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UN chief, World Bank leader team up for DRC

By Masimba Tafirenyika: 0 Comment(s)Print E-mail China.org.cn, August 22, 2013

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Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon (right) meets with Jim Yong Kim, President of the World Bank Group. [UN Photo/Rick Bajornas]

The United Nations (UN) intervention brigade is preparing to takes up position in order to confront armed rebels in the eastern part of the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC). Expectations among some Congolese are high that perhaps this time the troops will get the job done and help bring peace and stability to the region, as well as set the stage for economic revival. This optimism is nevertheless tempered with caution: the country has often seen short episodes of peace quickly followed by intense fighting.

Alarmed by the degree of violence committed by armed groups in eastern DRC, the UN Security Council in March approved the deployment of a 3,000-strong intervention brigade. The decision was a departure from past practices. Whereas the mandate of the current UN mission in the DRC (MONUSCO) is to use all necessary measures to protect civilians, the Council armed the intervention brigade with a stronger mandate, authorizing it to "carry out targeted offensive operations, either on its own or jointly with [DRC government forces]."

It didn't stop there. The Council additionally approved the tools that empower the brigade to operate in "a robust, highly mobile and versatile manner" using infantry, artillery, Special Forces and reconnaissance teams drawn from South Africa, Tanzania and Malawi.

The Council also gave the UN's first-ever offensive combat force an initial period of one year to neutralize any internal rebellions, but was flexible enough to allow for extensions -- while at the same time providing a clear exit strategy -- based on the troops' performance. Operations started in June, battling the notorious March 23 movement (M23) rebels as well as several other internal and foreign armed groups that have caused mayhem in eastern DRC for more than a decade.

To attract global attention to the conflict in the Great Lakes region and to lend political, diplomatic and economic support to the international community's latest regional peace initiative, UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon teamed up with World Bank president Jim Yong Kim during a historic trip to the DRC, Rwanda and Uganda. Their visit was meant to showcase the unique partnership between the two organizations, part of a new strategy to resolve conflicts and boost economic development in the region.

Mr. Ban told reporters in the eastern city of Goma, the second-largest city in the DRC, that his "peace" and "development" mission with the World Bank chief was "unprecedented in the history" of the two institutions.

Makhtar Diop, a former Senegalese economy and finance minister and the current World Bank vice-president for the Africa region, concurs. On his blog, Mr. Diop gave two reasons why he thought the visit was important. First, he said, it underscores "a new era of global institutions working together to promote stability." Second, "it signals to the citizens of fragile and conflict-affected nations our commitment: we will not leave you behind."

Bring in troops and dollars

The deadly conflict in the DRC, whose vast size covers an area about the size of Western Europe, has long defied any solution. For decades now, the country's litany of woes has confounded observers, caused untold suffering and death for millions of its citizens and destroyed its infrastructure. The UN's current two-pronged approach, and this time in cooperation with the World Bank, aims for a show of strength reinforced by a set of economic inducements to peace.

The international brigade -- the muscular element or the "peace enforcer" --will use weapons and equipment including attack helicopters to mount offensive operations and unmanned aerial vehicles, or drones, to gather intelligence. The economic incentive to complement the brigade comes in the form of a US$1 billion pledge from the World Bank. The money will be used to build, repair and overhaul hydroelectric-power plants, roads and agricultural infrastructure along the DRC's eastern border with Rwanda and Uganda.

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