The Democratic Republic of Congo Genocide: A Comprehensive Report

This report provides a detailed analysis of the genocide in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC). It begins by defining genocide and its historical context, then delves into the history of armed conflict in the DRC, highlighting the 1996 and 1998 wars and the ongoing political instability. The report examines the situation in the eastern part of the DRC, focusing on the impact of ethnic violence and sexual assault on women. It further explores the role of humanitarian interventions by the UN and international community, including sanctions and aid cuts. The report concludes with recommendations, emphasizing the need to address widespread poverty as a key factor in achieving stability. The report references various sources to support its findings and provide a comprehensive overview of the situation.

Running head: GENOCIDE IN THE DEMOCRATIC REPUBLIC IN CONGO
GENOCIDE IN THE DEMOCRATIC REPUBLIC IN CONGO
Name of the Student
Name of the University
Author Note

1GENOCIDE IN THE DEMOCRATIC REPUBLIC IN CONGO
GENOCIDE IN THE DEMOCRATIC REPUBLIC IN CONGO
The term ‘Genocide’ owes its etymological origin to two Greek terms, ‘genos’ and ‘cide’
meaning a particular race or tribe or a social collectivity, and killing in huge numbers
respectively. The term genocide had first found mention in the year 1944, in the book of Raphael
Lemkin, ‘Axis Rule in Occupied Europe’, based against the background of the Holocaust of the
Jews carried out in Nazi Germany in the pre second world war period (Koddenbrock 2015).
Two years later, in 1946 the United Nations Organizations had declared genocide as am
international crime which was defined as an act of extermination perpetrated on a particular
social and ethnic group categorically as a repercussion of war time belligerence. With the
passage of time the definition of genocide has broadened and had become more comprehensive.
The current definition of genocide stipulates that genocide is an act which is aimed at not just
jeopardizing the life of a particular social collectivity but is also oriented towards ensuring that
the population of that community does not get the scope to multiply itself in number any further.
Genocide has been ruled as an act which is perpetrated not just in times of war but also in times
when actual war does not take place (Koddenbrock 2015).
The new broadened definition of genocide provides the basis for comprehending the
ongoing struggle that is going on in the eastern part of the Democratic Republic of Congo. The
nation had been wrought with war in 1996 and in 1998 respectively. The war has ended but the
political instability still continues in the nation, especially in the eastern part. This report shall be
providing an account of the humanitarian programme that have taken place in the nation.

2GENOCIDE IN THE DEMOCRATIC REPUBLIC IN CONGO
HISTORY OF ARMED CONFLICT IN THE DEMOCRATIC REPUBLIC IN
CONGO
The 1996 war in Congo was a direct repercussion of the genocide in Rwanda and in
1998, the number of belligerent factions had increased involving seven African nations and
several other militias, thereby worsening the situation further (Ventevogel et al., 2015). The war
has ceased but the situation of political instability continues since the FARDC military force
continues to perpetrate violence on the people residing on the eastern part of the nation
categorically which is badly affected even today despite a civilian government being at the helm
of affairs in the nation. The system of power sharing between civilian government and the
Congolese military has allowed the armed forces to exert its influence in the eastern part of the
nation where it wages atrocities on a regular basis (Koddenbrock 2015).
SITUATION IN THE EASTERN PART OF THE DEMOCRATIC REPUBLIC IN
CONGO
The worst affected section of the society in the Democratic Republic of Congo are the
women who become the victims of sexual assault and the fruit of their labour are illegally take
away from them by the military personnel thereby further leading them to empoverishment. The
women who undergo sexual assault become stigmatized in the society and there have been
several instances whereby the sexual assault by the armed forces have rendered the victim
incapable of giving birth to a child which had further led them to ostracization ad discrimination
(Mertens and Pardy 2017). The eastern part of the Democratic Republic of Congo is wrought
with ethnic violence whereby each of the tribes consider the others a potential threat to their own
existence and in order to bring the conflict under control, the Congolese army had been deployed

3GENOCIDE IN THE DEMOCRATIC REPUBLIC IN CONGO
who instead of protecting the people have been perpetrating violence upon the civilians
(Ventevogel et al., 2015).
ROLE OF HUMANITARIAN INTERVENTIONS IN THE ONGOING
CONFLICT
The UN as well as the international community has been quite pro active in dealing with
the ongoing crisis in the nation. The UN Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights
have held the Rwanda and Uganda for conducting the atrocities and has placed a board for the
purpose of reporting and documenting the human rights abuses, in the year 2010 (Mertens and
Pardy 2017).
The UN Security council had passed a resolution in the year 2003 by which the situations
which were encouraging the continuation of the violence in the nation were sought to be
removed. The particular measures which were undertaken included monetary and military
sanctions, on the militias of the Northern and Southern parts of Kivu and Ituri. Apart from
economic sanctions limiting the trade and commercial activities to and from the region, an
embargo on the supply of arms was also placed in order to ensure that the economic and the
military power of the culprits behind the genocide, the M23 leaders Jean-Marie Runiga
Lugerero, and Lieutenant Colonel Eric Badege could be paralyzed. The bank accounts of the
leaders were frozen so that they were rendered economically unable to continue with the waging
of the atrocities. The United States of America, European Union and the Great Britain had cut
down on their aid to Rwanda, the nation who along with Uganda had been responsible for the
perpetuation of the atrocities in Congo (Shaw 2018).

4GENOCIDE IN THE DEMOCRATIC REPUBLIC IN CONGO
Apart from the intervention of the International Community, the regional organization of
Southern African Development Community had been proactive by means of deployment of
armed forces in Congo to bring the situation under control and restore a sense of stability in the
region. Thus it becomes quite clear that the conflict in Congo has received much support from
the regional and the international community, and there have been improvements in the nation.
However, the situations are still quite volatile, and poverty is the main reason (Arnould and
Vlassenroot 2016).
RECOMMENDATIONS
Simply by means of waging counter violence the situation cannot be brought under
control as the main reason which causes the instability in Congo is the issue of widespread
poverty which has to be solved in order to curb the instability therein. War brings in a situation
of destruction and that in turn presses the need for reconstruction of the nation for enabling he
people to return back to mainstream life (Freedman 2016). These are the measures which should
be taken in order to ensure that the situation in Congo could be made stable and the effect of
humanitarian intervention could be made fruitful.

5GENOCIDE IN THE DEMOCRATIC REPUBLIC IN CONGO
References
Arnould, V. and Vlassenroot, K., 2016. EU Policies in the Democratic Republic of Congo: Try
and Fail?.
Freedman, J., 2016. Gender, violence and politics in the democratic republic of Congo.
Routledge.
Koddenbrock, K., 2015. The practice of humanitarian intervention: aid workers, agencies and
institutions in the Democratic Republic of the Congo. Routledge.
Mertens, C. and Pardy, M., 2017. ‘Sexurity’and its effects in eastern Democratic Republic of
Congo. Third World Quarterly, 38(4), pp.956-979.
Shaw, T.M., 2018. Twisting arms and flexing muscles: humanitarian intervention and
peacebuilding in perspective. Routledge.
Ventevogel, P., van Ommeren, M., Schilperoord, M. and Saxena, S., 2015. Democratic Republic
of the Congo». Bulletin of the World Health Organization, 93, pp.666-666A.