Democratic Republic of Congo: Women animate a Platform for Peace
In Bukavu province, women of different faiths will take charge of the platform
A “dynamic woman and peace” platform has been created in North Kivu, South Kivu and Maniema, in the east of the Democratic Republic of Congo.
According to Fides Agency, the creation of the new reality was decided during the seminar organized August 21-23 by the Interdiocesan Justice and Peace Commission in Bukavu.
The aim of the meeting is the “strengthening of social cohesion and coexistence of women of different religious faiths in the ecclesiastical province of Bukavu.”
The platform brings together women of different religious denominations from the three eastern provinces of the Democratic Republic of Congo in order to “induce a strong participation of women in finding solutions to the challenges of social cohesion.”
To this end, the founders of the platform encourage “women of different religious denominations to contribute to peace as mothers, educators and guardians of life.”
They also call on local populations to solidarity with the internally displaced people of North Kivu, and to “resist manipulations that lead to violence in order not to fall into the trap of those who want to continue sowing chaos and exploiting the Democratic Republic of Congo.”
The three provinces in the eastern part of the Democratic Republic of Congo have been living for decades in instability caused by the presence of hundreds of armed groups, both local and foreign. In North Kivu operates mainly the M23, a well-organized and armed group, supported by Rwanda, which according to UN inquiries has also deployed its own military on Congolese territory.
Also raging between North Kivu and Ituri (another troubled Congolese province) are the Ugandan-born jihadists of the ADF (Allied Democratic Forces) who have joined the Islamic State. Then there are several other armed, ethnically based, or “self-defense” groups that contribute to the insecurity in North Kivu.
At least fifty local and foreign armed groups (of Rwandan and Burundian origin) operate in South Kivu. The territories most affected by their presence are Uvira and Fizi-itombwe.
Some 20 local armed groups are reported in Maniema province.
In total, in the five eastern provinces of the Democratic Republic of Congo (Ituri, North Kivu, South Kivu, Maniema, and Tanganyika) there are at least 266 armed groups (252 local and 14 of foreign origin) according to a calculation made in 2023 by the Program Coordinator for Disarmament, Demobilization, Recovery, and Community Stabilization (P-DDRCS).
Their presence is fueled by the trafficking of the enormous riches of these territories (coltan, gold, tin, timber, and others) illegally exploited in the absence of effective control of the territory by the Congolese state (whose military by the way is itself accused of participating in this trafficking).
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- Photo by spazio + spadoni