The conflict in the Democratic Republic of Congo is recognized by the United Nations Security Council (UNSC) as a threat to international peace and security, due to its impact on the entire Great Lakes region of the African continent. Therefore, for the stability of this region, any feasible solution should take into consideration the regional dimensions of this conflict. Many diplomatic initiatives undertaken in this regard have thus focused on how to end the hostilities in the region. The International Conference on Peace, Security, Democracy and Development in the Great Lakes Region was also convened to address the regional factor of the conflict and therefore prevent further conflict in the area. How this Conference addresses this regional dimension in order to prevent a return to violence in the Democratic Republic of Congo and therefore to bring about sustainable peace in the region, is the main focus of this study. The basic premise on which this research is based, is that this Conference is the first gathering of all countries in the region to address the causes underlying the conflict in the region, thereby rendering it a framework around which to prevent violence from flaring up again in the DRC. A literature review of the theory behind preventive diplomacy is discussed in-depth throughout the study, chiefly applying the notion expressed by Lund (1996: 37) that alternative actions should be applied during periods of socio-economic, political or regional and international upheaval, in order to avoid the use of armed force and/or the manipulation of political disputes. The aim of this study is to apply this theory in the framework of the Conference, primarily because the diplomatic initiatives undertaken thus far have created an environment of unstable peace in which preventive diplomacy can work. / Dissertation (MA (Political Science))--University of Pretoria, 2008. / Political Sciences / unrestricted

<p>Examensarbetet har finansierats av Interactive Institute Piteå med medel från strukturfondsprojektet LJUDIT. Arbetet har utförts på och handletts av Interactive Institute Piteå.</p> / LJUDIT

"With the entry into force of the Rome Statute in July 2002 and the election of judges and prosecutors of the Court in 2003, there is need for states parties to the Rome Statute to enact laws to incorporate the crimes defined in the treaty. Currently, 92 states are parties to the treaty. The success of the ICC will depend not only on widespread ratification of the Rome Statute, but also on states parties' compliance with obligations under the treaty. For almost every state this will require some change in national law in accordance with existing laws and proceedings in a given legal system. The experience of most states parties to the treaty is that the Rome Statute will require some form of domestic implementing legislation, even if this is not the normal practice of the state. There is need for co-operation between the Court and state parties on the administration of justice. For the Court to function properly, the immunity of its personnel should be guaranteed and provisions in national constitutions that are incompatible with the Rome Statute should be amended to bring them in conformity with the provisions of the treaty. ... Thus far, South Africa is the only African country that has adopted an implementing legislation domesticating the Rome Statute. Other African countries such as Congo, DRC, Ghana, Nigeria and Senegal have draft bills. There is, therefore, the need for African countries that are state parties to the treaty to positiviely confront the above challnges while incorporating the provisions of the Rome Statute into national law. ... The first chapter is an introduciton. It sketches the background of the study and reviews the materials that will be used for the study. It focuses on several hypothesis and research questions that the study is set out to answer. It highlights the dearth of materials on the implementation of the Rome Statute in Africa. The second chapter analyses the ICC and the emerging international legal system. It discusses the complementarity principle of the Rome Statute and analysis the crimes under the jurisdiction of the Court. The effect of the bilateral immunity agreements signed by states parties to the Rome Statute with the United States of America is also highlighted. The third chapter deals with the ICC and indernational approaches to the implementation of the Rome Statute. This involves discussions on compatibility of the Rome Statute with national constitutions. Approaches adopted by states with regards to specific issues of implementation will also come into focus, followed by discussions on the amendment of constitutions and purposive interpretation as adopted by various states parties to the Rome Statute. The fourth chapter will discuss implications of the Rome Statute for domestic constitutions in Africa. The discussion will focus on immunity from prosecution granted to heads of state and government by constitutions, the surrender of persons to the ICC and sentencing of persons convicted by the Court with regards to their relationship in the implementation of the Rome Statute in Africa. The fifth chapter will be a comparative analysis of impelementation strategies adopted by South Africa, Nigeria and Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC). There will be an analysis of the relationship between the Rome Statute and African human right system. The last chapter is the conclusion with recommendations and arguments on the need for a comprehensive domestic implementation strategy of the Rome Statute in Africa." -- Introduction. / Thesis (LLM (Human Rights and Democratisation in Africa)) -- University of Pretoria, 2003. / Prepared under the supervision of Professor Lovell Fernandez at the Faculty of Law, University of the Western Cape / http://www.chr.up.ac.za/academic_pro/llm1/dissertations.html / Centre for Human Rights / LLM

Twenty years has passed since the adopted of the United Nations Security Council Resolution 1325, which aims to strengthen the gender perspective in conflict settings as well as address inequalities related to sexually gender-based violence. Still, the concrete impact it has had on sexual violence in armed conflict, is questioned. Additionally, it is questioned if it reaches the grassroot level in armed conflict settings. Thus, this study has examined what factors that may have hindered a successful implementation on a grassroot level in the Central African Republic, the Democratic Republic of Congo and Uganda. Furthermore, it has examined the concrete impact on the efforts against sexual violence in these areas. This was done by firstly, conducting a policy analysis using the “What’s the Problem Represented to be?” approach to identify underlying problematics within the resolution. Additionally, semi-structed interviews were conducted with respondents having experience in working with the resolution and/or sexual violence in armed conflict. The results showed, among other things, that the complex construction of the resolution have been a hindering factor for a successful implementation. Additionally, the concrete change for the efforts against sexual violence in conflict settings is lacking. However, the empowerment that the resolution has provided to those working with these issues, is still an important impact.

The mini-dissertation analyses the international law obligations of the government and nonstate actors regarding the protection of internally displaced children living with HIV in the Democratic Republic of the Congo. The war and armed conflicts in the Eastern DRC have exacerbated the vulnerability of children, causing them to be separated from their families, to experience sexual violence and forced conscription into armed groups, to experience the violent deaths of a parent or friend, resulting in insufficient adult care. They further are subject to a lack of safe drinking water and food, insufficient access to health care services, discrimination and stigmatisation, and so on. These factors increase their risk of contracting HIV and, if they are already living with HIV, they adversely affect their welfare. The mini-dissertation illustrates that international, regional and domestic human rights instruments protecting children can be applied in situations of armed conflicts to supplement humanitarian law instruments. It demonstrates that the government of the DRC has not implemented and fulfilled its international obligations to ensure these children adequate access to health services and to humanitarian assistance for displaced persons living with HIV; security and protection within displaced persons camps; and that children are protected from abuse and human rights violations. The dissertation recommends the prosecution of perpetrators of crimes tied to the conflicts which have targeted children, as well as the ratification by the DRC of regional instruments such as the African Union Convention on the Protection and Assistance of Internally Displaced Persons in Africa, and the African Charter on the Rights and the Welfare of the Child, as this may enhance the legal protection of displaced children in the DRC. / Dissertation (LLM)--University of Pretoria, 2013. / gm2014 / Centre for Human Rights / unrestricted

The aim of this thesis was to investigate whether higher quality troops would perform better in civilian protection within UN-peacekeeping missions. The appropriate method to answer this question was through a Structured Focused Comparison and the most similar system design. The theory suggested that higher quality peacekeepers would be more effective in combating armed groups and directly protecting civilians during civil wars. However, the case comparison did not fully answer the given hypothesis. Instead, it showcased another dilemma that high-quality troops exhibit. These peacekeeping troops seemed reluctant to utilize their high-quality equipment and assets effectively for the mission. Instead, they displayed risk-aversive behaviour and difficulty to cooperate with other troop contributing nations. These findings have important implications for policy making.

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This study focuses on sexual violence in Goma and aims to study the significance of women, and perpetrators' mentality. To conduct this study, I have used a narrative method, and collected my data through several interviews and healthcare documents. The data consisted of narratives from rape survivors in Goma. This study has answered two research questions, RQ1: Do the women convey their stories in such a manner that gives indications of insignificance? RQ2: Could this mentality have existed before the First Congo War starting in 1996, and not only, as a consequence of the conflict? These questions are based on two hypotheses, H1: Women’s lives in Goma are seen as insignificant and H2: The mentality of seeing women as insignificant in Goma, existed before the First Congo War in 1996. Based on my data, I have concluded that these hypotheses have evidence to be true, with H1 having the most evidence. That said, there is still evidence that H2 is true, but I believe that further research is required to gather more detailed and reliable evidence. Previous research focused on the mentality during the conflict in Goma, and argued that this mentality emerged as a consequence of the conflict, whereas I have argued that the mentality existed before. The rapes in Goma are complex, and there is reason to believe that the topic is in a need of a study that will, at a fundamental level, analyse the lived lives of the women, and when a mentality that claims them not to have it, emerged. Therefore, the hypotheses and research questions were studied based on three main concepts: insignificance, lived life and mentality.

This thesis explores the Mbuti Pygmies, a sub-group of the Pygmy peoples, one of the main ethnic groups of the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC). The Mbuti Pygmies are settled mostly in the Ituri rainforest, and are, with regard to Christian mission, still unreached and unchurched. The oversight of the churches vis-à-vis these people is highlighted, through this thesis, as a challenge to Christian mission. This challenge is a result of the way Christian mission is understood and undertaken in DRC, namely in the selective and exclusive way of missioning, according to which some peoples are targeted and others forsaken. Churches in the DRC shy away from the Mbuti Pygmies probably because, on the one hand, these forest dwellers belong to the group of Pygmies whose existence as full human beings is enigmatic and very controversial. Because of the uniqueness of the Pygmy peoples in terms of physical features, culture, and way of life, on the other hand, the non-Pygmy peoples, including Christians, suffer from a kind of complex of superiority that creates in them a spirit of discrimination against the Mbuti Pygmies. As the Mbuti Pygmies are discriminated against even by Christians, it is very difficult for them to be taken into account within the mission agendas of the churches. This challenge to Christian mission is highlighted by two facts. Firstly, Christian mission is designed for all the nations to which the Mbuti Pygmies belong. Secondly, the churches, with their missional mandate to all the nations, shy away from the Mbuti Pygmies as if these people were outside the scope of Christian mission and, thus, unworthy of God’s grace and love.To remedy this challenge, with the aim of implementing Christian mission in the DRC, this study suggests a missional encounter as a way forward to addressing the Mbuti Pygmies. In practice, this may be implemented through the missionary conversion, the right perception of the Mbuti Pygmies as being fully made in the “image of God” and fully part of the “all nations”, promoting formal education among the Mbuti Pygmies, and sustaining the churches by an integrated theological education. / Christian Spirituality, Church History & Missiology / D. Th. (Missiology)

This thesis explores the Mbuti Pygmies, a sub-group of the Pygmy peoples, one of the main ethnic groups of the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC). The Mbuti Pygmies are settled mostly in the Ituri rainforest, and are, with regard to Christian mission, still unreached and unchurched. The oversight of the churches vis-à-vis these people is highlighted, through this thesis, as a challenge to Christian mission. This challenge is a result of the way Christian mission is understood and undertaken in DRC, namely in the selective and exclusive way of missioning, according to which some peoples are targeted and others forsaken. Churches in the DRC shy away from the Mbuti Pygmies probably because, on the one hand, these forest dwellers belong to the group of Pygmies whose existence as full human beings is enigmatic and very controversial. Because of the uniqueness of the Pygmy peoples in terms of physical features, culture, and way of life, on the other hand, the non-Pygmy peoples, including Christians, suffer from a kind of complex of superiority that creates in them a spirit of discrimination against the Mbuti Pygmies. As the Mbuti Pygmies are discriminated against even by Christians, it is very difficult for them to be taken into account within the mission agendas of the churches. This challenge to Christian mission is highlighted by two facts. Firstly, Christian mission is designed for all the nations to which the Mbuti Pygmies belong. Secondly, the churches, with their missional mandate to all the nations, shy away from the Mbuti Pygmies as if these people were outside the scope of Christian mission and, thus, unworthy of God’s grace and love.To remedy this challenge, with the aim of implementing Christian mission in the DRC, this study suggests a missional encounter as a way forward to addressing the Mbuti Pygmies. In practice, this may be implemented through the missionary conversion, the right perception of the Mbuti Pygmies as being fully made in the “image of God” and fully part of the “all nations”, promoting formal education among the Mbuti Pygmies, and sustaining the churches by an integrated theological education. / Christian Spirituality, Church History and Missiology / D. Th. (Missiology)