SCENESETTER FOR THE VISIT OF GENERAL WILLIAM WARD TO THE

UNCLAS KINSHASA 000336

SENSITIVE
SIPDIS

E.O. 12958: N/A
TAGS: OREP PREL PGOV MARR MOPS CG
SUBJECT: SCENESETTER FOR THE VISIT OF GENERAL WILLIAM WARD TO THE
DEMOCRATIC REPUBLIC OF CONGO APRIL 23-25


1. (SBU) Summary: The Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC)
continues to grapple with fundamental security challenges,
particularly in the eastern part of the country, making it one of
the most fragile and volatile states in the world. Armed groups,
including the infamous Lord's Resistance Army, continue to terrorize
the Congolese population in the east. At the same time, there have
been a number of recent breakthroughs that, over time, could help to
bring at least a modicum of stability and security to the DRC. Most
importantly, a rapprochement between the DRC and its former regional
rival Rwanda, which in turn has led to newfound cooperation between
the two governments to address the problems posed by two of the
principal armed groups operating on Congolese soil - one
traditionally supported (or at least tolerated) by Kinshasa which
operated against Rwanda's interests, and the other supported by
Kigali which operated against the DRC's interests. Separately, a
recent high-profile power struggle between the President and the
Speaker of the National Assembly, which ran the risk of igniting
conflict here in Kinshasa, was resolved according to established,
democratic procedures, with the Speaker resigning his post.


2. (SBU) Summary continued: Nevertheless, the problems faced by
the Congolese state and population remain rife: endemic corruption,
rampant government abuse of human rights, economic crisis, and
wrenching poverty and destitution. Your visit here can reinforce
the point that the USG stands ready to assist the DRC with its many
challenges, demonstrated by the fact that overall the United States
provides over $700 million per year in foreign and peacekeeping
assistance to the DRC, of which more than $200 million is in the
form of bilateral foreign assistance for development and
humanitarian activities, with the remainder largely provided through
contributions to multilateral organizations including MONUC.
However, it is vitally important that the elites of this country
make the commitment to build a transparent, modern, liberal state
which is focused on the delivery of services - as opposed to what
exists now, which is a situation in which the state is used almost
exclusively as a means by which a few people can enrich themselves
and their families. End Summary.

Peace and Security
--------------


3. (SBU) The issues surrounding the well-publicized and
now-concluded Operation Lightning Thunder - a joint effort between
the Congolese armed forces (FARDC),the Ugandan armed forces (UPDF),
and the armed forces of South Sudan to combat the scourge of the
Lord's Resistance Army (LRA) - remain in focus for us. The LRA,
lodged in a remote and largely inaccessible region of northeastern
DRC, has long terrorized the local population; the numbers of
Congolese killed, raped, tortured, kidnapped, and forced into
slavery by this group stagger the imagination. While this joint
operation was successful in diminishing some of the LRA's
capability, the group remains intact and viable, and continues to
carry out well-publicized attacks against the population. The
responsibility now lies with the FARDC, supported by the
peacekeepers of the UN mission in the DRC (MONUC),to finish the job
- but there are serious doubts as to whether these two entities have
the capability or will to do so.


4. (SBU) News of a more positive nature is coming out of the Kivu
provinces, site of long-simmering ethnic tensions and the
battleground for both direct and proxy battles between the DRC and
Rwanda. A diplomatic rapprochement between the two countries
allowed for two important agreements, both of which were, frankly,
staggering in terms of their impact.


5. (SBU) The first of these agreements was that the DRC permitted
Rwandan armed forces (which had previously invaded and occupied
large parts of the DRC) to enter its territory to fight the armed
group known as the Democratic Forces for the Liberation of Rwanda
(FDLR),an outfit comprised in part of those complicit in the 1994
genocide and to which Kinshasa had given tacit and direct support at
various times over the years. The second agreement was clearly
(though it was never publicly stated as such) that Rwanda allowed
for the collapse of the National Congress for the Defense of the
People (CNDP) rebel group, a Rwandan proxy which had terrorized
North Kivu for a number of years. These developments are
remarkable, particularly when seen against the backdrop of the
DRC-Rwandan relationship of just three months ago, when many
observers believed the two countries appeared to be headed towards
war. At a meeting in Kinshasa last weekend, the Rwandans and
Congolese even announced their intention to reestablish diplomatic
relations immediately.


6. (SBU) Like the operation against the LRA, the operation against
the FDLR succeeded in weakening the group's capability to a certain

extent, but it remains active and continues to terrorize the local
civilian population. The FARDC and MONUC also now have the task to
finish the job but, as with the LRA, there are doubts as to their
ability to do so. Concerning the CNDP, its fighters are being
integrated into the FARDC and the Congolese police force as part of
the agreement that dismantled the group as a fighting force. While
a positive step, significant work remains to be done to ensure that
this process of integration succeeds in permanently ending the
status of the CNDP as an armed group.

Military Reform Efforts
--------------


7. (SBU) The Congolese military, which must play a key role in
solving the security challenges faced by the DRC, itself faces
severe internal and external challenges. The USG and other partners
are committed to seeing through progress in this area, though the
pace of reform has been slow. The DRC is currently benefiting from
a variety of projects financed through a number of different
security assistance funds. U.S. security assistance to the DRC aims
first and foremost to develop the FARDC into a professional,
well-structured, and disciplined fighting force, which respects
human rights and has the respect and trust of the people. While
battlefield training is part of this program, it is equally
important to focus on projects that provide for internal and
long-term capacity reform (e.g. leadership training, command and
control, human rights, etc.).


8. (SBU) For example, in the area of military justice reform, from
November 2007 through November 2008, the Defense Institute of
International Legal Studies (DIILS) delivered a series of 12
seminars on the investigation and prosecution of sex crimes by FARDC
military justice investigators, prosecutors, and magistrates
(totaling approximately 500 FARDC participants - nearly the entire
cadre of sex crimes investigation officers). DIILS staff, working
with MONUC and FARDC personnel, delivered programs in Kinshasa and
eight other provinces. In FY 09, DIILS will receive $2.1 million in
additional funding and will undertake a two-track approach to
broaden operations in military justice cooperation. The first track
involves basic familiarization programs on human rights,
humanitarian law, sexual violence, corruption, and command
responsibility for FARDC officers in the operational community. The
second track involves advanced military justice programs for the
FARDC judicial magistrates, prosecuting magistrates, and judicial
police inspectors.


9. (SBU) In the area of leadership training, through the
contracting firm Camber, the USG has provided for multiple
iterations of much-needed professionalization courses for officers
of the FARDC, at the brigade and battalion levels. These courses
are designed to teach the U.S. method of military decision-making
and battlefield operating systems; they also cover issues of human
rights, codes of conduct, and military leadership skills. The USG
will provide approximately $1.7 million in FY 09 to support this
program.


10. (SBU) Concerning battlefield training, we are working with
AFRICOM on a program to train and equip a light infantry battalion
(LIB) for the FARDC. With this plan, training of the LIB's
leadership would start in July 2009 in Kinshasa, and simultaneously
work would begin on developing a basic LIB training center in
Kisangani. By January 2010 the entire unit will be consolidated in
Kisangani and six to eight months of training will take place there.
We are also looking for ways to assist with FARDC family housing in
Kisangani for the LIB.


11. (SBU) Additionally, International Military Education and
Training (IMET) funds in the amount of $500,000 will be spent on
mobile training teams for the following courses: Center for
Civil-Military Relations - Legislative Program and the Role of
Military in a Democracy; Defense Institute for International Legal
Studies - Anti-corruption Programs; Defense Resource Management
Institute - Defense Resources Management Course; Defense Institute
for Medical Operations - Leadership Course on the HIV/AIDS program.
Finally, Foreign Military Financing (FMF) funding in the amount of
$724,000 for FY 09 will be used to pay for training beyond that
funded by IMET and to acquire military equipment.

Development and Humanitarian Assistance
--------------


12. (SBU) Overall foreign assistance support from the United States
is growing. The United States provides over $700 million per year
in foreign and peacekeeping assistance to the DRC, of which more
than $200 million is in the form of bilateral foreign assistance for

development and humanitarian activities, with the remainder provided
through contributions to multilateral organizations including MONUC.
Overall, the budget for the DRC for development assistance
increased in FY 2008 by approximately 25 percent, including
supplemental appropriations for HIV/AIDS and security assistance
funding. USAID implements programs in the areas of health,
education, democracy and governance, economic growth, agriculture,
and peace and security.


13. (SBU) The United States will continue to focus attention on the
crisis situation in eastern DRC, where our support has helped to
advance the peace process and provide critical assistance to
communities affected by the conflict. Over the past several years,
USAID has provided approximately half of development resources to
programs operating in conflict-affected areas of eastern DRC.


14. (SBU) So far in FY 2009, USAID has spent over $13 million to
support emergency response agriculture and food security, economy
and market systems, logistics and relief commodities, health,
nutrition, protection, and water, sanitation, and hygiene programs
targeting conflict-affected populations in eastern DRC.
Additionally, USAID has spent over $48 million in FY 09 so far to
provide food assistance to food deficit areas, primarily in eastern
DRC.

Human Rights and Gender-Based Violence
--------------


15. (SBU) Security forces and armed groups remain responsible for
most human rights violations in the DRC, including unlawful
killings, disappearances, torture, rape and arbitrary arrest and
detention. Human rights advocates have extensively documented the
involvement of these elements in such abuses.
Constitutionally-protected freedoms of association, speech, and
protest are increasingly disregarded by security and administrative
authorities using vague Mobutu and colonial-era laws to arrest and
detain perceived critics. The Embassy is working with NGOs and
other diplomatic missions to encourage Parliament to bring these
laws into line with the 2006 constitution.


16. (SBU) Sexual violence against women and girls in eastern DRC is
pervasive. While most of the recorded attacks have been by armed
groups and the FARDC, reports of rape by civilians is increasingly
prevalent. A general climate of impunity does nothing to discourage
these acts. In a recent report, the UN Human Rights Integrated
Office in the DRC (UNHRO) stated that, despite strengthened laws on
sexual violence, "law enforcement personnel and magistrates continue
to treat rape and sexual violence in general with a marked lack of
seriousness. Consequently, men accused of rape are often granted
bail or given relatively light sentences, and out-of-court
settlements of sexual violence cases are widespread." In fact,
relatively few cases are reported to the police, and fewer still
result in prosecution.


17. (SBU) USAID and the Departments of State and Defense support
activities to respond to and prevent gender-based violence through a
variety of interventions in the eastern provinces. Since 2002,
USAID has allocated more than $10 million for activities to combat
gender-based violence in the Eastern DRC. The Defense Institute for
International Legal Studies (DIILS) has provided training sessions
on the investigation of sex crimes to nearly all 350 of the FARDC
military magistrates and police investigators with investigatory and
adjudicatory roles. The program, funded through PKO monies,
sponsored sessions across the country, and received laudatory
comments from the international community.

The Scene Today
--------------


18. (SBU) The problems faced by the DRC are overwhelming, but your
visit will reinforce the point that the USG stands ready and willing
to assist the country with its security challenges. At the same
time, we have high expectations of the Kabila government and there
will be no blank check issued to his regime. Post believes that it
is particularly important that the following points be reinforced
during your visit: 1) those in power must address the endemic
corruption within the FARDC and throughout the government that
renders progress towards a better future impossible; 2) the
appalling human rights record of the government and its security
services must be corrected - not by empty rhetoric but with concrete
action; and 3) we expect the full engagement of the FARDC to fight
the LRA and FDLR, in cooperation with MONUC and keeping in mind
first and foremost the need to protect civilians.

GARVELINK