U.S. House Hearing: Examining the Role of Rwanda in the DRC Insurgency

Oct 4th, 2012 | By Jeph Mboneye | Category: Top news

Congressional Hearing - Examining the Role of Rwanda in the DRC Insurgency

Washington, DC — Rwanda's armed interventions in the affairs of its neighbor, the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), were the topic of a congressional hearing held Wednesday September 19, 2012 by Congressman Chris Smith, Chairman of the House panel that oversees Africa and international human rights.

The purpose of the hearing was to examine the US policy towards Rwanda following the UN report of experts which confirmed the Rwandan support to the M 23, a rebel movement fighting the Congolese army in the north Kivu in eastern DRC.

"Six million people have lost their lives in the DRC as a result of recurring conflict. Far from resolving ethnic disputes, the interventions by Rwanda in the DRC have exacerbated tensions among the ethnic groups who live there," Smith said. "We hold this hearing today to begin the process of finding a way to address the factors that have caused Rwanda's armed intervention in hopes that the U.S. Government can offer a lasting solution to the long crisis in the DRC."

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The hearing, entitled "Examining the Role of Rwanda in the DRC Insurgency," featured witnesses testifying before an open hearing of the Subcommittee on Africa, Global Health, and Human Rights. The subcommittee examined Rwanda's hand in the DRC in light of the recent release this summer of a United Nations report confirming Rwanda's support of rebels who have ravaged eastern Congo in the provinces of North and South Kivu. In the aftermath of the 1994 genocide until the issuance of this report, the international community generally has declined to comment on Rwanda's interventions in the DRC.

"We need to better understand the devastation caused by these interventions and gauge how the United States can play a helpful role in bringing this crisis to an end," Smith said.