Without a strong U.S. policy, Congo’s neighbors also have stepped into the policy void. Rwanda has emerged as a primary instigator of rebellions in Congo and a supporter of some of the most brutal militias. In 2009, theNetherlands and Sweden suspended aid to Rwanda after a report by a U.N. group of experts provided evidence of Rwanda’s support to Laurent Nkunda’s CNDP militia, which had committed gross human rights violations against the civilian population, including mass killings and rapes. Following the suspension of aid, Nkunda was arrested in a raid by the Rwandan Defense Forces. He has yet to face charges.

Today, North Kivu is in the midst of yet another rebellion by an offshoot of CNDP calling itself M23 Movement. It started as a mutiny of “former” CNDP elements integrated into DRC army led by Bosco Ntaganda, a notorious war criminal who has been indicted in absentia at The Hague and previously served as Nkunda’s deputy. Several reports, including by the U.N. Group of Experts, have linked this militia to high-ranking officials in the Kagame government. Rwanda’s continuous military adventurism in Congo has contributed to millions of deaths and exacerbated tensions between ethnic groups that once lived in relative harmony. Kagame has repeatedly denied the morbid impact of his actions on the local populations. Instead, he often blames the crisis on KingLeopoldIIofBelgium.

The United States, which maintains friendly relations with Kagame’s government, has reportedly sought to block or delay the publication of the damningpart of the U.N. investigation, undercutting Obama’s Africa strategy and his law. Impunity fuels the conflict, emboldening war criminals and destabilizing the region. In keeping with its reluctant and inequitable approach to the conflict, the State Department issued a measured communiqué urging all parties to respond constructively to the report, as if everyone were equally at fault. The United States has reportedly “quietly” asked Rwanda to halt its support to the rebellion, but the fighting goes on unabated and pushes the DRC on the verge of a greater war.

The U.S. response is neither true to its declared intention to promote peace nor the spirit of the Obama law, which seeks to end impunity. On the contrary, this prejudiced diplomacy, which has gone on for nearly two decades, sows the seed of the next round of violence and atrocities and condemns the region to perpetual instability. The United States should go farther than the Netherlands and Sweden by withholding foreign assistance to Rwanda and placing sanctions on the individuals cited in the report. Rwanda is looking to hold a rotating seat on the U.N. Security Council next year and will need U.S. support. The U.S. administration should condition its backing for Rwanda’s membership on the resolution of the current rebellion.

The DRC has to take critical steps to restore state authority and control over its territory. But without legitimacy, it is impossible for the current pro-Kabila majority to govern. The United States and other donors ought to push the Kabila government to hold free, fair, and transparent provincial elections to offset the paralyzing effect of the 2011 polls.

For now, the Obama administration is under no pressure to act. Congress does not seem to care. NGOs cannot generate enough public support. But the American resolve to promote democracy and peace in the region is being tested in Congo, and Obama’s new Africa strategy will make sense only when action backs up his words. Thankfully, Obama doesn’t need an entirely new strategy. The one he himself authored six years ago will suffice.

http://www.foreignpolicy.com/articles/2012/07/16/hope_but_no_change?page=0,3

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