A/HRC/10/59 page 21 were being committed on the basis of ethnicity and national origin in the DRC”.35 This finding is in line with the previous periods of violence in the region, in which ethnic antagonism was fostered and then manipulated for political ends. 78. To some extent, the ethnic divisions in eastern DRC are related to colonial resettlement programmes, population displacements into the DRC, including the massive inflow of Tutsi refugees fleeing pogroms in Rwanda in the 1960s, the political instrumentalization of minorities under the Mobutu regime and the large-scale displacements in the aftermath of the genocide in Rwanda. In a region that was historically sparsely populated, the demographic changes in the eastern DRC also created tremendous competition over scarce resources, in particular agricultural land and grazing areas, thus creating an environment that is prone to the manipulation of ethnic cleavages. Many land conflicts result from competing claims based on formal titles or customary law; tensions between returnees and those who stayed further complicate the situation. Extensive documentation is available showing how armed factions have been created along ethnic lines as a consequence of displacement and the manipulation of ethnic divisions.36 79. Limited progress has been achieved to address this dimension of the crisis in the eastern DRC. Yet, it will be impossible to treat the most recent outbreak of violence and the massive human rights violations accompanying it without focusing on its underlying causes, among which lies the interplay of politics, economics and ethnicity. Particular action is needed at the local level in order to bring peace to communities that have yet to recover from the ethnic divisions that were fuelled by years of conflict. The success of local reconciliation programmes is also contingent on effective policies that address the local distribution of resources, in particular land. 80. The question of nationality of Kinyarwanda-speaking Congolese, living within the DRC or as refugees in neighbouring countries, also needs to be addressed since it often lies at the root of ethnic divisions in the eastern DRC. The new nationality law of 12 November 2004 is a positive step in granting this group the right to nationality. In practice, as recently pointed out by the Committee on the Elimination of Racial Discrimination, Congolese nationality is difficult to acquire by the Kinyarwanda-speaking population.37 81. Finally, the question of minority rights in the political sphere aggravates tensions. Majority-voting systems, the particular tailoring of voting districts as well as the difficulty of displaced and some returnees to obtain electoral cards have resulted in a disproportionally low 35 See http://www.un.org/preventgenocide/adviser/state3.shtml for the press statement and the forthcoming full report of the Special Advisor. 36 See, for example, the 1997 report of the Special Rapporteur on the situation of human rights in the Republic of Zaire (Democratic Republic of the Congo) (A/52/496). 37 CERD/C/COD/CO/15, para. 17.