The European Union announced on Wednesday that it was cancelling its election observation mission in the Democratic Republic of Congo, citing “technical” reasons, reports suggest. On Tuesday evening, the EU had stated that its election observers who had arrived in the DRC had been unable to “deploy across the country for security reasons”, making their mission “impossible”.
Against a backdrop of escalating aggression in the eastern DRC, Damon Wilson, President and CEO of the National Endowment for Democracy (NED), has voiced grave anxiety. His description of the circumstances as a “major problem” and a “real nightmare” captures the essence of the dire humanitarian and security crisis brewing in the DRC, Ebenezer Mensah writes.
“The aggression in eastern DRC is a major problem, a real nightmare with horrific suffering and atrocities. Rwanda, M23 and other militias bear some responsibility, while Uganda was also present,” Wilson said in interviews with ACTUALITE.CD and 7sur7, adding that NED aims to help local people develop their capacity to be heard and seek justice.
“We have a major program based in Goma and Bukavu to support the Congolese, help them put pressure on, defend human rights, document violence to obtain justice, demand accountability, and take action advocacy on an international scale.”
Wilson highlighted the relative openness that reigns in the DRC and spoke of civil society actors suffering in neighboring countries: “Your country is much more open than your neighbors. Here we can express our ideas, organize actions, run campaigns and present candidates. It’s not perfect, but there is a space,” he said. “We support partners in Rwanda, Burundi, Angola, Uganda, but it is very difficult for them because there is no freedom of expression.”
@NEDemocracy‘s @DamonMacWilson voiced grave anxiety over the ‘major problem’ and ‘real nightmare’ of the dire humanitarian and security crisis brewing in the eastern region of the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC). https://t.co/upfBSoU41O
— Democracy Digest (@demdigest) November 30, 2023
The DRC also featured in the National Democratic Institute’s fifth dialogue in its “game changer” series about authoritarian exploitation of the environment. Emmanuel Umpula Nkumba, Executive Director of African Natural Resources Watch (AFREWATCH), described the impact of mining practices, the devastating consequences for local communities and how they have gotten worse under Chinese control of the mines. He described how AFREWATCH is working at the grassroots level to raise local awareness and train citizens to lodge complaints, as official regulations are often ignored. This allows people in the DRC to push back against these mining practices and gives a mechanism for democratic accountability.
