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The Democratic Republic of Congo: Background and Current Developments
The Democratic Republic of Congo: Background and Current Developments Ted Dagne Specialist in African Affairs February 4, 2010 Congressional Research Service 7-5700 www.crs.gov R40108 CRS Report for Congress Prepared for Members and Committees of Congress The Democratic Republic of Congo: Background and Current Developments Summary In October 2008, the forces of the National Congress for the Defense of the Congolese People (CNDP), under the command of General Laurent Nkunda, launched a major offensive against the Democratic Republic of Congo Armed Forces (FARDC) in eastern Congo. Within days, the CNDP captured a number of small towns and Congolese forces retreated in large numbers. Eastern Congo has been in a state of chaos for over a decade. The first rebellion to oust the late President Mobutu Sese Seko began in the city of Goma in the mid-1990s. The second rebellion in the late 1990s began also in eastern Congo. The root causes of the current crisis are the presence of over a dozen militia and extremist groups, both foreign and Congolese, in eastern Congo, and the failure to fully implement peace agreements signed by the parties. Over the past 14 years, the former Rwandese armed forces and the Interhamwe militia have been given a safe haven in eastern Congo and have carried out many attacks inside Rwanda and against Congolese civilians. A Ugandan rebel group, the Lord’s Resistance Army (LRA), is also in Congo, despite an agreement reached between the LRA and the Government of Uganda. In November 2008, United Nations Secretary General Ban Ki-Moon appointed former Nigerian President Olusegun Obasanjo as his envoy to help broker a peace agreement to end the crisis in eastern Congo. -
Predators 2021 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1 PREDATORS 2021 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1 Azerbaijan 167/180* Eritrea 180/180* Isaias AFWERKI Ilham Aliyev Born 2 February 1946 Born 24 December 1961 > President of the Republic of Eritrea > President of the Republic of Azerbaijan since 19 May 1993 since 2003 > Predator since 18 September 2001, the day he suddenly eliminated > Predator since taking office, but especially since 2014 his political rivals, closed all privately-owned media and jailed outspoken PREDATORY METHOD: Subservient judicial system journalists Azerbaijan’s subservient judicial system convicts journalists on absurd, spurious PREDATORY METHOD: Paranoid totalitarianism charges that are sometimes very serious, while the security services never The least attempt to question or challenge the regime is regarded as a threat to rush to investigate physical attacks on journalists and sometimes protect their “national security.” There are no more privately-owned media, only state media assailants, even when they have committed appalling crimes. Under President with Stalinist editorial policies. Journalists are regarded as enemies. Some have Aliyev, news sites can be legally blocked if they pose a “danger to the state died in prison, others have been imprisoned for the past 20 years in the most or society.” Censorship was stepped up during the war with neighbouring appalling conditions, without access to their family or a lawyer. According to Armenia over Nagorno-Karabakh and the government routinely refuses to give the information RSF has been getting for the past two decades, journalists accreditation to foreign journalists. -
The Chair of the African Union
Th e Chair of the African Union What prospect for institutionalisation? THE EVOLVING PHENOMENA of the Pan-African organisation to react timeously to OF THE CHAIR continental and international events. Th e Moroccan delegation asserted that when an event occurred on the Th e chair of the Pan-African organisation is one position international scene, member states could fail to react as that can be scrutinised and defi ned with diffi culty. Its they would give priority to their national concerns, or real political and institutional signifi cance can only be would make a diff erent assessment of such continental appraised through a historical analysis because it is an and international events, the reason being that, con- institution that has evolved and acquired its current trary to the United Nations, the OAU did not have any shape and weight through practical engagements. Th e permanent representatives that could be convened at any expansion of the powers of the chairperson is the result time to make a timely decision on a given situation.2 of a process dating back to the era of the Organisation of Th e delegation from Sierra Leone, a former member African Unity (OAU) and continuing under the African of the Monrovia group, considered the hypothesis of Union (AU). the loss of powers of the chairperson3 by alluding to the Indeed, the desirability or otherwise of creating eff ect of the possible political fragility of the continent on a chair position had been debated among members the so-called chair function. since the creation of the Pan-African organisation. -
S/Res/1679 (2006)
United Nations S/RES/1679 (2006) Security Council Distr.: General 16 May 2006 Resolution 1679 (2006) Adopted by the Security Council at its 5439th meeting, on 16 May 2006 The Security Council, Recalling its previous resolutions concerning the situation in the Sudan, in particular resolutions 1665 (2006), 1663 (2006), 1593 (2005), 1591 (2005), 1590 (2005), 1574 (2004), 1564 (2004), 1556 (2004) and the statements of its President concerning the Sudan, in particular S/PRST/2006/5 of 3 February 2006 and S/PRST/2006/21 of 9 May 2006, Recalling also its resolutions 1612 (2005) on children and armed conflict, 1325 (2000) on women, peace and security, and 1674 (2006) on the protection of civilians in armed conflict, and 1502 (2003) on the protection of humanitarian and United Nations personnel, Reaffirming its strong commitment to the sovereignty, unity, independence, and territorial integrity of the Sudan, which would be unaffected by transition to a United Nations operation, as well as of all States in the region, and to the cause of peace, security and reconciliation throughout the Sudan, Expressing its utmost concern over the dire consequences of the prolonged conflict in Darfur for the civilian population and reiterating in the strongest terms the need for all parties to the conflict in Darfur to put an immediate end to violence and atrocities, Welcoming the success of the African Union-led Inter-Sudanese Peace Talks on the Conflict in Darfur in Abuja, Nigeria, in particular the framework agreed between the parties for a resolution of the conflict in Darfur (the Darfur Peace Agreement), Commending the efforts of President Olusegun Obasanjo of Nigeria, host of the Inter-Sudanese Peace Talks in Abuja; President Denis Sassou-Nguesso of the Republic of Congo, Chair of the African Union (AU); Dr. -
Political Leaders in Africa: Presidents, Patrons Or Profiteers?
Political Leaders in Africa: Presidents, Patrons or Profiteers? By Jo-Ansie van Wyk Occasional Paper Series: Volume 2, Number 1, 2007 The Occasional Paper Series is published by The African Centre for the Constructive Resolution of Disputes (ACCORD). ACCORD is a non-governmental, non-aligned conflict resolution organisation based in Durban, South Africa. ACCORD is constituted as an education trust. Views expressed in this Occasional Paper are not necessarily those of ACCORD. While every attempt is made to ensure that the information published here is accurate, no responsibility is accepted for any loss or damage that may arise out of the reliance of any person upon any of the information this Occassional Paper contains. Copyright © ACCORD 2007 All rights reserved. Apart from any fair dealing for the purpose of private study, research, criticism or review, as permitted under the Copyright Act, no part may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted, in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording or otherwise, without the prior permission of the publisher. ISSN 1608-3954 Unsolicited manuscripts may be submitted to: The Editor, Occasional Paper Series, c/o ACCORD, Private Bag X018, Umhlanga Rocks 4320, Durban, South Africa or email: [email protected] Manuscripts should be about 10 000 words in length. All references must be included. Abstract It is easy to experience a sense of déjà vu when analysing political lead- ership in Africa. The perception is that African leaders rule failed states that have acquired tags such as “corruptocracies”, “chaosocracies” or “terrorocracies”. Perspectives on political leadership in Africa vary from the “criminalisation” of the state to political leadership as “dispensing patrimony”, the “recycling” of elites and the use of state power and resources to consolidate political and economic power. -
1 Chairperson, President Olusegun Obasanjo, Your Excellencies
Chairperson, President Olusegun Obasanjo, Your Excellencies, Friends, Ladies and gentlemen: It is of course not by accident that we have convened in Algiers to celebrate the 50th anniversary of the adoption of the historic UN Declaration on the Granting of Independence to Colonial Countries and Peoples. Much as the Declaration made an important contribution to international law and the ordering of the system of international relations, in favour of the colonised, it was at the same time a product of the heroic struggles of the colonised, a signal of the invincibility of the struggles for independence and national liberation. In terms of the events calendar of Africa’s fighters for liberation, 1960, the year of the adoption of the Declaration, started here in this city on January 24 with the counter-revolutionary insurrection of the colonisers during what in France was called La semaine des barricades ("the barricades week"), which ultimately failed. When General Charles de Gaulle addressed a call to the French armed forces during that week, on January 29, which forces were engaged in a desperate struggle to defeat the Algerian Front for National Liberation, he said: “I say to all of our soldiers: your mission comprises neither equivocation, nor interpretation. You have to liquidate the rebellious force which wants to oust France out of Algeria and impose on this country its dictatorship of misery and sterility...” De Gaulle’s dream of liquidating ‘the rebellious force’ proved to be as illusory as the wishes of the pieds- noirs that they could deny Algeria her independence. However, as the year 1960 began, these events from afar communicated the message to us that the sister people of Algeria would have to make more sacrifices to achieve their victory. -
How Ethnic Armies Shape the Capacity of Presidents to Defy Term Limits
Military Loyalty and the Failure of Democratization in Africa: How Ethnic Armies Shape the Capacity of Presidents to Defy Term Limits Kristen A. Harkness School of International Relations University of St. Andrews1 Open Access Copy—Please Do Not Cite Forthcoming in Democratization Abstract: The military plays a crucial role in furthering or hindering democratization in Africa. Beyond direct intervention through coups, armies more subtly and perniciously condition the political trajectory of states through their loyalty. Leaders who can rely on unwavering military support for protection against internal unrest face fewer risks and greater chances of success in rolling back liberalization and entrenching authoritarian practices. Constructing ethnic armies, which tie the fate of soldiers to the regime, is a profoundly powerful way to affect such loyalty. Through a mixed methods analysis of presidential bids to challenge term limits, including a paired comparison of Senegal and Cameroon, I demonstrate that ethnic armies triple the chances of success and, in so doing, encourage defiance in the first place: 82% of presidents back by ethnic armies attempt to defy their constitutions and extend their hold on power, as opposed to 31% of other leaders. Conversely, ethnically diverse armies are far more likely to defend constitutional politics and constrain leaders to abide by term limits. The ethnic composition of the military thus critically shapes the prospects for African liberalization. Key Words: democratization, term limits, civil-military relations, ethnic politics, African politics Many African countries took their “indispensable first steps” toward liberalization2 and free and fair elections after the end of the Cold War.3 Long-time dictators were voted out of office, multi-party competition replaced single party regimes, and respect for civil liberties and human rights increased. -
1,385,298 2,199 Refugees/ Asylum Seekers USD 29,611,512
EXTERNAL UNHCR NIGERIAWEEKLY UPDATE 18-25 June, 2015 HIGHLIGHTS HIGHLIGHTS Summarize, in a few bullet points, the main activities conducted by UNHCR during the reporting period in operations covered in this updates and their impact on beneficiaries. Make sure the sentences are result-oriented and concise. Details on the activities listed in this section can be added in the Achievements section. Also place emphasis on the expansion of UNHCR’s presence, airlift of NFIs, distributions, most at risk groups of population, etc. KEY FIGURES Examples: 1,385,298 -UNHCR distributed plastic sheeting to 500 households in operation 1 since January; Internally Displaced Persons in North East(IOM and NEMA, -Five schools have been established since January in operation 2, thus increasing refugee June 2015 DTM) children’s access to primary school from 10 per cent to 50 per cent; -UNHCR together with the authorities conducted a rapid assessment in XXX site where they identified 175 unaccompanied minors. 2,199 refugees/ asylum seekers Refugees and Asylum as of 31 May 2015 FUNDING UNHCR Representative to Nigeria & ECOWAS, Angèle Dikonguè-Atangana (center), and NHRC President, Prof Bem Angwe (left), appending their signatures to the agreement, 25 USD 29,611,512 June. Abuja Garriba©unhcr Requested for the situation On 25 June, UNHCR and the National Human Rights Commission (NHRC) signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) to strengthen collaboration, promote and share experiences with a view to facilitating capacity-building. UNHCR and the Federal Capital Territory Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) distributed non-food items to Internally Displaced Persons (IDPs) in Abuja. UNHCR and NEMA have planned CCCM trainings in Maiduguri and Damaturu for 30 protection actors and state representatives. -
Twenty Years on the African Union's Continental Diplomacy Has Changed
Candice Moore April 30th, 2021 Twenty years on the African Union’s continental diplomacy has changed 0 comments | 6 shares Estimated reading time: 5 minutes On the 20th anniversary of the Constitutive Act of the African Union entering into force, Candice Moore reects on the diplomacy, vision and paradigm changes that brought it into being, and the differences between then and the Union today. Just over 20 years ago, something noteworthy occurred. In a very unusual outcome for continental politics, African statesmen agreed to the creation of a new continent-wide African institution to replace the Organisation of African Unity (OAU), a body that had been known as a ‘Club of Dictators’. Under the strong leadership of three African leaders, each with their own agenda, the continent’s ruling class was ushered to a new understanding of continental security and cooperation, even if only on paper. South Africa’s Thabo Mbeki, Libya’s Muammar Ghadda and Nigeria’s Olusegun Obasanjo, through varying degrees of deft diplomacy and, it must be said, money on Ghadda’s part, fashioned a new African organisation whose premises were starkly different from its predecessor’s. More generally, the rst decade of the 21st century was an inspiring time in continental politics. The new African Union (AU) was agreed to in August 1999. The Constitutive Act that gives shape to the new worldview embraced by the continent entered into force in 2001 – the same year the New Partnership for Africa’s Development (NEPAD) was established. The AU itself was launched in Durban, South Africa, in 2002. -
Democracy and Reconfigured Power in Africa Richard Joseph
“The third wave of democracy did sweep across much of sub-Saharan Africa in the 1990s, but has now subsided, except for ripples and eddies.” Democracy and Reconfigured Power in Africa richarD Joseph n July 2009, President Barack Obama declared This is an appropriate moment, therefore, to in Accra, Ghana, that Africa no longer needs step back from the volatility and try to under- Istrongmen—it needs strong institutions. stand the deeper dynamics of political change Almost a year later, at a meeting of the African and continuity in the region. In this exercise, Union in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, Secretary of State the perspective of Richard L. Sklar, a longtime Hillary Clinton contended that many African lead- student of African affairs and retired professor of ers seem more concerned with staying eternally political science at the University of California, in power than with ably serving their people. In Los Angeles, is helpful. Sklar has argued for the some cases, she said, democracy “as one election, importance of studying power and the means by one time” still prevails. which it is acquired and exercised. He contends How much do these views correspond with what that all governmental systems are mixed, and is taking place in African countries? What patterns everything that is good in governance may not emerge in the configuration of political power? And necessarily be “democratic.” finally, how do we assess Africa’s democratic pros- Sklar calls attention, for example, to the sig- pects in light of global developments? nificance of oligarchic entities, such as the US As once impregnable autocracies fall in North Supreme Court or the British House of Lords, Africa, the people of sub-Saharan Africa can in capitalist democracies. -
131 Nigeria-Ghana Relations from 1960 to 2010
An International Multidisciplinary Journal, Ethiopia Vol. 5 (6), Serial No. 23, November, 2011 ISSN 1994-9057 (Print) ISSN 2070--0083 (Online) DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.4314/afrrev.v5i6.12 Nigeria-Ghana Relations from 1960 to 2010: Roots of Convergence and Points of Departure (Pp. 131-145) Otoghile, Aiguosatile - Department of Political Science and Public Administration, University of Benin, Benin City, Nigeria Obakhedo, Neville Onebamhoi - Department of Political Science and Public Administration, University of Benin, Benin City, Nigeria E- mail: [email protected] Abstract Over the years, relationship between Nigeria and Ghana has faced dramatic twists and turns. In a restless manner the interactions between the two countries has oscillated between co-operation and mutual suspicion. Even though the two countries have so many things in common, their interactions have defied the logic of simple prediction. The paper attempts to give reasons for this trend. Concentrating on a period that covers from Nigeria’s independence to 2010, the paper discusses that relations between the two countries demonstrate the characteristic dynamism of the study of international relations. It also shows how far the ruling elite can shape the disposition of one country toward another, and concludes by demonstrating how the unstable nature of African government can affect their relations, and stresses the need for collaboration between the two countries. Copyright © IAARR 2011: www.afrrevjo.com 131 Indexed African Journals Online: www.ajol.info Vol. 5 (6), Serial No. 23, November, 2011. Pp. 131-145 Introduction The study of the relations between two countries constitute an interesting field of study for both scholars of international relations and all those interested in understanding the dynamics of international relations. -
Obasanjo. Nigeria and the World
John Iliffe. Obasanjo: Nigeria and the World. Oxford: James Currey, 2011. 326 S. $80.00, cloth, ISBN 978-1-84701-027-8. Reviewed by Dirk Kohnert Published on H-Soz-u-Kult (June, 2011) There already exists a wealth of literature on The book is mainly based on published General Olusegun Obasanjo and the impact of the sources, including political memoires, newspaper latter’s rule during his lifetime. Most of these articles and recently released Foreign Office docu‐ books and articles, however, are of limited value ments. It is structured in 24 chapters, spread over because of their apparent partisan and biased five parts (I. Making a Career [1937-70]; II. Mili‐ writing. Nevertheless, apart from these, about a tary Rule [1970-9]; III. Private Citizen [1979-99]; IV. dozen scholarly publications written by The First Presidential Term [1999-2003]; V. The renowned academics like Victor E. Dike deal ex‐ Second Presidential Term [2003-7]). The descrip‐ plicitly with different aspects of Obasanjo’s tion of Obasanjo is intimately embedded in a de‐ regime. Victor E. Dike, Nigeria and the politics of tailed analysis of the political and economic de‐ unreason. A study of the Obasanjo regime, Lon‐ velopment at his time. To make both ends meet don 2003. They contribute significantly to the the publisher apparently had to compromise on evaluation of the life and the actions of one of the the length of the book that grew somewhat out of most prominent African elder statesmen. Evident‐ proportion; its more than 300 close-typed pages ly not all of them have been consulted by Iliffe.