Completing the demobilization, disarmament and reintegration process of armed groups in the DRC and the link to security sector reform of FARDC. By Henri Boshoff. Institute for Security Studies, November 2010.
Recurrent conflict, a preoccupation with building elite military units, and high turnover of key managers have stymied Demobilization, Disarmament and Reintegration (DDR) efforts in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC). Tens of thousands of poorly-trained combatants continue to destabilize the country as a result. International actors and DRC officials need to commit to a single DDR strategy based on best practices and see through the multi-year timeframe it will require. Success and momentum can be fostered by focusing initial efforts in areas of moderate security and then moving to more violence-prone regions.
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Justice-Sensitive Security System Reform in the Democratic Republic of Congo. By Laura Davis. International Center for Transitional Justice, 2009.
Davis analyses the history of the peace-building and security-sector reform endeavors in the Democratic Republic of Congo with particular emphasis on European Union programs. She concludes that following conflict mitigation efforts in 2003 that incorporated militias and militant leaders within the security sector, a culture of impunity has developed at the expense of long-term security sector professional and institutional development. Now, this impunity festers in particularly heinous fashion: pervasive and unpunished gender- and sexually-based violence (GSBV). Davis contends that internal discipline and justice within overall security sector reform efforts are critical to reducing GSBV and consolidating peace.
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Congo: Securing Peace, Sustaining Progress. By Anthony Gambino. Council on Foreign Relations, 2008.
This extensive report from a former USAID mission director in the Democratic Republic of Congo proposes a comprehensive U.S. strategy for enhancing stability and security. Following a brief history of the Congo conflict, Gambino details how and why the U.S. should apply diplomatic pressure to support and possibly expand the UN peacekeeping mission; support responsible private sector growth in the mineral sector; and emphasize environmentally-sound and health-focused development initiatives. Beyond specific programs and initiatives, the author argues that a prime deficiency in U.S. policy in the Congo has been a lack of attention by high level officials on this strategically critical country.
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Security Sector Reform and the UN Mission in the Democratic Republic of the Congo: Protecting Civilians in the East. By Eirinn Mobekk. International Peacekeeping, 2009.
Successful security sector reform must include a multi-pronged approach, in which the military, police, judicial, and security sector oversight mechanisms are all properly structured, developed and resourced. Based on this comprehensive concept of SSR, Eirinn Mobekk analyzes reform efforts to date with particular emphasis on those of the UN peacekeeping mission, MONUC.
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Report of the UN Group of Experts on the Democratic Republic of Congo. United Nations, 2008.
A report from eight experts on the conflict in the DRC delivered to the UN Security Council in December 2008. The report provides details on the involvement of private companies and other actors in the minerals trade in the Congo, a key source of funding for militias in the country’s eastern region.
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