Lecture by Dr Serge Tshibangu at George Washington University

By Lysa Joseph
Doctor Serge Tshibangu, adviser to President Felix Tshisekedi of the Democratic Republic of Congo is touring the world explaining the impact of instability in Congo. As visiting lecturer at George Washington University in United States of America, he presented on the impact of global terrorism especially in DR Congo. Dr Tshibangu said that since the end of Mobutu’s regime, the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) has been entangled in a cycle of violence. Extensive crimes that include summary executions, rapes, and the use of child soldiers are frequent in the eastern provinces of the DRC. Researchers and general public around the world have limited knowledge of terrorism’s reality, however, about the factors that have contributed to the emergence of these ongoing acts of terror. The visiting lecturer provided insights into the antecedent conditions of terrorism in the Democratic Republic of Congo. He covered the period of aggression including the emergence of Rwanda’s backed M23, ADF/NALU that operate in the northeast of Congo and many other groups. The purpose of this quantitative correlational presentation was to expose the precursors of the conflict in the DRC. The lecture provided the opportunity to understand the degree and possible strength of the relationship between the criterion terrorist incidents and the following predictors: political instability and economic activities in the DRC.

After Congolese President Felix Tshisekedi attended negotiations meeting in Luanda/Angola along with President Evariste Ndayishimiye of Burundi, who is the current chair of the East African Community bloc, as well as Kenya’s former President Uhuru Kenyatta, the bloc’s facilitator of the negotiations, Dr Serge Tshibangu was appointed to follow up the talks and oversee activities that engaged Congolese government and rebel group M23 through the peace process of Luanda. Rwandan President Paul Kagame skipped the meeting and was represented by his Foreign Minister Vincent Biruta. DR Congo has accused Rwanda of backing M23 rebels, a charge Rwanda denies. The Congolese government has said that it would not engage in talks with M23 rebels until the fighters withdrew from the areas they occupy. The deal in Luanda sought to end the ongoing Second Congo War and had far-reaching implications for regional peace. The Luanda Agreement became a baseline for peace accords in Africa and is viewed favorably by outside entities, such as the United Nations and the European Union.
Dr Serge Tshibangu has undergone training in International Trade Law from the World Trade Institute/ University of Bern. With that experience, the advisor to president Tshisekedi has the ability to understand the dynamics of conflicts and global trade. That is why the question of peace in the country is a must. DRC is endowed with exceptional natural resources, including minerals such as cobalt and copper, hydropower potential, significant arable land, immense biodiversity, and the world’s second-largest rainforest. The economy of the second largest country in Africa relies heavily on mining. The Congo is the world’s largest producer of cobalt ore, and a major producer of copper and industrial diamonds. In the northeast there are gold, coal, and iron-ore deposits; there are prospective deposits of gold, monazite, and diamonds in the northwestern regions as well. Coastal Congo contains bauxite, gold, and offshore deposits of petroleum.
DR Tshibangu Estimates that The Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) remains one of the most complex and long-standing humanitarian crises in Africa, with 5.4 million IDPs due to conflict as of December 2021. About 12.8 million of 81 million people in the DRC need humanitarian assistance and protection, including 5.6 million children. Other concerning problems include child malnutrition and outbreaks of cholera, measles, and Ebola. Ever since the DRC won its independence in 1960, there has been ongoing fighting throughout the country. Despite the end of a civil war in 2003, violence continues to plague regions of the DRC and has forced millions to flee from their homes. The Democratic Republic of the Congo is on the FATF List of Countries that have been identified as having strategic AML deficiencies. In October 2022, the DRC made a high-level political commitment to work with the FATF and GABAC to strengthen the effectiveness of its AML/CFT regime. This what Dr Tshibangu is fighting to fix.