1994: Crisis of the Great Lakes

July, 1994: The genocide of Rwanda provokes a massive exodus of refugees who escape from the war and enter into  Zaire. Between the refugees it has welded rwandeses persons in charge for slaughters, and this provokes tension in the east of the country.

June 1996: The interethnic clashes get worst in the east region of the country, the zone of the Kivu.

1996-1997: Fall of the dictatorship of Mobutu Sese Seko

October 1996: Creation of the Kivu Alliance of Democratic Forces for the Liberation of the RD of the Congo (ADFL), headed by Laurent-Désiré Kabila. His goal is to knock down Mobutu. The advance of the ADFL begins with the support of Burundi, Rwanda and Uganda.

February 19, 1997: The Security Council of the ONU adopts a plan of peace of 5 points (Resolution 1097) that asks for the immediate cessation of the hostilities in the Zaire. This plan of peace will be accepted by Mobutu and his government, but pushed back by the rebels.

May 16, 1997: Mobutu and his followers who stay in Kinshasa leave the capital of the country because the rebels are advancing. The final destination of Mobutu will be Morocco, where he will die in September 1997.

May 17, 1997. The AFDL conquers Kinshasa. Kabila proclaimed himself the president of the Democratic Republic of Congo, which will be the new name of the country. Kabila announces the convocation of parliamentary and presidential elections for April, 1999 (but they will not take place).

1998-2003: Government of Laurent-Désiré Kabila

August 1998. Creation of the rebellious movement “Rassemblement Congolais pour la Démocratie (RCD)” in the east of the country. This rebellious movement tries to knock down the government of Kabila with the support of Uganda and Rwanda. These countries justify their action by referring to the insecurity of their borders, which is due to the attacks coming from the RD of the Congo’s groups. The rebels will do important territorial advances.

August 8, 1998: The first summit of the conflict of the DR of  Congo assembles seven states of the south and the east of Africa to the cataracts Victory, Zimbabwe.

September 13 and 14, 1998: The annual summit of the Community of the South of Africa for the Development (SADC) recognizes the intervention of Zimbabwe, Angola and Namibia in support of the government of Kinshasa. And condemns Rwanda and Uganda for his support to the rebels of the RD of Congo.

November 1998. Emergence of the Movement for the Liberation of the RD of the Congo (MLC), headed by Jean - Pierre Bemba, who will fight in the north of the country.

The Agreement of Lusaka on July 10, 1999.

The presidents of the RD of the Congo (Kabila), Zimbabwe, Angola, Namibia, Rwanda and Uganda sign the Agreement of Lusaka. Later, the rebellious groups will sign this Agreement. The Agreement of Lusaka gathers the immediate cessation of the hostilities, an agenda for the retreat of the foreign forces, the disarmament of the militias, the deployment of peacekeeping force of the United Nations and the organization of intercongolese negotiations. But this Agreement will not give the awaited results. To today the cessation of the hostilities is not a fact.

February 23, 2000: in Lusaka, the implied countries and the rebellious groups establish on March 1, 2000 the date of beginning of the implementation of the agreement of the cease-fire.

Observers' mission of United Nations  in  the RDC

January 15, 2001:

The new president of the RD of  Congo, Joseph Kabila - who becomes president after the murder of his father, Laurent-Désirée, in January – participated for the first time in the summits on the RD of the Congo in Lusaka, jointly with four of the countries involved in the conflict and with the rebellious groups. It is announced the deployment of 17.000 soldiers of peacekeeping force of the United Nations to the RD of the Congo (MONUC), and it is designated Sir Ketumile Masire as facilitator of the inter-Congolese dialogue.

December 17, 2002: After several frustrated attempts, all the parts involved in the war of the RDC signed an agreement in Pretoria in order to share the power in a government of transition that will lead the RDC towards his first democratic elections from 1960.

March 6-30, 2003: After 11 days of conversations in Pretoria, the delegates adopt a draft of the constitution and a memorandum for the safety and the military questions during the transitional period. With regard of the integration of the rebellious groups in the Armed forces of the RD of the Congo and the safety measurements during the transitional period, only the rebellious group RCD signs the Agreement of Pretoria.

The first elections in 40 years

 July 2006: Democratic elections are celebrated after 40 years of independence. Kabila receives the biggest support, especially in the west of the country.

July 2007: The country receives the visit of the president of Switzerland, Micheline Calmy-Rey, who assures that the money kept in Swiss accounts of the former dictator Mobutu - at first more than 6,6 million dollars - will be returned to the Congolese people.

Current state of the conflict (until November, 2008, the second edition of the guide)

The balance of the war is devastating: almost 5 million deaths, one million and a half persons displaced inside his own country and a half million refugees. Although the signed agreements, there is no peace yet.

The formation of the new government in 2007 didn’t stop the political instability and the persistence of the violence in the east of the country, the conflict didn’t stopped completely in the provinces of the North Kivu and South Kivu. In January 2008, the conference about the peace and the development of these provinces was celebrated in Goma. But, nevertheless, the agreements of peace were damaged and the violations against the human rights have continued: displaced persons, sexual violence, minors' recruiting continue to the agenda. The MONUC alerted that the continue violations of the cease-fire between the CNDP, the militias Mai-Mai and the retreat at the beginning of the trimester of the militia Mai-Mai Pareco were putting in danger the agreement of peace. Also, an increase of the clashes took place between the Dear Congolese Forces and the Rwandan group FDLR in the province of the North Kivi. After the ultimatum expiration of March 15 2008 that was stipulating the fulfilments of the voluntary disarmament.

The last example that shows the violation of the cease-fire of January 2008 is the continuity of the clashes between the Congolese Armed forces and the troops of general Laurent Nkunda (CNDP), which were intensified during October 2008, provoking the displacement of thousands of persons.

The national Program of Disarmament and Demobilization of the rebellious groups in the RDC  (PNDDR) and their restructuring and incorporation in the army of the country are not yet finished. During 2007 in the region of Ituri there were disarmed 3.500 of 4.500 combatants, and in the rest of the country 14.000 combatants were demobilized. But nevertheless, in relation to the soldier children, a last report of International Amnesty thinks that more than the half of ex boy and girls soldiers who had returned with his families (North Kivu), thanks to the National Program of Demobilization, have been recruited again by armed groups. According to this report, every time that two minors are liberated five more are recruited by the force.

Sources:

Amnistia Internacional: www.amnesty.org

Escola de Cultura de Pau, Alerta 2008! Informe sobre conflictes, drets humans i construcció de pau. Icaria.

Escola de Cultura de Pau. Baròmetre nº17, abril-juny 2008.

Fisas, Vicenç. Anuario 2007 de procesos de paz, Barcelona: Icària. Consultat a www.escolapau.org, en línia, el 20 de febrer de 2007

Universitat de Barcelona. Observatori dels Grans Llacs. Cronologia del conflicte. www.solidaritat.ub.edu/observatori/llacs/analisi/cronologia.htm