drc: Rwandan Hutu Rebels in the Congo: a New Approach to Disarmament and Reintegration

While a transition government is to be installed in the Congo in June, the UN program for voluntary disarmament remains a failure. The recent violence in Ituri, where hundreds have died horrifically, illustrates MONUC's impotence. A new approach is needed to disarm and reintegrate Hutu rebels in eastern Congo. The UN monitoring mission urgently needs deployment of a rapid reaction force to restore order in Ituri and prevent further massacres of the civilians it is already mandated to protect. It also needs military capacity to deter Hutu rebels from destabilising Rwanda and to back renewed diplomatic efforts for voluntary disarmament. The Security Council should seize the opportunity of a new transitional government to give a dynamism to disarmament efforts, and the international community must convince Rwanda that the solution to ending the violent spiral is its own political opening. This is according to a new report from the International Crisis Group.