Assessing the Challenges of Armed Groups in the Democratic Republic of Congo's Kivu Region

Abstract

Whilst the role of various peace efforts in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) was to restore sustainable stability in the eastern parts of the country, the protracted armed conflicts and increase of armed groups in the Kivu region raises concerns and poses peace and security problems not for the DRC alone, but also for the Great Lakes region. To stabilise and neutralise armed groups in this region, the DRC government and its international partners have implemented various peace efforts since the escalation of wars in 1996 to the present, including the six-country ceasefire signed in July 1999 in Lusaka, the July 2002 peace deal between the DRC and Rwanda for the withdrawal of Rwandan troops and the disarmament of Rwandan Hutu militias in eastern DRC, the January 2008 accord between the DRC government and rebel groups, and a series of Disarmament, Demobilization and Reintegration (DDR) programmes to neutralise non-state armed groups. However, despites these efforts, armed groups have increased and the situation in the Kivu region remains precarious. Using theories such as the human needs theory of conflict and the economic theory of conflict, this study investigated various factors behind the increase and resistance of armed groups in the Kivu region. The study reveals that long-standing grievances and unresolved crises are behind the resistance of armed groups in the Kivu region, and delineates better approaches to address the problem of armed groups such as the establishment of a long-term reconciliation mechanism to address ethnic resentment and a national development plan to address socio-economic deprivation and hardships of life. This qualitative study used the documentary review method for data collection and analysis.