On 17 December 2012, Jason Stearns, director of the RVI Usalama Project, discussed the capture of Goma by the M23 rebel group and the escalation of violence in the eastern Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) at a public event in London. Organized by the Africa Programme at Chatham House, in association with RVI, the event was entitled ‘M23 and the Challenges to Peace in the Eastern DRC’. The panel included Ben Shepherd, associate fellow at Chatham House and a former Director of Studies on the RVI Great Lakes Course, and Bronwen Manby of the Africa Governance Monitoring and Advocacy Project (AfriMAP). The event included a vigorous Q&A session, featured in this podcast, involving senior diplomats from the Great Lakes region. The audio recording was made by Chatham House and is also available from their website.

“The capture of Goma by the M23 rebel group marks an alarming escalation in the crisis facing the eastern Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC). Confusion over the nature and agenda of the rebel group, as well as other regional actors, makes analysis – let alone policy responses – difficult. This roundtable will seek to help clarify what is known about the situation, and offer some practical suggestions for what kind of responses might be most appropriate, or indeed counterproductive.” – Chatham House