The FARDC

Last week i wrote about the visit of Sir John Holmes to Dungu and why exactly the UN mission should not withdraw from Congo. The FARDC, the Congolese military, are another reason why the UN mission needs to reamin to stabilise the country.

The FARDC (Les Forces Armees de la Republique du Congo), unfortunately are not a viable force that will provide this country with the stability and security it needs. Where to begin in describing the problems of the FARDC? As part of the agreement to re-integrate many militia into daily life, they were given positions within the FARDC. This policy was initially supported by the UN, but many of these militia men have continued their old habits. In North and South Kivu, FARDC soldiers have themselves been responsible for massacres and atrocities, rape is widespread, infact the levels of sexual violence in Eastern Congo are just appaling.

Due to the severe levels of abuse committed by FARDC forces in the Kivu`s region, it was decided that one batallion from this region would be sent to Dungu in December 2009. The UN also announced it would stop supporting any FARDC elements continuing to commit abuses. The violence and aggression continues against the population though. Just 2 weeks ago I saw a drunken soldier chasing a civilian and threatening him with his gun, This was in the middle of the afternoon.

As you might expect in the DRC, corruption is another serious problem for the FARDC. The military here is top heavy with generals, and the forces here in Dungu have not been paid for 4 months. They demonstrated in Dungu this week and have threatened to pillage the town. How can you expect a force who have not been paid for 4 months to fight the LRA? They are underequipped, not paid and there are huge problems with morale. Soldiers are often forced to turn to crime to make a livng.

The FARDC, in its current state, is not ready and able to manage and co-ordinate security in the DR Congo.

My meeting with John Holmes

Who is Sir John Holmes? He is the under Secretary General for Humanitarian Affairs and Emergency Relief Co-ordination. He is also a former British diplomat who he used to be the British ambassador to France. Yesterday he came to Dungu as part of a 5 day visit to the DR Congo. We, the NGO community were invited to speak with him for over 1 hour to discuss current humanitarian needs in Congo and the presence of MONUC (the UN force present in Congo).

Having spoken to several high ranking UN officals who arrived in Dungu in the days leading up to the visit, I had high expectations of meeting Sir John in person, that he was really somebody willing to listen and had ideas to change and implement action, and that he was not somebody who who was very political and would get bogged down in the many agendas of all the UN Members. Maybe im naive, but all the UN officials I met suggested here was a high ranking diplomat who has a sincere interest in serving the best needs of the Congolese people.

High on the agenda was the possibility of a UN witdrawal from Congo. The Congolese government has been putting pressure on MONUC to leave Congo by August 2011. While nobody expects MONUC to stay here forever, it is absoloutely impossible for them to withdraw in the next 12 months. There is a huge need in Province Oriental, especially in the Bas Uele province. This area has been hugely affected by the LRA crisis, but also suffers from having a very poor infrastructure and there is a huge problem, both logistically and security wise, in tewrms of accessibility to thousands of displaced people. Even in Bunia, in Ituri province, the peace there is very fragile. About 60 km away from Bunia in Gety, there is a very forgotten conflict still continuing with over 100,ooo people displaced and Bunia itself could very easily slip back into a serious war. There remains a lot of banditry and insecurity around the town, a complete UN withdrawal would be disastrous for ituri province.

As Medair have an emergency health programme here, I also had the opportunity to talk a little about some of the difficulties we are currently facing in this domain.

Overall, Sir John seemed to engage in the issues, but the meeting was short. He will return to New York and directly advise the Security Council on what he has heard. Certainly, in Dungu, he saw that the LRA conflict is far from over. It remains to be seen whether his visit will have any impact, but I remain hopeful. Please continue to pray for the people fo the Congo.