4 February 2008: Will the Goma Peace Agreement Bring Peace to the Eastern Part of the Democratic Republic of Congo?

The long awaited conference to bring peace to the eastern DRC started officially on 5 January 2008. This conference took place against the background of a surge in violence, particularly in North Kivu, between the FARDC, CNDP and the various Mai-Mai groups. The failure of the October military campaign to forcefully disarm the combatants of Nkunda, and the humanitarian crises that followed, left the government of the DRC with no option other than to bring the parties together and attempt to solve the problems through negotiation. During the planning phase of the conference the issue of the role of Nkunda was of some concern. He was not invited, but members of the CNDP were. Surprisingly Nkunda gave his blessing to the conference and gave a mandate to the CNDP representatives to negotiate on his behalf. He also undertook to stop all fighting while the conference was ongoing, a goal he achieved with some degree of success.

Key to the conference was an address made by the the Spokesperson for the Parliament, Mr. Vital Kamerhe, who posed the following challenge: “We did overcome [previous] obstacles successfully. Why should not we be able to overcome this one with the same determination? Good diplomacy and a good Policy can help stop the war.”

The main objectives of the Forum were:

To stop the war and instability in the North and South Kivu provinces and to lay foundations for lasting peace and development in both provinces
To take stock of all the atrocities endured by the local population in both Kivus since 1994
To address fears, mutual distrusts, suspicions, frustrations and pave the road for a genuine reconciliation between the sons and daughters of the North and South Kivu provinces

On the 23 January 2008, the 40 groups who participated in the conference signed the Goma agreement. The agreement addresses the ceasefire, disarmament and demobilisation of combatants, humanitarian and human rights issues, and the legal and political guarantees of the Accord.

The agreement has been widely welcomed by the international community. The implementation of the agreement has certain challenges. The two main challenges are how to deal with Nkunda and the FDLR. According to the agreement Nkunda can get amnesty for certain crimes but not for human rights violations. The position of the Government of DRC is that Nkunda must leave the country for possible training outside in another country to be redeployed afterwards. This could be a challenge if Nkunda does not cooperate. On 28 January 2008 there was a clash between Nkunda’s soldiers and Mai-Mai near Goma. This was the first violation of the Goma agreement. Nkunda said his soldiers had no options but to defend him against a Mai-Mai attack. He also accused FDLR of being involved with the Mai-Mai.

This again highlights the challenge of addressing the repatriation of the FDLR. The Nairobi agreement signed in 2007 between the governments of DRC and Rwanda makes provision for the forceful repatriation of the FDLR. The plan is that the Government of DRC will, March 2008, commence military operations aimed at repatriating the FDLR. The signing of the Goma agreement again questioned the objectives of the Nairobi agreement and way in which it is to be implemented. Whereas the Goma agreement focuses on a ceasefire and voluntary demobilisation and integration, forceful demobilisation is central to the Nairobi Agreement. Forceful operations against the FDLR by the ill-equipped and poorly trained FARDC soldiers will again ignite violence in the east of the DRC.

The key to ensuring peace in the eastern DRC is to convince the FDLR to come to the negotiation table and to find a way to peacefully demobilise and repatriate the FDLR. It is important to synchronise the implementation of the Goma agreement and a revised Nairobi agreement. MONUC has already started to implement the Goma agreement by deploying 8 mobile bases of 30 men each to monitor and observe the commitments made by the parties to the agreement.

Henri Boshoff, Military Analyst: African Security Analysis Programme, ISS Tshwane (Pretoria)