US Secretary of State Antony Blinken spoke on Sunday, December 4, with Rwandan President Paul Kagame about the importance of peace and stability in the east of the Democratic Republic of Congo.

The next day, the State Department released a statement about their discussion, noting that Blinken underscored the need for concrete progress on and implementation of commitments made during these discussions, including the November 23 Luanda Mini-Summit on Peace and Security communiqué. As noted, Blinken “made clear that any external support to non-state armed groups in the DRC must end, including Rwanda’s assistance to M23.”

Rwanda has repeatedly refuted the allegation. The State Department’s statement is evidence of how the US government is, probably, misguided by Kinshasa’s lies.

In its statements, surprisingly, the US government continues evading to put emphasis on the root cause of the insecurity in the eastern DRC. The State Department’s statement on the problems in eastern DRC came five days after the United Nations Special Adviser on the Prevention of Genocide, Alice Wairimu Nderitu, weighed in with a statement explaining the genesis of violence in the restive region. In eastern DRC, Nderitu noted, the current violence mainly stems from the refugee crisis that resulted as many individuals involved in the 1994 Genocide against the Tutsi in Rwanda fled to eastern DRC, forming armed groups such as the FDLR which is still wreaking havoc in the region.

 

After killing more than one million Tutsi in Rwanda, the then genocidal government’s army, or ex-FAR, and Interahamwe militia, who committed genocide poured into eastern Zaire, now DRC. They were welcomed and assisted by the host nation and international organizations as they regrouped, re-armed and readied to go back to Rwanda, and finish off what they had been prevented from doing. When Interahamwe militia and ex-FAR arrived in North and South Kivu provinces, in 1994, they brought the notion that the “solution” to the region’s many complex problems lay in killing all the Tutsi.

But the new regime in Kigali never gave them a chance. Therefore, they stayed put in DRC, pillaging and spreading their genocide ideology, for nearly three decades.

In response to the presence of this armed group, Nderitu noted, new armed groups were formed and the failure to bring non-state armed actors to book is the consequence we now see. There are now more than 130 armed groups in eastern DRC.

Dysfunction of DRC government, support to FDLR

 

The DRC has been experiencing insecurity, especially in its eastern part, for more than three decades. Corruption, weak governance and impunity are among the reasons why armed groups found a comfort zone in the country’s restive east.

 

Rwandan Minister of Foreign Affairs, Dr Vincent Biruta, made it clear that even though Kagame had good discussions with Blinken, “differences in understanding of the issue remain.”

 

“The wrong and misguided approach of the international community continues to exacerbate the problem,” Biruta tweeted.

 

Biruta added: “A lasting solution requires the responsibility to be placed where it belongs: The dysfunction of the DRC government and its institutions, and the support to FDLR. External interference and dictates in regional and continental efforts that serve to shield DRC from accountability and embolden them to be unresponsive to commitments made through ongoing processes.”

 

“M23 should not be equated to Rwanda. It is not Rwanda’s problem to solve. The security concerns of Rwanda need to be addressed, and where others may not feel obliged to, Rwanda is and will continue to do so.”

 

Nderitu was deeply alarmed by the escalation of violence in the region where a genocide - the 1994 Genocide against the Tutsi in Rwanda – happened.

 

“The current violence is a warning sign of societal fragility and proof of the enduring presence of the conditions that allowed large-scale hatred and violence to erupt into a genocide in the past,” she said.

 

 Her visit followed a technical-level mission by her Office that established that indicators and triggers contained in the UN Framework of Analysis for Atrocity Crimes were present in DRC including; dissemination of hate speech and absence of independent mechanisms to address it; politicization of identity; proliferation of local militias and other armed groups across the country; widespread and systematic attacks, including sexual violence, against especially the Congolese Tutsi on the basis of their ethnicity and perceived allegiance with neighboring countries; and intergroup tensions.

 

In eastern DRC, the Special Adviser noted that finding a solution to the ongoing conflict would require addressing the underlying causes of the violence and learning lessons from the past.

 

“The abuses currently occurring in eastern DRC, including the targeting of civilians based on their ethnicity or perceived affiliation to the warring parties must be halted. Our collective commitment not to forget past atrocities constitutes an obligation to prevent reoccurrence.”

 

Reiterating her June 17 statement issued jointly with then High Commissioner for Human Rights Michele Bachelet, Nderitu expressed particular concern about the impact on civilians of the recent increase in hostilities between the M23 rebels and the Congolese army, FARDC. The statement had also expressed concern over an escalation of hate speech and incitement to discrimination, hostility, and violence nationwide – and specifically against the Kinyarwanda speaking Banyamulenge people. They noted reports that hate speech had been spread by political party figures, community leaders, civil society actors, and members of the Congolese diaspora.

 

After the resumption of hostilities between the Congolese army and the M23 rebels, government officials and security organs mobilized the population to hold machetes and kill Congolese Tutsi and Rwandophones.

 

Nderitu noted that the situation in the country “was particularly alarming” while it was preparing for national elections in December 2023. Elected in 2018 to much surprise and sitting on a fragile majority, President Félix Tshiseksedi’s lack of popularity is a cause for concern. Analysts have pointed out that Tshisekedi is not sure he can win the December 2023 election and is therefore sowing instability in a deliberate strategy of chaos to justify election delays.

 

During the visit to DRC, the Special Adviser emphasized her continuous support towards strengthening existing prevention mechanisms, such as operationalising the DRC’s National Committee for the Prevention and Punishment of the Crime of Genocide, War Crimes and Crimes against Humanity and all Forms of Discrimination.

 

The National Committee was established under the auspices of the International Conference for the Great Lakes Region (ICGLR) in accordance with the ICGLR Pact on Security, Stability and Development. Under the Protocol, ICGLR Member States are required to domesticate and enforce its provisions by putting in place laws that will prevent and punish genocide, war crimes and crimes against humanity; measures that will eliminate discrimination; teach and encourage tolerance among national, racial, and ethnic groups; combat impunity and extradite criminals, the Special Adviser recalled.

 

The Special Adviser reiterated that while the primary responsibility to prevent atrocity crimes rests with the DRC as a State, all parties to the violent conflict must work urgently towards finding a political solution that will bring comprehensive and sustainable peace to the DRC by addressing the root causes of divisions and violence, and the legitimate concerns of all actors.

A Human Rights Watch report published on October 18 pins the Congolese army on supplying arms and ammunitions to the FDLR. The report says that FARDC used FDLR and other militia groups in the country to fight M23 rebels. The Congolese army is further implicated in holding secret meetings with the militia groups responsible for gross human rights violations in eastern DRC. Between May and August 2022, the Congolese army with a coalition of Congolese militia as well as the FDLR fought against M23 rebels in North Kivu province, “with Congolese army officers providing the armed groups with direct support.”

 

“Congolese army units are again resorting to the discredited and damaging practice of using abusive armed groups as their proxies,” said Thomas Fessy senior researcher at Human Rights Watch. 

 

“The Congolese government should end this support, which leads to military complicity in abuses, identify officers responsible, and hold them accountable,” Fessy said.