EDITORIAL: Another fruitless AU summit

This is turning out to be an awful year for millions of long-suffering Congolese living in the minerals-rich eastern part of the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC). And as AU heads of state were meeting in Ethiopia this weekend to discuss the conflict, M23 rebels announced that they had taken over more control of the war-torn eastern DRC with no resistance from the statutory forces.

In the run-up to the weekend summit, hopes grew that the collective brains trust of the continent’s leaders would find a lasting solution to the conflict in the DRC, Sudan and nudge West Africa to return to civilian rule.

These hopes were dashed on the first day of the summit which will be remembered for chaos and little concrete outcomes. For a start, Felix Tshisekedi, the embattled DRC president, opted not to attend the AU summit. Instead, he attended a security conference in Europe. This means that an important discussion about the territorial integrity of his country’s sovereignty took place without his participation.  

It’s not hard to understand why he appears to have resigned himself to his country’s continued plunder by rebels and neighbouring countries. The Congolese have been failed by both the AU, and regional bodies such as the Southern African Development Community (Sadc) and the East African Community (EAC).

Every month, troops deployed by Sadc return to their countries in body bags thanks to the superior air power of the rebels. Last Thursday, SA received bodies of its 14 soldiers who were killed by rebels last month.

Over the weekend, leaders received and endorsed a recommendation by the AU’s peace and security committee to merge the peace initiatives of the EAC and Sadc. In brief, the two regional bodies have called for a ceasefire and the withdrawal of foreign forces.

This proposal is not new; it has been on the table for months. But its implementation has been tardy. The reason for this is simple: there is no stick to get parties, especially foreign armies, to comply with the call. Also, Tshisekedi has ruled out direct talks with the rebels.

The AU has been indifferent to the plight of the Congolese and Sudanese.

A bigger part of the problem is the leaders’ lack of candour in confronting the cause of the conflict. While M23 has original grievances with the DRC government, its agenda was soon hijacked by the DRC’s neighbours such as the Rwandan army which supports the rebels.

Western powers have openly called on Rwanda to withdraw from the DRC or face targeted sanctions including withdrawal of aid. African leaders, on the other hand, use euphemisms.

Late last month, Paul Kagame, Rwanda’s president, suggested that President Cyril Ramaphosa’s office had lied about details of a call the two leaders had had on the conflict in the eastern DRC. In his combative social media posts, he even threatened confrontation.

This bellicose rhetoric is hardly helpful to finding a durable solution to this protracted conflict. Kagame needs to be reminded that his country’s traumatic past, and the world’s complicity in it, is no licence for him to interfere in his neighbours’ affairs. This applies to all of DRC’s neighbours.

Similarly, Tshisekedi cannot wish away the rebels. He will have to sit down with them eventually.