Many of the challenges facing Congo stem from its size, mineral wealth and its social complexity. The result of the Congo elections says Mary Harper, Africa Editor at BBC World Service will not be known for months, yet an incredible 18,000 candidates have put themselves forward.
One key question is how Congo can be so rich in minerals, yet be so poor. Jean Roger Kaseki, Labour councillor from Islington and Human Rights campaigner got support from the rest of the panel when he said that establishing and strengthening institutions is important to changing this.
“If the government doesn’t [rebuild institutions], if the government clings on to power, the Congo will slide back to what it was before.”
The military in the country is closely linked to the black-market minerals trade. Trade of this type does nothing to help the economy and does much to encourage violence – Eastern Congo is known as the rape capital of the world.
One way to counter this, says Mike Davis of Global Witness is to introduce ‘due diligence’ – legal speak for checking where your materials come from. And there’s good reason for this.
“When you look at the headline grabbers amongst the most violent and notorious armed groups now. They all have… a pretty tight connection with the minerals trade.”
The US ‘Dodd-Frank Act’ which demands that all US based companies run checks on the origin of their materials became law in 2010. But as Davis says “this is a law the size of a telephone book – it’s vast” and so is slow to implement. Getting China to agree to any policing of raw material sourcing is another thorny subject.
It’s not just companies, but countries too that have a large influence over what happens in Congo. According to Natzet Tesfay, head of forecasting at Exclusive Analysis Ltd, neighbouring states loom large over national politics, and will be important – particularly if more claims of electoral fraud are made during the current elections.
“This undermines the results that are likely to come. And so its key to look at which side the neighbours are falling on.”
Congo Brazzaville and Angola would likely support an opposition figure, Uganda is on the fence and Rwanda and Burundi would lend their support to Kabila ‘by default’.
After decades of violence, the Congolese government mantra is that peace must come before justice is sought. Filmmaker Fiona Lloyd-Davies says this is all wrong.
“The government has said everyone can put down your weapons it doesn’t matter what you’ve done… but unfortunately that just cannot work, they have to have justice in order to get peace.”
Mobile courts she says have won some victories. A colonel was recently tried and convicted on a rape charge and this sends a signal that even high-up members of the military cannot act with impunity.
All who spoke sought out signs of hope for a better future Congo, and there are some says Davies.
“Despite all the things we’ve been talking about tonight, [the Congolese] find a way to survive and continue their lives and for me one of the most inspiring things was talking to a student in Goma… and she said ‘I want to be the first President of Congo because I want to help the people of my country. And as long as there are people who aspire to this kind of thing maybe there is some hope for Congo”
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Watch the event here.
By Natricia Duncan
As we see landmark election in the Democratic Republic of Congo, the discussion at the Frontline Club turned to the way forward for this troubled nation.
Chaired by Mary Harper, Africa Editor at the BBC World Service, who opened by asking:
“Why a country that is so rich in so many ways is often labelled a failed state?”
The response was a picture of corruption and violence, where women had to be escorted on the roads for fear of rape. Award-winning filmmaker Fiona Lloyd- Davies highlighted impunity as one of the challenges to progress.
“You can’t have generals and senior military people being rewarded by the government for committing human rights abuses and committing crimes. They have to be brought to Justice!”
Jean-Roger Kaseki, human rights campaigner and Labour Councillor for Tollington Ward, Islington, focused on the need to “build institutions”.
He described Congo as an “abandoned country” and called on the international community to offer more support.
“Congo needs allies like the UK. We need security; we need a proper and workable strategy for disarming the militias.”
Kaseki also warned that the current government, headed by Joseph Kabila, should not “cling to power” as this will cause a regression into war.
Natznet Tesfay, head of Africa Forecasting at Exclusive Analysis Ltd, pointed to the “seeds of unrest.”
“Most people may have assumed a number of peace-keeping and peace-making efforts have restored stability to the region, but it’s more the quiet before the storm […..] reported irregularities by election observers gives the opposition fuel to stoke unrest.”
Mike Davis, a conflict mineral campaign leader from Global Witness, spoke of positives – which he described as being more “on the level of policy and rhetoric than actual change on the ground.
“The Congolese Government has gone from a situation in which it’s been in complete denial about the problem to admitting it in a surprisingly public way […..] you have a president who has actually gone on record saying we have mafia groups in our army.”
He also spoke of the positive impact of new legislations and established trading standards, on the behaviour of international companies with interests in Congo. To which Kaseki added:
]]>“Congo is a very rich country with mineral resources. I think there could be plenty of opportunities if those resources are used properly and then if we manage to stop the illegal exploitation of those minerals.”
Presidential elections are due to take place in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) at the end of November and current President, Joseph Kabila, is standing again for what could end up being a 15- year presidency.
We will be examining the prospects of the DRC which has suffered so much violence and where rape is used as a weapon by rebel forces fighting for control of valuable mineral resources such as Tin, Tantalum and Tungsten that are used in everyday electronics such as mobile phones.
Recent election reforms mean that candidates can now win with only 15 – 20 per cent of the vote. Political speeches and broadcasts in the run-up to the election are using tactics that run along ethnic lines and violence has already broken out in some areas.
Can Vital Kamerhe the leader the Union pour la Nation Congolaise party (UNC) present a viable challenge to Kabila and if so, could he fulfill his pledges of freedom, justice and tolerance? What can be done to address issues of corruption, abuse and extortion in the country?
Join us at the Frontline Club to debate the outcomes of the Presidential elections and to address the challenges that the people of a country with such vast resources face.
Chaired by Mary Harper, the Africa Editor at the BBC World Service. She has reported on Africa for the past twenty years, reporting from many conflict zones, including Sudan, Congo, Liberia, Sierra Leone and Algeria, and has done special investigations into Islamist extremism in Africa. She has written for several publications including The Economist, The Times and The Washington Post.
With:
Natznet Tesfay, head of Africa Forecasting at Exclusive Analysis Ltd. Prior to joining Exclusive Analysis she worked in the field of urban development, consulting for municipal governments in the Middle East, Asia and Latin America.
Mike Davis, campaign leader of Global Witness’ Conflict Minerals campaign, that is calling on the DRC to demilitarise their mining sector and for electronic companies to clean up their supply chains.
Jean-Roger Kaseki, Human Rights campaigner in the UK and DRC and Labour councillor for Tollington Ward, Islington. He is originally from the Congo.
Fiona Lloyd-Davies, award winning flm maker, she has been making flms about human rights issues in areas of confict since 1992; working in Bosnia, Iraq, Pakistan and extensively in the Democratic Republic of Congo.
Image Credit: Julien Harnels / Flickr
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