[Ugnet] UN to Disarm FDLR By 2010

The United Nations will aid the African Union (AU) to disarm the Democratic Forces for the Liberation of Rwanda (FDLR) militia by 2010, the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) report has indicated.

The Rwandan rebels, who perpetrated the 1994 Genocide, are camped in the eastern region of the Democratic Republic of the Congo.

The 2005-report launched at Sheraton Hotel, Kampala on Thursday, September 8, states that 15,000 African Union troops are required to effect the disarmament.

"AU is considering sending in troops to disarm hard-line Rwandan rebels in eastern DRC. Success in such operations will require a far higher level of coordinated support from the international community. The problem is that regional bodies in Africa lack resources, logistics and human capacity to act on such ambitious mandates," the 400-page report partly read.

"In 1996, the US launched the African Crisis Response Initiative to train Africa soldiers. By 2004 more than 10,000 troops had been trained. In February 2004, the European Union pledged $300 million for creating five regional, multinational standby brigades. These are a start, but still far short of an effective intervention force for responding rapidly to the region's conflicts. Establishing the Africa standby force proposed by the AU will require continuing support for planning and logistics if the proposed capacity of 15,000 troops is to be in place by 2010," the report read on.

The UN said, "Disarming the FDLR, expelling the armed forces of foreign states and bringing mineral exploitation under effective state control are immediate requirements for extending real security."

Minerals that include copper, gold, cobalt and timber in the DRC have been the centre of an un-endless civil conflict.

The report says that more often than not the FDLR rebels depend on illegal taxation and extortion as the means of raising revenue.

"In eastern Congo, FDLR impose illegal taxes and systematically pillage local markets. The weekly "war tax" exceeds the income of most local residents. Civilians are sometimes forced to pay the FDLR a large part of their profit from mining coltan, one of the few income-generating activities in the area. Banditry, livestock looting and the state's inability to provide protection make insecurity a daily reality in the conflict-affected region," UNDP said in the report.

Over one million Tutsi and moderate Hutu lost their lives in the genocide.

The UNDP, in its report, further says that aid delivered in the conflict-prone Rwanda exacerbated tension between the "groups".

"Development assistance benefiting a small part of the population to the exclusion of the majority contributed to inequality, fuelling resentment and contributing to structural violence. Had donors been more aware of the consequences of their actions and more willing to engage in conflict prevention, it is possible that they could have pre-empted the resulting Genocide," UNDP disclosed.

[Ugnet] UN to Disarm FDLR By 2010

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