by Rosemary Redfern

Created on: May 11, 2008

The key obstacles to obtaining substantial peace in the Democratic Republic of Congo result from the country's turbulent history, and have been fueled by the enormous mineral wealth in the country. The greed generated by these riches has led to corruption and violence.

Conflicts in the struggle for supremacy caused civil war, with different sides influenced and supported by outside countries. An aspect which should not be forgotten by the west is how tribal loyalties and taboos impinged on the civil war.

War leaves in its wake the problems of refugees, poverty, disease, hunger and violence. Dislocated lives fuel unrest.

The people at the top sometimes gain, the people at the bottom, often the women and children, always lose.

In such circumstances the outside world lacks confidence in investing money, the people live in a frightening world and progress towards peace and the recognition of human rights is hampered. This is a scary place to be.

The steps necessary to overcome these obstacles and gain sustainable peace are complex.

Laurent Kabila was elected in 2006 and has promised to rule by consensus. He is credited with ending the 1998-2003 war. A former guerrilla, he has encouraged businessmen and mining companies to engage with the DRC.

While reporters attempting to expose corruption are at risk, there is some press criticism of the government. This is a promising beginning.

The U.N. Mission in DRC (MONUC) is promoting dialogue. A willingness to discuss problems is a further start to see how to solve them. Churchill said jaw, jaw is better than war, war'. While clever politicians can delay progress, as long as there is no war, people can begin to lead normal lives again.

The U.N. Development Program (UNDP) is working for relief and humanitarian developments. It is felt that strong republican institutions with elections which are fair and transparent are a way forward and that renewal of confidence in the DRC by the international community will bring stability.

Five areas of growth are mentioned. These are environmental protection, gender equality, support for local elections, disarmament and demobilization and reintegration. A vital one not mentioned is education.

Education underlies each of the other elements. Understanding how conflict damages the environment is important and the environment here is the source of the DRC's wealth. The understanding of the consequences of damage to the environment for the living conditions of the citizens is fundamental.

There is

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