DRC

Peacebuilding in North Kivu, Democratic Republic of the Congo

In 2008, UNDP supported a conflict analysis exercise in North Kivu, whose main findings were presented to the provincial authorities, civil society organisations and the international community in Goma in April 2009. This exercise, undertaken in partnership with the Provincial Government, gave voice to communities, both men and women, on what they see as development and peacebuilding priorities in North Kivu. For many people, this was the first time that they had a chance to talk directly with representatives of the government about their problems and vision for the future of the province. This exercise responded to a double imperative: the need to better understand local causes of violence and the need to create spaces for discussing long-term solutions to the conflict in North Kivu.

Consultations with communities helped identify a number of factors driving local level violence in North Kivu. These included, but were not limited to:

• land issues and the need for more effective land use and better management of land titles;

• environmental issues and the need to promote alternative livelihoods for populations living close to national parks;

• inter-ethnic reconciliation and the need to rebuild trust between certain population groups;

• gender-based violence and the need to address the differentiated impact of conflict on women and men; and

• youth unemployment and the need to create alternative livelihoods for at-risk youth.

A number issues were also highlighted that can be used to inform future peacebuilding activities in North Kivu:

• To date, the emphasis of stabilization and recovery efforts has been on national dynamics associated with armed groups, and there has not been a sufficient understanding of how local dynamics - in particular those linked to the control of land and other natural resources - feed into the existence of armed groups.

• Although many of the same issues prevail in North Kivu, their scope and scale vary from one territory to another. While international assistance has primarily focused on the territories experiencing the highest levels of violence, there is also a window of opportunity for a more explicit preventive approach, which targets other parts of North Kivu characterized by lower levels of violence, but with potential for escalation.

• The “Do No Harm” approach should be strengthened, since any intervention - starting with the mere presence of the international community - has the potential to unintentionally reinforce local conflict dynamics. The conflict analysis exercise collected examples which could form the basis of adapted “Do No Harm” principles for international organizations engaged in North Kivu.

UNDP and the Provincial Government are supporting the dissemination of the conflict analysis at provincial and national level, and are making sure that its findings are included into existing plans for stabilization and recovery in North Kivu. In addition, UNDP is adjusting its existing programmes and designing new activities to address the issues identified through this exercise.

For more information on the conflict analysis, read the following reports: