AFJN - Africa Faith and Justice Network

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Africa Faith & Justice Network educates and advocates for a transformation of U.S. policies toward Africa. Grounded by a commitment to social justice, AFJN brings the most important issues affecting the people of Africa to our lawmakers in Washington, DC. We hope you will join us in our quest for peace and justice on the African continent by signing up and getting involved today!

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Ask Congress to Support Peace in the D.R. Congo

The crisis in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) needs your action today more than ever before.

Since the invasion of the DRC by Rwanda in 1996, a minimum of 6 million innocent Congolese people have died. As of today, hundred of thousands of people are internally displaced and the renewed outburst of violence continues to add to that number, worsening an already catastrophic humanitarian crisis.Ending the ongoing killing, displacement, rape and looting in eastern Congo is long overdue. By taking the side of its ally Rwanda, the United States of America – one of the Rwanda-Congo peace negotiators – jeopardizes peace for both the people of Congo and the people of Rwanda.

According to a December 2008 UN Report ( S/2008/773) by the United Nations Group of Experts, the Rwandan Government is actively supporting the National Congress for the Defense of the People (CNDP), led by renegade general Laurent Nkunda. In the last several months, mass killings and crimes against humanity have taken place in the Congolese territories of Rutshuru, Masisi, and Kiwanja. The situation is grave, and the United States must play a more responsible role in both Rwanda and Congo to resolve the crisis.

Please send the message below to your members of Congress!

May 18, 2013

Subject:

Dear Member of Congress,

I would respectfully like to call your attention to the urgent crisis in Africa’s Great Lakes Region involving the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) and Rwanda. Since the invasion of the DRC by Rwanda in 1996, a minimum of 6 million innocent Congolese people have died. As of today, hundred of thousands of people are internally displaced and the renewed outburst of violence continues to add to that number, worsening an already catastrophic humanitarian crisis.

The United Nations (UN) group of experts, in their report S/2008/773 of December 12, 2008 conformed that the Rwandan Government is actively supporting the National Congress for the Defense of the People (CNDP), led by renegade general Laurent Nkunda. Both CNDP and the Democratic Liberation Forces of Rwanda (FDLR), a rebel group comprised mainly of former genocidaires from Rwanda, have committed human rights violations, war crimes, and crimes against humanity including rape on a massive scale, extrajudicial executions, ethnic cleansing, looting, and the recruitment of child soldiers. UN and Human Rights Watch reports detail some of these crimes, and a recent statement by the UN Mission in Congo (MONUC) recounts a grave act of ethnic cleansing against innocent Congolese Hutu civilians in Masisi and Rutshuru territories and mass killing of innocent people in Kiwanja by the CNDP.

The United States of America continues to play an important role in the ongoing peace process. While the Congolese Government clearly needs to take steps to improve the situation, I am particularly concerned about U.S. policy toward Rwanda. The U.S. favors the Rwandan Government’s position in the Congo-Rwanda peace negotiations and trains and equips Rwandan soldiers who are sent to fight with CNDP in Congo.  Rwanda is one of the largest recipients of U.S. humanitarian and military aid in Africa.  The U.S. should follow the example of several Scandinavian countries who recently agreed to cease all financial aid to Rwanda until it can be clearly proven that President Kagame is no longer supporting war in Congo.

The current U.S. policy in the Great Lakes Region will not bring peace, justice, freedom, or lasting prosperity in Rwanda or the Congo. Only a neutral policy towards the Rwanda-Congo crisis will help both nations peacefully resolve their differences. The current policy perpetuates the existing tensions between Tutsi, Hutu, and Twa – tensions exacerbated by European powers during colonization. Today, the country is an undemocratic dictatorship with ever-dwindling freedom and liberty. In 2008, Rwanda was classified as “Not Free” by Freedom House and in 2007, Reporters Without Borders ranked Rwanda 147th out of 169 countries in press freedom. Many policymakers overlook this because the current regime has fully cooperated with U.S. military and economic policies.  However, supporting democracy, reconciliation, a fair market for Congo’s natural resources, and ethnic inclusion and freedom in Rwanda will provide a better norm for the Great Lakes region than unconditional support for Kagame’s government.

The U.S. Government Should:

1.   Immediately stop all financial aid, military training programs, and cease all military equipment sales and transfers to the Rwandan army because the Rwandan Government provides financial support, military equipment, training, and soldiers to the CNDP.
2.   Encourage the Rwandan government to implement an inter-Rwandan dialogue and  a democratic process that provides political space for opposition parties, including members of the FDLR. This would be an incentive for the FDLR to leave Congo and return to Rwanda peacefully.
3.   Urge Rwanda, Uganda and Burundi to stop illegally exporting Congolese raw mineral ores. Passing and implementing a revised version of the “Conflict Coltan and Cassiterite Act of 2008,” introduced on May 22, 2008, by Senator Sam Brownback and Senator Dick Durban is one way the U.S. can participate in dismantling the financial network of many of the militias operating in the Congo.
4.   The U.S Congress should hold a hearing on the crisis in Congo as soon as possible.

Thank you for your attention to this urgent matter.

Sincerely,

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