Eastern DRC still at mercy of armed groups and corrupt officials, Oxfam says
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Version 0 of 1. Fourteen months after the rebel M23 group was defeated in eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo, civilians are still being exploited by soldiers, armed groups and corrupt officials, Oxfam said. In a new report, Secure Insecurity, based on trips to 16 villages in North and South Kivu provinces in August and September in 2014, the charity said women and young men were particularly vulnerable in an area where state power is weak. “The research reveals how little progress has been made towards building legitimate and credible state authority in many parts of eastern DRC, a disturbing conclusion,” said the report. “The restoration of the state ... is fragmented and piecemeal. While in some areas the state has been partly or fully ‘restored’, in other areas it is entirely absent; in some areas the state may even be sharing its role as authority with armed groups.” Oxfam said that state presence often equated to extortion, with civilians forced to pay bribes to obtain basic services. Armed groups were wont to recruit among youths with few prospects, while women lacked access to state justice services and were undermined by traditional practices. Residents said security forces and armed groups claimed illegal taxes at markets, while police demanded bribes even to investigate alleged abuses. “No one asks officials for help if you are beaten by the army, or by someone else. There’s no point, they don’t even want to hear about it. That’s why we turn to God for help,” said a religious leader in North Kivu, quoted in the report. A woman in Uvira, in South Kivu, said: “Today, the bodies of two people were found ... just a few metres from my home. We don’t know where to turn, we just want some fresh air. We want peace.” Oxfam said building the authority of the state was an enormous challenge and would require a long-term commitment from the DRC and international partners and donors. It urged the DRC and neighbouring states to work harder on reforming the security sector, consolidating state authority and boosting economic development as agreed in the 2013 Peace, Security and Cooperation Framework . We don’t know where to turn, we just want some fresh air. We want peace “Setbacks will be inevitable. Yet, if the people of eastern DRC are to feel the benefits of ‘peace’, it is vital to get stabilisation right, after the failed stabilisation strategies of the past,” it said. José Barahona, Oxfam’s country director for DRC, said the world could not just “tick the box” on eastern Congo after the defeat of M23. “Part of it is a lack of money. Some of the people who are trying to do their work in eastern Congo don’t get paid, or get paid very badly or get paid three or four months late ... The Congolese state needs support to do this. It can’t do it alone ... We need a stronger presence of the state and a better quality of that presence of the state,” he said. “It’s very disappointing because if you go to east Congo, it’s a very fertile area. Some people say it’s heaven on earth. There is rain, fertile areas, it has minerals, it is very good for production of food. It has a huge potential,” Barahona said. M23 rebels surrendered in November 2013 after an offensive by Congolese soldiers backed by thousands of UN fighters. But several other armed groups remain active, and the government in the capital Kinshasa has struggled to extend its reach. Low-level conflict is still fuelled by land disputes, cyclical violence between ethnic groups and the continued presence of armed groups. Communities still live in fear of sexual violence, kidnappings and killings, Oxfam said. Some residents said police charged $5 to report a crime and an extra $10 for an investigation. One official was reported to have said, “If you used to pay the armed groups, why can you not give to the government?” There were some examples of good practice: in one village in South Kivu, residents said officials tried to solve problems with the community by holding meetings in the local leader’s office. But such positive examples were few, and some state officials said there were places they did not dare to go because of insecurity. Oxfam called on the government to pay state officials, including soldiers, train them and monitor their performances, and to support the implementation of a quota system for women to be appointed state officials. Barahona said the situation of women was particularly bleak. One woman tried to report a rape but was told that justice did not extend to women; a husband went to report the rape of his wife and was himself arrested as the perpetrator; and a 20-year-old woman was forced, after community mediation, to marry a man who had raped her as a minor. “[Women] don’t have access to justice, and traditional justice is applied to them in a very negative way,” Barahona said. “Congo has very good laws in favour of women but you have to have the justice system in place and available for women to go to, and that is still lacking.” |