This article serves as a continuation of the article titled “Rebel Forces Threaten Destabilization of the Democratic Republic of the Congo” which can be found in IIJD’s August 3rd newsletter issue [1].

The violent eastern Kivu region of the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) is looking at a promising future after two major steps were recently taken towards peace. The first step involves a major peace agreement between the DRC and Uganda regarding rebel forces, disputed territory, and the allocation of natural resources. The second step involves a ceasefire and future peace talks between the Kabila DRC government and the National Congress for the People’s Defense, a large rebel faction led by General Laurent Nkunda. For a region that has experienced years of violence, instability, and chaos, these talks represent a major beacon of hope.

The conflict in the Kivu region of the DRC is complicated and involves a number of national and rebel forces vying for power, resources and land. The concentration of conflict in the region has led to various human rights violations and massive human displacement with some estimates reaching as high as 600,000 [2]. The largest rebel group and the most serious threat to the nation's destabilization is that of General Nkunda, a Congolese Tutsi who was involved in the overthrow of the Hutu extremists during the 1994 Rwandan genocide. Nkunda has claimed to be “committed” to the protection of Tutsi civilians in the Kivu region of the Congo. However after refusing to integrate into the Congolese army in 2003, Nkunda formed his own power-hungry rebel group responsible for numerous human rights violations, which have contributed to instability in the region. Efforts to demobilize and reintegrate Nkunda’s forces into the government have been futile due to disagreements, faulty action plans, and lack of national and international funding.

A rare announcement of good news occurred on September 5 when Nkunda complied with a ceasefire agreement after several days of heavy fighting in the Northern Kivu region. In addition, Nkunda agreed to pull troops out of several contested territories [3].

As the rebel leader and the government prepare for peace talks, Nkunda is asking the international community to be committed to supporting the peace process. He believes that international efforts were lacking and halfhearted in Kigali’s January negotiations. He claims that he is ready to engage in talks and arrive at an agreement [4]. The peace process is essential for stability in the region, and will hopefully begin as soon as the government finishes their promising negotiations with Uganda on various border issues.

On September 8, Uganda and the DRC signed a breakthrough agreement which called for the Lord's Resistance Army (LRA) rebels to be removed from eastern DRC within 90 days. The agreement between President Yoweri Museveni and Congolese President Joseph Kabila was signed in Arusha, Tanzania, and was witnessed by Tanzanian President Mrisho Jakaya Kikwete [5]. The removal of the LRA rebels will be carried out through joint military operations with the UN peacekeeping mission in Congo (MONUC). The two presidents also agreed to open liaison offices in several locations throughout their two nations in an effort to monitor and organize the process.

The presidents agreed to remove troops from contested areas and re-mark the international boundary using a joint team of experts from both countries. To comply with international laws and end the recruitment of refugees in Uganda by Congolese militia groups, an additional agreement settled refugees at least 150km from the border. In addition, the nations agreed to send petroleum experts to all oil fields near the border in an attempt to mutually utilize and explore their costs and proceeds proportionately [6]. "Our vision is one of peace in the Great Lakes region. Our mission is to reinforce the already existing agreements with Uganda. With the signing of the agreement, I can comfortably say the mission is accomplished,” President Kabila said [7].

The IIJD highly supports the recent steps that were taken towards peace in Central Africa. We believe that any form of mediation or negotiation is favorable to resolving issues through violence. Steps such as these are instrumental in establishing peace, stability, and a democratic structure that allows for the voice of the entire population to be heard. These negotiations have proved that the Central African region is ready to end years of violence and move forward in a manner that will benefit all. The leaders of the conflict, the people of DRC, and the international community all play an important role in facilitating the process, and the IIJD stands by the terms that they have established. Only then will these beacons of peace endure and provide the positive results that they were intended to.