This thesis explores the underlying assumptions guiding the United Nations’ activities in the Democratic Republic of the Congo with regard to conflict-related sexual violence (CRSV). The purpose is to reveal how the organization’s ‘End Impunity’ narrative represents the problem of CRSV and to analyze the ideational premises that legitimize the solution of increased accountability and prosecution. This thesis conducts a qualitative discourse analysis inspired by the ‘What’s the Problem Represented to be’ approach to analyze the implicit content of the narrative’s key policy texts. The results show that the narrative problematizes the inability of the Congolese judiciary to prosecute perpetrators, the disregard of legislation prohibiting sexual violence and the lack of justice provided to survivors of these crimes. These problematizations are reliant on assumptions of the rationality of perpetrators of sexual violence, as well as the universality of the Western human rights norm and ‘modern’ institutions. The findings suggest that the UN represents the problem of CRSV to be a problem of law and weak legal institutions in the DRC. Whilst this could be contingent on the ‘collapsed nature’ of the Congolese state, this thesis argues that as the DRC is a central case in the UN’s efforts to fight CRSV, the results of the analysis can be applied to the wider population of countries affected by conflict and sexual violence.

Uganda currently hosts 1.4 million refugees and conflict-affected people. Known as the “best place” in Africa to be a refugee, Uganda’s policies encourage self-sufficiency and local integration. However, many refugees, particularly women and girls, face persistent challenges. Understanding the reproductive health needs of this population and exploring the accessibility of services for conflict-affected populations in this low-income host country is a priority. This multi-methods study aimed to assess the reproductive health needs of displaced Congolese women in camp- and urban-based settings in Uganda. We interviewed key informants, facilitated focus group discussions with refugee women, and conducted in-depth interviews with Congolese women of reproductive age to better understand knowledge, attitudes, practices, and services. Our results suggest that Congolese refugees have significant unmet reproductive health needs. Maternal health and delivery care is characterized by insufficient human resources, inconsistent medication availability, discrimination, bribery, and communications challenges. The availability of contraceptive products, including emergency contraception, is limited in camp-based settings due to supply-chain management challenges and theft by staff; lack of contraceptive knowledge among Congolese refugees shapes use. Finally, the legal restrictions on abortion lead to unsafe practices among refugees and pose a barrier to the provision of post-abortion care. This study provides insight for opportunities to improve the delivery of sexual and reproductive health services to refugees in Uganda to ensure that the infrastructure and processes align with national policies and international guidelines.

The subject of discourse in this study is ‘leadership and governance imperatives for development in the Democratic Republic of the Congo’. The qualitative research method was deemed the most suitable in attaining the objectives of the study. The study comprises six chapters. The main objective of the study is to contribute to an understanding of the challenges that constitute a stumbling block for the establishment of a system that promotes good governance and places the DRC on the path to development. Beyond the analysis of challenges, the study also examines the environment in which leaders evolve and it focuses on leadership challenges and governance imperatives that prevail in the current setting of the country. In this context, the study formulates a framework for leadership development. The study aims at proposing a perspective for leadership development considering the fact that the DRC urgently requires leaders who are competent and effective, and who can consider modern principles of management and governance as provided by the case studies of Brazil and Botswana in order to offer the much needed leadership in the nation-building process. Considering the crises the DRC has endured throughout the years, leadership’s role is of great importance as leaders have the ability to transform the adverse circumstances that Congolese people have faced since the inception of independence. The study insists that is possible only if leaders can inspire hope and change the patterns of how things have been done in the country. The DRC needs leaders who are able to help unleash its potential and allow the country to regain and to maximise its strategic position as a significant player in the continental geopolitical affairs. The thesis argues that the success of any leadership mainly depends on the kind of social order that prevails in the DRC and on the type of the political arrangement adopted by its leaders. The main challenge facing the DRC is establishing an effective leadership. The legacy of colonisation coupled with the misrule by Congolese cadres have made it difficult for the DRC to secure a system that promotes good governance and creates conditions for economic development. An effective and purposeful leadership has the ability to provide a clear policy guideline that might bring about change in the functioning of the country’s institutions. In the case of the DRC, an effective leadership will be the one that will create an environment that promotes the reforms much needed in the political and administrative structures of the country and, consequently, enhance conditions for a successful implementation of policies for the betterment of all. This study proposes that Congolese people deserve a civilised nation and a set of capable leaders who can maximise the country’s abundant resources so that citizens can benefit from the country’s wealth. As soon as the DRC finds the path to prosperity and development, it will be possible for the country to also impact positively on its neighbouring countries and the whole continent at large. / Thesis (PhD)--University of Pretoria, 2012. / gm2013 / School of Public Management and Administration (SPMA) / unrestricted

Background: In the Republic of the Congo, malaria is a major cause of death, in particular among children. Therefore, malaria prevention is of high priority. Registered nurses have an important role in illness prevention in sub-Saharan Africa, especially through education of the population. To improve malaria prevention, it is important to understand how registered nurses experience the preventive work. Objective: The objective of this study was to examine the experiences of registered nurses working with malaria prevention in the Republic of the Congo. Method: A qualitative method was used. Semi-structured interviews with six registered nurses in the Republic of the Congo were conducted. Qualitative content analysis was used to analyse the interviews. Findings: Three categories were identified in the analysis: preventive interventions are necessary, possibilities in malaria prevention and difficulties in malaria prevention. The registered nurses experienced that preventive interventions, such as different methods of avoiding mosquito bites, are necessary because malaria affects the entire population in Congo. The registered nurses experienced educating and informing the patients as a possibility in malaria prevention and a lack of resources as a difficulty. Conclusion: The registered nurses experienced education and information as an effective way to communicate preventive interventions against malaria. However, the registered nurses sometimes experienced incomprehension among the patients, which could be improved by adapting the information to the individual. A difficulty that the registered nurses experienced was a lack of resources on many levels. An increased access to resources would lead to improvements in malaria prevention.

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This thesis evaluates the effectiveness of the United Nations Organisation Stabilisation Mission in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (MONUSCO) in addressing the conflict in the DRC. Through a comprehensive analysis of MONUSCO's performance using established theoretical frameworks and success parameters for UN missions, the study highlights the mission's achievements and shortcomings. By focusing on a single mission, one can thoroughly study the circumstances surrounding the peacekeeping operation, thus allowing a complete understanding of the chosen parameters. Despite some strategic successes, MONUSCO faced significant challenges, including inadequate resources, external interference, and ineffective diplomatic efforts. The findings demonstrate that understanding these factors is essential when analysing mission effectiveness, as they directly impact the outcome and the interpretation of the results.

In my diploma thesis I try for an objective evaluation and analysis of the history of the Democratic republic of the Congo since the year 1960, when the country gained its independence from Belgium, until the first years of the 21st century. The whole time period of 50 years of the existence of the country is divided into several intervals according to important events, which influenced the country's political development. Consequently one chapter of the thesis is devoted to each time period. In the conclusion of my thesis I try to evaluate the contemporary situation in the Democratic republic of the Congo and suggest solutions for the future.

Philosophiae Doctor - PhD / Since a number of studies on textbooks in Second Language Acquisition (SLA) have shown that textbooks hold a major place in education (De Guzman, 2000; Oakes & Saunders, 2004), this study proposes to investigate the content of an English Language Teaching (ELT)/ English as a Second Language (ESL) textbook used in 6th form secondary school (Grade 12) in the DRC, Go for English 1RE. It aims to identify and evaluate the content of this ELT textbook so as to deduce and derive main insights for the determination or not of its appropriateness and relevance in terms of its contribution to language use and literacy in the ELT/ESL curriculum of the DRC. The study draws its theoretical underpinning from two theories: the Cunningsworth’s textbook analysis theory and McDonough and Shaw evaluation theory. As research design, the study adopts an a descriptive, exploratory and interpretive design which draws on both quantitative and qualitative data collected on the basis of textbook evaluation checklist and semi-structured interviews. In regard to the procedural orientation, the study uses descriptive and content analysis to analyze, interpret and examine both interviews and textbook evaluation likert-scale checklist data. In respect of its data, the study uses ‘mixed methods approach’. Both qualitative and quantitative data come from 259 teacher and student participants on the basis of two different samples. The quantitative data comes from 209 student participants and 25 teacher participants and the qualitative data from 10 student participants and 15 teacher participants. The findings attest to the general content of "Go for English 1RE ELT" textbook in regard to language activities and tasks related to its subject matter, to the quality and nature of language it contains, and finally to the diversity in its subject matter and its cultural aspects, is suitable for language use and literacy skills development. However, even though its content is suitable, the findings also indicate that this ELT textbook is not well adapted to Congolese 6th form secondary school students’ level.

Fazendo uso da teoria da interseccionalidade, a presente pesquisa objetiva caracterizar, através da interpretação da narrativa construída pelo jornal Le Soir sobre a comunidade congolesa em Bruxelas, o imaginário belga acerca dos fluxos migratórios entre a atual República Democrática do Congo e a Bélgica contemporânea, durante o lapso temporal compreendido entre 1989 e 2000. Neste esforço, dentro do período estabelecido, foi possível identificar as levas migratórias de congoleses e sua relação com os diferentes contextos políticos e econômicos do país africano; ficaram visíveis, também, uma realidade de falta de interseccionalidade nas políticas públicas, de abusos, por parte das autoridades, de insuficiência, por parte das instituições, e de estranhamento e exotização, por parte do belga, de forma geral, ante a comunidade imigrante congolesa e também africana presente no país / Using the theory of intersectionality, the present research aims to characterize, through the interpretation of the narrative constructed by the Belgian newspaper Le Soir on the Congolese community in Brussels, the Belgian imaginary of the migratory flows between the now Democratic Republic of Congo and contemporary Belgium, during the temporal lapse between 1989 and 2000. In this effort, within the period established, it was possible to identify the Congolese migratory movements and their relation with the different political and economic contexts of the African country; also, became explicit a lack of intersectionality in public policies, abuses by the authorities, a institutional insufficiency on the part of the institutions, and a relation of estrangement and exoticization, in general, on the part of the Belgian, regarding the Congolese and the African immigrant community living in the country

Fazendo uso da teoria da interseccionalidade, a presente pesquisa objetiva caracterizar, através da interpretação da narrativa construída pelo jornal Le Soir sobre a comunidade congolesa em Bruxelas, o imaginário belga acerca dos fluxos migratórios entre a atual República Democrática do Congo e a Bélgica contemporânea, durante o lapso temporal compreendido entre 1989 e 2000. Neste esforço, dentro do período estabelecido, foi possível identificar as levas migratórias de congoleses e sua relação com os diferentes contextos políticos e econômicos do país africano; ficaram visíveis, também, uma realidade de falta de interseccionalidade nas políticas públicas, de abusos, por parte das autoridades, de insuficiência, por parte das instituições, e de estranhamento e exotização, por parte do belga, de forma geral, ante a comunidade imigrante congolesa e também africana presente no país / Using the theory of intersectionality, the present research aims to characterize, through the interpretation of the narrative constructed by the Belgian newspaper Le Soir on the Congolese community in Brussels, the Belgian imaginary of the migratory flows between the now Democratic Republic of Congo and contemporary Belgium, during the temporal lapse between 1989 and 2000. In this effort, within the period established, it was possible to identify the Congolese migratory movements and their relation with the different political and economic contexts of the African country; also, became explicit a lack of intersectionality in public policies, abuses by the authorities, a institutional insufficiency on the part of the institutions, and a relation of estrangement and exoticization, in general, on the part of the Belgian, regarding the Congolese and the African immigrant community living in the country