[allAfrica.com] [Leon_H._Sullivan_Summit] UN Congo Force Has Mission Impossible Business Day (Johannesburg) ANALYSIS June 2, 2003 Posted to the web June 2, 2003 By Dianna Games Johannesburg NAMING all the belligerents in the Democratic Republic of Congo's recent history would be a good trivial pursuit question if the answer did not need continuing updates. Take, for example, the Union for Patriotic Congolese (UPC). Just as the ink was drying on the all-inclusive political agreement, this group sprang into the headlines for the worst possible reasons its fight for control of the town of Bunia in northeast Congo. Violent uprisings in Bunia and surrounding Ituri province have left more than 400 dead and tens of thousands displaced. And the UPC is only one of five well- armed warring militias in the province, which lies far from the centre of state power. The flashpoint, which erupted when Ugandan troops finally pulled out of the area in April leaving a power vacuum, is not just about civil conflict. It is equally about hostilities between two of the Congo's neighbours, Uganda and Rwanda. Congolese government officials dismiss the idea it is strictly an ethnic conflict, saying the area had been peaceful for generations but has been destabilised by occupying forces and their pawns. The Ituri militias play for the highest bidder. The UPC is said to have started out as an ally of Uganda but has now switched sides, with support from Rwanda. Ituri's proximity to the two countries' borders gives them a strategic interest in its politics. The governance and military vacuum coupled with the extreme poverty in which people live have created ample opportunity to exploit local populations. Last week's swearing-in of a two-year transitional government had to be postponed after the pull-out of a key party over disagreement about roles in the new national army. With relations so fragile at the centre, major security problems on the fringes are a source of great concern. The United Nations force in Congo (Monuc) of about 4000 does not have the capacity to deal effectively with the complex situation. When I visited Congo last year, a senior Monuc official described the force's mandate to me as being "mission impossible". On Friday the UN Security Council finally authorised deployment of a 1200strong Emergency Multinational Force to help stabilise Ituri province and enforce the ceasefire signed in mid-May. It will stay until September 1. It has been empowered to use all steps needed to fulfil its mandate, including use of force to defend UN staff and protect the populace. A ceiling of 8000 troops has been authorised for Monuc but the UN has struggled to find nations willing to contribute. Compare this with the 18000-strong UN force sent to Sierra Leone in its civil war. Analysts say it was a simpler scenario there government versus rebels. The Congo conflict was regional and civil. Monuc has also been hamstrung by its chapter VI mandate that provides for unarmed observers rather than "peace enforcement". The allure of the Congo job has not been heightened by reports earlier this year of the slaughter of two unarmed UN personnel. The UN emergency force is vital to contain the situation in Ituri. But its role, and that of a longer-term beefed up Monuc force, needs to be far wider than finding a military solution. It needs to fill the governance gap. It must put in place sustainable structures for maintaining peace and security and must be backed by thorough regional, international and multilateral support measures. Space must be created for the fledgling central government to prove it can be effective. As long as military issues continue to sideline economic growth and investment in the Congo, and as long as the country is awash with arms and people ready to act as proxies for all comers, nothing much will change. The long-term solution lies, as usual, in development. The central government needs to create effective and responsible state power but it also has to prioritise grassroots economic power that will make populations less susceptible to power from the barrel of a gun. Games is director of Africa@Work, a conferencing and publishing company focusing on Africa.   =============================================================================  Copyright © 2003 Business Day. All rights reserved. Distributed by AllAfrica Global Media (allAfrica.com). =============================================================================