On Thursday, October 27, in Washington DC, the Enough Project and distinguished guests will host “Combating Violent Kleptocracy in the Democratic Republic of Congo: A New Approach to Create Leverage for Democratic Change and Human Rights Protections.”
Millions of people have suffered and perished in the ongoing wars in East and Central Africa, including Sudan, South Sudan, Somalia, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Burundi, Rwanda, Uganda, and the Central African Republic. The big prize in these deadly conflicts is the control of a hijacked state and the natural resource wealth of the country.
Today, the European Union’s Foreign Affairs Council announced support for individual sanctions to address the escalating political crisis in the Democratic Republic of Congo.
Today, the U.S. Treasury Department’s Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) placed General Gabriel Amisi Kumba, aka "Tango Fort," head of the First National Defense Zone and Major General John Numbi Banza Tambo, former Inspector General of the Democratic Republic of Congo’s National Police on its Specially Designated Nationals (SDN) List.
It is an honorable privilege to write this letter and an undeniable, exciting feeling to say the least. First off, please allow me to properly introduce myself. My name is Andy Mulumba. Born and raised in the Democratic Republic of Congo, I spent some time in Montreal, Quebec at the age of 12, and received my collegiate education at the University of Eastern Michigan, graduating in Business Management in April 2013. This is such a great highlight in my life and I cannot thank you enough for taking the time to read this letter.
On September 13, the United States Senate unanimously passed S.Res.485 - A resolution urging the Government of the Democratic Republic of the Congo to comply with constitutional limits on presidential terms and fulfil its constitutional mandate for a democratic transition of power in 2016. This resolution comes at an increasingly tense and critical time in Congo. According to the Congolese constitution, September 19th is the deadline for the elections commission to announce that presidential elections will be held in time for President Kabila’s departure from office on December 19.
Political tensions are building in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, where sitting President Joseph Kabila is attempting to subvert the country’s constitution, hold on to power, and reduce political space ahead of the scheduled end of his second presidential term. During the past 18 months, the situation has worsened, with multiple attempts to significantly delay elections; peaceful protesters arbitrarily arrested, beaten, or killed; and the expulsion of several key international researchers or officials, including those from the United Nations Joint Human Rights Office, Human Rights Watch, Global Witness, and the Congo Research Group.
Last Friday, a bipartisan group of Members of Congress sent a letter to U.S. Treasury Secretary Jacob Lew urging him to expand targeted sanctions and impose additional financial pressure, including anti-money laundering initiatives, against key officials in Congolese President Joseph Kabila’s regime responsible for undermining peace and democracy.
Tomorrow marks the start of the National Dialogue, as called for by the President of the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) Joseph Kabila. The dialogue is intended to cover 11 topics, mainly focused on political and electoral issues. According to the Constitution of the DRC, national elections are to be held on November 19, 2016, and President Kabila is to step down on December 19.
A coalition of U.S.-based NGOs and Congo experts sent a letter today to U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry calling for greater financial and other pressure on the Government of the Democratic Republic of Congo, as well as incentives. The coalition is deeply concerned about the closing of political space and growing democratic crisis in Congo. The policy aims of these tools should be to help support Congo to hold timely elections in line with its constitution and end political repression.
Efforts to support peace, corporate accountability, and transparency in the Democratic Republic of Congo faced a setback today, as the House of Representatives passed an amendment introduced by Rep. Bill Huizenga (R-MI) to defund implementation of the Security Exchange Commission (SEC)’s rule to address conflict minerals.
Today, the U.S. Treasury Department’s Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) placed General Célestin Kanyama, the Police Commissioner of the Democratic Republic of Congo’s capital city Kinshasa, on its Specially Designated Nationals (SDN) List. General Kanyama has been linked to at least three police operations that used excessive force, including “Operation Likofi” in which police summarily killed at least 51 youth and forcibly disappeared 33 others during an anti-crime campaign from November 2013 to January 2014, as well as deadly attacks on peaceful protestors in October 2015.
In July of last year, U.S. President Barack Obama gave a landmark speech at the African Union (AU) headquarters in Addis Ababa, criticizing leaders who undemocratically change their constitutions to stay in power and emphasizing that the United States would call out such behavior. He pointed to Burundi where a few months earlier, President Pierre Nkurunziza pressured the courts to change the constitution’s term limits so that he could run for a third time. Obama warned that such a tactic could trigger “instability and strife,” as well as hamper “Africa’s democratic progress.” But his words seem to have fallen on deaf ears.
Yesterday, Rep. Bill Huizenga (R-Mich.) filed an 11th hour amendment to the financial services appropriations bill to de-fund enforcement of the conflict minerals provision in the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act. The amendment was adopted by the House Rules Committee and will go to the House floor for a vote today.
On June 13, key Members of the House of Representatives introduced a Resolution calling on the Obama Administration to impose targeted sanctions and leverage other financial pressure as one way to support the constitution of the the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC).
Today, the International Criminal Court (ICC) sentenced Jean-Pierre Bemba to 18 years in prison for war crimes and crimes against humanity. Experts at the Enough Project have been following the case and are available for comment and analysis.
Based on extensive field interviews with UN officials, charcoal traders, leading Congolese conservationists and whistleblowers, and local and international law enforcement officials, Enough's newest report explains how the illegal trade works and offers specific policy recommendations aimed at ending the trade and providing alternative fuels.
Late last week, the UN Group of Experts -- a panel of investigators mandated by the UN Security Council with monitoring implementation of the arms embargo and sanctions in place on Congo and with providing public updates on the security situation in Congo -- released its annual final report.
An illegal charcoal cartel is helping to finance one of the most prominent militias in central Africa and destroying parts of Africa’s oldest national park. Nursing alliances with Congolese army and police units and operating remote trafficking rings in the sanctuaries of Congo’s protected forests, the Democratic Forces for the Liberation of Rwanda (FDLR) is a kingpin in Africa’s Great Lakes region’s organized crime networks and a continuing threat to human security.
The illegal charcoal trade in eastern Democratic Republic of Congo (Congo) has become one of the most lucrative enterprise for Congo’s most notorious and stalwart rebel group, the Democratic Forces for the Liberation of Rwanda (FDLR). In addition to financing ongoing armed conflict, the charcoal trade is threatening Virunga, Africa’s oldest national park and a protected UNESCO World Heritage Site.