THE ROLE OF INTERNATIONAL COMMUNITY’S INVOLVEMENT IN

PROMOTING PEACE AND SECURITY IN THE EASTERN REGION OF D.R.

CONGO:

A CASE OF STUDY OF MASISI (1999-2019)

ACRONYMS:

DRC: Democratic Republic of Congo

MONUSCO: Mission des Nations Unies pour la Stabilization au Congo

MONUC: Mission des Nations Unies au Congo

EPON: Effectiveness Peacekeeping Operation Network

RCD: Rassemblement du Congo pour la Democatie

MLC: Mouvement pour la Liberation du Congo

CNDP: Congres national pour democratie Populaire

AFDL:

FAZ:Forces Armees Zairoises

FDLR: Front Democratique pour la Liberation du Rwanda

FAR: Forces Armees Rwandaises

FDDH:

APLCS:

ADF-NALU: Allied Democratic Forces – National Army for the Liberation of Uganda.

CONADER: Commission Nationale de Demobilisation et Reinsertion.

MAC:

UNSC: United Nations Security Council

UN: United Nations

M23: Mouvement du 23 Mars.

EUROFOR:

TCCS:

FIB: Forces d’Intervention Brigade

FARDC: Forces Armees du Congo

LRA: Lord’s Resistance Army

DPKO: UN Department for Peacekeeping Operation

NGOs: Non-governmental organizations

US: United States

SRSG:

TAC:

CENI: Commission Electorale Independante

PSCF:

UNCT:

DDR:

CIAT:

0. TABLE OF CONTENTS:
 CHAPTER ONE

1. INTRODUCTION

After the dismantle of the Soviet Union in 1991, a new era has just begun and the World is
shifting from a polarized politics into a globalized politics based on a liberalism,
multilateralism and economic integration; and to make this possible was to unify the world as
a global village, therefore technology became the only resort , in the 80s, electronics and
connectivity haven’t evolved much until the discovery of the coltan’s role in electronics and
other minerals such as Lithium’s use in batteries, this also accelerated the increase in the use
of green energy, however the accumulation of these raw materials in some global regions
such as the eastern region of Democratic Republic of Congo quickly became a target; the
democratic republic of Congo has a total value of mineral resources of US dollar 24 trillion
and the eastern region has the largest reserve of the columbite and tantalite and lithium in the
world, this region is just a promised land however this has turned into a paradox due to
multiple armed conflicts. This study will therefore focus on the role, mandate and obligation
of the entire international community under the charter of the United Nations under
MONUSCO in this region specifically in Masisi territory hereby addressing certain issues in
order to find out what has been happening in the eastern region of Congo, where and how the
problems started and recommend solutions in achieving peace and security in this region.

In the background of this research, I will discuss the historical backgrounds of UN

peacekeeping across the globe and in DRC as well

In the literature review of this research, I will gather from different sources including past
studies on this issue, analyze the strategies, achievements and challenges of MONUSCO.

In the third chapter, I will discuss and demonstrate the methods necessary to expose the
reliability and validity of findings of this research.

In the fourth chapter, I will demonstrate and represent the data in order to get the findings of
this research.
And in the final chapter, I will discuss the findings, conclude and recommend what is
supposed to be done.

1. BACKGROUND
After the second world war, the United Nations was created with the purpose of maintaining
peace and security due to previous fatalities left by the first and the second world war i.e., to
prevent any activity that may endanger the human population or international community and
one of these activities is war.
The UN charter signed in June 1945 states that member states should selectively settle
disputes peacefully and refrain from using force. In other words, the member states should
not resort to violence because it endangers human lives.
the chapter seven of this charter describes how the UN may proceed non militarily or
militarily (peacekeeping operations).
Since then, the use of peacekeeping troops across the world has become important in order to
prevent escalation until a peaceful solution is attained.
These peacekeeping operations were deployed in Middle East in May 1948 between Arabs
and Jews, in January 1949 in India and Pakistan.
However, during the Cold War, these operations became obsolete due to the polarization of
the world politics especially in the UN Security Council (the UN body charged with the
authorization of a peacekeeping mission); but after the fall of the Berlin wall, the UN
resorted to UN peacekeeping operations as the paralysis of the UN Security Council was no
longer present; and that was not the only aftermath of the fall of the Berlin wall, another
aftermath surged and that was civil wars calling democratization. The new era has begun and
democratization became compulsory in world dictated by globalization and economic
integration, the actors needed to be changed in the international politics.
Therefore, the UN peacekeeping missions have expanded in the early 1990s to include
humanitarian intervention in the battlefield to protect civilians; but humanitarian intervention
lost its popularity prior to the failure in Somalia, Bosnia and Rwanda.
In that same decade, in the Zaire, pressure from the international community to democratize
Zaire weighs heaven for Mobutu who refused to comply to multiparty politics; and an
invasion therefore by the AFDL led by Laurent Desire Kabila seconded by Rwandese and
Ugandan troops invaded the country and managed to oust the dictator Mobutu.
After taking Kinshasa in May 1997, conflict arose one year after the seizure between Laurent
Desire Kabila and the Rwandan and Ugandan troops; Kabila finally sent back to their home
countries, discontent by that action, the Rwandan and Ugandan troops organized militias and
invaded the country in the eastern region of Congo.
Due to the violent response by both parties, the UN Security Council authorized a
peacekeeping mission in the DRC, called MONUC.

During this period, the United Nations created a mission in 1999 in the Democratic Republic
of Congo called MONUC with a mandate only “to observe the ongoing of the war” but
MONUC has never indulged in any battle either to secure civilians in danger in the presence
of different militias and also during this conflict MONUC was operating with MLC led by
Jean Pierre Bemba Gombo as a legitimate administration.

During his reign, Kabila refused to cooperate with the international community on how to
resolve the conflict and resorted to armed violence, he therefore incited the Congolese
population on national Radio and TV to execute every Tutsi either Rwandese or Congolese,
he rejected all structural adjustment programs to “reform” the economic sector, he increased
the personnel of the standing army. considered a “threat”, he was quickly assassinated on
16th January 200 and the country continued to deteriorate from a political, economic to social
sectors. the term “peace” became an illusion, Laurent Desire Kabila was succeeded by his
son Joseph Kabila Kabange. Under the Kabila regime, the efforts of peace talks were
initiated with the assistance of the MONUC and the African Union to call upon all militias on
the table in order to resolve the conflict peacefully through a referendum.

The SUN CITY peace talks held in South Africa in 2003 were successful and led to the
creation of a 1+4 government transition i.e., one President with four Vice-Presidents’
government, the MONUC later initiated a demilitarization program of different rebels known
as CONADER operations and succeeded to demilitarize some armed groups. In 2006 the
DRC held its first democratic elections in which Joseph Kabila came out winner and led the
 country until December 2018; in 2007, after the creation of a new government in Kinshasa ,
the CNDP, a Tutsi rebellion led by Laurent Nkunda Batware and ex-RCD troops who were
eventually the RCD’s troops who took Bukavu in 2003 split in the Masisi forests and some
300 troops led by Colonel Jules Mutebusi fled to Rwanda, after 4 years in Masisi claiming to
be protecting the Tutsi people because the later did not secure enough positions in the
government of Kabila. The Hutus present, the Hunde, national army and the United Nations
forces were eventually against CNDP and its allies the Banyamulenge. [ CITATION Koe08 \l
1033 ]

Unfortunately, during his regime, the conflict in the eastern region prevailed, the peace deal
never got into root causes and covered all aspects of a reconciliation exposing truth, justice,
local communities and reparations which could have paved to sustainable peace.

due to the persistence of the conflict, the ADF and LRA of Uganda have fled in the eastern
region of DRC, FDLR, Islamic State’s affiliated groups among others. The territory of Masisi
has been one of the priorities for peace and security for more than 20 years now, according to
Search For Common Ground, only Masisi territory hosts FDDH, MAI MAI-cheka, Nyatura,
APCLS, MAC, MAI MAI-Mutomboki, M23, ADF-NALU, MAI MAI-FDC we will discuss
in the following chapter the causes of this anarchy, due to this state of total anarchy in the
region, MONUC through a resolution of United Security Council became MONUSCO in
2010 hence expanding its mandate and objectives in the D.R Congo, though insurgencies and
killings of civilians have continued to surge.

What is problematic for achieving peace and security by MONUSCO?

2. Problem Statement

There are several reasons for why the international community is involved in this part of the
world, one is that the UNSC has the mandate to achieve international peace and security across
the world, two, the limitation of humanitarian crisis such as ethnic cleansing, as well as the
geopolitical motives of different actors. though the involvement of the international community
in this region through a UN peacekeeping mission since 1999 in eastern region of Congo,
insecurities still prevail in the region and it is considered as a huge humanitarian crisis of big
ampler since World War Two. Since the first initiatives of peace and security for the last 20
years Lusaka, the MONUC/MONUSCO has primarily participated in the role of promoting
peace and security, billions of dollars have been spent in that cause; MONUSCO is the largest
UN peacekeeping mission of all time with the highest number of personnel (both military and
civilian), But that has never led to the achievement of peace and security in the region. side
effects of war such as epidemic diseases continue to take lives of Congolese, assault by factions
such as ADF continue to soar in the region yet The FARDC holds a close cooperation with
MONUSCO to reduce the force of rebel groups. Although his big deployment, MONUSCO has
the challenge in framing and implementing its strategies in order to achieve peace and security in
the region and finally fulfill its mission and Mandate.

If this situation persists, there will be more death tolls, more raped women and more internally
displaced persons across the country and the region. So, in order to limit such casualties, what
should be done?

3. Research questions

What has MONUSCO done, what are the achievements and what remains therefore?

4. Objective of the research

4.1. Major objectives
 The major objective of this research is to find out the role played by the international
community in promoting peace and security in the Eastern Region of DRC.

4.2. Specific objectives

 To find out the strategies used by the international community (UNSC, MONUSCO) in
the effort to bring peace and security in the DRC.
 To find out the challenges faced by the international peacekeepers in trying to restore
peace and stability in DRC.
5. Conceptual framework

The UN security is a one of the six principal organs of the United Nations charged with a
mandate to maintain peace and security according to the charter of the UN of 1945.

In this cheater, there are both military and non-military operations, in the military operations, the
UN resorts to Peacekeeping missions that has a role to limit violence or escalation and maintain
peace and security until a solution is found by the parties involved in the conflict.

This constitutes the involvement and role of the international community (UN) towards peace
and security in the world.

The concept of peace and security entails the following: the stabilization of violent situations into
a calm situation, the protection of the vulnerable civilians n the battlefield, consolidation of
parties for better cooperation in the post-conflict era, establishment of courts of justice to
prosecute the criminals; the positive transformation from a negative conflict in political,
economic and social sectors; security sector reform which refers to the restructuring of the
military institutions in order to professionalize the military; Human Rights promotion in other
words, to ensure Human security.

But these concepts of peace and security greatly depend on the strategy used on the ground
which is seconded by the activities carried by the peacekeepers, they also depend on the
functioning or the structure and the funding of the peacekeeping mission.
The following framework represents the interrelation between different concepts of this research.

Structure
Strategy
UN Security Council
Funding
Peacekeeping mission
Activities on the ground
Mandate

Stabilization; protection;
consolidation; justice; conflict
transformation; security sector
reform; and human rights.
CHAPTER TWO

LITTERATURE REVIEW

2.0. Introduction

To understand the real causes of the conflict and to find out what role played by the international
community, its strategies and the challenges in promoting peace and security in the eastern
region of Congo, I have reviewed several past researches based on this topic and related topics as
well, though there is a limited source on the conflicts at the regional and national level, I relied
more on the articles published by different local communities, international research institutes,
peacekeeping operation and international organizations’ reports as well as some local non-
governmental organizations. These writings have been of great importance in reviewing this
topic in the interests of understanding root causes and the continuation of armed conflicts.

2.1.1. Achievements

There have been efforts by the international community to end the conflict, for instance, the
UNSC authorized a gradual expansion of MONUC through the Resolution 1291, on 24 th
February 2000, increasing the deployment of up to 5,537 military personnel to protect the
military observers and in tasks Resolution 1355, 15th June 2001, giving MONUC a task to assist
in the early execution, of the disarmament, demobilization and reintegration (DDR) of armed
groups. Resolution 1291 grants MONUC to “protect civilians under imminent threat of physical
violence”

For many analysts, this mission, 2003-2006 was MONUC’s most effective period as its mandate
was aligned with the political process and it had a clear objective and exit strategy, namely, to
hand over to a sovereign state. Following the signing of the Pretoria Agreement, the Security
Council decided in Resolution 1493 (28 July 2003) that MONUC should contribute to the
security of the institutions and officials of the Government of National Unity and Transition –
specifically, through the Comité international d’accompagnement de la transition (International
Committee in Support of the Transition) (CIAT). The SRSG who chaired the CIAT had to bear
with many ongoing and diverging bilateral
In parallel, a revision of MONUSCO’s mandate was undertaken, leading to the creation of a FIB
within the Mission but composed of regional forces from the SADC. Resolution 2098 (28 March
2013) authorized the FIB to “neutralize armed groups,”

2.1.2. Strategies

According to EPON, the following are the strategies of MONUSCO:

• Ensure effective, dynamic and integrated protection under threat of physical violence through a
comprehensive approach;

• Identify threats to civilians, implement prevention and response plans, and strengthen civil-
military cooperation;

• Strengthen early warning mechanisms;

• Neutralize armed groups through the FIB under direct command of the MONUSCO Force
Commander; and

• Good offices, advice and assistance to ensure actions against armed groups are supported by
civilian and police components. Support to the implementation of the 31 December 2016
agreement and the electoral process in order to hold credible elections, thus contributing to the
stabilization of the DRC.

• Technical and political support, good offices and engagement with interlocutors across the
political spectrum;

• Technical assistance and logistical support for the electoral process, in coordination with
Congolese authorities, the UNCT, regional and international actors, in order to facilitate the
electoral cycle;

• Engage in regular and substantial dialogue with the DRC’s independent electoral commission
(CENI); and

• Report on restrictions on political space and violence, including in the context of the elections.
 2.1.3. Challenges

According to EPON, the main strategic constraint of the UN Mission has been the degree of
cooperation of the host state which has diminished over the years. Many interlocutors observed
that, for many years, MONUSCO has been working with a government that does not want it to
be there, and that has asked several times for its departure, although it maintained its legal
consent for MONUSCO’s presence. The second main strategic constraint has been the role of
neighboring states fueling instability, and the lack of a Security Council champion or consensus
on the priority for international support. Overall, the Mission has faced serious constraints on its
ability to influence key players who have sway over armed groups. This is sometimes due to
reluctance by the central Government and/or the complicity of state actors in conflicts in Eastern
Congo, but also at times due to interference by regional actors, and a related inability to gain
leverage over some of those most responsible for driving insecurity in Eastern Congo. As far as
the operational constraints are concerned, there is first and foremost the problem of multiple
interpretations of what peacekeeping is and of the mandate of the Mission. This also leads to the
issue of the lack of a strategic communications strategy to counter misunderstandings, and to
explain the mandate and the mission to the Congolese people or even internally within
MONUSCO’s different components. Mission’s relevance and importance in supporting the
Congolese government greatly increased with the surprising inauguration of President Felix
Tshisekedi. While he is trying to assert his control over the security forces, much of the military
leadership will have conflicted loyalties. He will have little support in a Kabila coalition-
dominated legislature, and many of the sectors of the economy will be difficult to access due to
various pre-negotiated deals and structural conditions. The Mission could be one of his strongest
allies and act as a buffer against the forces that oppose him.

2.1.3.1. Impartiality

The UN mission in DRC’s legitimacy, impartiality and credibility have faded over time across its
operating regions [ CITATION Dag15 \l 1033 ] . Its role in ending the 1999-2003 war and the
reunification of the DRC bought it trust in the population. According to EPON, Difficulties in
task prioritization and inadequate management of expectations by the Mission itself have
contributed towards the Mission’s loss of legitimacy, impartiality and credibility. The Mission’s
lack of a close relationship with the Government has also undermined its credibility in the eyes
of those who see the Government as lacking legitimacy and credibility (especially after the 2011
elections). The political elites of the democratic Republic of Congo have changed their interests
over time, this doesn’t surprise that sometimes when their interest collide, they take decisions
that affect the work of MONUSCO.

In 2017, President Joseph Kabila in the press conference, asked MONUSCO to end its mission
and this has much paved the uncertainty of the facts behind the scene affecting hence the
credibility, impartiality and legitimacy of the mission. This was mostly motivated by political
interests of the president in knowing what could have been the role of the UN if he refused to
step down during the upcoming elections.

2.1.3.2. Political opportunism

According to EPON, DRC has been highly useful only for narrow elite, showing “little interest
in ending peripheral wars that do not threaten its survival.” As a result, “It has privileged
maintaining patronage networks over the security of its citizens, and elite survival over
institutional reform.” As Hugo de Vries stated, “The state itself is a prized resource with
positions in the army and police particularly valued as they hold the means of violence and the
state is used by these support networks for personal gain.” State weakness results on the non-
payment of the police and the national army. The international community put sanctions in 2017
on the political elites who kept maintaining these patronage networks; I would argue that this
move would have taken since 2011.

2.1.3.3. Security sector reform

According to AU, SSR refers to the process by which countries formulate or re-orient the
policies, structures, and capacities of institutions and groups engaged in the security sector, in
order to make them more effective, efficient, and responsive to democratic control, and to the
security and justice needs of the people. This policy takes note that “Security Sector Reform” is
referred as security sector governance, security sector transformation, security sector
development, security sector review as well as security and justice reform. [ CITATION AU14 \l 1033
]

According to Search for Common Ground, the goals of security sector reform is to build a
Congolese security sector that is capable to defend the territorial integrity and its people, and a
security sector that is accountable to civilian authorities and respectful of the rule of law and
Human Rights.

Therefore, three factors were supposed to be incorporated: the strengthening of unit effectiveness
through train-and equip program; implementation of institutional reform, including action on
pay, career structures and strategic planning and building mechanisms for civilian accountability
and oversight.

Security Sector Reform is a key to the success of the UN peacekeeping mission in the DRC, in
the revised mandate of 2010, the following strategies have put in place to strengthen security
sector reform.

Reform of the police; Encourage inclusive SSR; Army reform, in compliance with the UN
Human Rights Due Diligence Policy (UNHRDDP), that enhances accountability, efficiency,
self-sustainability, training, vetting and effectiveness; and any support provided by the UN, only
for joint operations, should be jointly planned and executed, and subject to appropriate oversight
and scrutiny, failing which that support should be suspended; and Justice and prison sector
reforms. [ CITATION EPO19 \l 1033 ].

However, Security sector reform in the Congolese institutions remains a failure hence, a failure
to the MONUSCO ‘s mandate in the DRC. over the past years, the host country has refuted the
implementation of drafted security sector reform; corruption; patronage and impunity in the
security sector and in institutions have contributed to that act.
CHAPTER THREE

METHODOLOGY

3.0. Introduction

This chapter discusses the methods used to collect and analyze data to answer the questions in
the research objectives. The methods used in this research are both quantitative and qualitative; it
also provides design, techniques to answer the research questions. This research follows a
descriptive design based on questionnaire, interviews and past literature. Nevertheless, the
general sample will be more of qualitative approach and less of quantitative approach. The
literature review, questionnaires and interviews were used to collect data of this research and the
analysis follows a qualitative and quantitative approach. The literature review and the
questionnaire will be used to collect respectively qualitative and quantitative data.

3.1. Research design

A research design is a plan, the structure and the strategy of the research in order to collect,
analyze and interpret the data[ CITATION Rob94 \l 1033 ] The covered and focused areas on this
research include: the history of the involvement of the international community in DRC, the root
causes of the conflicts, the economic view of conflict, the mandate of MONUC/MONUSCO, the
structure of MONUSCO, the protection and stabilization process, an inclusive transformative
and institutional building process, consolidation, achievements, funding, strategy, impartiality of
the MONUSCO, the political interests of political elites, security sector reform and rule of law.

3.2. Population Study

The community leaders, the victims of the insurgencies, religious leaders and administrators in
Nakivale camp constitute the study population of this research.

3.3. Sampling techniques

Triangulation was used as a technique in this research to collect and analyze data, the
international community has been involved in the DRC conflicts since its independence, the
researcher therefore tracked why the international community was involved in the DRC,I
compared and analyzed the different works on the roles of some international and local
organizations such as Local Voices, in the eastern region of Congo involved in the peace
process, I further analyzed the mandate of MONUSCO/MONUC and the UNSC by weighing its
achievements and challenges analyzed in the work of EPON (Effectiveness of Peace Operation
Network) on MONUSCO in relation to my research objectives, then comes the analysis of some
variables of this research, the variable such as peace, analyzed as a stabilization process or a
transformative and sustainable peace. Moreover, the questionnaire and interviews were also
conducted by the researcher.

3.3.1. Sample size

Using questionnaire, the researcher chose a sample of 15 respondents who have been selected to
gather data, these respondents were selected based on their experience and knowledge in this
area of study. Another sample of 95 were therefore selected in Isingiro District, Uganda due to
their experience on the conflict.

3.4. Sources of data

The researcher collected data from primary and secondary sources, the primary sources of data
come from the respondents and informants fetched both within and out of Isingiro, this data
helped the researcher to understand the nature of the conflict and the real outcomes of the efforts
of the international community in maintaining peace and security at lower level; however the
analysis of the role of the international community’s involvement in the eastern region of DRC
has been carried in the literature review fetched from: books, journal articles, official websites of
international organizations, previous research on this topic, research institutes’ reports
constituted the secondary sources of data.

3.5. Data collection methods

Given the complexity of the armed conflict in the eastern region of Congo, with every actor
involved having his/her own opinion of what are the real causes and the roles of national and
international actors, I used Masisi as a case study to collect appropriate data to this research,
Masisi was chosen as a case study due to its strategic location of armed groups and since it has
been at the blink of this chaos involving all the features of the armed conflict, this appropriate
data was hence collected through interviews and literature review.

The followings are the methods used in collecting data in this research:
 3.5.1. Interviews:
In order to understand at lower level the conflict and the roles of MONUSCO in this region,
some interviews were conducted in the Nakivale Resettlement Refugee Camp which is
located in Isingiro District, Uganda in January 2020; The researcher hence took a trip in the
Nakivale camp and interviewed leaders of different community associations of elderly as
well as their members who had fled the conflict in the DRC notably Beni, Rutshuru and
Masisi, He also interviewed the catechist of the catholic church present in Nakivale who also
had fled the armed conflict in the DRC. These interviews were informal and unstructured and
important statements were written down on paper. The researcher selected these participants
based on their experience of the conflict and their proximity, being in the same country with
them, it smoothed this research and this gave him an advantage since going in the region of
Masisi was not safe. The interviews were time-bound and didn’t exceed five minutes since
all the participants had same time to express their own views on the conflict, the participants
were honest since they participated willingly to the interviews, the participants were both
native ethnic groups and the coming groups from Rwanda to facilitate the researcher to hear
from both sides, they were asked same questions; and the participants were informed since
they experienced these conflicts. They had not lost their temper as well during the interview.
The interviews were time-bound since all the participants had same time to express their own
views on the conflict, the participants were honest since they participated willingly to the
interviews, the participants were both native ethnic groups and the coming groups from
Rwanda to facilitate the researcher to hear from both sides, they were asked same questions;
and the participants were informed since they experienced these conflicts. They had not lost
their temper as well during the interview.

3.5.2. DOCUMENT ANALYSIS:

This research was also guided by the literature review of different published documents, article
journals, books related to this research, his gathering process of data started in December 2019
and these documents were therefore analyzed before being selected hereby identifying key points
relevant to this research. The MONUSCO’s official website providing its mandate and the report
of EPON on MONUSCO analyzing the strategies, achievements and challenges of the UN
peacekeeping mission in the DRC in the same objective to understand the issue. EPON was
chosen strategically since it assesses the effectiveness of different UN peacekeeping operations
in different conflicting zones across the globe. The researcher further analyzed different Interim
reports of the Panel of Experts on the Illegal Exploitation of Natural Resources and Other Forms
of Wealth of the Democratic Republic of the Congo online by the UNSC.

3.5.3. Questionnaire

A questionnaire is a research instrument consisting of a series of questions for the purpose of

gathering information from respondents.[ CITATION Sau18 \l 1033 ].

Questionnaire was used as a method of data collection in order to facilitate the researcher to
collect quickly and efficiently the large amount of data of a complex conflict. The researcher
under the guidance of his instructor, developed two questions which later duplicated in six
questions. Out of the 6 questions, 5 were open-ended questions and 1 was closed-ended a
question. In order to minimize mistrust in the respondents, the questionnaires were short clear
and explicit. A short biography of the researcher and a clear objective of the research were also
provided for the same purpose.
The researcher carried questionnaire on chat with the experts and knowledgeable respondents a
3.6. DATA QUALITY

Data quality always depends on the validity and reliability of the research; therefore, this section
will be discussing the validity and reliability of data collected from different sources:

3.6.1. VALIDITY:

The validity of a research is based on the accuracy of the instruments that cover all the research
issues, therefore the steps used in this research were:

 The smart analysis of the published documents based on the root causes and the
continuation of the conflict of different local and international organizations in their
 official websites, the published materials of EPON on the MONUSCO’s effectiveness,
the letters of experts of the UNSC’s report on the armed conflict in the eastern region of
Congo.
 These research instruments were used to cover all the issues by sampling participants in
the interviews and questionnaires.
 The participants were sampled from the association community based on their
communication skills.
 The interviews were also clear and accurate since participants were requested to answer
accordingly to the questions.

3.6.2. RELIABILITY

To maintain the reliability of this research, the researcher analyzed different data from different
documents in the literature review, he relied more on works published by EPON on MONUSCO
and UNSC’s reports which almost provided the same information concerning the involvement of
the international community in the eastern region of Congo without bias. the Congolese refugees
who were interviewed equally i.e., everyone was given the same question with same period of
time in the Nakivale Resettlement camp, however it is better to signal participants were
interviewed in Kiswahili and Kinyarwanda, however the researcher was seconded by a translator
in order to smooth the understanding of all subjects including the researcher.

3.7. Procedure for data collection

The researcher received approval from the university to carry the research, therefore the
researcher from the approval from the catechist of catholic church in Isingiro who got an
authorization from the UNCHR bureau in Isingiro that issued the authorization, however due to
multiple communities in the camp, the researcher had to invite a group from Juru because they
were the ones who actually come from Masisi and Rutshuru.

3.8. Data analysis and presentation

The quantitative data has been collected through questionnaires and has been presented,
literature review, and questionnaires were most important to the researcher’s analysis, the
quantitative data are presented in tabulations and statistics, the literature review in this research
and interviews are presented in forms of quotations and verbatim.

1.8.1 qualitative data analysis

Through interviews and literature reviews, the researcher had analyzed the data collected and he
has presented them in words, by using triangulation, it has permitted the researcher to analyze
which also facilitate the reader to have a precise conclusion of this topic.

1.8.2 quantitative data analysis and presentation

The qualitative data has been drawn through questionnaire and are in statistical form, presented
in tabulations, this presentation has helped the researcher to have a precise and accurate
information in terms of numbers.

3.9. Limitations of the study

In the process of carrying out this research, there are numbers of limitations encountered by the
researcher, these limitations affected the speed of this process, and these include: the coronavirus
pandemic (COVID-19) which was followed by a lockdown and an economic decline, another
limitation was the ongoing insecurity in the region and lack of resources to physically conduct
research in Masisi territory, the latter didn’t permit the researcher to collect data deeply in the
Masisi region.

3.10. Ethical considerations

Based on moral principles of this research, it was essential to keep confidentiality and privacy of
all participants, in order to involve the participants in this study, the researcher explained the
procedure of this research to all participants, its academic purpose, the malaise and advantage if
felt any as well as the duration of the questionnaires and interviews, with respect to requirements
from the respondents and interviewees, the researcher treated all data upon their privacy i.e. they
had the right to remain anonymous during the process. Moreover, any ethnic identity was
prominent in the study.
CHAPTER FOUR: DATA PRESENTATION, ANALYSIS AND INTERPRETATION
4.0. Introduction

This chapter presents the findings of the study on “the role of the international community’s
involvement in promoting peace and security in the eastern region of Congo” these findings are
based on the research questions which were “to find out the strategies used by the international
community (UNSC, MONUSCO) in the effort to bring peace and security in the DRC and the
challenges faced by the international peacekeepers in trying to restore peace and stability in
DRC.

The findings are presented qualitatively and quantitatively using statistics for quantitative data
and words for qualitative data. The quantitative data are presented in tables in numeric
frequencies and percentage in order to weigh the magnitude of response in relations to the
findings, hence providing a true numeric interpretation of data. The qualitative data appears in
narratives and quotations captured from the interviewees. This will therefore help, the reader to
understand better and make good conclusions.

4.1. Demography and characteristics of respondents

This research describes the responds based on their age, gender, educational level, marital status
and religion. The following are the responses presented in the table below.
Table 4. Profile of respondents n=110

Items Description Frequency Percentage

Age 26-35 years 25 22.7
36-45 years 50 45.5
46-50 15 13.6
51-and above 20 18.2
Total 110 100.0
Sex Male 45 40.9
Female 65 59.1
Total 110 100
Level of education Primary 30 27.3
Secondary 45 40.9
Diploma 25 22.7
Degree 10 9.1
Total 110 100.0
Marital status Married 60 54.5
Single 25 22.7
Divorced/separated 8 7.3
Widow 17 15.5
Total 110 100.0
Religion Protestant 34 30.9
Catholic 76 69.1
Muslim 00 0.0
Other 00 0.0
Total 110 100.0

From table 4.1. The 25 (22.7%) of participants were between the age of 26-35; 50 respondents
were between the ages of 36-45 (45.5%); 15 (13.6%) respondents were between the age of 46-50
while 20 (18.2%) were between the age of 51 and above.

The number of women outdid that of men, most participants in our study were women than men;
women were 65 representing hence (50.1%) and men 45 representing (40.9%).

The level of education is relevant in the way that it helps to grade the quality of data collected
from the respondents, in this study as shown in the above table, 30 (27.3%) of participants have
completed primary school, 45 (40.9%) have completed the secondary school, 25 (22.7%)
attended university and acquired a diploma degree and finally 10 (9.1%) of the participants have
completed their bachelor’s degree. When it comes to marital status, the majority of participants
were married and were 60 (54.5%), the number of single participants were 25 (22.7%), the
divorced/separated were 8 (7.3) while the widows were 17 (15.5%). Participants were also
religiously diversified; the majority were catholic and were 76 (69.1%) and the Protestants were
34 (30.9%).

Based on the research objectives, the findings are:

4.2. Findings on the Strategies and effectiveness of MONUSCO

MONUSCO has partially and fully engaged in the conflict alternatively, the peacekeeping
mission in the DRC has been criticized for its “impartiality” in the conflict, the efforts made by
the MONUSCO to sweep armed groups have been questioned since conflicts prevail in the
eastern region of Congo meanwhile MONUSCO is the largest peacekeeping mission in the
world.

The Congolese people in the eastern region of the country have asked several times for the
mission to leave, in 2017 the former president asked MONUSCO to leave the country which
therefore incited suspicion of what really the mission does behind the scene.

During the Second War, MONUSCO had the mission of an observer in the armed conflicts, it
could not engage properly in the conflict, the mandate of the mission has changed from an
observing to a stabilizing mission in 2010, the creation of FIB was enhanced and its operations
started in 2013 with a strategy to neutralize the armed forces.

Stabilization and Disarmament, Demobilization and Reintegration (DDR): as a strategy, the

MONUSCO has disarmed many insurgent groups, the Commission Nationale de Demobilisation et
Reinsertion (CONADER), that later changed into PNDDR (PROGRAMME NATIONAL DE
DESARMEMENT, DEMOBILISATION ET REINSERTION) on itself have accounted more than
150000 ex-combatants who have been disarmed and reinstated into civilians. This data includes also those
who have accepted to return to their home country such the Burundian, in 2018 only; the joint military of
FARDC and FIB have also launched several attacks to seize some fraction’s leaders such the head of
intelligence services of FDLR.
Conflict-sensitive approach through the implementation of the I4S (Innovation for sustainability)
in order to enable state and society to build mutual accountability and capacity to address and
mitigate drivers of conflict, creating the conditions for improved governance and longer-term
development; from this strategy, this research finds out that there have contractions between the
government and the UN mission therefore, this has left the lack of task prioritization by
MONUSCO, the researcher finds out that MONUSCO doesn’t prioritize some duties or mandate
to end the conflict, according to EPON, MONUSCO has only involved fully in the mission from
2003 to 2006 through the organization and running of the elections; due to several insurgencies
throughout the country, this has affected the development of country as well.

Implementation of the Action Plan to Prevent and End the Recruitment and Use of Children and
Sexual Violence by FARDC; there is poor mechanisms to implement the prevention the action
plan to prevent and end conscription. As one of the interviewees said “boys run in the bush and
become rebels in order to survive”

4.3. Findings on MONUSCO and UNSC’s strategies hindered by a lack of close

cooperation with the host country:

The data from EPON has shown that the host country was not in close cooperation with the
mission, this has resulted to the failure of implementation of policies enacted and suggested
MONUSCO, in the Local Voices, a Tutsi community leader told the Local Voices. “The
discourse of balkanization serves the interests of the politicians in power. It allows them to divert
the attention from the real issues, namely the lack of good governance and the incompetence of
the authorities” this incompetence has paved to institutional weakness of the security sector.

There is a slogan among the Congolese people about the political opportunism in the democratic
republic of Congo “Congo is the meat of an elephant” which means it is all about your power to
cut your portion. Therefore, political positions serve for own interests of different political elites.

The following is the data of the respondents who agree about the involvement of certain elites
(politicians and soldiers) in the conflict in the eastern region that keep hindering the effectiveness
of the peacekeeping mission.
Respondents Frequency Percentage
Strongly agree 70 63.6%
Agree 20 18.2%
Strongly disagree 0 0%
Disagree 20 18.2%
Total 110 100%

From the above data, it shows that 63.6% of the population strongly agreed and 18.2% agreed
(representing 81.8%) that the government is implicated indirectly in the conflict therefore
explaining the minor cooperation with the MONUSCO when their interests overlap. The
majority of Congolese people hold the view that they are left alone to survive, they admitted that
the government is not there to protect them when they have particular interests, this continues to
hinder the mission of the UN. While only 18.2% disagree on the implications of the government
in the conflict pointing the fingers at Rwanda, Uganda basing their allegations on the
balkanization theory. They held a view that Rwanda and Uganda cooperate with the western
world in order to influence the government of DRC on certain decisions hindering the interests
of west.

4.4. Findings on the involvement of the international community based on economic

interests of different actors across the globe as challenge to peace and security.

According to Fortune of war, a journal, one of the sources of data of this research, the eastern
region of Congo has accumulated different natural resources, and these resources have posed a
challenge to resolution of the conflict in this part of the world. These minerals Continue support
many layouts of this conflict; it sustains rebel groups as well as sustain the business of
multinational companies operating in developed countries. MONUSCO has demilitarized
combatants through DDR from 2003 to 2006 but the procurement of arms is assured through
these minerals constituting incomes for both armed groups and population (EPON, 2019). It is
therefore in the interest of this research to signal that the continuation of this conflict presents
itself lucrative rather than its resolution. The arms manufacturers sell their arms to belligerents,
the belligerents who trade using minerals that are sold for cheaper price to middlemen who
thereafter sell to international buyers at cheaper price constitute a great value chain of these
minerals (Fortune of war, 2008). Most Congolese people victimize on this approach pointing the
finger at Rwanda and Uganda, and the struggle of these people have centered on Rwanda and
Uganda to cease organizing rebellion to balkanize and plunder Congolese resources such as an
administrator in Masisi territory who tells the Local Voices “If armed groups continue to exist in
Masisi, this is not because of tribalism, but because of the M23 which, with the support of
Rwanda, seeks to balkanize our country” he said, without appeal. “But the children of Congo are
hardworking and cannot accept this balkanization. That is why they continue to create armed
groups” educated or not most Congolese hold that view following the Rwandese and Ugandan
troops’ occupation in the Second Congo War. However, they forget the role played by the
government and the interests of political elites in the business of minerals.

The interviewees in Isingiro hold the following views on either political economy of the minerals
being a cause of the continuation of conflict in the eastern region of Congo:

Respondents Frequency Percentage

Strongly agree 20 18.2%
Agree 90 81.8%
Strongly disagree 0 0%
Disagree 0 0%
Total 110 100%

The above data shows that 81.8% agree that the minerals contribute to the continuation of the
conflict in the eastern region of Congo as one even told the researcher that “the minerals help
young people to acquire arms and create and/or sustain their armed groups” others say that “war
will continue since it represents a fruitful business, because the buyers get minerals through
middlemen at cheaper price without any due tax to the Congolese government”. They also held a
view that the conflict is political rather economic, however the minerals resources were
capitalized to sustain the conflict and later turned into a fruitful business.

According to 18.2% of the participants, the major cause of the conflict in the DRC is the
resources that the country possesses, they held a view that the neighboring countries such as
Uganda and Rwanda are involved in the DRC for resources’ plundering. MONUSCO has
therefore a hand cut when it comes to some multinational companies that have continuous
interests to completely and effectively accomplish its mission.

4.5. Findings on MONUSCO’s role on the stabilization and consolidation linked to Lack
of a people-centered approach towards peace and security

Human rights incorporation has been a challenge in resolving the conflict in the democratic
republic of Congo[ CITATION EPO19 \l 1033 ], the peace process normally is concluded by the
government officials with belligerents assisted by UN, these peace talks are mostly held outside
the country, in Uganda, South Africa and Zambia without involving the population in the peace
talks, the consolidation must include constitution reviews; power sharing among the local
government’s leaders as well as the central government that has been done at SUN CITY
agreement; independent judiciary; there is no positive trustful attitude among communities
therefore ethnic conflicts tend to occur often after the management of conflict; continuous
dialogue and cooperation among all the parties without excluding any which lacks too. The
peace talks are not based on the human security of the population rather on the state security.

The data bellow represents the views of the respondents on their involvement in the peace talks.

Respondents Frequency Percentage

Strongly agree 0 0%
Agree 0 0%
Strongly disagree 110 100%
Disagree 0 0%
Total 110 100%

When respondents were asked whether they are involved in the peace talking by the
MONUSCO, The findings show that 100% of the respondents reported that a people centered
peace talks in the DRC is non-existent, the peace according to all participants is made to serve
the interests of MONUSCO and that of the government, the Human rights are not therefore
inclusive. This explains the prevalence of the conflict and humanitarian crisis leading to poverty
leading the youth to resort to rebellion and robbery as a survival after stabilizing a village or a
territory.

4.6. Findings on whether the strategies of MONUSCO are hindered by a Poor and slow
reformation of the security sector reform:

This research finds that international donors have decreased their support to DRC’s security
reform reason being, continuing to support a security sector that is sought to protect its political
space rather than civilians was not ethically right. Moreover, there is no clear plan to structure
any future reengagement on SSR i.e. there are no adequate and strong institutions for SSR.

Therefore the international relations of the government and external partners have continued to
stunt, in the future, if this situation persists, donations will greatly reduce.

Much training has already been suspended or withdrawn [ CITATION Baa13 \l 1033 ] . As this
persists MONUSCO will come under pressure over the cutting of its operational budget and its
personnel. There are no results of a current strategic review, and this will affect the effectiveness
of MONUSCO to monitor and respond to emerging crises and reduce its capacity to protect
civilians, including through training and mentoring of the Congolese security services.
MONUSCO serves for air transport to staff security in the DRC, however due to continuous
budget cut, it may be lost. This would place an increased burden on other security to identify and
respond to local crises, to maintain working relationships with the Congolese security sector, and
to protect civilians. [ CITATION Baa13 \l 1033 ].

This has left no accountability in the security sector reform, the effectiveness of the army has
decreased over the years and continues to degrade due to non-payment of the security sector, and
institutions have therefore remained weak to intervene for civilian protection. Many Congolese
people view the police and soldiers as threats rather than protectors. The civil military relations
has deteriorated, sometimes the military seize civilian properties and behave sometimes as rebels
or civilians, as one of the respondents in the camp recalled “there are few national soldiers in
Masisi and Rutshuru, and all of them don’t bother at all what happens to civilians, if rebels attack
they change their uniform and become civilians, others turn themselves into rebels during night
and attack civilians to plunder their resources”

the following data shows respondents who agree/disagree that the military protect civilians
during and after violent attacks and are accountability upon human rights violations.

Respondents Frequency Percentage

Strongly agree 0 0%
Agree 20 18.2%
Strongly disagree 30 27.3%
Disagree 60 54.5%
Total 110 100%

20 held a view that the Congolese military doesn’t attack its own civilians but protect them from
factions that are present in the region particularly FDLR, CNDP and M23, they referred to some
prominent commanders who succeeded to sweep away this rebel groups notably Mbuza Mabe
and Mammadou Ndala.

30 (27.3%) of the respondents reported that the military constituted a threat to them, they viewed
the military as soldiers during day and bandits/insurgents during night.

60 respondents (54.5%) held a view that the military’s role to protect civilians during conflicts
has almost faded due to the lack of payments of soldiers and the magnitude of threats that these
soldiers keep enduring in the region. These constitute 81.8% of respondents which is a majority
who eventually describe the kind of a civil military relations is in the DRC and how awful is the
security sector reform in the DRC and this constitutes a bulwark to the effectiveness of the
mission of MONUSCO.

4.7. Findings on whether the strategies of MONUSCO are hindered by the Interference
of regional actors:

Following the research on the involvement of Rwanda, Uganda and Burundi in the conflict in the
eastern region of Congo, this research finds that there has been involvement of Rwandan troops
since the first and the second Congo wars; this has influenced the “raids” of Rwanda in different
parts of this region especially in Masisi, there have been therefore multiple ethnic groups in the
region, notably Hutus and Tutsis (migrated groups from) and the local ethnic groups. The local
ethnic groups believe conflicts to have greatly been generated by Rwandan government to
balkanize the DRC, however in this research, the researcher finds out the ongoing involvement
of Rwanda goes back to the rivalry of Hutus and Tutsis in Rwanda before and after
independence, and that, the 1994 Genocide has come to amplify this rivalry, the ongoing
involvement of Rwanda can be seen in two perspectives: the concern about the national security
of Kigali to defend its borders against the FDLR whose mission is to regain power taken away
by the FPR in 1994.

The second approach is the economic interests of minerals such as coltan that continue to
contribute to Rwandan economy since the First and the Second Congo wars.

Rwanda and Uganda were allegedly being accused of supporting all rising Tutsis factions in the
region, providing all necessary support from arms to uniforms, but this research finds out the
insurgents especially the Banyamulenge and the Banyarwanda fought to protect their ethnic
groups in this dangerous region and to have a political representation as well; it is also in the
interests of this research to signal the regional cooperation between Uganda and DRC in 2018, in
which 4000 troops were deployed to fight a common threat of ADF faction.

In Masisi for instance, one administrator who gave his point of view, he exclaimed “If armed
groups continue to exist in Masisi, this is not because of tribalism, but because of the M23
which, with the support of Rwanda, seeks to balkanize our country” he said, without appeal.
“But the children of Congo are hard workings and cannot accept this balkanization. That is why
they continue to create armed groups” [ CITATION Loc18 \l 1033 ]

However, the researcher finds out that the international community, such as UNSC hasn’t done
something tangible to address may be with sanctions or through a consensus to approach these
regional actors to reach a comprehensive agreement.

The respondents’ views on the involvements of regional actors in the conflict are as follow:

Respondents Frequency Percentage

Strongly agree 10 9.1%
Agree 10 9.1%
Strongly disagree 70 63.9%
Disagree 20 18.2%
Total 110 100%

From the above table, 18.2% of respondents agreed the implications of Rwanda and Uganda in
the conflict, they held a view that Rwandese government keeps fueling the conflict in eastern
region of Congo while 81.8% disagreed on the Rwandan and Ugandan government’s
sponsorship of factions in region, holding a view that groups operating in Congo are self-
sponsored through the minerals in the DRC, they blamed MONUSCO in the support of the
factions, they held also a view that the Rwandese and the Ugandan governments also engage in
joint-military operations with the government and MONUSCO to fight insurgencies such ADF
and FDLR. But the impartiality Of MONUSCO was questioned by the later.

4.8. Ethnic confrontations as a challenge to maintain peace and security

Ethnic conflicts have shown a bulwark to the effectiveness of the mission of MONUSCO, in
Masisi only, there have been post-conflicts among ethnic groups over agrarian issues, these
conflicts have increased on that basis following the arrival of Hutus and Tutsis who want to
possess land for ranching or farming; the autochthons of Masisi feel invaded by external ethnic
groups; the researcher has found out the people sometimes are displaced due to war but when
they return, the population who did not migrate occupy the land; this leads to violence and
sometimes diverts the perception of the conflict in the eastern region of Congo by portraying it as
an ethnic conflict; therefore; though MONUSCO can neutralize all the armed forces, the latter
have least emphasis on controlling the common vivendi in Masisi.
The following data represents the views of the respondents on whether MONUSCO ethnic issue
in their strategy in order to end the conflict.

Respondents Frequency Percentage

Strongly agree 9 8.2%
Agree 21 19.1%
Strongly disagree 67 60.9%
Disagree 13 11.8%
Total 110 100%

Findings show that 8.2% strongly agree that the UN mission incorporate ethnic issues in post-
conflict resolution and only 19.1% simply agree that they do engage with leaders ethnic groups
in particular regions when necessary while 60.9% strongly disagreed that UN mission in Congo
engage ethnic groups for a better post-conflict period, they held a view that MONUSCO tends to
privilege some ethnic groups and only 11.8% simply disagreed that MONUSCO does not engage
in social issues, as one interviewees exclaimed “they kept staying in their military bases and do
nothing to end violence within the society”
CHAPTER FIVE:

SUMMARY OF FINDINGS, CONCLUSIONS AND RECOMMENDATIONS

5.0. Introduction
the findings of this research are based on the problem statements illustrated in chapter one and.
The researcher Has found out the necessary data that answer the research questions as well,
therefore in this chapter, the researcher will present a summary of data findings, he will conclude
and give recommendations to this problem for its settlement and further research that can carry
on from this.

5.1. STRATEGIES AND EFFECTIVENESS OF MONUSCO.

A Peacekeeping force is a multilateral UN mission that rely mostly on the efforts of UNSC and
international donors and member states of the UN general assembly but this mission’s
achievement depends/relies on other different factors on grounds such as a strategy to work
closely with the host countries and other actors influencing the insurgencies in the region where
it operates.
in its strategy, as much as this mission has tried to make a smooth cooperation with the DRC’s
government, the MONUSCO has greatly failed to do, and this has made the Congolese
government to question its impartiality in this conflict.
The researcher has found out that MONUSCO’s impartiality has been questioned by both the
government and the civilians. The civilians and the government notably the Kabila
administration have respectively protested and requested for the pull out of this multilateral
force.
MONUSCO’s strategies have always been to reform the army, to engage, demilitarize different
factions, prevent further child conscription, to protest civilians in the battlefield and reform of the
Congolese security sector.
However, MONUSCO’s mission has stunt in all aspects due to the number of challenges
encountered in the field or either due to its lack of credibility.
The following are the findings on challenges encountered by this multilateral mission in this
region:
5.1. 1. Findings on MONUSCO’s strategies hindered by lack of a close cooperation with
the host country.
The researcher found out from respondents that 81.8% agree that certain elites in the government
and the military are involved in the conflict, thus explaining therefore, the silence on these issues
reject further cooperation with MONUSCO when their interests overlap.
Not only from respondents but also from other past published works, the researcher also found
out that the Congolese government is infiltrated by elites who share common interests with
several other parties involved in the conflict and these officials have links with high ranked
military officials in the region who together refrain to cooperate with the mission when their
interests are compromised.
While 18.2% of the respondents disagree on the involvement of the Congolese government in the
conflict and greatly blame Rwanda and Uganda as masterplans of this conflict due to their
economic interests. They held a view that Rwanda and Uganda cooperate closely with western
countries in order to balkanize the country and take over Congo’s resources.

5.1.2 Findings on economic interests of different actors as a challenge to achieve peace and
security by MONUSCO.

This is one the major factors hindering MONUSCO to achieve peace and security in the DRC,
the researcher found out. Though multiple disarmament programs have taken place through
Demobilization, Demilitarization and Reinsertion (DDR), a sophisticated chain of command
remains in place in which minerals continue to support armed groups with funds to acquire
weapons from arms traders who continue to benefit from this venture as it provides to them a
ready market.
Therefore, the minerals continue to nurture the conflict in this region and arms provide power for
certain groups and individuals to impose their rules in order to control resources. These resources
acquired at lower price are traded to some companies in the west and the cycle continues as such.
This not only hinders MONUSCO’s strategy to achieve peace and security but continues to
endanger lives the population and the coming generations of this part of the world.
From the respondents, 18.2% of respondents strongly agreed that the conflict continues to prevail
due to the presence of minerals which eventually hinder the achievement of the MONUSCO’s
mission to implement its DDR programs.
81.8% agreed that international actors are involved in these economic interests of minerals while
none of the respondents disagreed on this view.

5.1.3. Findings on MONUSCO’s challenges on stabilization and consolidation as strategy to

have a people centered approach in order to achieve peace and security.

A Human Rights approach in conflict resolution has always been absent in the peace talks and
deals in the eastern region of Congo notably Masisi.
A 100% of respondents in this research disagreed to have been consulted for any peace deals by
the government or the MONUSCO during their stays in Congo, they held a view that these peace
deals are eulogy to the MONUSCO and government officials in domestic and international
politics but not the people. And at the end of the day, no consolidation among the population
affecting stability in the region, because according to this source (respondents) youth pick up
arms after the stabilization of the region either for a living or revenge.

5.1.4. Findings on whether the strategies of MONUSCO are hindered by a poor and slow
security.
MONUSCO is a multilateral force having a good number of military personnel to deal with these
factions when it comes to its engagement, nevertheless this force’s success will rely on the
cooperation with the national army. However, Congolese institutions are weak i.e., public
institutions and military entities are not efficient and this calls out for a security sector reform.
In the efforts of MONUSCO to implement security sector reform, the mission has failed to train
efficiently soldiers and police in order to become professionals in their duties, and this, with the
same purpose to deal with factions in the region.
This initiative or strategy has drawn the attention of international donors who have contributed
greatly for the purpose of strengthening the FARDC. However, this trust has continued to
deteriorate since MONUSCO cannot fulfil this mission.
Therefore, this has led to lack of discipline in the national army and its ineffectiveness to deal
with these factions; due to this, the civil military relations of the is disastrous, civilians view
soldiers as threats and soldiers continue to rob civilians due to the remuneration’s shortages.
The researcher found out that this failure of security sector reform contributes greatly to the
failure of MONUSCO.
According to the sources explored by the researcher, he found out that 27.3 % strongly disagreed
that they can rely on the protection of soldiers and view them as threats due to their sexual
violence crimes among others, while 54.5% simply disagreed that the army does nothing to
protect them and sometimes see them as complicit.
Only 18.2% agreed that the Congolese army they could rely on the national army since they were
countrymates and said that Congolese army is accountable for its acts through martial courts.

5.1.5. Findings on whether the strategy of MONUSCO is hindered by the interference of

the regional actors.

On these matters, the respondents of this research agreed that regional actors are involved in this
conflict, doing it b supporting insurgents, therefore this continues to hinder the strategy of
MONUSCO to demobilize, demilitarize and reinsert (DDR) the factions.
9.1% strongly agreed that Rwanda and Uganda have meddled in the conflict and also blame
MONUSCO of taking part into this meddle, while 9.1% simply agree that Rwanda and Uganda
host rebel groups for their different national interests.
On the other hand, 63.9% strongly disagreed, holding a view that factions in the DRC are self-
sponsored through minerals found in that region while 18.2% disagreed that Rwanda and Uganda
have interests in the DRC but this doesn’t necessarily hinder MONUSCO and the Congolese
government to achieve peace and security in the region, and added that blaming Rwanda and
Uganda doesn’t help the achievement of peace and security and blamed the government.

5.1.6. Findings on ethnic confrontations as a challenge maintain peace and security by

MONUSCO.

The researcher found out that ethnic clashes among the Tutsis, Nandes, Hema, Lendu and other
tribes present in Masisi have also greatly negatively affected the mission of MONUSCO in this
region.

Due to these clashes, some individuals continue to perceive this conflict as an ‘ethnic conflict’,
the autochthones view the Hutus and Tutsis as invaders and deserve to free their land. However,
factions such FDLR, a Hutu insurgency, Banyamulenge, a Tutsi faction, MAI MAI are
autochthones have continued to clash amongst without any prior consideration to this point of the
conflict.

There is little consideration to address the conflict by the MONUSCO as part of its strategy to
stabilize and maintain peace and security in this region.

The findings from this research show that only 27.8% agree that the UN mission incorporate
ethnic issues in conflict resolution in order to limit further confrontations, only 72.7% disagree
that there no engagement of ethnic issues as tools or part to end further confrontations.

5.2. Conclusion

In a nutshell, the UN peacekeeping mission in the DRC has realized nearly 20 years, during this
time, this mission has undergone change of mandate from being an observer to that of stabilizing
and protecting the civilians in danger.

However, the expansion of the mission, civilians’ death toll continues to surge in Masisi, number
displaced people within and outside the country continue to increase; destruction of civilians’
properties, due this destruction of healthcare facilities, children continue to die with epidemic
diseases such as Malaria or Ebola.
The implementation of the strategies has remained serious challenge for the MONUSCO,
making not to achieve its mandate for almost 20 years in the ground.

The effectiveness of MONUSCO has been hindered by number of factors such as political
opportunism of some malicious government officials, the High ranked in the military segments,
arms dealers and other political economic interests of regional and international actors. Other
factors link to the lack of close cooperation of MONUSCO and the Host country posing a serious
challenge to the implementation of security sector reform which leave the army weak and
undisciplined.

Another factor is actually the complexity of the conflict itself, i.e., MONUSCO has no clear
definition of the conflict, it cannot categorize what type of conflict it is and incorporate each
factor in order to deal with it accordingly.

5.3. Recommendations

From the findings, the researcher recommends the followings:

 A quick and effective security sector reform by the MONUSCO and wok closely with the
Host country to implement this policy in order to have a strong military force;
 Increase the defense budget in order to second the MONUSCO in their operations when
they engage the factions in the region;
 Inclusion of Human Rights and a people centered peace talks by MONUSCO and the
host country in order to smooth the post-conflict social relations;
 Establishment of an international tribunal court in order to indict all local, regional and
international actors who have committed serious atrocities;
 Establish traditional courts of justice among ethnic groups in Masisi such as the Gacaca
and Mato Oput in Rwanda and Northern Uganda respectively for reparations;
 Radical use of missile strikes in the region where these factions’ dwell, including Aerian
strikes.
 Use of private military companies by MONUSCO such as Academi, Defion, Aegis
Defence services, Erinys international etc.;
  Cut mineral access to the insurgents that constitute the sources of incomes to sustain their
inhuman activities by establishing strong army units or military bases in every 5km
perimeter.
 Use of a capable and strategic intelligence service in the region in order to gather relevant
information about the location and strategies of factions.

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