The massive displacement in Congo

Context:  According to the IOM, the Democratic Republic of Congo has seen an increase in the number of people who have been forced to leave their homes, with a total of 6.9 million internally displaced.

The conflict in the Democratic Republic of Congo:

• The conflict in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) began in the 1990s with two civil wars occurring in 1996 and 1998.
• This conflict originated from the consequences of the Rwandan genocide in 1994, when ethnic Hutu extremists murdered almost one million minority ethnic Tutsis and non-extremist Hutus.
• Afterwards, the eastern parts of the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) have experienced continuous rebellions from different militant groups.
• According to the United Nations, there are more than 120 insurgent groups operating in the eastern provinces of North Kivu, South Kivu, Ituri, and Tanganyika, alongside M23. 
• This instability has been caused by conflicts over land control and resources, unlawful killings by security forces, and increasing tensions with neighbouring nations, resulting in a significant number of deaths.
• Tensions are rising between the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) and Rwanda, with both countries accusing each other of supporting rebel groups. 
• The situation worsened when the Tutsi-led M23 rebel campaign resurged in November 2021, causing insecurity in eastern DRC. 
• Despite a ceasefire being negotiated in November 2022, it failed when M23 rebels refused to comply. 
• The East African Force and UN peacekeeping mission were unsuccessful in their efforts to remove rebel groups. Since January 2023, the M23 rebels have continued to make progress in the region.

Who are the main individuals or groups involved in the dispute?

• Rebel groups such as the Allied Democratic Forces (ADF) and the Cooperative for Development of the Congo (CODECO) are operating alongside M23 in the Democratic Republic of the Congo. 
• The ADF, based in Uganda, has been active in the eastern DRC since the 1990s and pledged allegiance to the Islamic State in 2019. 
• CODECO claims to protect the interests of the Lendu ethnic group against the Hemas and the Congolese army. 
• The DRC accuses Rwanda of supporting M23, while Rwanda accuses the DRC of supporting Hutu militias responsible for the 1994 Rwandan genocide. 
• In November 2022, the East African Community deployed troops from Kenya, South Sudan, Burundi, and Uganda to intervene in the conflict in eastern DRC.

UN International Organization of Migration (IOM):

• The International Organization for Migration (IOM) is a leading intergovernmental organization focused on migration. 
• It was established in 1951 after World War II to address displacement and upheaval in Western Europe. 
• IOM has become a Permanent Observer to the UN General Assembly and has a collaborative agreement with the UN. 
• With 175 member states and operations in over 100 countries, IOM aims to promote humane and well-organized migration that benefits all parties involved. 
• It provides services and guidance to governments and migrants, with a focus on four areas of migration management: migration and development, facilitating migration, regulating migration, and forced migration. IOM also publishes the World Migration Report.

Congo:

• The Democratic Republic of Congo is a country in Central Africa known for its large size and abundant natural resources, including minerals and a significant portion of the Congo rainforest. 
• It shares borders with nine other countries and its capital is Kinshasa. 
• The country is home to the second-largest rainforest in the world and is a major producer of cobalt ore, copper, and diamonds.

Practice question:

Q. About three-fourths of the world’s cobalt, a metal required for the manufacture of batteries for electric motor vehicles, is produced by

1. Argentina
2. Botswana
3. the Democratic Republic of the Congo
4. Kazakhstan

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