ABC News reports that Ben Affleck traveled to the Congo three times in the last eight months ostensibly to understand the nature of what the United Nations calls the deadliest conflict in the world since World War Two.

ABC's "Nightline" team accompanied Affleck on his trip to the Congo where he produced a video diary that will be shown on Nightline on Thursday, June 26, 2008 at 11:35 PM EST. The group "traveled through refugee camps, hospitals and clinics, meeting with warlords, relief workers, child soldiers and members of parliament in an effort to better understand" the nature of the conflict in the Congo.

Usually when the mainstream media covers the Congo or Africa in general, the coverage is often devoid of context or history. African conflicts are usually presented as warring "tribes" wantonly killing each other. A mix of alphabet soup rebel groups are usually presented as the ultimate source of the problem, which leads the viewer to the conclusion that the problems are too complex and very little or nothing can be done to resolve the crisis.

A few questions to ask or observations to make when watching tonight's show:

1. Does it come across clearly that the source of the conflict in the Congo is the scramble for Congo's spectacular natural wealth?

2. Are the foreign corporations that are systematically looting the Congo mentioned or identified?

3. Does the report mention that the conflict was triggered by two invasions (1996 & 1998) led primarily by Rwanda and Uganda and backed by the West?

4. Are any articulate Congolese scholars and activists consulted to provide analysis and prescriptions for resolving the crisis in their country?

5. Is Congo's enormous potential presented at all? For example, agricultural experts report that Congo has the agricultural capacity to feed the entire world through 2050 when the world's population is estimated to be 9 billion? ( Click here to read article).

Any attention focused on the Congo is a net positive considering that dead gorillas have generated more interest and concern than millions of dying Congolese. We need to encourage more people to care like Mr. Affleck obviously does, so that the needless suffering in the Congo can be brought to an end. Click here to participate in the discussion.

The United Nations classified rape as a war tactic. The US-sponsored resolution was adopted unanimously by the 15-member council. The report noted that rape is used to displace populations, demoralize the enemy. Rape was declared a crime against humanity.

Various speakers identified former Yugoslavia, Sudan's Darfur region, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Rwanda and Liberia as conflict regions where deliberate sexual violence had occurred on a mass scale.

The report also called on the United Nations to develop procedures to reduce rape by United Nations troops who commit rape during peace keeping missions.

Ban leads call for greater efforts to end ‘silent war’ of sexual violence in conflict

U.N. categorizes rape as a war tactic

Congolese Women Appeal to the United Nations

Since Belgium Foreign Minister Karl De Gucht criticized the Kabila regime for lack of transparency in its dealing with China, human rights abuses and corruption relations have been rocky between the two countries. The critique was leveled in less than diplomatic terms. In fact, it was done like a parent lecturing a child in proclaiming that Belgium had a moral right over the Congo and its leaders. De Gucht exact quote was "I feel that we have not only the right but the moral obligation to say what we think about what is happening in the Congo, and it's not going at all in the right direction."

Kabila's reaction was to recall Congo's ambassador to Brussels and closed its consulate in Antwerp. It is not much of a stretch for Belgium to lay claim over the current crop of leaders in the Congo. Belgium and the international community played more of a role in placing the current leadership in power than the people of the Congo. It was not long ago that former Belgium Foreign Minister and current EU Development Commissioner, Louis Michel declared that Kabila had the right vision for the Congo and soon after being "elected," Belgium was primed to endow president Kabila with a honorary doctorate degree.

Apparently, things have changed since those honeymoon days. The row has exacerbated to the point where Congo has forced Belgium to close two of its consulates in the cities of Bukavu and Lubumbashi.

Former presidential candidate and vice president of the Congo was arrested on Saturday, May 24, 2008 in Beligum by Belgian authorities serving an international court warrant. Forty-five year old Bemba was arrested as a result of charges (four counts of war crimes and two counts of crimes against humanity) brought against him by International Criminal Court Prosecutor Luis Moreno-Ocampo in May 2007.

During the midst of the conflict in the Congo, Bemba's rebel group, the Congo Liberation Movement (MLC in French) was accused of mass rape, pillaging and torture in neighboring Central African Republic while protecting former President Ange Felix Patasse from rebel attacks in 2002 led by Francois Bozize who is now President of the former French colony.

Bemba may be held for 60 - 90 days in Belgium before being transferred to the International Criminal Court in the Hague. Bemba has been in exile in Portugal for over one year, even though he was elected to the Congolese senate after having lost the presidential race to rival Joseph Kabila. Bemba is in exile because he feared for his life after clashes with Kabila's presidential guard in March of 2007.

Kengo Wa Dondo, president of the Congolese senate maintains that Bemba is still a member of the Congolese parliament and will await the decision of the Belgians who are holding Bemba. Francois Mwamba of the MLC has called for the immediate and unconditional release of their party's leader. Contrary to proclamations from diplomats and experts the removal of Bemba from the Congolese political seen will deal a crucial blow to the MLC.

The more important question for the international community is how they square arresting Bemba for crimes committed in Central African Republic in 2002 when they are consorting with Larent Nkunda and dressing him up in suits while his troops continue to commit human rights abuses and violently rape women today in the Congo? The atrocities being committed by Nkunda's men far outstretch anything ever done by Bemba. Congolese people cannot help but find this whole affair duplicitous whereby Rwanda and its allies continue to be left off the hook and protected at the highest levels of Western governments and buttressed by humanitarian groups and think tanks in Washington while the Congolese people continue to suffer and die.

The truth of the matter is that Rebel leaders dating back to 1996 have the blood of Congolese people on their hands. Although not widely reported in the media it is these rebels that western backers have thrown their financial and material resources behind at the expense of the non-violent pro-democracy forces and the people of the Congo. It was no accident that Jean Pierre Bemba and Joseph Kabila wound up in a run-off for the presidency in 2006.

Key Sources:
International Criminal Court Statement

The United Nations (UN) has had a checkered history in the Congo, since the role it played in the removal and subsequent assassination of Patrice Emery Lumumba, Congo's first elected Prime Minister, in the 1960s. (see Thomas Kanza's Rise and Fall of Patrice Lumumba and Kwame Nkrumah The Challenge of Congo).

It is often stated that the United Nations Mission in Congo (known by its French acronym, MONUC), has the largest U.N. peacekeeping troops in the world at almost 18,000. Although, factually correct, it is a misleading statement. The UN presence is paltry in a country the size of Western Europe compared to other parts of the world (see below chart).



Although the United Nations spends over $1 billion per year to maintain a presence in the Congo, that presence has been plagued with numerous missteps and wrongdoings. UN troops have been involved in the raping and prostitution of Congolese women and girls and of late, have been accused of smuggling natural resources and selling weapons to rebel groups. See below the latest articles, reports and statements regarding the UN presence in the Congo.
1. UN: Tackle Wrongdoing by Peacekeepers: Investigation Division Ignores Gold Smuggling and Arms Trading in Congo
2. Human Rights Watch Letter to UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon (PDF)
3. Head of UN Mission in Congo Denounces Trafficking Allegations
4. INTERVIEW-Congo abuse charges unfair, may hurt peace role -UN
5. UN troops 'armed DR Congo rebels'
6. Mission Impossible (BBC)
7. Congo spotlight on India and Pakistan

The ability of Congo to provide electricity for the entire African continent and have enough left over to export to Southern Europe and the Middle East is legendary. It appears that steps are being accelerated in order to bring this vision to fruition. However, as is almost always the case when it comes to Congo, the central question is who will benefit? As has been the case since 1885, things do not look good for the Congolese people.

Click here to find the grand Inga Dam!

1. Banks meet over £40bn plan to harness power of Congo river and double Africa's electricity

2. Grand Inga, Grand Illusions?

3. Congo's Inga power projects seek new lease of life

4. World Energy Council Facilitates Action On The Inga Hydropower Projects

5. Scramble to Dam the Congo Keeps Africans in the Dark

6. Will Italy, Israel and Egypt Benefit From Congo's Hydro Power At The Expense Of The Congolese People?

7. Will Italy, Israel and Egypt Benefit From Congo's Hydro Power At The Expense Of The Congolese People? (AUDIO VERSION)

8. Inga Hydroelectric Facility

An unfortunate accident happened today in the beleagured Congo. In addition to the conflict, previous plane crashes and an earth quake the people have to endure yet another tragedy. One can only hope that the loss of life is limited. Read news below:
Plane crashes in Congo neighborhood
Scores killed in DR Congo plane crash
79 feared dead in Congo plane crash

The Congolese government through its police forces has again targeted the people of Bundu Dia Kongo (BDK); a religio-political organization made up of the Kongo people in the Bas Congo province of the Democratic Republic of Congo. The government crushed the group in February of 2007 pursuant to protests in Bas Congo stemming from corrupt provincial elections. Again, the Congo government has unleashed the police force on the people killing 100 people according to United Nations sources; many more are missing. Some people are hiding in the bushes and are in desperate need of medical care from injuries incurred during clashes with the police but they are afraid to come out from hiding for fear reprisal by the government.

As the global community is focused on the East of the Congo, the repression of the Bundu dia Kongo (BDK) is yet another example of the crisis of legitimacy that has bedeviled the Congo government under the leadership of Joseph Kabila. The government sees each crisis as an opportunity to unleash violence on the civilian population with the hopes of ruling by fear rather than by consent.

The government accuses the group of attempting to mount a rebellion in the Bas-Congo province, while the Bundu dia Kongo claims it is a peaceful religio-political group that has been in existence for 39 years looking after the welfare of its adherents. The root of the problem however is political in that many BDK politicians have been sidelined or excluded from participation in the provincial government by vote rigging by the Kabila regime. The result has been the marginalization of the Bas Kongo province and reduction in access to resources outlined in Congo's constitution.

Pursuant to clashes with the government, Bundu Dia Kongo was banned. The Congolese parliament has called for an inquiry into the state violence against the Bas Kongo people.

The Bas Kongo region is the home of Joseph Kasavubu, the first president of Congo and Congolese heroine Kimpa Vita.

Click here to read the April 2007 Statement by Human Rights Watch to the DRC Parliamentary Commission Investigating Events in Bas Congo.

Click below links to view contract review reports:
Report One - PDF (French)
Report Two - PDF (French)

1. During the transition process (2003 - 2006) one third of the Congo was sold off to foreign companies without any discernible benefit to the Congo.

2. Mining titles dispensed totaled 4,542 to 642 companies.

3. 90 percent of exports from DRC are either illegal or unregulated.

4. Benefits from existing mining contracts do not account for more than 6% of the national budget. In 2002 when the country was at war the mining sector contributed as much as 30 % to the national budget.

5. Mining companies have realized gains of 600% while discernible gain to the government has not exceeded 5%.

6. Many of the companies involved in the mining review are publicly traded on the Toronto, London or New York Stock Exchanges. Some of them include Freeport-McMoRan, DeBeers, AngloAmerican, BHP Billiton.

7. The Congolese Parliament is silent on the mining contracts and the government has yet to include provincial governments and civil society.

8. Pursuant to the publication of the mining review, on Monday, March 24, 2008 the head of the Ministry of Mines, Martin Kabwelulu announced the set-up of a government panel to follow-up with the review process. It will be lead by the Minister of Agriculture.

9. A few mining companies have already intimated that they will take the DRC to international court to maintain their ill-gotten contracts.

10. As quiet as it is kept many of the government officials who signed these odious and detrimental contracts while pocketing millions of dollars are still in government including president Joseph Kabila himself. Of course the review process and follow-up does not include the pursuit of corruption charges against those involved in selling of the Congolese people's wealth.

11. Contrary to earlier statements by the Mining Ministry, the government is not going to change the Mining Code that was put in place by the World Bank in 2002. The law was clearly written in the best interest of foreign mining companies and not the Congolese people.

The Carter Center released a press release on Congo's Mining Review process. They are one of the participating institutions in the government's contract review process. The essence of their statement reinforces what has been well documented by international NGOs and Congolese civil society.

Key elements from the Carter Center's review include the following:
1. Severe and widespread problems in the contracts.
2. The contracts were made without independent valuation.
3. No provisions to ensure equitable sharing of profits.
4. There has been a lack of support of the mining review from the World Bank and foreign countries where the mining companies originate.
5. Mining companies have been unwilling to acknowledge even those problems that are manifest and undeniable.

John Reboul, of Ropes & Gray, which analyzed five of the major contracts in detail for The Carter Center, described them as "some of the most one-sided agreements I have seen in 30 years of practice."

The Carter Center suggested a number of prescriptions that will ostensibly benefit the Congolese people. Click here to read>>