It’s been months since the renewed fighting between the Congolese army and the M23, a rebel group operating in the North Kivu Province of the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC). As conflicts intensify in the east of the country, the regional bloc and other facilitators are involved, trying to find a solution to the prevailing insecurity situation, mainly through dialogue.

 

However, the dialogue is constantly failing to address one of the most important issues; the Responsibility to Protect Kinyarwanda speaking Tutsi Congolese against a looming genocide.

 

The Responsibility to Protect, or R2P, is a global political commitment endorsed by all member states of the United Nations at the 2005 world summit, in order to address four key concerns – to prevent: genocide, war crimes, ethnic cleansing and crimes against humanity, and rests upon three pillars of equal standing.

 

The first pillar of the R2P, is the responsibility of each State to protect its populations. Clearly, a genocide against Congolese Tutsi, and Kinyarwanda-speaking communities, has been simmering in eastern DRC for the past few months, and the DRC government has failed to protect its citizens from being executed, because it is part of the killing machine.

 

These atrocities have become worse since the resurgence of fighting between the Congolese army, their allies, and the M23 rebels. In an era where it is hard to hide such mass atrocities, recent media and eyewitness reports show genocidal rhetoric and acts targeted at Kinyarwanda speaking Congolese communities in DRC, including cases of cannibalism.

 

Worse still, the DRC’s failure could be witnessed on several occasions where Congolese senior government and military officials have come on record, calling upon the population to take up arms and kill Kinyarwanda-speaking compatriots. Such threats have been followed by widespread attacks on the targeted group. To date, no perpetrator has been brought to book.

 

Figures from the United Nations show that between May and June 2022, more than 150 civilians were killed by Mai Mai groups, FDLR, NALU and ADF, and 700,000 people were displaced. This shows that Kinshasa does not only fail to protect the Tutsi and Rwandophone Congolese, but all the citizens.

 

The second pillar is the responsibility of the international community to assist States in protecting their populations. Several summits on the security crisis in eastern DRC have been held, the latest being in Nairobi, Kenya. Despite the fact that that meeting was attended by Heads of State, representatives from the African Union and the United Nations, the issue of genocide acts happening in DRC was not addressed, despite clear signs and evidence.

 

The international community to protect people when a State is manifestly failing to protect its populations is the third R2P principle. The international community is expected to step in and protect Congolese civilians being killed since the DRC government has failed to do so.

 

The UN Organization Stabilization Mission in the Democratic Republic of Congo (MONUSCO), whose mandate is to restore peace in the DRC by protecting civilians, idly watches whenever the Congolese Tutsi communities cry out for help.

 

With over 19,000 troops deployed in DRC, a yearly budget of over $1 billion, helicopters, and more, the UN mission constantly fails to respond and investigate distress calls made by the Congolese Tutsi. With all vast resources and troops at the disposal of MONUSCO, there is no evidence of a robust response to these atrocities happening in eastern DRC.

 

The adoption of the principle (R2P) in 2005 constituted a solemn commitment, which included much expectation of a future free of genocide, war crimes, ethnic cleansing and crimes against humanity. Unfortunately, as days pass by, hope for a peaceful resolution to the conflict in the east DRC and the end of the persecution of innocent Congolese seems to wane. And the failure of the responsibility of the International Community to protect the Congolese Tutsi against genocide threat is becoming more evident.

 

Following her official visit to the DRC  from November 10-13, UN Special Adviser on the Prevention of Genocide, Alice Wairimu Nderitu, was deeply alarmed about 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.

 

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 DRC, forming armed groups such as the FDLR, a genocidal militia which is still active in eastern DRC, the Special Adviser said.

 

In response to the presence of this armed group, new armed groups were formed and the failure to bring non-state armed actors to book is the consequence we now see, she added.

 

She noted that finding a solution to the ongoing conflict in eastern DRC 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,” the Special Adviser stressed.