afrol News, 12 May - International Crisis Group has said a comprehensive strategy and strong political will are critical to improve the deteriorating crisis situation in the troubled Congolese Kivu region.

According to the ICG report on five priorities for a Peacebuilding strategy in Congo, the joint military and political cooperation are not sufficient to bring peace in the Kivu province, urging both the Rwandan and Congolese leadership to take full advantage of the existing diplomatic breakthrough.

“Full normalisation of relations between Congo and Rwanda is essential if the eastern Congo and the Great Lakes region as a whole are to be stabilised,” the ICG said.

The group said a peacebuilding strategy for the Congo should have credible and comprehensive disarmament strategy for dealing with Rwandan Hutu rebels in both North and South Kivu.

It also called for the reforms of the security sector, fostering reconciliation and human security, the political engagement dedicated to improving governance and continuing efforts to sustain stable regional relations.

The organisaion said Rwanda’s acceptance to withdraw its support for the renegade General Laurent Nkunda’s National Congress for the Defense of the People (CNDP) and to join a military strike chasing the successors of the 1994 genocide was a positive step in addressing the long soured relations between the two neighbours.

It also said the Democratic Forces for the Liberation of Rwanda (FDLR) fighters currently in the Congo forests are frustrating peace building efforts in region.

The organisation further said former the CNDP leaders and Congolese army commanders have a bad record of causing severe suffering to civilians during their operations and of active involvement in the illegal exploitation of natural resources in North Kivu, further stating that sexual violence has taken a toll on the Kivu population saying it must be addressed decisively.

It said the international monitoring group chaired by the UN Special Envoy, Olusegun Obasanjo, and the Great Lakes Envoy, Benjamin Mkapa, should work with both governments to support and implement this peacebuilding strategy, while donors should condition their support on adoption and implementation by Kinshasa of a comprehensive package of judicial measures to fight impunity.

The Kivu violence escalated in August 2008 when CNDP leader Mr Nkuda took up arms against Congolese forces and the FDLR in the eastern Kivu forests. Hundreds of thousands of civilians have been affected by the violence, being uprooted from their homes.

By staff writer

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