[Congressional Record Volume 158, Number 18 (Friday, February 3, 2012)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Pages E131-E132]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




   U.S. POLICY TOWARD POST ELECTION DEMOCRATIC REPUBLIC OF THE CONGO

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                       HON. CHRISTOPHER H. SMITH

                             of new jersey

                    in the house of representatives

                        Friday, February 3, 2012

  Mr. SMITH of New Jersey. Mr. Speaker, yesterday, the Subcommittee on 
Africa, Global Health, and Human Rights, which I chair, examined U.S. 
policy options for dealing with the ongoing crisis in the Democratic 
Republic of the Congo, one of the priority countries in the United 
States' Africa policy as identified by the Administration and as 
confirmed by Congressional legislation and oversight over the past 
several years. This country is two-thirds the size of Western Europe 
and borders nine African countries. Its problems extend well beyond its 
borders.
  Prior to yesterday, the Subcommittee last examined the situation in 
the DRC in a hearing in March of last year, when the storm clouds were 
gathering in advance of the November elections. The DRC is now 
struggling with the aftermath of those elections. Opposition political 
parties and civil society, especially the Catholic Church, appear 
unwilling to accept the results of the presidential and legislative 
elections. Opposition leader Etienne Tshisekedi received 32 percent of 
the votes, but he believes he was cheated out of votes that would have 
made him the winner in the elections. He has staged a presidential 
swearing-in ceremony and announced that he will form a government. He 
also has called on supporters to march with him to government 
headquarters. However, government armed forces have surrounded his home 
since the presidential results were announced on December 9, and even 
his aides have been prevented from meeting with him.
  Suspicion persists that this election was manipulated in favor of 
incumbent President Joseph Kabila. The Carter Center, which observed 
the vote, as well as the United Nations Organization Stabilization 
Mission in the DRC (MONUSCO) and most of DRC's civil society, all cast 
serious doubt on the announced outcome of the election. According to 
the Carter Center, ballots were missing in some areas, while results 
for Kabila in other areas were

[[Page E132]]

deemed ``unrealistic.'' Calls for new elections not only continue, but 
appear to be growing in intensity.
  Perhaps government intimidation has minimized any uprising by a 
discontented population, or perhaps the Congolese have accepted that 
Kabila will do whatever it takes to ensure his victory. It could be 
that poverty and a lack of information among the population has 
restrained the widespread resort to protest. Still, there is 
significant instability throughout the country.
  This calls into question the long-term stability of a country that is 
critical to U.S. interests, which includes the continued flow of 
strategic minerals. Congolese have reason to be skeptical that they 
will ever have a stable government that functions on their behalf. 
There has been one crisis after another since independence in 1960, 
caused by the selfish actions of predatory leadership. An estimated 
four million Congolese lost their lives in two wars from which they are 
still recovering.
  Most Congolese remain poor, hungry and in danger of violence. Their 
government cannot provide the most basic necessities for their 
families. Public administration is virtually non-existent, with civil 
servants demanding payment from the public for even the most routine 
services. MONUSCO is handling security, and the World Health 
Organization is dealing with the country's public health issues. The 
challenge for the international community is to help build the capacity 
and political will of Congolese officials to assume the responsibility 
for caring for and protecting their citizens.
  Since November, violence attributed to the Congolese military, the 
Rwandan rebel group the Democratic Forces for the Liberation of Rwanda 
(FDLR) and local militia has caused more than 100,000 Congolese to 
become internally displaced persons or refugees. Local vigilante groups 
have clashed with the Rwandan rebels in North Kivu province and 
displaced about 75,000 from 30 villages in North Kivu province. Similar 
clashes in Ituri and northern Katanga have had a serious impact in 
those areas as well. This raises serious concerns for a potential 
humanitarian crisis.
  Women continue to be targeted for abuse in DRC. A study that recently 
appeared in the American Journal of Public Health concluded that an 
average of 48 women and girls are raped every hour in this country. So 
before this hearing has ended, more than 100 females in DRC will have 
been raped.
  However, there remains hope for DRC despite the current crisis. Even 
during the worst stages of the global financial crisis, the World Bank 
was predicting that DRC's economy would grow by seven percent annually 
over the next several years, making it one of the world's fastest 
growing economies. At the local level, Congolese reportedly have 
developed coping methods for an absent government. Women have developed 
rotating credit systems to compensate for an inaccessible banking 
system, and farmers have banded together to rent trucks to jointly take 
their produce to market.
  According to the latest election results, the ruling party in DRC has 
lost 45 seats they previously held to opposition parties, with 17 other 
elections yet to be rerun after being annulled. This may help in 
establishing grounds for political reconciliation.
  Since the early days of Congolese independence, the United States has 
been involved in the DRC and continues to play a significant role 
there. In FY2011, Economic Support Funds were targeted to support the 
Government of Congo's stabilization and recovery program through 
support to community recovery and reconciliation, conflict mitigation 
and resolution, and the extension of authority. International Military 
Education and Training funds focus on training Congolese officers on 
military justice, human rights and joint operations. The United States 
also provides significant humanitarian assistance to the DRC. The 
United States provided bilateral aid to DRC of more than $205 million 
in FY2008, $296 million in FY2009, $282 million in FY2010, and $215 
million in FY2011. The Obama Administration requested more than $262 
million for FY2012.

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