an updated oxfam report

8/13/2019 An Updated Oxfam Report

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An updated Oxfamreport,while written back in 2001, also noted the following facts (somenumbers may be out of date and have gotten worse, but the sheer scale of these numbersalone are shocking):

More than two million people are internally displaced; of these, over 50 per cent are

in eastern DRC. More than one million of the displaced have received absolutely nooutside assistance.

It is estimated that up to 2.5 million people in DRC have died since the outbreak ofthe war, many from preventable diseases.

At least 37 per cent of the population, approximately 18.5 million people, have noaccess to any kind of formal health care.

16 million people have critical food needs. There are 2,056 doctors for a population of 50 million; of these, 930 are in Kinshasa. Infant mortality rates in the east of the country have in places reached 41 per cent per

year. Severe malnutrition rates among children under five have reached 30 per cent in some

areas. National maternal mortality is 1837 per 100,000 live births, one of the worst in the

world. Rates as high as 3,000/100,000 live births have been recorded in eastern DRC. DRC is ranked 152nd on the UNDP Human Development index of 174 countries: a

fall of 12 places since 1992. 2.5 million people in Kinshasa live on less than US$1 per day. In some parts of

eastern DRC, people are living on US$0.18 per day. 80 per cent of families in rural areas of the two Kivu Provinces have been displaced at

least once in the past five years. There are more than 10,000 child soldiers. Over 15 per cent of newly recruited

combatants are children under the age of 18. A substantial number are under the ageof 12.

Officially, between 800,000 and 900,000 children have been orphaned by AIDS. 40 per cent of health infrastructure has been destroyed in Masisi, North Kivu. Only 45 per cent of people have access to safe drinking water. In some rural areas,

this is as low as three per cent. Four out of ten children are not in school. 400,000 displaced children have no access

to education. Of 145,000 km of roads, no more than 2,500km are asphalt.

Geography

Location: Central Africa. Bordering nations--Angola, Burundi, Central African Republic, Republic of the Congo,

Rwanda, South Sudan, Tanzania, Uganda, Zambia.

Area: 2.345 sq. km. (905,063 sq. mi.; about the size of the U.S. east of the Mississippi).

Cities: Capital--Kinshasa (pop. approx. 9 million). Regional capitals--Bandundu, Bukavu, Goma, Kananga, Kindu,

Kisangani, Lubumbashi, Matadi, Mbandaka, Mbuji-Mayi.

Terrain: Varies from tropical rainforests to mountainous terraces, plateaus, savannas, dense grasslands, and

mountains.

Climate: Equatorial; ranges from tropical rainforest in the Congo River basin, hot and humid in much of the north

and west, cooler and drier in the south central area and the east.

People

Nationality: Noun and adjective--Congolese.Population (2011 est.): 71,712,867.
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Annual population growth rate (2008 est.): 3.24%.

Ethnic groups: Approximately 250 African ethnic groups; the Luba, Kongo, and Anamongo are some of the larger

groups.

Religions: Christian 70% (Catholic 50%, Protestant 20%); Kimbanguist 10%; other sects and traditional beliefs

10%; Muslim 10%.

Languages: French, Lingala, Kiswahili, Kikongo, Tshiluba.

Education: Literacy (2008 est.)--French or local language: 55% (women), 76% (men). Enrollment(2010 est.)--primary 91%, secondary 36.5%, higher education 4.6%.

Health (2007 est.): Infant mortality rate--92/1,000 live births. Life expectancy(2008 est.)--51.3 years.

Government

Type: Republic; highly centralized with executive power vested in the president.

Independence: June 30, 1960 (from Belgium).

Constitution: The D.R.C. has had numerous constitutions, constitutional amendments, and transitional

constitutions since independence. The currently operative constitution was approved by 84% of voters in a

December 2005 referendum and officially promulgated in February 2006.

Branches: Executive--President (head of state) nominates the Prime Minister (head of government), who,

together with his/her cabinet, is approved by parliament. Legislative--Bicameral parliament consisting of a directly

elected National Assembly and an indirectly elected Senate. Judicial---Supreme Court of Justice consisting of 26

justices. The nine-member Constitutional Court charged with resolving electoral and constitutional questions has

yet to be appointed; the Supreme Court of Justice fulfills this role in the interim.

Administrative subdivisions: The 2006 constitution mandates the reapportionment of the D.R.C.s current 11

provinces (including the capital city, Kinshasa) into 26 provinces, but implementation of this change has been

delayed.

Political parties: 104 parties were elected to the National Assembly in 2011.

Suffrage: 18 years of age and universal.

Economy

GDP (2010): $15.3 billion.

Annual GDP growth rate (2011): 6.9%.

Per capita GDP (2011): $210.

Natural resources: Copper, cobalt, diamonds, gold, tantalum, other minerals; petroleum; wood; hydroelectricpotential.

Agriculture: Cash crops--coffee, rubber, palm oil, cotton, cocoa, sugar, tea. Food crops--manioc, corn, legumes,

plantains, peanuts. Land use--Agriculture 3%; pasture 7%; forest/woodland 77%; other 13%.

Industry: Types--processed and unprocessed minerals; consumer products, including textiles, plastics, footwear,

cigarettes, metal products; processed foods and beverages, cement, timber.

Currency: Congolese franc (FC). The U.S. dollar is also used as legal tender.

Trade: Exports(2010 goods)--$8.5 billion. Products--diamonds, gold, cobalt, copper, coffee, petroleum, wood.

Main partners--EU, Japan, South Africa, U.S., China. Imports(2010 goods)--$8.0 billion. Products--consumer

goods (food, textiles), capital equipment, refined petroleum products. Partners--EU, China, South Africa, U.S.

Official debt (2010 est.): $3.9 billion.

GEOGRAPHY

The Democratic Republic of the Congo (D.R.C.) includes the greater part of the Congo River basin, which covers

an area of almost one million square kilometers (400,000 sq. mi.). The country's only outlet to the Atlantic Ocean

is a narrow strip of land on the north bank of the Congo River.

The vast, low-lying central area is a basin-shaped plateau sloping toward the west and covered by tropical

rainforest. This area is surrounded by mountainous terraces in the west, plateaus merging into savannas in the

south and southwest, and dense grasslands extending beyond the Congo River in the north. High mountains are

found in the extreme eastern region.

The D.R.C. lies on the Equator, with one-third of the country to the north and two-thirds to the south. The climate

is hot and humid in the river basin and cool and dry in the southern highlands. South of the Equator, the rainy

season lasts from October to May and north of the Equator, from April to November. Along the Equator, rainfall is

fairly regular throughout the year. During the wet season, thunderstorms often are violent but seldom last morethan a few hours. The average annual rainfall for the entire country is about 107 centimeters (42 in.).


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PEOPLE

The population of the D.R.C. was estimated at 71 million in 2011. As many as 250 Sudanese, Nilotic, and Bantu

ethnic groups have been distinguished and named; small groups of aboriginal Pygmies are found throughout the

central Congo Basin. Some of the larger groups are the Kongo, Luba, Tetela, and Anamongo. Although some

700 local languages and dialects are spoken, the linguistic variety is bridged both by the use of French and by

the national languages of Kikongo, Tshiluba, Kiswahili, and Lingala.

About 70% of the Congolese population is Christian, predominantly Roman Catholic. Most of the non-Christians

adhere to either traditional religions or syncretic sects. Traditional religions include concepts such as monotheism,

animism, vitalism, spirit and ancestor worship, witchcraft and sorcery, and vary widely among ethnic groups;

none is formalized. The syncretic sects often merge Christianity with traditional beliefs and rituals. The most

popular of these sects, Kimbanguism, was seen as a threat to the colonial regime and was banned by the

Belgians. Kimbanguism, officially "the Church of Christ on Earth by the Prophet Simon Kimbangu," now claims

about 3 million members, primarily among the Bakongo tribe in the provinces of Bas-Congo and Kinshasa. In

1969, it became the first independent African church admitted to the World Council of Churches.

Before independence in 1960, education was largely in the hands of religious groups. The primary school system

was well developed at independence; however, the secondary school system was limited, and higher education

was almost nonexistent in most regions of the country. The principal objective of this system was to train low-

level administrators and clerks. Since independence, efforts have been made to increase access to education,

and secondary and higher education have been made available to many more Congolese. According to 2010

estimates, gross enrollment rates were 90.76% for primary education, 36.5% for secondary education and 4.6%

for higher education. At all levels of education, males greatly outnumber females. The largest state-run

universities are the University of Kinshasa, the University of Lubumbashi, and the University of Kisangani. The

elite continue to send their children abroad to be educated, primarily in Western Europe.

HISTORY

The area known as the Democratic Republic of the Congo was populated as early as 10,000 years ago and

settled in the 7th and 8th centuries A.D. by Bantus from present-day Nigeria. Portuguese navigator Diego Cao

was the first European known to have visited the area (in 1482), and English journalist Henry Morton Stanley

later explored much of the region in the mid to late 19th century. The area was officially colonized in 1885 as apersonal possession of Belgian King Leopold II as the Congo Free State. In 1907, administration shifted to the

Belgian Government, which renamed the country the Belgian Congo. Following a series of riots and unrest, the

Belgian Congo gained its independence on June 30, 1960. Parliamentary elections in 1960 produced Patrice

Lumumba as prime minister and Joseph Kasavubu as president of the renamed Democratic Republic of the

Congo.

The Mobutu Era

Within the first year of independence, several events destabilized the country: the army mutinied; the governor of

Katanga Province attempted secession; a UN peacekeeping force was called in to restore order; Prime Minister

Lumumba died under mysterious circumstances; and Col. Joseph Desire Mobutu (later Mobutu Sese Seko) took

over the government and ceded it again to President Kasavubu.

Unrest and rebellion plagued the government until 1965, when Mobutu, by then a lieutenant general and

commander-in-chief of the national army, again seized control of the country and declared himself president for 5

years. Mobutu quickly centralized power through the domination of his Popular Revolution Movement (MPR)

party and was elected unopposed as president in 1970.

Embarking on a campaign of cultural awareness, in 1971, Mobutu renamed the country the Republic of Zaire and

required citizens to adopt African names. Relative peace and stability prevailed until 1977 and 1978 when

Katangese rebels, staged in Angola, launched a series of invasions into the Katanga region. The rebels were

driven out with the aid of Belgian, Moroccan, and French paratroopers.

During the 1980s, Mobutu continued to enforce his one-party system of rule. Although Mobutu successfully

maintained control during this period, opposition parties, most notably the Democracy and Social Progress Union

(UDPS), were active. Mobutu's attempts to quell these groups drew significant international criticism.


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As the Cold War came to a close, internal and external pressures on Mobutu increased. In late 1989 and early

1990, Mobutu was weakened by a series of domestic protests, heightened international criticism of his regime's

human rights practices, and a faltering economy. In April 1990, Mobutu agreed to the principle of a multi -party

system with elections and a constitution. As details of a reform package were delayed, soldiers in September

1991 began looting Kinshasa to protest their unpaid wages. Two thousand French and Belgian troops, some of

whom were flown in on U.S. Air Force planes, arrived to evacuate the 20,000 endangered foreign nationals in

Kinshasa. Soldiers went on a similar rampage in January 1993.

In 1992, after previous similar attempts, the long-promised Sovereign National Conference was staged,

encompassing more than 2,000 representatives from various political parties. The conference gave itself a

legislative mandate and elected Archbishop Laurent Monsengwo as its chairman, along with Etienne Tshisekedi,

leader of the UDPS, as prime minister. Mobutus opposition to the Sovereign National Conference led to the

Limete Catholic Massacre on February 16, 1992, in which Mobutus personal guards gunned down as many as

250 parishioners on their way to church. By the end of the year Mobutu had created a rival government with its

own prime minister. The ensuing stalemate produced a compromise merger of the two governments into the High

Council of the Republic-Parliament of Transition (HCR-PT) in 1994, with Mobutu as head of state and Leon

Kengo Wa Dondo as prime minister. Although presidential and legislative elections were scheduled repeatedly

over the next 2 years, they never took place.

Beginning in late 1994, the war and genocide in neighboring Rwanda spilled over to Zaire. Rwandan Hutu militia

forces (Interahamwe), who fled Rwanda following the ascension of a Tutsi-led government, used Hutu refugee

camps in eastern Zaire as bases for incursions against Rwanda.

In October 1996, Rwandan troops (RPA) entered Zaire, simultaneously with the formation of an armed coalition

led by Laurent-Desire Kabila known as the Alliance of Democratic Forces for the Liberation of Congo-Zaire

(AFDL). With the goal of forcibly ousting Mobutu, the AFDL, supported by Rwanda and Uganda, began a military

campaign toward Kinshasa. Following failed peace talks between Mobutu and Kabila in May 1997, Mobutu left

the country.

From Dictatorship to Disintegration

Laurent-Desire Kabila marched into Kinshasa on May 17, 1997, and declared himself president. He consolidated

power around himself and the AFDL and renamed the country the Democratic Republic of the Congo (D.R.C.).Kabila's Army Chief and the Secretary General of the AFDL were Rwandan, and RPA units continued to operate

tangentially with the D.R.C.'s military, which was renamed the Congolese Armed Forces(FAC).

Over the next year, relations between Kabila and his foreign backers deteriorated. In July 1998, Kabila ordered

all foreign troops to leave the D.R.C. Most refused to leave. On August 2, nationwide fighting erupted as

Rwandan troops in the D.R.C. "mutinied," and fresh Rwandan and Ugandan troops entered the country. Two

days later, Rwandan troops flew to Bas-Congo, with the intention of marching on Kinshasa, ousting Kabila, and

replacing him with the newly formed Rwandan-backed rebel group called the Congolese Rally for Democracy

(RCD). The Rwandan campaign was thwarted at the last minute when Angolan, Zimbabwean, and Namibian

troops intervened on behalf of the D.R.C. Government. The Rwandans and the RCD withdrew to eastern D.R.C.,

where they established de facto control over portions of eastern D.R.C. and continued to fight the Congolese

army and its foreign allies.

In February 1999, Uganda backed the formation of a rebel group called the Congo Liberation Movement (MLC),

which drew support from among ex-Mobutuists and ex-Zairian soldiers in Equateur Province (Mobutu's home

province). Together, Uganda and the MLC established control over the northern third of the D.R.C.

At this stage, the D.R.C. was divided de facto into three segments--one controlled by Laurent Kabila, one

controlled by Rwanda, and one controlled by Uganda--and the parties had reached military deadlock. In July

1999, a cease-fire was proposed in Lusaka, Zambia, which all parties signed by the end of August. The Lusaka

Accord called for a cease-fire, the deployment of a UN peacekeeping operation, the withdrawal of foreign troops,

and the launching of an "Inter-Congolese Dialogue" to form a transitional government leading to elections. The

parties to the Lusaka Accord failed to fully implement its provisions in 1999 and 2000. Laurent Kabila drew

increasing international criticism for blocking full deployment of UN troops, hindering progress toward an Inter-

Congolese Dialogue, and suppressing internal political activity.


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On January 16, 2001, Laurent Kabila was assassinated, allegedly by a member of his personal bodyguard corps

who was in turn killed by an aide-de-camp. Kabila was succeeded by his son Joseph, who reversed many of his

father's negative policies. Over the next year, the UN peacekeeping mission in the D.R.C. (United Nations

Organization Mission in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, known by its French acronym MONUC) deployed

throughout the country, and the Inter-Congolese Dialogue proceeded. By the end of 2002, all Angolan, Namibian,

and Zimbabwean troops had withdrawn from the D.R.C. Following D.R.C.-Rwanda talks in South Africa that

culminated in the Pretoria Accord in July 2002, Rwandan troops officially withdrew from the D.R.C. in October2002. However, there were continued, unconfirmed reports that Rwandan soldiers and military advisers remained

integrated with the forces of an RCD splinter group (RCD/G) in eastern D.R.C. Ugandan troops officially withdrew

from the D.R.C. in May 2003.

National Dialogue, Transitional Government, and Nascent Democracy

In October 2001, the Inter-Congolese Dialogue began in Addis Ababa under the auspices of a facilitator, former

Botswana president Ketumile Masire. The initial meetings made little progress and were adjourned. On February

25, 2002, the dialogue was reconvened in South Africa. It included representatives from the government, rebel

groups, political opposition, civil society, and Mai-Mai groups (Congolese local defense militias). The talks ended

inconclusively on April 19, 2002, when the government and the MLC brokered an agreement that was signed by

the majority of delegates at the dialogue but left out the RCD/G and opposition UDPS party, among others.

This partial agreement was never implemented, and negotiations resumed in South Africa in October 2002. This

time, the talks led to an all-inclusive agreement, which was signed by delegates in Pretoria on December 17,

2002, and formally ratified by all parties on April 2, 2003. That same day, a transitional constitution was adopted.

Following nominations by each of the various signatory groups, President Joseph Kabila on June 30, 2003,

issued a decree that formally announced the transitional government lineup. Four vice presidents (each

representing a specific party, faction, or region) took their oaths of office on July 17, 2003, and most incoming

ministers assumed their new functions within days thereafter.

During the transitional government period, President Joseph Kabila made significant progress in liberalizing

domestic political activity and undertaking economic reforms in cooperation with the World Bank and International

Monetary Fund (IMF). However, serious human rights problems remained in the security services and justice

system.

GOVERNMENT AND POLITICAL CONDITIONS

In December 2005, roughly two-thirds of eligible Congolese voters participated in a referendum that resulted in

approval of a new constitution. This constitution entered into force in February 2006. Extensive executive,

legislative, and military powers are vested in the president. The president is head of a cabinet of ministers. In

consultation with the Supreme Judicial Council (CSM), the president has the power to dismiss and appoint judges.

The judiciary is only nominally independent. The legislature does not have the power to overturn the government

through a vote of no confidence. Like the president, National Assembly deputies serve 5-year terms. Unlike the

president, they are not term-limited. National Assembly winners in multiple-seat districts (approximately two-thirds

of the total districts) are determined based on a complex formula involving the percentages of overall votes cast

for a given party and proportional representation using open party lists.

On November 28, 2011, the D.R.C. held only its second multi-party election in more than 45 years. Almost 19

million registered voters cast ballots for president (from among 11 candidates) and National Assembly deputies

(from almost 19,000 candidates vying for 500 seats). Voter turnout was almost 60%. Significant technical and

logistical difficulties as well as isolated incidents of violence and intimidation marred the elections and the

tabulation process. Domestic and international observers judged that these technical and logistical problems and

the lack of transparency in the tabulation process contributed to serious flaws in the presidential and legislative

election process. Nevertheless, the elections were largely calm and orderly. According to the D.R.C.s

Independent National Electoral Commission (CENI), incumbent President Kabila won with 48.95% of the vote,

compared to 32.33% for Etienne Tshisekedi, his nearest challenger. The new National Assembly convened for

the first time in February 2012. A new cabinet was named in April 2012.

President Joseph Kabila ran in 2011 as an independent, but the party of his principal supporters is the Peoples

Party for Reconstruction and Development (PPRD). The Presidential Majority (MP) is a large coalitionspearheaded by the PPRD and its satellite parties that supports President Kabila. The largest opposition party is


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the Democracy and Social Progress Union (UDPS), led by Etienne Tshisekedi. The Congolese Liberation

Movement (MLC) is the second-largest opposition party represented in the National Assembly. Its leader, Jean-

Pierre Bemba, is currently on trial at the International Criminal Court in The Hague following his May 2008 arrest

by Belgian authorities. The Congolese National Union (UNC) party was formed in 2010 by former PPRD member

Vital Kamerhe, who was nominated as its presidential candidate in 2011. The 2011 legislative elections resulted

in 104 parties being elected to the National Assembly. The largest single parties besides the PPRD, UDPS, and

MLC are the Social Movement for Renewal (MSR), Peoples Party for Peace and Democracy (PPPD), UnifiedLumumbist Party (PALU), UNC, and the Congolese Rebirth Alliance (ARC). The former rebel group National

Congress for the Peoples Defense (CNDP) failed to garner any seats in the 2011 elections, although it received

official status as a political party in May 2009.

Provincial assemblies that were elected on January 16, 2007, indirectly elected 108 members of the Senate and

provincial governors later that month. Provincial assembly elections originally scheduled for March 2012 were

delayed due to the irregularities of the November 2011 polls. Local elections have been tentatively scheduled for

late 2012 and early 2013, but are likely to be delayed as well.

Principal Government Officials

President--Joseph KABILA Kabange

Prime Minister--Augustin MATATA Ponyo

Minister of Foreign Affairs, International and Regional Cooperation--Raymond TSHIBANDA NTungamulongo

Defense Minister--Alexandre LUBA Tamu

Finance Minister--Augustin MATATA Ponyo

United Nations Operations

After operating in the D.R.C. as the United Nations Organization Mission (MONUC) for 10 years, the UN, at the

Congolese Governments insistence, altered its mission as of July1, 2010, renaming it the United Nations

Organization Stabilization Mission in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (MONUSCO). Established under UN

Security Council Resolution 1925, MONUSCO differs from MONUC in its enhanced cooperative relationship with

the D.R.C. Government, its coordinated, regional approach to counter threats posed by armed groups in the

country, and its stated logistical role in assisting the D.R.C. in its electoral activities, all designed to stabilize what

MONUCs peacekeeping operations had accomplished. MONUSCO played a key role in providing logistical and

technical support to the D.R.C.s government in the November 2011 presidential and National Assembly elections.On June 30, 2010, MONUSCO was inaugurated on the 50th anniversary o f the D.R.C.s independence from

Belgium with a largely symbolic drawdown of some 1,500 troops from MONUCs forces.

Eastern Challenges

The Kabila administration identified five areas requiring particular attention: education, health, infrastructure,

water/electricity, and job creation. These five areas are known as the five pillars or cinq chantiers in French. The

government has made limited progress in these areas, however, due in large part to continuing insecurity and

intermittent returns to armed conflict in several eastern provinces, particularly North and South Kivu and the Ituri,

Bas-Uele, and Haut-Uele Districts of Orientale Province. A number of illegal Congolese and foreign militias have

operated largely with impunity in these areas since before the overthrow of Mobutu in early 1997. Their relative

strength and influence have waxed and waned over time, but two are of particular importance to the current

situation: the Democratic Forces for the Liberation of Rwanda (FDLR), led by individuals involved in perpetrating

the 1994 genocide in Rwanda, and the National Congress for the Defense of the People (CNDP), a Congolese

group, which ostensibly agreed to integrate into the Armed Forces of the D.R.C. (FARDC). These groups--the

first predominantly Hutu, the second predominantly Tutsi--have fought each other and the FARDC, illegally

exploited and exported D.R.C. natural resources to fund their weapons, and committed gross human rights

violations (including indiscriminate killings and sexual and gender-based violence--including mass rapes,

mutilations, and forced child soldier recruitment) in the areas under their control.

On January 23, 2008, the Government of the D.R.C. and over 20 Congolese armed groups (including the CNDP)

signed a peace accord in Goma, North Kivu Province, under which they agreed on the need for an immediate

cessation of hostilities, the disengagement of troops, improved adherence to human rights standards, and the

creation of UN buffer zones between and among the various factions. Between January and August 2008, most

of the parties worked to implement the Goma Accords provisions, albeit with regular cease-fire violations. In late

August 2008, intense fighting began again between the CNDP and the FARDC in the southern part of North KivuProvince, also called the Petit Nord. Over the next 4 months, this fighting resulted in the internal displacement


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of a quarter million residents of North Kivu and led some 40,000 to flee into Uganda. Hundreds of people were

killed, and by late October 2008, Laurent Nkundas CNDP forces--much stronger and better disciplined than the

Congolese military--got to within a few miles of Goma before declaring a unilateral cease-fire. During this period,

the United States, European Union, and United Nations all worked to develop plans for a lasting peace, and seek

adherence to past agreements, but progress was slow.

By January 2009, a dramatic series of events significantly altered the political-military landscape in the Petit Nord.Infighting within the CNDP leadership led to a schism in which Nkundas military chief of staff staged a de facto

internal coup and then signed an agreement with the D.R.C. Government to integrate his forces into the FARDC.

A smaller but also dangerous militia group, PARECO, made a similar commitment. Meanwhile, the governments

of the D.R.C. and Rwanda, which had been engaged in the gradual pursuit of rapprochement over several

months, announced plans for Rwandan forces to enter the D.R.C. and join with the Congolese military in a

concerted effort to eliminate the FDLR once and for all. On January 20, 2009, several thousand Rwandan

soldiers crossed into the D.R.C. for the third time in 12 years, but this time at the invitation of the Congolese

Government in Kinshasa. Two days later, Laurent Nkunda fled into Rwanda, where Rwandan officials took him

into custody. He remains in custody, pending the resolution of Rwandan court proceedings. Between January 20

and the end of February 2009, the joint Rwandan-Congolese-CNDP-PARECO coalition of forces pressured the

FDLR, engaged in a small number of battles with FDLR units, and convinced several hundred FDLR members

and their families to return voluntarily to Rwanda. On February 25, 2009, the Rwandan forces left the D.R.C.

an updated oxfam report

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