Presented by Nadine Ngango
May 13, 2014
Democratic Republic Of the
Congo-Former Zaire: AFRICA
Geography
 Size: Second largest country of Africa after Algeria
 Area: 2.345.409 km² or about 905,600 Sq miles
 Capital: Kinshasa
 Population: ~ 60 Million
 Official language: French
 National languages:
 Lingala
 Kikongo
 Swahili
 Tshiluba
 Dialects: 300+
Geography Continued
 DR Congo shares
borders with nine
countries
 Total of 11 provinces
including Kinshasa, the
capital, a city province.
 Population density is 27
 North: Central African
Republic and South
Sudan
 South: Zambia and
Angola
 East: Uganda, Rwanda,
Burundi, and Tanzania
 West: The Republic of the
Congo and Cabinda
(Angola)
inhabitants / km ²
 population growth is 3%
 Life expectancy: 52 years
(54 years for men and 50
years for women).
 The currency: Congolese
Franc
Geography Continued
 The north is one of the largest areas of rainforest in the
world, the east is the area of mountains, hills, lakes and
volcanoes.
 The south and center, rich savannahs, form a plateau
with various minerals.
 Climate varies by province-mainly hot and humid,
produces a dense vegetation and regulates agricultural
activities.
 The country has an extensive network of rivers with the
center along River Congo 4,700 km or 2,920 miles.
Kinshasa: Blvd du 30 Juin
Unique
Wildlife
The DRC
Urban Areas
 Congolese ladies
Rural Areas
Cultural Tradition
History
 1876 – 1908: Colonization, private property of Belgian
King Leopold II
 1908 – 1960: Colonization, becomes Belgian colony,
named Belgian Congo
 1960: Independence
 1960 – 1966: Post Independence crisis
 1967 – 1997: Zaire
 1996 – 1997: First Congo War
 1998 – 2003: Second Congo War
 2003 – 2006: Transitional government
 2006: First free elections
 1960’s U.N
peacekeepers
 Anti-Communist Mobutu
takes over after rebellion
 1965, Mobutu took power
then dismisses the
independence
government.
 Mobutu (head of army)
created a harsh, corrupt
dictatorship and renamed country “Zaire”
DR Congo First and Second
War
Quick Overview
Conflict Background
 The Conflicts are rooted in
the 32 years of Mobutu rule
and instability since the
country’s independence
from Belgium.
 1970s and 1980s, the DR
 1996 – Rwanda’s post-genocide
Tutsi government invaded the
DRC in pursuit of Hutu militia
who had fled there. Rwandan
backed Congolese rebels expel
Mobutu from office and install
Laurent Kabila
Congo (then Zaire) splintered
into various city states,
collapsing communication
 1997 – Rebellion between Kabila
systems and crippling the
and Rwanda begins. The country
formal justice system
becomes a battleground. The
rebellion ends in 2003
Conflict Background Cont.
 Rebel groups continue to remain active in the
four eastern provinces: South Kivu, North
Kivu, Ituri, and Maniema.
 2006 – First free elections in the country.
Joseph Kabila becomes president but fails to
deliver international expectations of peace.
First Congo war: Nov 1996 to May
1997
 In Rwanda, the Tutsis had
gained power
 Extremist Hutus fled to DRC
refugee camps after the
1994 genocide of Tutsis that
they had committed in
Rwanda
 Mobutu’s army helped these
extremist Hutus attack both
Rwanda and Congolese
Tutsis in Zaire
 Hutu refugees in Zaire near
the DRC – Rwanda border
 Tutsi militia (Rwandan)
and Ugandans, helped
longtime DRC politician
Laurent-Désiré Kabila
wage a war against
Mobutu and his
dictatorship.
 Mobutu was overthrown
and Laurent-Désiré
Kabila proclaimed himself
president in Kinshasa in
1997.
Second Congo War/Coltan
War
 President Kabila, now fearing a
possible plan of former Rwandan
Tutsi allies to give DRC control
to Rwanda, thanked and
dismissed them.
 Rwandan Tutsi troops attack
DRC
 Ugandan troops attack DRC to
maintain their influence in the
region.
 Angola, Zimbabwe and Namibia
helped Kabila and the DRC.
 Kabila turned to former Hutu enemies to balance the
power of Tutsis
 Rwandans claimed influence, power plants and diamond
mines in the East
 Kabila’s diplomatic approach worked. Namibia,
Zimbabwe, Angola, Chad, Lybia and Sudan as well as
U.S., Canada, Australia and Japan supported him.
 The UN supported a
ceasefire agreement
between DRC, Ang.,
Namib., and Zimb. with
Rwanda and Uganda.
Ethnic Tutsis in the DRC
did not sign
 Now there was war
between the Ugandan and
Rwandan govt. troops in
the DRC over mineral
control.
 Rwandan government
troops attacked Kabila, as
well.
Data
 700,000 Refugees
 More than 4 Million Dead
 Ceasefire, July 1999
 UN Peacekeepers Put in
Place (5,537)
Joseph Kabila
 Laurent’s son, Joseph, is confirmed as
President in January 2001, after his
dad was assassinated.
 Made peace with Rwanda (US)
 Sun City agreements for a democratic
system
 Pretoria accord for Rwandan
withdrawal and Hutu militia dismantling
 Luanda agreements: Uganda
withdrawing
 Inter-Congolese dialogue to allow
party system for Ugandan and
Rwandan people still in DRC.
 Civil unrest continues in eastern
Congo
 UN accuses Rwanda and Uganda of
plundering resources from the DRC
Conflict Profile:
Diamond, Coltan,
Zinc
Blood Coltan
Global Health Issues In
Children
 Children face significant
short and long term risks
to their health and wellbeing.
 This significantly
compromises their future
opportunities.
Impact on
Women
 Women are raped every
day – a rate equal to 48
per hour. That rate is 26
times more than the
previous estimate of
16,000 rapes reported in
one year (the United Nations).
 Sexual violence against
women and young girl.
(American Journal of Public Health, June
2011)
Victim
 18 year old Zawadi
Devota at a hospital
where she receives
treatment for HIV that
she contracted when
she was shot in the hip
and gang raped during
the Democratic
Republic of Congo's
mineral war. (UN report,
2013)
Statistics on the Congo
 5.4 million people have died as a result of the
conflicts
 2.7 million of the dead are children
 1 in 5 children will die before their fifth birthday
 Budget has $2 per year on healthcare for its citizens
 More than 200,000 women and girls have been the
victim of sexual violence
 More than 1million people have been forced to flee
their homes.
 At 20,000 UN troops, Congo is home to the largest
peacekeeping mission in the world.
On going Conflicts
 Kivu conflict: Ethnic Hutus vs.
Ethnic Tutsis (Banyamulenge)
in DRC
 Rwanda supporting Tutsi
rebels against DRC
 LRA (based in Uganda) now
camping in DRC massacring
DRC population.
 Hacking people to death,
crimes against humanity and
war crimes, including murder,
rape, sexual slavery, and
enlisting of children as
combatants
 In North Kivu murder and
cannibalism by “Les
Effaceurs” against the
Mbuti tribe to take their
land for mineral
exploitation
 Mai-Mai (DRC
paramilitary) now not
controlled by DRC gov.
 Ituri: UN trying to contain
Lendu (Hutu) vs. Hema
(Tutsi) tribal war
Flight
Starvation
Rape as a weapon of War
27,000 victims in 2013
in South Kivu alone
"I still have pain and feel
chills," said one victim, who
was raped in February by
five men. They held an AK47 rifle to her husband's
chest and made him watch,
telling him if he closed his
eyes they would shoot him.
After raping her, they shot
him anyway.
 Many people chose not to be tested
for HIV/AIDS because they know
they risk being rejected if they are
found to be HIV-positive.
 Rape survivors are often rejected by
their communities and abandoned
by their husbands.
 Rape victims are often afraid of
having contracted sexually
transmitted diseases while
unwanted pregnancy also intensifies
their trauma, the report says.
 Reports suggest between 20-30% of
patients, many rape survivors, are
HIV-positive
 1,152 women are raped every day,
which amounts to roughly 48
women per hour.
Congolese Community of Minnesota
 An association located in Blaine, Minnesota
 Organization Purpose: Cultural, Ethnic Awareness
 Lack of money to help New coming refugees in
Minnesota
 Lack of involvement in the community
How CCMN can best support the
Congolese as they adjust to life in the US
 Donate or sponsor
 Build a one to one relationship with newly family
 Get involved in the community
 Volunteer to interpret
 Commit to assist new arrivals in MN
 Attend or host a fundraising/ awareness events
References
:
 http://voices.worldvision.ca/wpcontent/uploads/2012/02/WorldVision-AfricaChildMiners.pdf
 http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2011/may/12/48women-raped-hour-congo
 http://www.congoweek.org/coltan-facts.html
 https://sites.google.com/site/resouceofcolumbitetantalit
e/recommendation
 http://www.un.int/drcongo/war/coltan.htm