The Genocide in the Democratic Republic of the Congo: A Silent Crisis
By Leila Biola Olukoga
The Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) is renowned for its phenomenal natural resources such as cobalt and copper, overwhelming biodiversity, and the second-largest rainforest in the world. On top of these attributes, the DRC is home to over 80 million people with over 200 tribes and is equivalent to the size of Western Europe.
Despite these commendable features, the DRC has one of the poorest economies in the world, according to The World Bank, and has been ridden with conflict and genocide since 1996. The conflict has been one of the bloodiest wars in its history, notoriously acknowledged as the bloodiest conflict since World War Two. The DRC genocide is often regarded as confusing and timeless as a result of its combination of causes and effects on the Congolese people for decades.
In this essay, I aim to address the causes of the genocide and the ongoing effects of this genocide on the Congolese people.
Congolese History and its Aftermath: What caused this conflict?
In the 1880s, the Belgian monarch Leopold II colonized the Kongo Kingdom, renaming it as the Congo Free State. The constitutional monarch exploited unpaid human labor for the excavation of natural minerals such as gold and diamond, making it one of the bloodiest European colonies in Africa.
However, because these natural minerals were difficult to extract efficiently, Leopold II decided to use the Congolese people as slaves to extract rubber and ivory instead, resulting in the death of over 10 million Congolese people.
This extensive period of colonization and slavery carried out into 1960 after the Congo National Movement fought and defeated the Belgian forces, officially creating the DRC as an independent country. Despite this newly established sovereignty, the Belgian government as well as neighboring Western countries continued to subjugate the DRC to its economic and political demands.
Moreover, the Belgians contributed to the ongoing genocide in the DRC through its infiltration of neighboring African countries such as Rwanda. Belgian colonial policies, which favored the Tutsi minority over the Hutu majority, exacerbated ethnic tensions that eventually led to the Rwandan Genocide in 1994.
This prejudice against the majority ethnic group, known as the Hutus, caused them to form a militia against the Tutsi which contributed to the mass genocide of over 800,000 Rwandan people. This genocide was a direct consequence of the Belgian infiltration of the Rwandans, which has continued to play out in the 21st century in countries such as the DRC.
The DRC, which borders nine countries, has served as a country of refuge for civilians escaping conflicts in countries such as the Central African Republic and Burundi since the early 20th century. More recently, over 200,000 Rwandan refugees, specifically Hutus, have sought refuge in the DRC as a result of the Rwandan genocide.
In 1996, Rwanda and Uganda invaded the Eastern DRC to root out the remaining perpetrators of the Rwandan genocide (The Hutus) who sought refuge in the DRC. From 1998 to 2003, neighboring countries such as Angola and Zimbabwe began to get involved in the conflict, which quickly escalated to a war known as the Second Congo War.
As a result of the continual warfare in civilian territories, the violence has escalated from a series of bloody combat to a modern-day genocide of the Congolese people.
A modern-day genocide
Recent years have seen a rise in rebel groups in the DRC, stemming from past conflicts, resulting in ongoing clashes between the National Army and rebels. The UN Refugee Agency reports over 5.6 million internally displaced Congolese, with millions affected by violence, disease, and famine.
Since October 1, 2023, more than 200,000 people have had to flee their homes, according to the UN Refugee Agency.
According to Africa News, militant group M23 rebels allegedly committed a massacre in the city of Kishishe, murdering over 120 people in November. More than 120 armed groups have been fighting in the DRC to gain control of valuable mineral resources, protection against other militant groups, and territorial ownership of villages.
Women and children have consistently been victimized in this crisis, repeatedly being subjected to sexual and gender-based violence by violence. Food insecurity is also at an all-time high in the DRC as a result of such large rates of internal displacement, extreme poverty, and lack of sustainable medical care.
Another cause for the high rates of internal displacement in the DRC is the high demand for mineral extraction throughout the country. Western nations such as the United Kingdom and the United States have contributed to the great demand for mineral resources such as cobalt and copper for technological advancements at a low cost, according to The Guardian.
As a result, large rates of forced eviction and exploited labor were implemented in the DRC society.
Egregious human rights abuses have been committed as a result such as unsafe working conditions, use of child labor, and a lack of proper financial compensation. The combination of reprehensible working conditions and convoluted armed conflicts has contributed to the silent and extensive genocide in the DRC.
Conclusion
The Congolese Genocide, though perplexing and abominable, has been a silent massacre of Congolese people and neighboring refugees residing in the country.
The decimation of the Congolese people has deep roots in its colonial history and the consequences of Belgian hegemonic structures. However, addressing the ongoing silent genocide in the Congo lacks urgency, and this is unsurprising given that Western nations, for the economic benefits they gain at the expense of the Congolese, have been slow to take action.
The issue can be significantly minimized internally by reducing the demand for these natural mineral resources. According to E-Internal Relations, few mineral trading companies in the eastern DRC implement mandatory codes of due diligence in their labor practices.
By direct implementation of due diligence as well as a potential decrease in demands for these natural resources, the rates of committing human rights abuses may subsequently decline.
Moreover, the surveillance of trade on weaponry across the various armed militias may work to lower the rates of violence in civilian areas. Significantly high rates of illegal imports of munitions and firearms significantly produce and contribute to the issue of internal displacement in the DRC through coercion and intimidation.
Of course, these methods and solutions will not be easily as applicable and effective without proper awareness and determination to end this genocide. However, with the right information and humanitarian agencies alert and inclined to make an indelible impact on the Democratic Republic of the Congo, this long-lasting, silent genocide will likely be brought closer to its end.
