The Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) presents an example of a protracted and complex crisis. It is characterized by a collapsed state, high levels of violence and human rights abuse, many international aid actors, limited funding and lack of the political will to alter the situation. A proliferation of arms, pervasive banditry and crime have further aggravated the situation, in particular in the eastern part of this vast and ethnically diverse country. The humanitarian crisis in the DRC has been described as one of the worst in the world, and is regularly referred to as ‘forgotten’.

Ethnic demands and economic interests, especially in those areas rich in natural resources, have provoked an inter-ethnic conflict that also involves international players. In 1997, President Mobutu Sese Seko was overthrown by Laurent Kabila, with the military aid of Rwanda and Uganda. Kabila was subsequently opposed by the rebels who took control of about a third of the country in the east. Kabila was supported by Angolan and Zimbabwean troops, while the rebels were backed by Burundi, Rwanda and Uganda. A 1999 ceasefire signed in Lusaka allowed the United Nations to establish a peacekeeping mission (MONUC) in the country. But the ceasefire was repeatedly violated by all signatories, and violence continued, particularly in the north and east.

Laurent Kabila was assassinated in January 2001, and succeeded by his son, Joseph Kabila. The young Kabila’s leadership ushered in a period of hope for peace and stability, as he was willing to implement the provisions contained in the 1999 Lusaka Peace Accords. He adopted a series of bold economic measures and withdrew troops from the front. In 2002, peace agreements were signed by the warring groups in the DRC and between the governments of the DRC, Rwanda and Uganda. The 2002 Sun City Agreement led to the establishment in July 2003 of an all-inclusive transitional government, which officially reunified the country.

In 2003, power vacuums created by the withdrawal of troops in North and South Kivu and in the mineral-rich Ituri district led to renewed violence. In Ituri, much of the fighting has an ethnic dimension, namely between the Hema pastoralists and the Lendu agriculturalists. Both have, at different times, been backed by Uganda. The violence only ended when French troops intervened. Tens of thousands of people have died and more than 500,000 have been displaced since 1999 as a result of fighting in Ituri.

The endless years of strife and conflict have had dramatic consequences for the civilian population. Poverty, accentuated by the conflict, has increased peoples’ vulnerability on a massive scale. The crumbling state infrastructure in health and other sectors, inflation and high levels of unemployment have further exacerbated the negative effects of the conflict. The fighting has led to appalling levels of hunger, disease and death, and to countless abuses of human rights. Many thousands of women and men, girls and boys have become victims of sexual and gender-based violence, compounding the human impact of a conflict that has resulted in the death of more than 3.8 million civilians since 1998. In 2005, there were more than 1.5 million internally displaced people and over 400,000 refugees in the country, multiplying the strains on available resources.

For several years the international community paid only minor attention to the DRC. Funding for the crisis remained low, compared to that for higher-profile cases such as Afghanistan and Iraq. In 2001, with the hope that Joseph Kabila’s leadership would usher in an era of peace-building, international confidence increased. Thus, while the Consolidated Appeal was only funded 32 per cent in 2000, it increased in the following years, going from 67 per cent in 2001 to more than 72 per cent in 2004. But the international community has not made consistent efforts to help the country address its political challenges.

Under the leadership of Joseph Kabila, the country has opened up towards the humanitarian community. By September 2005, MONUC was fielding over 16,000 police and military personnel with the authority to use force. However, despite the increase in security due to the MONUC deployment, humanitarian access has remained fragmented because of continued violence. This has frequently led to the evacuation of humanitarian workers and the suspension of aid programmes. In addition, the sheer size of the country and the poorly developed – sometimes nonexistent – infrastructure continue to pose operational and logistical challenges.

In 2005, the UN Security Council adopted Resolution 1592, which extended MONUC’s mandate and explicitly stated that its main objective is peace enforcement. Some progress has been made towards disarming the various militias and implementation of the Sun City Agreement. Yet, in 2005, continued insecurity in the East remains closely linked to the political impasse in Kinshasa. The government still appears to be a conglomerate of different factions rather than a coherent entity. Elections set for the summer of 2005 were postponed, and the creation of integrated national-security services and the promulgation of a constitution and a new electoral law remain pending. Besides the continued support of the international community, a long-term solution for the DRC will require stability in neighbouring countries and throughout the region.

Box 4.1 Presevo Valley: preventing another disaster in the Balkans

Box 4.3 A host-country perspective: the case of Tanzania