Thesis (M.M. (Security))--University of the Witwatersrand, Faculty of Commerce, Law and Management, Graduate School of Public and Development Management, 2012. / This study sets out to examine the causes for the continued conflicts in the Kivu particularly after the establishment of a transitional government in the DRC in 2004 and the elections in 2006. Three factors appear to account for the continued conflicts. First is the ethnic divide between the local population and the Kinyarwanda speakers that have settled in the region overtime. This conflict is mostly centered on the land issues which were not addressed in the final agreements for the establishment of the transitional government in Kinshasa, at Sun City in 2002. It should not be surprising that this sparked new fighting in 2006 after the elections. Second is the continued existence of a central power vacuum. This is mainly because the national army is neither strong nor disciplined enough to establish its hegemony in the area. Its task was made more difficult by the continued Rwandan interests in the area, which went beyond security concerns. Thus the Nkunda rebellion was only successful because of Rwandan support. Third is the continuation of the war economy centered on the exploitation of natural resources that are abundant in the area. This has helped to fund the war in the Kivus, and as long as there are profits to be made from natural resources exploitation, conflicts and violence in the area will continue. The conclusion from this study is that peace in the Kivus needs the establishment of a central administration with both military power to secure the area, in particular the mining areas and judicial authority to prosecute the warlords and armed groups that continue to benefit from the continuation of conflicts and violence in the area.

Researchers and policy makers largely focus on gender-based violence (GBV) in eastern Congo’s conflict zones, leaving the remainder of the vast country understudied. Few in-depth studies exist regarding the nature and dynamics of gender-based violence that occurs in non-conflict zones in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) or on a regular basis within households of eastern DRC. This study uses the 2014 DRC Demographic Health Survey (DHS) data to explore the key factors that are associated with all forms of violence against women and girls in the DRC and takes a more refined look at the association between conflict and GBV than any other empirical study to date. By using a multilevel modeling approach, the research examines key risk factors at the individual, community and province level that influence a woman’s exposure or not to physical and sexual violence in the DRC. By developing and including variables that quantify social norms and attitudes as well as spatially joining data from the Armed Conflict Location and Event Database, the study analyzes the role of individual and contextual factors and the relationship between gender-based violence and conflict. Findings highlight that a woman’s experience of intergenerational violence and patriarchal norms at the individual and community levels are among the strongest predictors of GBV in the DRC, and that intimate partner violence (IPV) is the most prevalent form of GBV, even in areas of conflict. Surprising results show that a woman is less likely to experience GBV in areas of higher armed conflict – even when considering non-husband violence. The results do not show higher levels of IPV in areas that experience higher instances of violent conflict, contradicting studies conducted in other contexts. One of the most striking results of this study is the significant and consistent role that community-level variables play in the models -- demonstrating the valuable contribution of multilevel analysis and use of contextual variables. This study underscores how critical the use of “neighborhood” variables is to understanding GBV risks and validates the use of the ecological theoretical framework, moving beyond only individual risk factors to explain GBV in the DRC context. / 1 / Monica Carlson

Review of forestry policy and deforestation in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, with a look at REDD, national parks, forest certification systems, non-timber forest products (NTFPs) and a focus on community-based conservation.

Thesis advisor: James Keenan / Thesis advisor: Daniel J. Daly / Thesis (STL) — Boston College, 2021. / Submitted to: Boston College. School of Theology and Ministry. / Discipline: Sacred Theology.

MAAS / Department of Development Studies / See the attached abstract below

Thesis (MA (Political Science))--University of Stellenbosch, 2010. / ENGLISH ABSTRACT: The climate of the Great Lakes Region fostered desperate sources of insecurity which fed each other in a conflict-system which was also largely fuelled by the surrounding war economy. Consequently, the focus of this study was narrowed to providing only a descriptive analysis of the Democratic Republic of the Congo’s peace processes of 1998-2002. Subsequently, the surrounding climate served to aggravate the DRC’s ethnic cleavages and the conflict grew so complex that the issues could no longer be clearly divided. The motivation for conducting a study of this nature was that amidst the twenty-three failed attempts for peace, the conflict persisted with no signs of abating, which suggests that a historical and discourse analysis of the peace processes is justified. This study found that during these peace processes, far greater prominence was given to Track I diplomacy than to the unofficial Track II diplomacy. This was due to various limitations that existed. This distinction is fundamental because even though unofficial diplomacy has a different function to official diplomacy, their values are equal and more effective in a peace process when there is a collaborative effort between the two. This is called a Multi-Track approach (Diamond and McDonald, 1996). Thus this study proposes that by giving Track II diplomacy a greater prominence in a peace process, the Multi-Track approach would be fully utilized. It suggests that governmental, informal, and unofficial contact in civil society is fundamental in trust-building between parties in negotiation. Overall, there is value in providing a critical descriptive analysis of both Track I and Track II diplomatic initiatives that were undertaken during the 1998-2002 peace process, in order to expose the shortcomings. In doing so, this study presents the Multi-Track approach in order to emphasize its potential efficacy in addressing similar future cases of intractable conflict. / AFRIKAANSE OPSOMMING: Die omstandighede in die Groot Merestreek het onsekerheid gekweek, wat mekaar versterk het in die konteks van ’n konflik-sisteem wat ook deur die omliggende oorlog-ekonomie aangevuur was. Gevolglik is hierdie studie se fokus beperk tot ‘n beskrywende analise van die vredesprosesse wat tydens 1998-2002 op die tweede rebellie in die Demokratiese Republiek van die Kongo gevolg het. Die omstandighede in die omliggende omgewing het die DRK se etniese splitsings vererger, en die konflik het so kompleks geword dat daar nie meer duidelik tussen die verskillende geskilpunte onderskei kon word nie. Die motivering vir hierdie studie is dat daar te midde van die drie-en-twintig mislukte vredespogings geen teken was dat die konflik aan die afneem was nie, wat suggereer dat ’n historiese diskoers analise van die vredesproses geregverdig is. Hierdie studie het gevind dat daar gedurende hierdie vredesprosesse ’n veel meer prominente rol aan die amptelike Track I-diplomasie as aan die nie-amptelike Track II-diplomasie toegeken was, as gevolg van verskeie beperkinge wat bestaan het. Hierdie onderskeid is van kardinale belang; ten spyte van die feit dat nie-amptelike diplomasie ’n ander funksie as amptelike diplomasie vervul, dra dit ewe veel waarde en behoort vredesprosesse waar daar samewerking tussen die twee inisiatiewe plaasvind dus meer effektief te wees. Hierdie redenasie word ’n Multi-Track benadering genoem. Hierdie studie stel voor dat die Multi- Track benadering meer effektief geïmplementeer kan word deurdat daar aan Track IIdiplomasie ’n meer prominente rol in die vredesproses toegeken word; dit stel dus ook voor dat regeringskontak, informele en nie-amptelike kontak tussen gewone burgers van kardinale belang in die bou van vetroue tussen bemiddelingspartye is. Daar lê dus waarde daarin om ’n krities-beskrywende analise van beide Track I- en Track II inisiatiewe wat tydens die 1998-2002 vredesprosesse onderneem is weer te gee, ten einde die tekortkominge daarvan uit te wys. Op hierdie manier hou hierdie studie die Multi-Track benadering voor om uiteindelik die potensiële bruikbaarheid van hierdie benadering in soortgelyke toekomstige gevalle van konflik te beklemtoon.

Magister Legum - LLM / This thesis examines the sexual rights violation in Eastern DRC, which has been described as the worst in the world. The sexual violence against women and children in this country is systematic and widespread and perpetrated by armed groups, and increasingly also by civilians. The prosecution of sexual offences should contribute to the reduction of these offences, but the Congolese state prosecutes very few cases. The resulting impunity became an obstacle to the state to stop sexual violence, which become unable to overcome the obstacles to prosecutorial action. The successful prosecution of sexual offenders in Eastern DRC faces many obstacles and requires an exceptional jurisdiction which must provide a minimum of better freely conditions to the prosecutors and better unrestrained justice access to the victims. The enforcement of the international instruments of justice will be possible only by this jurisdiction. The victims of sexual violence need more confidence in the jurisdiction which is really working for them to attain justice.

Thesis advisor: O. Ernesto Valiente / Thesis advisor: Andrew R. Davis / Reconciliation is based on a change in the attitude of humans toward one another and toward God. Jacob returns to Canaan to obey an order of God and to fulfill his promise. His encounter with God upsets him. His deference to Esau shows a change of attitude that produces a reciprocal effect on his brother. By sharing his wealth, Jacob recognizes the goodness of God who has filled him, accompanied him on his return and touched Esau to welcome him. Esau, also beneficiary of God's generosity, knows how to forget the past and to show himself in favor of his brother. The two brothers are blessed, and they bless each other. This mutual blessing goes beyond the sharing of material wealth. The forgiveness granted and received constitutes a central piece where each protagonist feels lifted up: Jacob recovers his status of a brother (no longer a target to be destroyed), and Esau’s face reminds the loving face of God. And I think, this is the moment when reconciliation happens between the two brothers. The account of Genesis 32-33 provides us with the (historical) example of a process of reconciliation anchored in a spiritual vision, with the participation of God and human beings. These features of Jacob-Esau process of reconciliation can be built upon to foster reconciliation among the estranged individuals and groups in the Congolese and African context. / Thesis (STL) — Boston College, 2018. / Submitted to: Boston College. School of Theology and Ministry. / Discipline: Sacred Theology.

The thesis pinpoints the responsibility of external powers in the tragic course of the Democratic Republic of Congo, as well as their influence on the policy making its leaders, from 1997 to 2001. It points out that, given the country’s geostrategic position in the heart of Africa and its immense natural resources, foreign governments play the preeminent role in the shaping of its destiny, particularly during the abovementioned five-year period marked by the two Congo Wars. This role had been blunt in the demise of Mobutu’s 32 year-long reckless, kleptocratic regime, as a consequence of the shift, by the United States of America aiming to safeguard its hegemonic interests in Central Africa, of the strategically pivotal pawn from Zaire to Uganda in the aftermath of the end of the Cold War. Thus, craving a great influence in the continent and sponsored by multinational companies from North America, Belgium, Australia and South Africa, Ugandan President Yoweri Museveni, along with his ex-subordinate Rwandan Deputy President Paul Kagame, patronized in October 1996 the Alliance of the Democratic Forces for the Liberation of Congo (AFDL), a Congolese rebel group led by Laurent Kabila and committed to oust Field Marshal Mobutu who bit the dust on 17 May 1997. The superseding AFDL reign will be mainly featured by the takeover of key positions of the state authority by Rwandans and Ugandans (keeping President Kabila in the thrall of his two eastern mentors), the throttling of the democratic process, the conditioning by major powers of any funding of Kinshasa’s triennial development programme to the Kabila regime’s observance of democracy, human rights and a UN investigation of the mass killing of Hutu Rwandese refugees on the DRC’s soil. That international community’s stance infuriated the Congolese leader who reconsidered all mining contracts signed with multinationals, developing anti-West discourse, promoted South-South cooperation, and expressed Rwandans and Ugandans from the Congo. The Western-backed Rwanda and Uganda bounced back by undertaking a military toppling of Laurent Kabila; but they reaped a fiasco because of three factors: intervention of Zimbabwe, Angola, Namibia, Chad and Sudan siding with Kinshasa; dissention within the Congolese Rally for Democracy (RCD); and tension between Kigali and Kampala that initiated the creation of a new rebel group: the Movement for the Liberation of Congo (MLC). The stalemate brought about by this situation and the involvement of the UN, the OAU, the SADC, the US, France and Belgium compelled the warring parties to conclude the Lusaka Agreement, setting up a roadmap for the war end, the inter-Congolese dialogue, a new transitional government, and an electoral process toward the democratic rebirth in the DRC. However, the Lusaka Agreement will be implemented thanks to the rise of Major General Joseph Kabila, after the assassination of his phantasmagoric father Laurent Kabila, paving the way to the Third Republic.

A dissertation submitted to the Faculty of Science, University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg, in fulfilment of requirements for the degree of Master of Science. August 2014. / The Central African Copperbelt is located in the Lufilian Arc which straddles the border between Zambia and the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC). Mineralisation of the cupriferous Arc is found in basal Neoproterozoic Katangan Supergroup sedimentary rocks, which in DRC are termed the Mines Series Subgroup. The Mines Series is divided into the dolomitic and carbonaceous GRAT, DStrat RSF, RSC, SD and CMN units. The composition of the units is homogeneous across the Lubumbashi district and potentially across the Katangan basin. This study focussed on the Kinsevere and Ruashi deposits in the Lubumbashi district, which are approximately 50 km apart. The study confirmed that relative eustatic sea level changes resulted in the non-deposition of the RSF and RSC stratigraphic units at Kinsevere. Sedimentation was followed by early pervasive potassic alteration and silicification at the diagenetic stage whilst a magnesian dolomitisation event resulted in alteration of potassic feldspars and recrystallisation of carbonates. Albitisation was veincontrolled and late-stage scapolitisation altered evaporitic nodules. Finally, haematisation by late iron-rich fluids circulating through the Roan Group strata resulted in oxidation of sulphides. The structural analysis of Kinsevere Central pit indicates E-W and N-S shortening whereas the Ruashi pit 1 deposit underwent NE-SW and N-S shortening. Initial shortening, associated with Kolwezian deformation (D1), resulted in the formation of NE-thrust folds and a primary set of joints. The Kolwezian deformation event (D2), reoriented the shortening direction from E-W to N-S, creating interference folds and possibly a second set of joints. The final phase in the structural evolution of the Kinsevere and Ruashi deposits was late-stage brittle deformation (faulting). Mineralisation was a multi-stage process. Disseminated chalcopyrite and carrollite were deposited from formation waters during diagenesis in a stable basin environment. Chalcopyrite, carrollite, chalcocite and bornite are predominantly located at the base of the DStrat, whereas chalcopyrite and pyrite dominate the stratigraphically higher portions of the deposits. Hypogene vein mineralisation began at the syn- to late- orogenic stage with carrollite and chalcopyrite in beddingparallel veins. Possible changes in the compression direction created the perpendicularly oriented veins that host chalcopyrite, carrollite, bornite, covellite, digenite and chalcocite. Finally a late stage of chalcopyrite and pyrite deposition occurred in and around the evaporites, indicating a strong correlation between mineralisation, evaporites and scapolitisation. iii Near-surface supergene alteration of hypogene sulphide ores, resulted in Cu-Co carbonates and oxides, such as malachite, azurite, cobaltiferous malachite, chrysocolla, kolwezite and sphaerocobaltite being deposited in vugs and pore spaces above the meteoric water line. Faulted and brecciated zones tend to have deeper supergene alteration. Between the sulphide facies at depth and the supergene oxide facies at surface is a transition zone which marks the depth to which oxidation has penetrated. Sulphur isotope analysis from the Kinsevere and Ruashi deposits suggests a sulphur contribution from a continental Red-Bed sedimentary source and from an evaporitic source.