Reforming a Predatory Army in Eastern Congo

DEVELOPMENTS

Each of the two million displaced civilians in the eastern provinces of the Democratic Republic of the Congo has a gut-wrenching story. In my five trips to eastern Congo since July 2007, the political dynamics have shifted dramatically, but the atrocities, displacement, and resulting humanitarian catastrophe are a painful reminder of a simple truth: ending the Congolese army’s predatory behavior is a perquisite to lasting stability in the country.

The Congolese army is by no means the only bad actor in this conflict. A host of other domestic and foreign armed groups share responsibility for the grim catalog of horrors routinely visited upon Congolese civilians. Yet militias and foreign rebel groups operate so freely in eastern Congo precisely because the state is unable to secure its own territory.

For all of the international effort that has gone into stabilizing the country – years of diplomacy, a large U.N. peacekeeping presence, and hundreds of millions of dollars in development and humanitarian funding – efforts to reform and professionalize the Congolese armed forces have received remarkably little attention from key donors. Until the international community adopts a sustained and comprehensive approach to overhaul the Congolese army, the cycle of violence and displacement will continue.