RVI Co-founder on the Inter-Congolese Dialogue
The 2000-2003 peace process in the DRC is the subject of A Sacred Cause: The Inter-Congolese Dialogue 2000-2003, written by one of the RVI’s co-founders, Philip Winter. Philip Winter was chef de cabinet to Botswana’s ex-President Sir Ketumile Masire, the facilitator of the Lusaka talks in the Second Congo War (1998-2003). The book is based […]
The Usalama Project on Capitol Hill
On 19 September 2012, Jason Stearns, Director of the RVI Usalama Project, which documents armed groups in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), gave evidence before the Congressional Foreign Affairs Sub-committee on Africa, Global Health, and Human Rights in Washington, DC. Alongside Ntambo Nkulu Ntanda, Bishop of the United Methodist Church of North Katanga, […]
History of violence in the Kivus
RVI Great Lakes Project Officer Michel Thill writes in opendemocracy.net on the history of anti-government rebellions in the Kivu provinces of the eastern DRC. 'Though triggered by a combination of recent events,' he writes, 'the pre-colonial, colonial and post-colonial history of the Kivus sets the stage on which they take shape.' He concludes that it […]
RVI Usalama Project: First reports launched
On 2 November 2012, the RVI launched the first of a series of reports on the M23 and other armed groups in the eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), part of RVI’s Usalama Project on armed groups in the eastern Congo. The report, entitled From CNDP to M23: The Evolution of an Armed Movement […]
RVI Usalama Project on Vox Africa
The recent RVI Usalama Project report on the origins and activities of the M23 rebel group in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), From CNDP to M23: The Evolution of an Armed Movement in Eastern Congo, was featured on the French-language Vox Africa programme ‘Vice Versa’ on 29 November 2012. The Institute’s Great Lakes […]
M23 and the Challenges to Peace in the Eastern DRC
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 […]
Koen Vlassenroot on the humanitarian industry in Goma
Over the last 20 years, the Congolese city of Goma has attracted almost 100 international NGOs, due to its history of violent conflicts, natural disasters and vast refugee population. In ‘The Humanitarian industry and urban change in Goma’, an article co-authored with Karen Büscher for Open Democracy, RVI Fellow Koen Vlassenroot writes: ‘In sharp contrast to the main […]
RVI’s Usalama Project report on PARECO
On 23 January 2013, RVI published the third Usalama report on the armed groups in the eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC). Written by Usalama Project Director, Jason Stearns, PARECO: Land, Local Strongmen and the Roots of Militia Politics in North Kivu describes the origins and activities of this mainly Hutu coalition. A French […]
RVI Usalama Project reports on Ituri district, DRC
On 25 January 2013, RVI published the fourth and fifth Usalama Project reports on armed groups in the eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC). UPC in Ituri: The External Militarization of Local Politics in North-eastern Congo describes the origins and activities of the mainly Hema Union of Congolese Patriots in Ituri district. It was written by […]
RVI Usalama Project report on Raia Mutomboki
On 5 April 2013, RVI published the sixth in its series of Usalama Project reports on armed groups in the eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC). Raia Mutomboki: The Flawed Peace Process in the DRC and the Birth of an Armed Franchise describes the origins, rapid evolution, expansion and activities of this diverse force. The group […]