09 07 13 Save the Congo Response to Interim UN Group of Expert Report – July 2013

Save
the Congo is concerned that interim Group of Experts report has so far remained
officially confidential within the UN. It calls on the UN to release the report
publically or to at the very least to publically justify why this report has not
been officially published so far.

Save
the Congo notes that according to Reuters reports and leaked versions of the
report there is “evidence of continuous – but limited – support to M23 from
within Rwanda”. Save the Congo also notes reports that Bosco Ntanganda’s support
and recruitment structures have been dismantled within Rwanda. Save the Congo is
gravely concerned by reports that, “some Rwanda Defence Force (RDF) officers
have also held meetings with M23 commanders and impeded the voluntary
repatriation of M23 combatants to Rwanda”. The continued support for M23 from
within Rwanda must stop immediately if the DRC is to achieve peace.

Save
the Congo also notes that support for M23 from Uganda appears to have declined.
According to reports, “Since the outset of its current mandate, the Group has to
date found no indication of support to the rebels from within Uganda”. What is
more the UN has reported that, “Ugandan officials told the Group that on 7 May
2013, they arrested seven individuals suspected of recruiting for M23”. Save the
Congo urges the UN to seek verification of the Government of Uganda’s actions to
halt M23 recruitment and support from its territory and congratulate it for its
actions where this is due.

Save
the Congo notes, reports of collaboration between the Congolese armed forces
(FARDC) and armed group the Forces démocratiques de libération du Rwanda (FDLR).
The FDLR is notorious for attacks against Congolese civilians and for its links
to people involved in the Rwandan genocide. Save the Congo strongly condemns any
cooperation between the Congolese armed forces and the FDLR. Reports also
implicate the FARDC in undermining the efforts to increase due diligence over
the Congo’s mining sector.

The
leaked Interim Report mentions, “the on-going tension between organizations or
individuals committed to expand due diligence, on the one hand, and individuals,
notably in the armed forces, who continue to be involved in the sector through
illegal taxation or smuggling”. The illegal mining, trading and smuggling of
natural resources is a key part of both conflict in the DRC and the poor
governance emanating from Kinshasa. Bringing natural resource exploitation into
a legitimate framework where taxes are levied and then spent transparently on
the country’s well-being is a crucial element to ending conflict and helping to
increase development and tackle poverty.

What
is being reported of the Interim report by the UN Group of Experts suggests that
external support and collaboration with armed groups in the DRC is falling
somewhat. However, reports of continued support from within Rwanda for the M23
and collaboration between the FARDC and the FDLR are extremely worrying.
Although the recent Framework for Peace and Security, recent appointments at the
UN and the deployment of the Intervention Brigade represent a strong moment of
opportunity for achieving peace in the DRC, this report reminds us that to
achieve this, the international community must remain diligent in its efforts to
end conflict. The external and internal support for armed groups in the DRC must
stop if the country is to achieve peace and this report suggests that there is
still much work to be done on this.

Recommendations:

· Save
the Congo calls on the UN to publically release the Interim Report by the UN
Group of Experts or to issue a statement justifying why it is not doing
so.

· Save
the Congo calls on the Government of Rwandan to fully cooperate with the UN. It
urges the Government of Rwanda to fully investigate any collaboration between
RDF officers, Rwandan officials and the M23. It also urges the Government to
ensure the repatriation of Rwandan nationals from the DRC and the demobilisation
of armed groups in conjunction with Congolese and UN
efforts.

· Save
the Congo urges the Government of the DRC to fully investigate allegations of
collusion between the FARDC and the FDLR. We also urge the Government to
investigate alleged complicity of the FARDC in the illegal exploitation of
minerals and to fully support international due diligence
efforts.

Finally
Save the Congo urges all parties to continue their commitments to the Framework
for Peace and Security and to forge closer cooperation in tackling the conflict
and insecurity that ravages the Congo.

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interview, please email: Press@SavetheCongo.org.uk
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