The conflict in the Democratic Republic of the Congo has been characterized by armed violence carried out against civilian populations. Despite a formal end to hostilities with outside states, numerous cease fire agreements and an internationally sanctioned disarmament program, Congolese civilians continue to be targeted in attacks. Research suggests that addressing the demand for Small Arms and Light Weapons as part of the broader disarmament process may decrease the proliferation of weapons and reduce armed violence. The research undertaken as part of this thesis attempted broadly to identify some of the factors contributing to the demand for small arms and light weapons in the Democratic Republic of the Congo. It suggests that insecurity, weak governance and regional politics, historical and cultural factors and socio economic factors significantly contribute to the demand for small arms and must be addressed in order to reduce armed violence. ?

L’étude a pour objet d’analyser les rapports qui peuvent être établis entre l’exploitation des hydrocarbures et la protection de l’environnement en République du Congo. Malgré son intitulé, il s’agit d’une étude de droit international, dans laquelle le droit de la mer et surtout le droit international de l’environnement contribuent par leurs règles respectives à limiter les conditions d’exercice des activités d’exploitation des hydrocarbures. C’est – en effet – sous le prisme du développement en droit international et d’une évolution internationale presque continue, que ces rapports, appréciés dans le cadre du droit national congolais, peuvent revêtir leur pleine signification. L’étude fait le constat d’une exclusion mutuelle, pour des raisons qui tiennent à la fois à la priorité nationale reconnue à l’exploitation des hydrocarbures et à la faiblesse encore significative des règles environnementales, telles qu’elles sont transcrites en droit interne. Elle permet de fonder ce constat sur une approche isolée de chacune d’entre elles, qui limite les possibilités d’interaction réciproque. Rendant ces deux régimes peut complémentaires. S’appuyant sur l’exigence soulignée par le CIJ en 1997 d’une conciliation nécessaire entre eux, l’étude montre comment l’émergence en droit international de cette démarche de conciliation est traduite en droit interne sous l’effet de la dynamique du développement durable. Il en résulte, malgré la prudence nécessaire d’un pays en développement, qui ne peut compter pour l’instant que sur cette rente économique et financière, une volonté affirmée par les autorités nationales d’adopter une gestion rationnelle de l’exploitation. À cet égard, l’action positive de la conciliation devient, dans un contexte de crise climatique et de nécessité d’une nouvelle orientation vers la transition énergétique, le vecteur de cette transformation profonde qui doit se concrétiser par une réforme juridique de même ampleur, intégrant la gestion de l’ensemble des ressources énergétiques dans un cadre juridique intégré et favorable à la disparition progressive de ces ressources carbonées et leur remplacement par des énergies plus propres et renouvelables. / The purpose of the study is to analyze the relationships that can be established between the exploitation of hydrocarbons and the protection of the environment in the Republic of Congo. Despite its title, it is a study of international law, in which the law of the sea and especially international environmental law contribute by their respective rules to limit the conditions for the exercise of the activities of exploitation of the hydrocarbons. It is - indeed - under the prism of development in international law and of an almost continuous international evolution, that these relations, appreciated within the framework of the Congolese national law, can take full significance. The study finds a mutual exclusion, for reasons that are due both to the national priority recognized for the exploitation of hydrocarbons and the still significant weakness of environmental rules, as transcribed in domestic law. It makes it possible to base this observation on an isolated approach of each of them, which limits the possibilities of reciprocal interaction. Making these two schemes lowly complement to each other. Based on the requirement emphasized by the ICJ in 1997 of a necessary conciliation between them, the study shows how the emergence in international law of this process of conciliation is translated into domestic law under the effect of the dynamics of the sustainable development. As a result, in spite of the necessary prudence of a developing country, which can only count on this economic and financial rent for the moment, the will of the national authorities to adopt a rational management of the exploitation. In this respect, the positive action of conciliation becomes, in the context of a climate crisis and the need for a new orientation towards the energy transition, the vector of this profound transformation which must be translated into legal reform of the same magnitude. integrating the management of all energy resources into an integrated legal framework favorable to the gradual disappearance of these carbon resources and their replacement by cleaner and renewable energies.

No abstract available. / Dissertation (LLM)--University of Pretoria, 2013. / gm2014 / Centre for Human Rights / unrestricted

The economic dimension of conflicts has enjoyed increasing attention in research dealing with the dynamics of contemporary conflict. The nexus between natural resources, economics and conflict has played a defining role in a number of Africa’s most intractable conflicts during the 1990s and early 2000s. The underlying assumption of this study is that the economic dimension of conflict can be hugely informative in terms of an understanding as to why peace agreements fail and in that sense can contribute to the resolution of conflicts if taken into account during the formulation of peace agreements. This study explores the ways in which conflict theory has dealt with the conflict-economics nexus, analyzing the extent to which theory illuminates the conflict reality in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) during the period August 1998 to August 2004. It determines to what degree peace agreements in the DRC have taken the economic dimension and insights gained from the academic exploration of this topic into account during the negotiation and formulation of these agreements. In conclusion the study proposes a number of recommendations in terms of the peace process in the DRC with possible wider application for other peace agreements. / Dissertation (MA (International Relations))--University of Pretoria, 2008. / Political Sciences / unrestricted

The aim of the work Failed States in International Relations is the examination of this phenomenon regarding the terminological discrepancy, causes of the state fragility, security and social aspects and the various attitudes from the side of the international communities. A special part is dealing with so called "successfully failed states" where despite the obvious non-functioning the state is able to survive due to the revenues from the natural resources. The ?ndings are represented on the case study of the Democratic Republic of the Congo - a country with huge potential but miserable performance by now.

This thesis elaborates on a complex, multilayered gender perspective of mineral exports in the conflict of the eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo. The focus lies on the Dodd-Frank Act and its implications for sexual gender-based violence, both conflict and non-conflict related, as well as socioeconomic dimensions. The in-depth analysis of these factors indicates, that after the initiation of the well-intended Act, the occurrence of sexual gender-based violence has increased and socioeconomic situation for women have worsened. Possible reasons can be found in the sole focus on Western narratives and the neglect of local perspectives.

Magister Legum - LLM / During armed conflicts, women experience more abuses than their male counterpart. Besides, the disruption of national security systems resulting form the social and political troubles, exposes women to more violation of their human rights in the postconflict setting. During the last decade, the international community has employed noteworthy efforts to protect women from the effects of armed conflicts, and to ensure the prosecution of violators of women’s rights in post-conflict situations. This included inter alia, the adoption of binding treaties calling for protection of women against sexual and gender based violence(GBV), and the creation of an international Criminal Court and International tribunals to prosecute persons for the most serious crimes of international concern, including sexual and gender violence. During the armed conflict that occurred in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) between 1996 and 2003, a significant number of GBV acts were committed against women. Reports and statistical data from humanitarian organisations working in the DRC indicated an increase of GBV acts against women after the official cessation of the conflict. Moreover, reports indicated the emergence of GBV acts against women in areas that did not witness such acts during the conflict. The research paper interrogates, from a criminal justice angle, the response given to GBV acts perpetrated against women in the post-conflict setting. Furthermore, the research questions the access of women to justice and interrogates the challenges bedevilling this access at the national and international level. In addition, the research formulates recommendations aimed at enhancing the access of women survivor of GBV to justice, and for an effective prosecution of perpetrators of such acts.

"The problem of displacement remains formidable, especially in Africa. It is exacerbated by Afirca's continuous conflicts and bad policies that are taken and effected in the name of development. Women and children remain the worst victims of internal displacement. This is so because in real life, women and children are vulnerable. Thus adding on internal displacement is too much for them. There is still no international enforceable mechanism by which the protection of the rights of internally displaced persons (IDPs), and in particular women and children, can be ensured. This leaves such rights at the mercy of the states within which the internal displacement occurs. ... Chapter 2 will comprise of analysis of who an IDP is and the magnitude of the problem of internal displacement in Uganda and the DRC. This will also entail identification of the causes of internal displacement in both countries. Chapter 3 will identify and critically analyse the rights of women and children as IDPs. This analysis will focus on the conditions prevailing in Uganda and the DRC. Chapter 4 will come up with detailed and comprehensive recommendations as to what can be done to attain the acknowledgement, protection and enforcement of the rights of women and children that arise out of internal displacement. Chapter 5 will have a suitable conclusion to the study. It will show whether the findings of the study prove its hypotheses." -- Introduction. / Thesis (LLM (Human Rights and Democratisation in Africa)) -- University of Pretoria, 2004. / Prepared under the supervision of Prof. Jean-Didier Boukongu and Dr. Atangcho Ndji Akonumbo at the Catholic University of Central Africa, Yaounde, Cameroon / http://www.chr.up.ac.za/academic_pro/llm1/dissertations.html / Centre for Human Rights / LLM

This dissertation seeks to explore the principle of complementarity, its advantages and its success so far through the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) self-referral to the International Criminal Court (ICC). It seeks also to investigate whether there are loopholes in the principle of complementarity, especially with regard to referrals by the Security Council involving states that are not parties to the Rome Statute. In particular the dissertation seeks to explore whether states can use this principle to hamper the efforts of the ICC to bring justice to victims of the most serious crimes of international concern and to end impunity / Thesis (LLM (Human Rights and Democratisation in Africa)) -- University of Pretoria, 2008. / A Dissertation submitted to the Faculty of Law University of Pretoria, in partial fulfilment of the requirements for the degree Masters of Law (LLM in Human Rights and Democratisation in Africa). Prepared under the supervision of Dr Raymond Koen of the Faculty of Law, University of Western Cape, South Africa / http://www.chr.up.ac.za/ / Centre for Human Rights / LLM

The purpose of this thesis is to investigate some of the contending issues associated with economic underdevelopment in sub-Saharan African states. Specifically, this thesis focuses on the combined effects of World Bank and International Monetary Fund (IMF) economic austerity programs, the increased spread of the HIV/AIDS pandemic, and the continuous democratic deficit on the sluggish economic performance within four sub-Saharan African countries – Ghana, Kenya, Botswana and the Democratic Republic of Congo. The research questions are: are there any unique political, cultural, and economic issues that underscore and determine the path of sub-Saharan African development? What are the potentials for sub-Saharan Africa going beyond its present state of socioeconomic and political underdevelopment? Can sub-Saharan African nation-states truly claim the 21st century? It is hoped that what is learned from examining the situation in these four countries may be generalizeable to other sub-Saharan African states. This thesis has been written with the conviction that sub-Saharan Africa, although it has missed opportunities over the past thirty years, has not completely closed the door on economic development. Although sub-Saharan African conditions have not favored development and there is no simple solution for sub-Saharan Africa's economic and social ills, there are a number of 'common sense' approaches toward sustainable economic and social development. This thesis examines why sub-Saharan Africa's economic crisis has persevered for three decades, and why efforts to establish and uphold more effective economic policies and functioning public institutions have been so much more difficult in sub-Saharan Africa than elsewhere. My account concentrates on political and institutional factors: I explore how the predicament has progressed over the last thirty years, and the repercussions of the long-term nature of this predicament. The focal purpose is to identify and explain the causes which have kept sub-Saharan Africa for several decades mired in an ostensibly permanent crisis. The general theme of the thesis emphasizes that politics and economics are interconnected in sub-Saharan Africa. Moreover, the thesis focuses on the changing role of politics and markets in the process of economic development since the 1970s – and prospects for the future of this region.