Abstract
From the time it deployed in the eastern DRC in 2013 up to the first quarter of 2016, arguably no much tangible progress has been made by the United Nations Force Intervention Brigade (UN FIB). The security situation in eastern Congo continues to be unstable. This instability has serious direct security threats and spillover effects on respective neighbouring countries that are either part of the Southern African Development Community (SADC) or the International Conference on the Great Lakes Region (ICGLR). There are certain constraints that the FIB has continued to encounter in the context of regional and international political and strategic dynamics surrounding eastern Congo recurring conflict. This paper argues that one of the contributing factors behind the challenges encountered by the UN Force is the fact that both the ICGLR and the SADC efforts at enhancing peace enforcement in the eastern DRC have been overshadowed by the self-interests of international actors. Arguably, this scenario has impacted negatively on the ICGLR/SADC synchronised efforts towards the effectiveness of the FIB. The paper makes some recommendations on how best to attain sustainable synergy between the ICGLR and SADC in order to enhance the strategic and operational efficiency and the effectiveness of the UN FIB in the eastern Congo conflict.
Highlights
Violent recurring armed conflict has engulfed the eastern Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) for more than two decades
The analysis will be made in the context of interrogating how the quest for synchronised peace enforcement efforts by the International Conference of the Great Lakes Region (ICGLR) and South African Development Community (SADC) have been compromised the respective self-interests of international actors
An examination was made with regards to how the quest for synchronised peace enforcement efforts by the ICGLR and the SADC has been compromised by the respective self-interests of international actors
Summary
Violent recurring armed conflict has engulfed the eastern Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) for more than two decades. The conflict, which has claimed over three million people, mostly women and children, has mostly been caused by a number of factors These range from national to regional and international dynamics especially competition for the exploitation of the vast natural resources which are on demand in the international market. The analysis will be made in the context of interrogating how the quest for synchronised peace enforcement efforts by the ICGLR and SADC have been compromised the respective self-interests of international actors. Considering that the eastern Congo is an area of peace and the security responsibility of both the SADC and the ICGLR, the paper will examine how synchronised efforts between the two have been affected by the interests of international actors, thereby impacting negatively the strategic and operational success of the FIB as a peace enforcement mechanism. Suggestions will be made on how (in the context of the FIB) synchronised peace support efforts by the SADC and the IGGLR will assist in the attainment of durable peace in eastern Congo
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