14 02 13 United States Department of State (Washington, DC) – State's Carson Calls for Global Effort to Help DRC

"No other conflict or act of violence since World War II has come
close to taking so many lives" as in the DRC, Carson said in Washington
February 11.

 

Carson said a
sophisticated, internationally backed solution, similar to what was done to
stabilize the former Yugoslavia
and end the civil war between Sudan
and South Sudan, "is the only way
forward."

 

He said the first step is for the DRC, Rwanda,
Uganda
and other countries in the region to sign a United Nations Framework Agreement
on the deployment of a joint U.N. and African Union force in the DRC. Then, a
comprehensive peace process needs to be launched, involving local communities,
especially in the Kivu region of eastern DRC, civil society groups and
international organizations. He said because of the size and complexity of the
challenges, a senior, high-level U.N. envoy is needed to coordinate the work.

 

"The United States
is prepared to work with other U.N. Security Council members and our African
partners to discuss how to move forward on the DRC," Carson said. He held out no illusions about
the difficulty of the work, saying that the history of the Great Lakes region
of Africa has been marked by many unkept
agreements.

 

Revising the role and strength of the current U.N. stabilization mission
in the DRC, known as MONUSCO,
requires immediate attention, Carson
said. The mission must have the capacity and the political will to prevent a
small group of rebel soldiers from taking over cities in the DRC, such as
occurred in the eastern city of Goma
in late 2012, he said.

 

"The United States
strongly supports the integration of a regional intervention brigade into MONUSCO," Carson said.

 

Carson said if the
DRC government implements long-overdue reforms, that will encourage the
international community to offer greater assistance.

 

"The Congolese people are courageous and resilient," he said.
"We should not miss this opportunity to build on this courage and
resiliency for a brighter future for the DRC."

 

Combined, the conflicts in Rwanda, Somalia, Darfur, Sudan and South
Sudan killed 4.1 million people, fewer than the 5.1 million who have perished
from war and disease in the DRC since 1998, according to Carson. "Let me
say that again. Since 1998, more than 5 million people have died in the DRC as
a result of violence," he said.

 

Carson described the
DRC as a "poster child" for problems that have afflicted Africa for the past 50 years: military coups, rampant
corruption, anemic development, health pandemics, runaway inflation, conflict
minerals and poor governance.

 

But to write the country off as hopeless would be a mistake, because
stability and prosperity in the DRC would benefit all of Africa, with spinoff
gains for the rest of the world, including the United
States, Carson
said. The DRC has the potential to be one of Africa's
economic and political powerhouses, given its large population, fertile soil,
hydroelectric resources and abundance of precious minerals, he said.

 

"It could become a leading exporter of natural resources,
agricultural products and scientific research that could attract substantial
U.S and other foreign investment," Carson
said. He added that the DRC, with the second-largest rain forest in the world,
must be a critical partner in a global effort to combat climate change and protect
biodiversity.