The deteriorating situation in Kivu

7.10.2008

ORAL QUESTION H-0805/08
for Question Time at the part-session in November 2008
pursuant to Rule 109 of the Rules of Procedure
by Alain Hutchinson
to the Commission

CNDP leader Laurent Nkunda recently called on all Congolese people to rise up against their government. It is clear that Nkunda does not have the means to carry through his declarations and it is unlikely that he will rally the entire Congolese population, as his fight has always been limited to defending the interests of his own community. However, these declarations contain an underlying violence that needs to be taken seriously in order to avoid any possibility of a very weak DRC reigniting. Furthermore, several parties are not observing the Goma Act of Engagement signed in January 2008. Former child soldiers are once again being recruited by armed groups in Kivu and the humanitarian situation has continually deteriorated. Humanitarian workers have been forced to cut back their operations and reach. As is happening to the MONUC forces, humanitarian workers, too, are being denigrated and subjected to serious incidents. In addition, there are also acts of violence and rape, committed in particular by Rwandan fighters from the FDLR, who claim that the Act of Engagement does not concern them.

 

How does the Commission intend to react to this continuing deterioration of the situation in the eastern DRC? Is it prepared to work closely with the Congolese government and with the governments of the neighbouring countries, including Rwanda?

 

 

Tabled: 07.10.2008

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