Published July 20, 2012 By Felipe Umaña Briefing CCPPR12CD Report available in PDF and Flash formats

After decades of kleptocracy under the rule of despot Mobutu Sese Seko, Zaïre (now the Democratic Republic of Congo) descended into conflict when invading forces in the east, led by Laurent Kabila and backed by Burundi, Rwanda and Uganda, overthrew Mobutu. The conflict nevertheless has continued largely unabated, dragging in most of the country’s neighbors in a conflict of changing alliances. Kabila was assassinated in 2001 and was succeeded by his son Joseph, who immediately called for multilateral peace talks to end the conflict. Despite the signing of peace accords in 2003, fighting continues in the east of the country where the prevalence of rape and displacement remains a serious concern. The country’s first multi-party elections since independence in 1960 saw Joseph Kabila officially win with 70% of the vote despite reports of irregularities.

Incumbent President Kabila won re-election at the November 2011 general polls. Although international observers contested the results, Kabila was sworn in the month after. The fragility of the state government led to instability and to a lack of capacity in the second-largest country in Africa, where poverty remains widespread in spite of immense economic resources. In the eastern provinces, human rights abuses by the Lord’s Resistance Army (LRA) were reported. The country is also still host to the largest UN peacekeeping mission in the world, MONUSCO, with over 19,000 uniformed peacekeepers.

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