Background
Since war broke out in the Democratic Republic of Congo in 1998, more than five million people have died—most of them from lack of access to food and health care. And though the conflict officially ended in 2003, fighting has continued, mainly in the country’s eastern provinces.
Today, the humanitarian situation in eastern Congo is among the worst in the world, despite the fact that the country held historic elections in 2006 that allowed people to vote freely for their leaders for the first time. While the elections were an important development for the country, they could not fix all of Congo's problems. Underlying issues such as disarmament of militias, army reform, and the illegal exploitation of Congo’s mineral wealth continue to cause difficulties.
In the eastern provinces, hundreds of thousands of people remain displaced and too frightened to return home. The conditions for women and girls are particularly troubling: many of them have been raped by militiamen or soldiers from the national army.
In January 2008, following weeks of negotiations, 22 armed groups and the government came together in the town of Goma, the capital of North Kivu Province in the east, and signed a ceasefire agreement. The Congolese then set up a program, headed by a Catholic priest, to move the peace process forward. But despite the promises, human rights abuses continue, and in the fall of 2008 new waves of violence erupted in the east.
The UN has the largest peacekeeping force in the world stationed in Congo. It numbers about 17,000 troops. But Congo is a vast region the size of Western Europe, and the troops cannot be everywhere at once.
The January ceasefire brought a great sense of hope to the Congolese people. Urgent action is needed to get the peace deal back on track.
