de la présence de la Mission des Nations unies (MONUC), du démantèlement de la plupart des groupes armés et de la lassitude de la population après des années de souffrance et de destructions. Cependant, les problèmes de fond à l'origine des violences extrêmes qu'a connu le district pendant la guerre – un accès équitable à la terre et une gestion transparente des revenus issus de l'exploitation des ressources naturelles et minières – restent entiers. L'absence de réconciliation intercommunautaire et l'impunité pour la grande majorité des crimes commis pendant la guerre sont également extrêmement inquiétants en perspective d'élections locales en 2009. Afin d'éviter toute reprise de la violence, dont les femmes seraient les premières à souffrir, les éléments fondamentaux d'une paix durable doivent être urgemment mis en place dans le cadre d'une stratégie intégrée impliquant les institutions nationales et provinciales avec le soutien actif de la MONUC et des bailleurs de fonds du Congo.
- Topic:
- Arms Control and Proliferation, Civil War, Human Rights, and United Nations
- Political Geography:
- Africa and Democratic Republic of the Congo
139. Disaster in the DRC: Responding to the Humanitarian Crisis in North Kivu
- Author:
- Catherine Morris and Go Funai
- Publication Date:
- 12-2008
- Content Type:
- Policy Brief
- Institution:
- United States Institute of Peace
- Abstract:
- This USIPeace Briefing discusses a recent event that focused on human security implications of resurgent violence which left hundreds dead, thousands displaced and millions destitute in North Kivu province in the Democratic Republic of the Congo. The conclusions and recommendations from this event highlight the importance of going beyond traditional short-term humanitarian interventions to adopt more comprehensive and sustainable solutions that effectively balance security and development.
- Topic:
- Conflict Resolution, Security, Political Violence, Ethnic Conflict, Genocide, Humanitarian Aid, and War
- Political Geography:
- Africa and Democratic Republic of the Congo
140. Telling the Story: Documentation Lessons for Afghanistan from the Cambodian Experience
- Author:
- Scott Worden and Rachel Ray Steele
- Publication Date:
- 12-2008
- Content Type:
- Policy Brief
- Institution:
- United States Institute of Peace
- Abstract:
- Documentation centers dedicated to researching, recording, archiving and protecting information related to mass crimes and human rights abuse conflict have been organized in countries as diverse as Cambodia, the Democratic Republic of Congo, Guatemala and Iraq. Their work is an integral part of a transition from an authoritarian regime or war to sustainable peace. Victims want to tell what happened to them, be acknowledged, and know how and why atrocities occurred. Moreover, an accurate accounting of past crimes applies pressure to remove perpetrators from power and raises awareness toward preventing future abuse.
- Topic:
- Conflict Resolution, Human Rights, War, and International Affairs
- Political Geography:
- Afghanistan, Iraq, Central Asia, Asia, Democratic Republic of the Congo, Cambodia, Guatemala, and Southeast Asia