Report of the Secretary-General on the implementation of the Peace, Security and Cooperation Framework for the Democratic Republic of the Congo and the region (S/2014/153)
Green shoots amid the shooting
With rebel fighters on the back foot, optimism is growing
Mar 15th 2014 | NAIROBI | From the print edition
FOR the first time, an armed UN mission is employing drones to keep the peace. In the past three months two Italian-made, snub-nosed craft with the UN logo painted on their sides have been taking off from Goma in eastern Congo to scan rebel-infested hill regions with high-tech cameras. Intelligence is beamed back to units trying to flush out homicidal groups. At 1% of the mission's annual budget, the drones are considered good value. Three more will be launched this month to cover remote areas. The problem now is a lack of manpower to follow up intelligence.
But the number of boots on the ground is growing. The long-standing peacekeeping force in the country was boosted last year by 3,000 troops from various African countries, and was given the mission of actively fighting the rebels. The intervention force, another UN first, is modelled on a surprisingly effective African Union effort in Somalia. Deployment around Goma is almost complete and already having an effect. UN teams relying on drone imagery have dismantled M23, a rebel group that had repeatedly attacked Goma; other mobs are on the defensive, at least for now.
The Congolese army has rejoined the fight alongside the UN after overcoming severe discipline problems. Together they have pushed an originally Ugandan group called the Allied Democratic Forces out of its base in the town of Makoyoya. UN helicopter attacks were followed by a Congolese ground assault, which killed 22 rebels on March 11th. The army says it has destroyed the bases supporting the group's supply lines; it will be overcome "in a few days", a spokesman says.
Optimism is spreading among diplomats after months of worrying that the UN intervention brigade might get bogged down in endless skirmishes. The mood was buoyed by the conviction of a Congolese militia leader at the International Criminal Court in The Hague on March 7th, only the second time the 12-year-old court has succeeded in a prosecution. Germain Katanga was found guilty of ordering the massacre of an entire village in 2003, killing hundreds of non-combatants.
The economic situation is brightening, too. Copper output reached record levels last year, though much of it came from outside the rebel strongholds in eastern Congo, where the population is still crushingly poor and vulnerable. Investors remain wary of American legal constraints on sourcing minerals from the region around Goma, where warlords have long controlled trade.
With the rebel threat receding, the most urgent problems are the supply of food and electricity. The World Food Programme says a funding gap is forcing it to reduce rations. The prime minister has warned foreign mining firms such as Glencore and Freeport-McMoRan against expanding their operations, because of power shortages.
America's special envoy to Congo, Russ Feingold, visited the country on March 10th to urge measures that could eventually make the calm permanent. The next two steps should be the reform of the army, which has been undermined by corruption and the willy-nilly integration of former rebels, and the creation of a state apparatus that can work under someone other than President Joseph Kabila. Because of term limits, he cannot run in elections in 2016 but is trying anyway. If Congo can realise those aims, the fertile and mineral-rich east of the country could start feeding itself again. As the UN's drones whirr over Goma, that dream is still hard to picture.
Zambia shouldn't be poor—UN
UNITED Nations Zambia resident coordinator Martin Clemensson says despite the country and Africa having abundant natural resources in terms of minerals and wildlife, poverty has remained high.
Speaking during the 20th inter-governmental committee of experts (ICE) meeting in Livingstone yesterday, Mr Clemensson said there was also criticism in Zambia about the mining industry not contributing enough to the economic and social well-being of the people.
"In the political arena, concerns are often raised that too few jobs are being created by the companies and about reduced or limited support to social infrastructure," Mr Clemensson said.
He said mining companies claimed they were in business and that it was not their responsibility to build roads, clinics and schools, insisting the taxes they paid to Government should be used for such purposes.
Mr Clemensson said because of such issues, there was a climate of mistrust among key actors in the sector that had impeded progress.
"As a result the situation is becoming increasingly tense with the possible result that mining companies may choose other locations than Zambia for their operations and all parties will lose out," he said.
Tanzania, Burundi Sign Sh1 Trillion Railway Deal
Dodoma — TANZANIA and Burundi have signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) for the joint construction of a 195-kilometre railway line. An ambitious project that is expected to cost 700 million US dollars (over 1tri/-), will facilitate smooth transport of cargoes from Tanzania to Burundi and vice versa.
Speaking shortly after the signing ceremony here on Wednesday, the Minister for Transport, Dr Harrison Mwakyembe, said the MoU signing marks the end of the consultations between the two countries on the deal and that all the arrangements are now ready for the project to take off.
"Since last year, we have been engaged in talks over this project and we are now happy that it can commence after the endorsement of the attorney generals (AGs) and other senior officials of the two governments," he said. According to Dr Mwakyembe, the railway line will be constructed from Msongati in Burundi to Uvinza, Tanzania, and will end transport nightmares now experienced along the road. Apart from the Msongati- Uvinza project, the minister said efforts are underway to improve the central railway line, which is currently undergoing rehabilitation in pieces, but plans are underway to improve it to international standards.
The signing of Msongati- Uvinza railways project, he said, will be followed by a tendering process targeting to acquire qualified contractors ready for the job.
"We are planning to assign one company for this joint work to easily monitor work performance, that letting each country secure its own contractor that can affect the implementation of the project.
Burundi was represented in the MoU signing by its Minister for Transport, Public Works and Equipment, Engineer Ciza Virginie, who said the two countries will share the costs of the projects.
Southern Democratic Republic of Congo on verge of humanitarian crisis
The situation in Katanga is "desperate", with reports of families fleeing from their homes with no more than the clothes on their backs
The province of Katanga in southern Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) is degenerating into a humanitarian crisis, Christian Aid has warned.
UN officials say more than 400,000 people have been displaced as a result of fighting between government troops and Mai Mai and Bakata Katanga rebels.
Christian Aid said violence had intensifed since January and that its partners on the ground have recorded a doubling in the number of internally displaced people in Pweto territory, from 59,000 to just under 128,000.
Pweto forms together with Mitwaba and Manono territories what has been dubbed the 'triangle of death' due to the level of violence.
Salome Ntububa, Christian Aid's Regional Emergency manager for Central Africa, said the situation was "desperate" and that there was no police station or even military post in any of the villages she has visited. In Pweto territory, she heard reports of only nine government soldiers being on hand to protect more than 6,000 unarmed civilians.
The humanitarian needs are great as people have fled with only the clothes on their backs, she says, while most families do not have the money to buy shelter or basic provisions like bedding, firewood or medication. Families forced from their homes have had to resort to living in temporary shelter. Around a thousand families are being looked after by Christian Aid partners the Lutheran Evangelical Church in Congo (EELCO) and the Consortium of Economist of the Civil Society in Katanga. In addition to shelter, they are being given hygiene kits, clothing, blankets, cooking utensils and soap.
Christian Aid warned that the conflict has led to widespread malnutrition, with children under the age of 14 eating at the most only one small meal per day.
While clashes between rebel groups have surged in recent weeks, Ntububa said the government forces were too small to keep them in check, jeopardising the delivery of aid.
"The situation in Katanga is desperate - we are on the verge of a humanitarian crisis unless drastic emergency measures are taken now," she said.
With people being forced to drink from polluted rivers, Ntububa said the threat of malaria, diarrhoea and cholera was "huge".
Girls face an additional risk of sexual exploitation.
"As the vital crop-planting season fast approaches there is a real fear that young women and girls will be forced to turn to prostitution in order to feed their families and to survive, raising serious concerns about HIV infection rates," she explained.
"Only ten per cent of parents in the region can now afford to send their children to school and many people are having to sell their bicycles, and even shoes, in order to buy food, while some are being forced to resort to begging."
Angolan government wants a rail link to Democratic Republic of Congo
March 14th, 2014 News
The Angolan government is working on building rail links with the Democratic Republic of Congo so that it can re-establish links with East African countries, the Minister for Transport, Augusto da Silva Tomás said Thursday in Lobito.
During a visit by Zambia's Transport Minister, Yafunkwa Mucanga, Silva Tomás also said that the governments of the Democratic Republic of Congo and Zambia were discussing where the rail links would be made, drawing up technical studies, as well as training teams to later begin building work.
Cited by Angolan news agency Angop, Silva Tomás said that until direct links were concluded, the route would be through Luau/Dilolo (Moxico province) to the Democratic Republic of Congo, and that just 20 kilometres of ground needed to be covered by a railway line for a link to be set up between the two countries.
The central government in 2013 spent over US$2 billion on modernising and expanding the port of Lobito.
Work on the mining terminal is practically finished and will allow ships with a draft of 14 metres to dock. These ships will be loaded with cargo mainly brought to the port along the Benguela Railroad from the copper mines in the Democratic Republic of Congo and Zambia. (macauhub)
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