A/HRC/10/59
page 19
armed groups.30 Weak chains of command within the Congolese armed forces and insufficient
civilian, democratic control of the sprawling security apparatus facilitate such illegal acts. At the
same time, the Group of Experts also presented evidence that the Rwandan authorities have been
complicit in the recruitment of soldiers, including children, have facilitated the supply of military
equipment and have sent officers and units from the Rwandan Defence Force to the DRC in
support of CNDP.31
70. According to the approach under the Global and Inclusive Agreement, militia and soldiers
were given the choice to either join a unified national army, or to be demobilized and
reintegrated into civilian life. Those who chose to join the army were generally sent to training
centres (centres de brassage), where they received only about 45 days of basic training. Some
militia groups were even directly merged into the regular forces (mixage). The result is an army
that is very heterogeneous and overall ill-disciplined.
71. The rank and file of FARDC are often not paid and do not have adequate supplies,
reportedly also because funds allocated for this purpose are embezzled by senior officers or
civilian functionaries. As part of its security sector reform project, the European Union Security
Sector Reform Mission (EUSEC) directly administers salaries for selected units. While this has
reportedly decreased abuse of power by individual soldiers to some extent, it is still worrying
that there have been incidents (e.g. in the Kanyabayonga area at the end of October 2008) where
units benefitting from such support programme were involved in large-scale pillaging and
accompanying atrocities. This highlights a need for more profound efforts on the part of the
Government to push for reform and accountability.
72. Moreover, while in theory, perpetrators of human rights violations could have been
excluded from joining the security forces, this has not happened in practice. As a result, major
perpetrators of violations, including a number of notorious former armed group commanders,
have managed to join the national army, police or intelligence services, entrenching a culture of
impunity and disregard for human rights. The Security Council has repeatedly called on the
Congolese authorities to establish a vetting mechanism to take into account when they select
candidates for official positions, including key posts in the armed forces, national police and
other security services, the candidates’ past actions in terms of respect for international
humanitarian law and human rights.32
3. Illegal exploitation of natural resources
73. In resolution S8/1, the Council identified the illicit exploitation of natural resources as a
further root cause of the conflict and basis of the human rights violations and humanitarian crisis
30
Ibid., paras. 116-120.
31
Ibid., paras. 61-68.
32
See resolutions 1756 (2009), para. 12; 1794 (2007), para 15; 1856 (2008), para. 22.
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