Slow military reform and the transition process in the Democratic Republic of the Congo

摘要

It is very clear that difficult tasks await the new DRC government and the international community. The DDR process is incomplete and will not be completed before the election. The DRC government, MONUC and the international community must manage this situation in the interim until after the election to ensure that the integrated brigades do not become a threat to the election process. After the election, DDR of the military groupings must be completed as soon as possible. The existing structures and plan of the National Commission for Disarmament, Demobilisation and Reintegration must be used for that. It is vital that immediately after the election the new government appoint officials from the Department of Defence and the FARDC to be part of the MONUC SSR planning and coordination structure. The Congolese government must take the lead and in cooperation with all the role players, MONUC, the European Military section, the Contact group and bi-lateral partners start working on an SSR strategy. If these very important activities, that of DDR, are not completed and SSR do not start, the new government may soon find itself facing serious challenges. The international community must take note of these crucial issues. This will need a medium- to long-term commitment from the new Congolese government and the international community.