Between 1996 and 2002, the Democratic Republic of the Congo played host to the world’s deadliest conflict since World War II. More than four million people died from the ravaging effects of war and its aftermath. Today, Congo is caught in an epidemic of appalling sexual violence and on the brink of its third major war.

The international community is not doing nearly enough to prevent mass atrocities

In the eastern province of North Kivu, a dissident Congolese General named Laurent Nkunda and at least 3,000 loyal forces are locked in a struggle with the Congolese government. Led by the newly elected President Joseph Kabila, the government wants Nkunda and his men to integrate into the national army and deploy to other parts of the country.

Nkunda is an ethnic Tutsi and claims that he must remain in North Kivu to protect his people from a host of militias. One of those militias is the FDLR, a force composed of more than 6,000 Rwandan Hutu rebels, many with links to the 1994 genocide in Rwanda.

In a nightmare scenario, Congo’s weak and undisciplined army has teamed up with the FDLR to fight Nkunda’s more effective force. A stronger FDLR represents a grave threat to Rwanda, and could ignite a new regional war.

Fighting between the two sides has intensified, and civilians continue to bear the greatest burden, more than 500,000 fled their homes in 2007.

The United Nations Mission in Congo is the world’s largest peacekeeping operation.

The United Nations Mission in Congo, called “MONUC,” is the world’s largest peacekeeping operation. It can only support peacemaking efforts if Kabila and Nkunda abandon a military solution, though, and focus on a diplomatic one. They are unlikely to do so without pressures and incentives from the international community.

Strong pressure from U.S. citizens can move Congo up on the foreign policy agenda and strong U.S. engagement can avert a catastrophic conflict.

The international community must immediately develop a “carrots and sticks” approach to avoid full-scale war

• Peacemaking: Tell Congress and the President to support the U.N. Peacekeeping Mission in Congo (MONUC). MONUC must enlist strong support from the United States, European Union, and key African countries for a diplomatic initiative that focuses on the carrots: political negotiations to integrate Nkunda’s forces into the Congolese army and a redoubled effort to demobilize willing FDLR forces.
• Protection: While maintaining a focus on protecting civilians and humanitarian operations, MONUC must assume the lead in developing the military sticks necessary to concentrate minds on finding non-violent solutions to the crisis.

Concerned citizens and activists can press policymakers to make the right decisions to end suffering in the eastern Congo. Sign up to attend Congo Global Action's 2008 Conference [1] and join in a National Lobby Day March 30-April 1 in Washington, D.C., at "Connect for Congo: Working for Hope and Peace in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC)," held in cooperation with the U.S. Holocaust Memorial Museum.

For more information, visit the Congo section [2] of Enough’s Web site and Congo Global Action [3].

For an analysis and update on peace prospects in Sudan see Enough’s latest report Abyei: Sudan's "Kashmir" [4], by Roger Winter and John Prendergast.