02 02 12 Eurac – The European Union must take a stronger position to end the post-electoral paralysis in the DRC
The Congolese elections have created a
weak president who suffers from a serious crisis of legitimacy and who in the
current situation is incapable of responding to the important challenges facing
the DRC – maintaining order and security; or
development.
EurAc welcomed with great satisfaction
the nomination of Ambassador Koen Vervaeke as coordinator for the Great Lakes region as part of the EU External Action
Service. We are confident that his considerable experience in the region and his
qualities and qualifications will enable him to direct European action in the
region in the best possible way. EurAc hopes that, working on a region which has
not succeeded in definitively ending conflict, Ambassador Vervaeke will be able
to harmonise the various European approaches. This seems to us the only way to
create policy with the coherence needed to make positive advances in field such
as: the struggle against impunity, the reform of the security sector, the
struggle against sexual violence, democratisation and the illegal exploitation
of natural resources.
Considering the present situation the
European Union and its member states should adopt a strong and coherent
position, expressed in the framework of multilateral solidarity. The EU should
contribute to the search for a solution to the paralysis in the DRC so as to
avoid an epilogue in which the country descends into a crisis of violence and
instability which could have extremely damaging consequences for the people.
The European Union
should therefore take a strong line to:
Ø Prevent a return to divisions between communities in the
country and violence against the population;
Ø Contribute to the strengthening of dialogue between
Congolese political actors – including at the same time the involvement of
civil society – and encourage them to find an agreed and realistic solution to
this post-electoral crisis;
Ø Ensure that the voice of the silent majority is taken
into account in the course of whatever arrangements are made, in order to
rebuild the confidence which has broken down between the Congolese people and
the institutions which are meant to represent them;
Ø Press for the as yet unfinished electoral process to be
conducted in such a way that it can be evaluated and lessons learned from the
process as it has been conducted up to now. A basic need is to recreate a
credible and legitimate Independent National Electoral Commission and to adopt
an electoral law capable of ensuring the respect of
democratic principles and the active participation of all political and social
actors in the holding of provincial and local elections;
Ø Press for the electoral process to end with the holding
of provincial and local elections and the setting up of an effective process of
decentralisation which is the only guarantee of real participation by the grass
roots in the political life of the country and in its democratisation.
Ø Commit to supporting civic education which is the only
way to enable the democratisation process to be owned by the people; and commit
to protect the people from vote rigging which led to violence during the last
elections. The stakes are high as there is the serious risk of a
politico-military elite taking the process over and destroying respect for the
principles of democracy and justice for which Congolese civil society has long
struggled.
Ø Take a position on the electoral process and the results
of the presidential vote which is strong, coherent and shared by all member
states. Take advantage of the programming by the European Development Fund (EDF)
planned for 2012 to identify a common political strategy which takes into
account the importance of the DRC in the region.