The Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC): The Situation in the East: Taking Stock and Looking Forward

This report summarizes a public seminar held on July 14, 2009, in Addis Ababa, which examined the security and political situation in the eastern provinces of the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), specifically North and South Kivu. The discussion focused on the role of armed groups, the effectiveness of military operations, the normalization of relations between the DRC and Rwanda, and the challenges facing the Congolese army and MONUC.

• Instability in South Kivu is primarily driven by active armed groups and ongoing joint military operations involving the Congolese army and MONUC. Additional systemic challenges to sustainable peace include land tenure issues, impunity, a weak national army, and the proliferation of small arms, which are available for approximately 30 US$.
• The Congolese army suffers from a lack of cohesion, ill-discipline, and insufficient training, which has been exacerbated by the recent integration of combatants from various armed movements.
• Relations between the DRC and Rwanda began to normalize in late 2008, leading to the establishment of a '4+4 committee' of diplomats in October. This process resulted in the joint military operation 'Umoja Wetu' against the FDLR and the arrest of General Nkunda by Rwanda in January 2009.
• MONUC faces significant operational hurdles, including a bureaucratic decision-making process that delays civilian protection and a shortage of troops; of its 17,000 staff, only about 6,000 are soldiers. Some participants viewed MONUC as a 'state within state' due to its budget relative to the Congolese government.
• The 2006 elections, while the first since independence, are cited as a potential cause of current problems in North and South Kivu because they failed to address the political participation of minorities and the root causes of conflict.

APA

Institute for Security Studies (2009). The Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC): The Situation in the East: Taking Stock and Looking Forward. https://issafrica.s3.amazonaws.com/site/uploads/DRCADDISREP.PDF

Chicago

Institute for Security Studies. The Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC): The Situation in the East: Taking Stock and Looking Forward. 2009. https://issafrica.s3.amazonaws.com/site/uploads/DRCADDISREP.PDF.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |author=Institute for Security Studies |title=The Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC): The Situation in the East: Taking Stock and Looking Forward |date=14 July 2009 |url=https://issafrica.s3.amazonaws.com/site/uploads/DRCADDISREP.PDF |access-date=17 August 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{instituteforsecuritystudies2009democratic, author = {{Institute for Security Studies}}, title = {{The Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC): The Situation in the East: Taking Stock and Looking Forward}}, institution = {Institute for Security Studies}, year = {2009}, month = jul, url = {https://issafrica.s3.amazonaws.com/site/uploads/DRCADDISREP.PDF}, urldate = {2026-08-17}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }