Topic: Situation in Congo
Country: Germany
Delegate Name: Andrew Romano
School: Roeper School
Topic page: background guide and all position papers All Germany position papers GLIMUN 2008 committees
The Democratic Republic of the Congo currently has a violent situation involving rebels from the eastern part of the nation. The four local groups involved are the Congolese government forces, the National Congress for Defense of the People, the local Militias, called Mayi-Mayi, and the Democratic Forces for the Liberation of Rwanda. Foreign forces are also involved. The UN has peace keeping forces in the region and there have been Angolan troops seen. In the Kivu region of the Democratic Republic of the Congo, the Congolese government troops the acronym for which is FARDC and rebel forces under the command of Laurent Nkunda or the National Congress for the Defense of the People whose acronym is CNDP. All four parties met for peace talks on the issue in this past January. A cease fire agreement was reached during the peace talks. None of the sides have held to their word completely about the cease fire. UN troops are also in the region to help sustain the cease fire. Many civilians from this region have been turned into refugees by this conflict. Currently the UN troops have been under attack from rebel forces, and there has been evidence of possible collusion between pro-government and rebel forces, with each side seeking economic gain at the expense of peace and safety to civilians.
The nation of Germany believes in the idea of peace. Peace is necessary for the refugees to return home. This should be the UN’s main goal, to create a peaceful environment for refugees to return to, and to provide aid for them. The nation Germany fully backs the European Union’s idea of sending 1,500 EU troops into the region. We believe that the UN peace keeping forces will help strengthen the region. We also need to help settle down the Hutu-Tutsi ethnic conflict in the region. In addition, Germany supports efforts to strengthen the effectiveness of DRC’s central government. Without greater effectiveness from Kinshasa, any peace effort will be unenforceable, given the vast size of the Conge. This circumstance is at the root of the temptation for extra-national groups to exploit the resources and people of Congo’s provinces for their own economic and political gain, at the expense of civilians in these regions.
