Thea- The Democratic Republic of Congo Genocide

The Democratic Republic of Congo

The conflict in the Democratic Republic of Congo has been considered one of the world’s bloodiest since World War 2. It has killed approximately 5.4 million people since 1996. The violence was sparked during and after the first and second Congo wars, and has become so devastating it is known as the “African World War.”

What has caused all the Casualties?

The conflict in the Congo has resulted in 5,400,000 deaths and an estimated of 45,000 more deaths each month. Civilians in the area are subjected to widespread disease and famine, poverty, rape, warfare, violence, ect. They are either being directly impacted by the rebels or are being indirectly impacted by the countries instability.

 Reasons for the Genocide: Political Instability and the Rich-Resourced Land.

Political Instability: A major contributor to the genocide occurring in the Congo is the Rwandan genocide which took place in 1994. During the Rwandan genocide nearly two million Hutu refugees fled to neighbouring countries including the Congo, which lies right across the Rwandan border. As the Tutsis continued to slaughter the Hutu, the Hutu had no choice but to flee for their safety.  Many believe that the presence of these refugees led to the first Congo war, or at least was a major influence in the spark of it in 1996. As the Rwandan-Ugandan rebels crossed into the Congo, they looked to control the land of Kivu. They were ordered out a threat of death, which led to the formation of multiple violent groups who had been forming in the area. Kabila, leader of a rebel alliance and opponent of Mobutu raised the rebel powers and eventually exiled Mobutu, thus taking power of the country. It was then that the country was named the Democratic Republic of the Congo.

In 1998 the Second Congo War began. The Rwandan and Ugandan rebels were still present in Kivu and controlled the resource trade in the area. Kabila wanted them out, so with his army took on violent acts against them. Peace talks were encouraged and thousands of UN peacekeepers were put in place, but they failed to stop the rebel’s crimes. The war was aimed at overthrowing Kabila and gaining or maintaining territory control. This was only achieved when a transitional government was put in place at the end of the war and rebel leaders were given government power. In addition, tensions continued on the Congo-Rwandan border, as the Tutsis still felt threatened by the Hutu rebels.  

The Rich-Resourced Land: On the surface the roots of the Congo war are often attributed to ethnic tensions. Ethnic tensions and hatred certainly drive and whip into frenzy the various armies and guerrilla groups that perpetrate the violence. Behind the scenes however much of the causes of the conflicts are directly related to the Congo’s vast wealth of natural resources. The Congo is a country of indescribable beauty. Its earth is a rich black volcanic soil and its climate is mild and perfectly suited to agriculture. More importantly, its hills and forests contain some of the world’s largest deposits of timber, petroleum, diamonds, gold, silver, tin, copper, zinc, cobalt and a little known mineral known as coltan which is a vital components in every cell phone on the planet. Indeed, ever since under Belgian colonization, the discovery of the vulcanization process of rubber lead to huge worldwide demand for rubber, people have been dying in the Congo by the millions. Today 1000-2000 thousand people continue to die per day.

Much of the causes of the conflicts are directly related to the Congo’s vast wealth of natural resources. Its hills and forests contain some of the world’s largest deposits of timber, petroleum, diamonds, gold, silver, tin, copper, zinc, cobalt and a little known mineral known as coltan which is a vital components in every cell phone on the planet. The Congo is worth millions, which leads to a variety of civil wars and the involvement of multiple foreign armies and investors. Rwanda, Zimbabwe, Angola, Namibia, Chad, Libya and Sudan, among others, all have influenced the conflict going on in the Congo. As well, there is more international countries which trade with the Congo and look to exploit its resources. The fight over the land started from a very long time ago and continues today, it has put the country into shambles and left it completely unstable.

 Solutions: What is being done to stop the Genocide?

The conflict in the Congo has finally begun to slow as the central government has reasserted control and the country looks to find peace. There is still issues between the Hutu and Tutsi conflict groups but the Rwandan and Congo forces have banned together to stop this.

Since 1999 the UN’s peace keeping mission has been in the Congo and has been trying to control the area. It looks to protect the civilians and also help reconstruct the country which has gone through a lot of infrastructure damage. With almost 20,000 people in the Congo, it has become one of the biggest peace keeping operations in the world. They have organized military operations and took on a key role when organizing democratic elections in the Congo. Although even with all their presence, the rebels continue to violently kill and exploit the lands resources. Today, the Congo government states it is capable of maintaining the law and wants the United Nations force to leave their country.

In addition to the UN, campaign groups like the Human Rights Watch also try to take action. They spread the word, raise money, and look for solutions to stop the violence.

By: Thea Wurtele